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Description edit
Ray 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... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Summary edit
Sometimes beautiful, sometimes humorous, and sometimes horrifying, this book is a short story compilation that examines the discovery and settlement of a new frontier, and the effects on both the settlers and the indigenous people.
Characters/People edit
- Ylla: A Martian woman.
- Nathaniel York: The Earth astronaut that Ylla has dreams about. The captain of the first expedition to Mars.
- Bert: An Earth astronaut.
- Yll: Ylla's husband.
- Pao: A friend of Ylla's.
- Mrs. Ttt: The first person the Second Expedition meets on Mars.
- Captain Jonathan Williams: The captain of the Second Expedition to Mars. He lived in New York City.
- Mr. Aaa: Who Mrs. Ttt sends the Second Expedition to because she doesn't want to deal with them. He goes off to kill Mr. Ttt "because he's an idiot".
- Mr. Iii: Who Mr. Aaa sends the Second expedition to.
- Mr. Xxx: A Martian psychologist who cures insane people.
- Navigator David Lustig: The navigator on the Third Expedition to Mars. Born 1950.
- Samuel Hinkston: The archaeologist in the Third Expedition to Mars. Born 1955.
- Captain John Black: The captain on the Third Expedition to Mars. Born 1920. Through science looks half his real age.
- Jeff Spender: A man on the Fourth Expedition to Mars. Has a different way of seeing things. Wants people to respect the Martian culture.
- Captain Wilder: The captain of the Fourth Expedition to Mars.
- Cheroke: A man on the Fourth Expedition to Mars. Has Cherokee blood in him.
- Hathaway: A man on the Fourth Expedition to Mars. A physician-geologist.
- Sam Parkhill: A man on the Fourth Expedition to Mars.
- Gibbs: A man on the Fourth Expedition to Mars.
- Benjamin Driscoll: When he came to Mars, he couldn't breathe because of the lack of oxygen. He didn't want to go back to Earth, so he planted trees all over Mars. Like the Johnny Appleseed of Mars.
- Tomas Gomez: Discovers a Martian either from the past or future.
- Pop: An old man who went to Mars to retire.
- Muhe Ca: The Martian from the past or future.
- Mr. Uuu: Patient in the asylum who greets Captain Williams and thinks he's from Earth as well
- Edward Black: Captain Black's dead brother who greets him on Mars
- Biggs: A man on the fourth expedition who Spender punches
- Samuel Teece: Racist hardware store owner who tries to stop blacks from leaving for Mars
- Silly: Black man who works for Samuel Teece and leaves for Mars
- Grandpa Quartermain: Family of Samuel Teece who leaves in the car with him
- Lucinda: The Teece's housemaid
- William Stendahl: A man who builds a house as described in The Fall of the House of Usher and defies the Moral Climate
- Mr. Bigelow: The architect for Stendahl
- Mr. Garrett: Investigator for Moral Climate who visits Mr. Stendahl
- LaFarge: A man who meets a being that mimics his dead son Tom
- Anna: A grieving woman who believes her son Tom is back from the dead
- Elma Parkhill: Sam's wife who tries to prevent his violent actions
- Walter Gripp: Believes that he may be the last man left on Mars
- Genevieve Selsor: Possibly the last woman left on Mars who meets Walter
- Dad: A father of three sons who starts a settlement on Mars
- Mom: Along with Dad and her three sons starts a settlement on Mars
- Timmy: Mom & Dad's son
- Robert: Mom & Dad's son
- Michael: Mom & Dad's son
- Miss Rrr: Asylum patient who says she's from Earth
- Mr. Www: An asylum patient
- Mr. Qqq: An asylum patient
- Mr. Vvv: An asylum patient
- Mrs. Teece: Samuel Teece's wife who is upset that Lucinda is leaving her
- Tom: LaFarge and Anna's dead son
- Spaulding: A man who lost his daughter Lavinia and thinks she returned from the dead
- Mr. Nomland: Commits suicide because he believes that he saw a person that he killed on Earth back from the dead.
- Gillings: Mr. Nomland's victim who he believes he sees again
Quotes edit
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“They were coming with small dreams or large dreams or none at all”
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“The rockets came like drums, beating in the night”
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“They knew how to live with nature and get along with nature. They didn't try too hard to be all men and no animal. That's the mistake we made when Darwin showed up. We embraced him and Huxley and Freud, all smiles. And then we discovered that Darwin and our religions didn't mix. Or at least we didn't think they did. We were fools. We tried to budge Darwin and Huxley and Freud. They wouldn't move very well. So, like idiots, we tried knocking down religion.”
