Product Description

The strange and wonderful tale of man's experiences on Mars, filled with intense images and astonishing visions.The classic work that transformed Ray Bradbury into a household name. Written in the age of the atom when America and Europe optimisitcally viewed the discovery of life on Mars as inevitable, Bradbury's 1940s short stories of a brutal, stark and unforgiving martian landscape were as shocking and visionary as they were insightful. 'The Martian Chronicles' tells the story of humanity's repeated attempts to colonize the red planet. The first men were few. Most succumbed to a disease they called the Great Loneliness when they saw their home planet dwindle to the size of a pin dot. Those few that survived found no welcome. The shape-changing Martians thought they were native lunatics and duly locked them up. More rockets arrived from Earth, piercing the hallucinations projected by the Martians. People brought their old prejudices with them -- and their desires and fantasies, tainted dreams. These were soon inhabited by the strange native beings, with their caged flowers and birds of flame.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17559 in Books
• Published on: 1995-09-11
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Review
'The bitter irony of The Martian Chronicles is both stark and shocking' Guardian 'As a science fiction writer, Ray Bradbury has long been streets ahead of anyone else' Daily Telegraph 'The sheer velocity of his words is an apocalyptic torrent which sweeps the reader on' Independent 'No other writer uses language with greater originality and zest. he seems to be a American Dylan Thomas' Sunday Telegraph

About the Author
Ray Bradbury has published some 500 short stories, novels, plays and poems since his first story appeared in Weird Tales when he was twenty years old. Among his many famous works are Fahrenheit 451, The Illustrated Man and The Martian Chronicles.

Customer Reviews

As spell binding now as it ever was.
The Martian Chronicles has stood up well to the test of time. The issues it deals with such as war and human angst are as relevant today as they ever were. I'd read the first 100 pages before I even realised what time it was! I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys not only science fiction, but also to anyone who enjoys reading a book that will make them think. It's a good read although sometimes Bradbury's observations into human nature will have you squirming uncomfortably.

Be warned, don't start to read this late at night, it'll be early morning before you put it down.

Mars is heaven.
The Martian Chronicles is a genre classic that details mankind's numerous attempts to colonise the red planet. From the outset, you are drawn into Ray Bradbury's charming yet heartbreaking allegory of the conquest of the New World. As in the historical Americas, many of Mars' native inhabitants succumb to the diseases brought by the human settlers, who themselves fall prey to their own greed and loneliness. These stories are both beautiful and tragic and I defy anyone not to be quietly moved by 'The Martian', a wonderful tale of love and loss. Bradbury has the uncanny ability to reach into your chest and play with your heart.

I, Mars
Ray Bradbury wrote a lot of short stories set on Mars. 'The Martian Chronicles' collects most of them together in one book, arranged so as to form a loose story which, in typical Bradbury style, is actually about America, and not Mars at all. Bradbury is a writer first and a sci-fi writer second, and if you're expecting endless descriptions of nuclear propulsion you probably won't like this book. Because of this, it's one of the few sci-fi books from the period that hasn't dated. It's also one of the ultimate downers, but in a good way - the general tone is one of loneliness and despair, without being doomy. It's a shame that, judging by the lack of reviews, this book is so obscure nowadays, especially compared to his contemporaries Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke, neither of whom have produced anything which has aged as well.