Matt’s Reviews: The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

• Publisher:              ListenUp Audiobooks
• Published Date:   2015
• Print Published:  1950
• Duration:               7 hours 45 minutes
• Author:                  Ray Bradbury
• Read by:                Mark Boyett
• Listened with:      Libby Audiobook

The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury is similar to several novels from this time period in that it was originally published as a series of short stories in magazines.  Bradbury pulled them together and connected them to chronicle the decades from the first Mars landing in 1999 until, perhaps the last, in 2026. These stories are really not about Mars or Martians, they are about humans and humanity, about culture and arrogance, about society and how it progresses, or doesn’t. These stories are more an exploration and indictment of human, and especially American, society.

Bradbury took his set of short stories and tied them together with connecting prose. This is not one big story, but a series of tales that come together to form a greater whole. Some read like Twilight Zone episodes.  Some like dark humor.  Some like horror. Really the genre perhaps least represented in this science fiction classic is traditional hard science fiction. There are rockets and aliens and space travel and technology, but those are only the dressing for cautionary tales of human hubris.

Bradbury is the master of the short story. He crafts amazing vignettes that alter how you think and how you see the world. In The Martian Chronicles, he takes us from exploration to colonization to possible extinction. He discusses the arrogant human nature to dismiss what we don’t understand, to undervalue that which is different, to believe that we somehow own morality, that other is worse or worthless.

Originally published over 75 years ago, these stories are still fresh and still speak to our world. Especially today, when there are so many people trying to dictate morality. When there are so many people who feel their way is the best way. When there are so many people who seem to think one culture is better than others, and others are worthless, this is an important book.  If you haven’t read it before, or haven’t read it lately, it’s time for you to pick up The Martian Chronicles.