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by: Ray Bradbury  Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54 EAN: 9780745173665 Format: Unabridged ISBN: 0745173667 Label: Chivers Audio Books Manufacturer: Chivers Audio Books Publication Date: March 01, 1997 Publisher: Chivers Audio Books Studio: Chivers Audio Books Related Items:
Browse for similar items by category: Click to Display Editorial Review: Amazon.com: From "Rocket Summer" to "The Million-Year Picnic," Ray Bradbury's stories of the colonization of Mars form an eerie mesh of past and future. Written in the 1940s, the chronicles drip with nostalgic atmosphere--shady porches with tinkling pitchers of lemonade, grandfather clocks, chintz-covered sofas. But longing for this comfortable past proves dangerous in every way to Bradbury's characters--the golden-eyed Martians as well as the humans. Starting in the far-flung future of 1999, expedition after expedition leaves Earth to investigate Mars. The Martians guard their mysteries well, but they are decimated by the diseases that arrive with the rockets. Colonists appear, most with ideas no more lofty than starting a hot-dog stand, and with no respect for the culture they've displaced. Bradbury's quiet exploration of a future that looks so much like the past is sprinkled with lighter material. In "The Silent Towns," the last man on Mars hears the phone ring and ends up on a comical blind date. But in most of these stories, Bradbury holds up a mirror to humanity that reflects a shameful treatment of "the other," yielding, time after time, a harvest of loneliness and isolation. Yet the collection ends with hope for renewal, as a colonist family turns away from the demise of the Earth towards a new future on Mars. Bradbury is a master fantasist and The Martian Chronicles are an unforgettable work of art. --Blaise Selby Product Description: Ray Bradbury is a storyteller without peer, a poet of the possible, and, indisputably, one of America's most beloved authors. In a much celebrated literary career that has spanned six decades, he has produced an astonishing body of work: unforgettable novels, including Fahrenheit 451 and Something Wicked This Way Comes; essays, theatrical works, screenplays and teleplays; The Illustrated Mein, Dandelion Wine, The October Country, and numerous other superb short story collections. But of all the dazzling stars in the vast Bradbury universe, none shines more luminous than these masterful chronicles of Earth's settlement of the fourth world from the sun. Bradbury's Mars is a place of hope, dreams and metaphor-of crystal pillars and fossil seas-where a fine dust settles on the great, empty cities of a silently destroyed civilization. It is here the invaders have come to despoil and commercialize, to grow and to learn -first a trickle, then a torrent, rushing from a world with no future toward a promise of tomorrow. The Earthman conquers Mars ... and then is conquered by it, lulled by dangerous lies of comfort and familiarity, and enchanted by the lingering glamour of an ancient, mysterious native race. Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles is a classic work of twentieth-century literature whose extraordinary power and imagination remain undimmed by time's passage. In connected, chronological stories, a true grandmaster once again enthralls, delights and challenges us with his vision and his heart-starkly and stunningly exposing in brilliant spacelight our strength, our weakness, our folly, and our poignant humanity on a strange and breathtaking world where humanity does not belong. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Youthful PerspectiveI loved F451 by Bradbury and wanted to read more of his work. Being a huge sci-fi buff, I figured "The Martian Chronicles" would be a great place to start. The book is definitely well worth the read, and its effects are surprising. I have to admit that I had trouble with the story at first. Because of the lack of knowledge on the "Red Planet" when the story was written, I had to forget quite a bit of facts (I'm 25). Luckily enough, the story grabs you and keeps you turning pages ... Read More Rating: - Classic BradburyI read the Martian Chronicles growing up in the early 70's. Bradbury was on of my favorite authors. The book does not disappoint if you love Sci Fi. I purchased this book for my 18 yr old son. He couldnt put the book down and read it through in 3 days. Very unsual for him to stick with a book like that. He raved about the book and is asking for Bradbury's other works. Rating:  - more twilight zone than anything elseNot sure how this qualifies as sci-fi. A collection of short stories, criticism of the government, wars, racism, relation with foreign creatures. Ghost stories, horror, and everything but science. Of course, I'm writing this on the 50th anniversary of NASA, and some of the stories in this book outdate that by 10 years. Worth looking into, but not for everyone. If there is any science, it's the ugly side (atom bombs, etc). Rating: - MasterpieceI think I must agree with the reviews in the section that refuse to simply lable this book as "Science Fiction." Truly, this is one of the most fantastic books connected with science fiction ideas I have ever read and is indeed, or should be, classic literature. Ray Bradbury is an amazing writer who uses typical elements of sci-fi to discuss timeless human themes--While at first glance this book may seem to be nothing but a collection of vaguely related stories it is really about the humans who ... Read More Rating: - A great indroduction to Bradbury's work.Ray Bradbury is a timeless author. His storytelling borders on poetic. The Martian Chronicles was the first book of his I had ever read. After 15 years I just completed my second reading and am no less moved by his work. A lot is accomplished in this short work of science fiction and fantasy. Its opening chapters center around Earthmen attempting to land on Mars and communicate with its not so welcoming inhabitants. As the book progresses war on Earth makes Mars either a refuge or an ... Read More 
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