Always nice to read a book from an author that I have read more than once, as was the case with this book, The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury. I will let you know my own feeling from the start... no, it was not my favorite of his books. Fahrenheit 451 was much better, even the completely different, Dandelion Wine was a better read for me. What I disliked about this book was the “episodic” nature of the book. While the stories all tied to the theme of Earth as we knew it was GOING, and Mars was where one needed to be, I just wasn’t a fan of a disconnected character base that popped in for one part of the book and may or may not be referred to in the future. The book was much like the “Twilight Zone” television series where each story provided another weird message that led one to believe that the world would end if… or if you do this… something bad could happen… you get the picture. Bradbury presents a series of stories where space ships leave Earth just in time before it finally blows up based on the build-up of bombs (atomic and other types) and ideologies that are inconsistent and are not compatible when people don’t listen. He also provides the psychological warfare where one is unsure of “their own being” (who am I?) and whether who we are at the moment isn’t really a reflection of ourselves which masks the Martian or robot hidden behind the mask. A few of the short stories, as Bradbury describes it, are well written, but I was yearning for those characters to return. The struggle of Spender and Captain Wilder ranks high on my list within the chapters. Hmm.. give me Ender’s Game anytime. I’ll take a pass on this one Ray, sorry. 90 years old! Amazing.
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