The Martian Chronicles

From the book cover
February 1999. On Mars, Mrs. K closed her golden eyes...and dreamed of a very tall man with very white skin, who came out of the sky. He was from Earth, the third planet, he explained in her dream.
But when she told Mr. K about it, he scoffed. "The third planet is incapable of supporting life...."
Shortly thereafter, the First Expedition from Earth landed on Mars. Colonization had begun.

December 2001. Young Benjamin Driscoll had found his niche at last. He wanted Mars green with trees - to cool the towns in the boiling summer, hold back the winter winds, add color, drop fruit, provide shade, become a child's playground...and, above all, to distill fresh, icy air. So he set out with a bin full of rich seeds and sprouts, Johnny Appleseeding his way across the harsh Martian landscape.
And there were trees.

November 2005. Everyone came out to look at the sky that night, to watch the green star of Earth. It was a move without conscious effort; they all did it to help them understand the news that had just come over the radio. There was Earth, and there the coming war, and there hundreds of thousands of friends and relatives, so very far away.
At 9:00 Earth seemed to explode, catch fire and burn....

A brilliant account of the human settlement of Mars, from 1999-2026, THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES is vintage Bradbury...a haunting blend of terror and wonder, the familiar and the fantastic, set against the incredible beauty of a fabulous new world.
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I couldn't have a Science Fiction and Fantasy Month without reading Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles. Most of the chapters were published as short stories in the 1940s, and with some editing for continuity published as a novel in 1950.

I loved the first half of this novel. Some of the chapters read like a Dr. Seuss story. The people and scenarios are just so out of this world!

This text really examines human nature and shines a light on our "earth" centric attitude. We assume that ours is the the only civilization. In "April 2000: The Third Expedition", Hinkson speculates that Mars' civilization is a result of earlier human travelers who settled Mars to resemble earth.

"June 2003: Way in the middle of the air" is one of my favorite chapters. It's more about life in the south (racism and injustice) than about Mars. In a small southern town in the United States all of the black folks have built a rocket and are planning a move to Mars. The story centers around Samuel Teece, a white hardware store owner who's domestic helper and one of his employees are scheduled to take off on the rocket. Teece is a bully, a racist and possibly a clan member.

I can't figure why they left now. With things lookin' up. I mean, everyday they get more rights. What they want, anyway? Here's the poll tax gone, and more and more states passin' anti-lynchin' bills, and all kinds of equal rights. What more they want? They make almost as good money as a white man, but there they go.

This chapter really had nothing to do with science fiction at all. It's just nice that Bradbury thought to add some colour to The Martian Chronicles, and imagine how society's marginalized might have viewed the possibility of an inhabitable Mars.

The Martian Chronicles is classic science fiction. It's not your typical novel, rather it's a bunch of short stories centering around Mars. Characters appear for one chapter and are never heard from again. If you're a true science fiction fan, you've probably already read The Martian Chronicles. For the rest of you, if it falls in your lap read it, otherwise don't worry about it, you're not missing much.

3/5

Scene from The Martian Chronicles mini-series which is based on Ray Bradbury's novel.

Up next: The Golden Compass