Trish's Reviews > The Martian Chronicles

Wow. Just wow.



If you expect aliens with space ships and interstellar war with heroic maneuvres and terrible explosions (in short, a "loud" story), go read something else. If, however, you're looking for an erudite examination of the human mind and spirit, look no further. Obviously, there is a reason Bradbury is heralded as one of the best (short story) writers of all time.

This collection tells of Mars. How humans first manage expeditions to the Red Planet. What they encounter there, how humans eventually settle on the planet (or swarm it, more accurately), the natives on the planet, what their abilities are, what happens to many of them and, ultimately, what happens to Earth.
It's a great cycle of life and death and rebirth.

But it's more than that. Bradbury used it to closely examine and showcase human ingenuity, racism, colonialism, ignorance for other cultures, the dangers of relying on science alone with no regard or love for art (he phrased it akin to the difference between survival and living) and much more.
The author's own creativity shows, amongst other things, in the difference between the life forms on Mars and what his Martians could do / looked like.

In between, we're treated to some famous and wonderful lines by Byron, we get glimpses at the ideas that sparked Bradbury's most famous novel (published a few years later), witness that Bradbury didn't really care about the socio-political status quo and had a mind (and pen) as sharp as a whip and used them too!

Obviously, Bradbury was a writer AND a reader so we're also getting an hommage to Poe on top of a wonderful tall tale that served as Bradbury's version of the Johnny Appleseed myth. Like I said: erudite.

The book contains 26 or 27 stories (depending on your edition) and they not only all vary greatly in length but also showcase the full range of human experiences: some are hilarious (no, I hadn't expected that; the funniest, for me, was The Silent Towns), full of mostly dark humour, too, which was an added bonus for me, some are infuriating or shockingly sad. They tell of exploration, curiosity, leaving the old to start fresh in the new, war, cultural/philosophical/emotional conflicts, of hopes and dreams and the nightmares that can result from that.
I loved that while they are all standalone, they formed a great narrative about this strange and yet fascinating place and how humans respond to it.

The stories are all fantastic and I loved this little book from the first moment on.