Difference between revisions of "The Martian Chronicles"
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I decided to read this book because it was ranked so favorably by many reviews, but I ended up not liking it very much. | I decided to read this book because it was ranked so favorably by many reviews, but I ended up not liking it very much. | ||
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| + | ==Status== | ||
| + | I don't own this book, but have listened to an audio book recording. | ||
==Review== | ==Review== | ||
Revision as of 10:29, 4 October 2017
The Martian Chronicles is a collection of Ray Bradbury's short stories about Mars that he had published in sci-fi magazines from 1946-1950.
I decided to read this book because it was ranked so favorably by many reviews, but I ended up not liking it very much.
Status
I don't own this book, but have listened to an audio book recording.
Review
Good
- Bradbury deftly employs metaphor and similes, and his descriptions are palpable.
- The various attributes given to the Martians are really quite interesting and creative.
- As is standard fare in sci-fi, issues of philosophy, theology, and ethics were brought up, and each time they gave me new insight in these areas.
Bad
- Bradbury wrote most of these stories independent of each other and it shows. The book tries to impose a coherent narrative on the stories, but they should have been left as stand-alone stories each in their own universe.
- Some of the stories, like The Taxpayer, are extremely short, and don't seem to be relevant.
- As expected from a work of the 1940s, the technology is horribly outdated and misses the mark of the present.
- Several aspects of the stories are more fairy tale than science fiction (The Green Morning). They're still interesting, but I prefer my magic and technology in separate universes.
Ugly
- I initially found the book extremely confusing because I had no idea it was a collection of short stories! I figured this out on my own a few chapters in and then found it more enjoyable, but it took awhile to become accustomed to it.
