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Liked It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “One of the books that helped shape my imagination as a child. Bradbury is a master writer and an American treasure. My favorite story from the book is "And the Moon Be Still As Bright."” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“I only read 3 short stories from it and they were all pretty interesting. Also, all three had irony. i read Ylla, The Earth Men, and Ther will come soft rain.”
Sarah wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I loved this book. My favorite chapters were "The Night Meeting" and "Usher II."”
Nick G wrote this review 3 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Extraño, revelador, alucinante, al estílo Bradbury”
Armando C wrote this review 3 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Very well written. I read this in English class, and enjoyed it all the way. Really good.”
Rebecca H wrote this review Sunday, November 22 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“What can i say... Bradbury just has a great imagination. ”
JPF wrote this review Friday, November 20 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“It was pretty good, in a gory sort of way. Ray Bradbury wrote this fantasy/sci-fi book, but it doesn't have a very happy ending, at first glance. When you take a closer look, though, you can see that he portrays the human race and nature quite well. In the beginning, he tells of the downfall of different Mars missions, contrasting their society from ours. Eventually, the Earthlings move to Mars, in search of relief from the war going on back home. Suddenly, there were no Martians, and just as suddenly, the Earthlings left, going back to their war-torn homes to inspect the damage. They leave behind one family to mourn the lost of such silly people. Intertwined in the story are smaller stories telling the points of view of the people who occupy Mars.”
Kirsten A wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“The Martian Chronicles is a brilliant novel--well written, convincing, relevant, and emotional, it has everything that makes for a great social novel. Although it's science fiction on the surface (a surface which is utilized very well, adding to the interest in the story,) it's more thematically similar to a novel such as Heart of Darkness than it is to one such as Fantastic Voyage--it's the tale of the Great White Hope, and its flaws. The story, as the title may (but doesn't necessarily) suggest, chronicles the story of the end of the Martian race, brought on by the colonization of Mars by humans. After three unsuccessful explorations of the planet--each one where the crew is met with hostility and eventually killed, a fourth voyage lands to find the entire race wiped out by, sadly enough, chicken pox, a human disease which rarely even kills humans. After some trouble in the fourth voyage, Mars is eventually fully colonized. What happens in the next half of the book is a series of stories regarding individuals and their adjustments to and experiences with living on Mars, a planet substantially, but not overwhelmingly, different from Earth. The story is gripping--characters are believable, well-written and convincingly emotional--but at times it's felt to lack focus, because of a lack of real central characters. What's important, however, is that the story isn't about any human character in particular--rather, it's the story of the human race as a character, and the Martian planet as a character, and the interactions that occur between them. The story is about the human desire to explore and to conquer, and sometimes, about the disturbing truths about this desire. The book is incredible, as it is, and for the writing alone, I recommend this book very strongly.”
JONATHAN O wrote this review Wednesday, November 11 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Ray Bradbury is a master of science fiction, as a modern day HG Wells. Martian Chronicle is odd, thrilling, and can make you shed a tear at the blight of humans and martians alike on the red planet.”
Jessica B wrote this review Wednesday, November 11 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“excelente”
Walter M wrote this review Thursday, November 5 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“ The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury was written in 1946. It was supposed to take place from 1999 to 2026. It was about Earthlings making expeditions to Mars and eventually moving to Mars. I think that it was an interesting read. Bradbury had to make predictions about the future. Considering the fact that most of the book was supposed to take place in 2005, I was able to see how true his predictions turned out to be. It is fascinating how human nature has changed and how it still remains the same.
Elizabeth M wrote this review Tuesday, November 3 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
The extremity of the discrimination that Bradbury assumed would still exist was wrong. He thought that African Americans would remain alienated on as large a scale as the 1940’s. On Earth most of the African Americans no longer wanted to be seen inferior. They decided to all live on Mars to start a new life. People were outraged because they were losing some of their workers. Now they will have to pay people to work less for more. When a man named Mr. Teece heard about those African Americans he said, “If one of ‘em so much as laughs, by Christ, I’ll kill ‘em” (92). Although not as many people still think this way about African Americans they still do think in a similar way. When they were all leaving, all everyone else could think about was how this would affect them. The people could not understand that African Americans are people too, they are just searching for equality. The racist people all were raised to think that they were the superior race. When you grow up thinking a certain way, it is hard to change your beliefs. Humans tend to grow off their parents personalities. Since the apple does not fall far from the tree it is hard to end racism. This made me realize that African Americans have earned a lot of rights and respect over just sixty short years.
Bradbury stayed on the idea that human nature is naturally selfish. One of my favorite parts of the book was when one of the first expeditions came in. The men searched Mars and found a Martian town. When they entered the town they went straight to the mayor and assumed that they would receive a key to the city. Their narcissistic attitudes landed them in a Martian insane asylum. I liked this part because it showed that arrogance only sets you back. Life is too short to spend your time walking through life trying to make others feel inferior to you. Self love is not going to be enough to acquire true happiness. A better use of time is helping others. This section of the book and the entirety of the book was enlightening.
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