Jeff Spender -
“And the men of Mars realized that in order to survive they would have to forgo asking that one question any longer: _Why live?_ Life was its own answer. Life was the propagation of more life and the living of as good a life is possible.”
Jeff Spender -
“The Lord is not serious. In fact, it is a little hard to know just what else He is except loving. And love has to do with humor, doesn't it? For you cannot love someone unless you put up with him, can you? And you cannot put up with someone constantly unless you can laugh at him. Isn't that true? And certainly we are ridiculous little animals wallowing in the fudge bowl, and God must love us all the more because we appeal to his humor.”
Father Peregrine -
“The way I see it is there's a Truth on every planet. All parts of the Big Truth. On a certain day they'll all fit together like pieces of a jigsaw. This has been a shaking experience. I'll never doubt again, Father Peregrine. For this Truth here is as true as Earth's Truth, and they lie side by side. And we'll go on to other worlds, adding the sum of the parts of the Truth until one day the whole Total will stand before us like the light of a new day.”
Father Stone -
“Who are we, anyway? The majority? Is that the answer? The majority is always holy, is it not? Always, always; just never wrong for one little insignificant tiny moment, is it? Never ever wrong in ten million years? He thought: What is this majority and who are in it? And what do they think and how did they get that way and will they ever change and how the devil did I get caught in this rotten majority? I don't feel comfortable. Is it claustrophobia, fear of crowds, or common sense? Can one man be right, while all the world thinks they are right? Let's not think about it. Let's crawl around and act exciting and pull the trigger.”
Wilder -
“What did Time smell like? Like dust and clocks and people. And if you wondered what Time sounded like it sounded like water running in a dark cave and voices crying and dirt dropping down upon hollow box lids, and rain. And, going further, what did Time "look" like? Time looked like snow dropping silently into a black room or it looked like a silent film in an ancient theater, one hundred billion faces falling like those New Year balloons, down and down into nothing.”
Tomas Gomez
First Sentence edit
One minute it was Ohio winter, with doors closed, windows locked, the panes blind with frost, icicles fringing every roof, children skiing on slopes, housewives lumbering like great black bears in their furs along the icy streets.
Table of Contents edit
January 1999: Rocket Summer
February 1999: Ylla
August 1999: The Summer Night
August 1999: The Earth Men
March 2000: The Taxpayer
April 2000: The Third Expedition
June 2001: -and the Moon Be Still as Bright
August 2001: The Settlers
December 2001: The Green Morning
February 2002: The Locusts
August 2002: Night Meeting
October 2002: The Shore
February 2003: Interim
April 2003: The Musicians
June 2004: Way in the Middle of the Air
2004-2005: The Naming of Names
April 2005: Usher II
August 2005: The Old Ones
September 2005: The Martian
November 2005: The Luggage Store
November 2005: The Off Season
November 2005: The Watchers
December 2005: The Silent Towns
April 2026: The Long Years
August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains
October 2026: The Million-Year Picnic
Themes & Symbolism edit
Errata edit
Editions published prior to 1997 spanned the time period from January 1999 to October 2026; editions published post 1997 moved the dates up 31 years, instead spanning January 2030 to October 2057. (Source: Wikipedia)
Some older editions include "June 2034: Way in the Middle of the Air" instead of "November 2033: The Fire Balloons" and "May 2034: The Wilderness." (Source: Wikipedia)
Some newer editions include thirteen other Mars-related stories by Bradbury. (Source: Wikipedia)
Series & Lists edit
This is book 27 of 99 in National Public Radio's Top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy. (authoritative list)
This book is in Limited Editions Club. (publisher edition list)
This is book 70 of 99 in Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century. (authoritative list)
This book is in Heritage Press. (publisher edition list)
This book is in Easton Press. (publisher edition list)
First Edition edit
Original Language: English
Publisher: Doubleday
Country: U.S.A.
Publication Date: 1950
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 222
Publisher: Doubleday
Country: U.S.A.
Publication Date: 1950
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 222
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: PZ3.B72453 Mar 1950
- Dewey: 818'.54
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Movie Connections edit
- The Martian Chronicles (1980) (TV) (IMDb): TV mini-series staring Rock Hudson, Darren McGavin, and Roddy McDowall
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