The Martian Chronicles

Ray Bradbury

Feb 2013 · HarperCollins UK

About this ebook

The strange and wonderful tale of man’s experiences on Mars, filled with intense images and astonishing visions. Now part of the Voyager Classics collection.

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 fist. They felt they had never been born. Those few that survived found no welcome on Mars. The shape-changing Martians thought they were native lunatics and duly locked them up.

But more rockets arrived from Earth, and more, 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.

Ratings and reviews

Instead of a linear approach to the story, we instead get a history of a planet and it's people condensed into a series of short stories. Stories that warn the dangers of technological advances which outpace the readiness of man. A warning that the grass isn't always greener and contempt for the new and strange is a poor attitude to hold. It's a fascinating read with all the class and style you'd expect. Plus it's easy to digest in multiple small servings. Perfect reading for the commute each morning.

Words can't describe this novel of man's trip to mars and our abilities to both create a future and destroy the past without understanding it's implications. In the end we find that no matter thedistance or danger we want to stay part of our earth bound communities and only a few have the far sightedness to see a future beyond this small planet in a huge galaxy.

That's just awesome! Each chapter gives a plenty of food for thought. I really enjoyed it!

About the author

One of the greatest science fiction and fantasy writers of all time, Ray Bradbury was born in Waukegan, Illinois, in 1920. He moved with his family to Los Angeles in 1934. Since his first story appeared in Weird Tales when he was twenty years old, he published some 500 short stories, novels, plays, scripts and poems. Among his many famous works are Fahrenheit 451, The Illustrated Man and The Martian Chronicles. Ray Bradbury died in 2012 at the age of 91.