The Martian Chronicles

De: Ray Bradbury

Narrado por: Mark Boyett

Mars was a distant shore, and the men spread upon it in wave.... Each wave different, and each wave stronger.

Ray Bradbury is a storyteller without peer, a poet of the possible, and, indisputably, one of America's most beloved authors. In a much-celebrated literary career that has spanned six decades, he has produced an astonishing body of work: unforgettable novels, including Fahrenheit 451 and Something Wicked This Way Comes; essays, theatrical works, screenplays and teleplays; The Illustrated Mein, Dandelion Wine, The October Country, and numerous other superb short story collections. But of all the dazzling stars in the vast Bradbury universe, none shines more luminous than these masterful chronicles of Earth's settlement of the fourth world from the sun.

Bradbury's Mars is a place of hope, dreams, and metaphor - of crystal pillars and fossil seas - where a fine dust settles on the great, empty cities of a silently destroyed civilization. It is here the invaders have come to despoil and commercialize, to grow and to learn - first a trickle, then a torrent, rushing from a world with no future toward a promise of tomorrow. The Earthman conquers Mars...and then is conquered by it, lulled by dangerous lies of comfort and familiarity, and enchanted by the lingering glamour of an ancient, mysterious native race.

Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles is a classic work of 20th-century literature whose extraordinary power and imagination remain undimmed by time's passage. In connected, chronological stories, a true grandmaster once again enthralls, delights, and challenges us with his vision and his heart - starkly and stunningly exposing in brilliant spacelight our strength, our weakness, our folly, and our poignant humanity on a strange and breathtaking world where humanity does not belong.

©1945, 1946, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977 Ray Bradbury (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Fantastic tales, fantastic narrator

Absolutely worth it. Some of these stories are real jaw droppers. Can't get enough Bradbury for sure. Got this after listening to The Illustrated Man - also highly recommend.

A “History” of the Colonization of Mars

Always a fan of Ray Bradbury, it still amazes me that it took so many years to actually read this, one of his most famous works. The Martian Chronicles reads like a history of the colonization of Mars by humans from earth, and their encounters with the natives of Mars. Bradbury, of course, spins in fantastical tales of science fictions within each of the Chronicle chapters of the book; each of which often feels like an episode of the Twilight Zone. It is highly engaging and entertaining throughout. I was especially happy to read the Chronicle chapter which served as a follow-up to “Fahrenheit 451”. For some reason I never knew Bradbury penned such a short story. Fantastic! If you are a fan of Bradbury, you’ve probably already read this; but if not, I highly recommend it!

It was OK

It was OK. Average. Some stories better than others but none were spectacular nor were any awful..

Another fantastic Bradbury Classic

Ray Bradbury is one of my favorite authors and The Martian Chronicles doesn't fail to live up to his other works. At first I was confused a bit as the chapters feel a bit disjointed but on realizing the book is somewhere between a full episodic novel and a short story collection the theme became a little more obvious to me. There is an overarching narrative to the stories and they do all tie together but it takes a few chapters to establish it's pace. For me, the most out of place chapter of the novel was also the absolute best, The House of Usher. If that name doesn't mean anything to you then know that it is also the title of an Edgar Allen Poe story. If you have the chance to read that story before chapter of the same title than I would urge you to do so, Bradbury makes fantastic use of Poe's substance and style to tell a story of a complete different nature and I love every second of it.

In short, if you're a fan of Fahrenheit 451, Something Wicked this Way Comes, or any of Bradbury's other assorted works than I doubt you'll be disappointed in this one. Oh, and Mark Boyett does a wonderful job as narrator, really capturing the different tones of different chapters in such a way as to make them feel unique but overall narratively tied.

Timeless Classic

Aw nuts is not something kids say anymore. Phonographs and wire recorders are so old that many adults don’t know what they are anymore. A set of stories from the 40s and 50s should no longer be relevant, and yet...
Ray Bradbury’s classic tales of Mars does not rely on debunked science. It relies on the human condition. Who travels to distant shores and why? Does mankind bring their ugliness with them: racism, nationalism, arrogance? Would you go back to fight wars? If you thought you were the last people, would you stay with the old dude or the fat chick?
This is still one of my most favorite books ever! You might recognized some tales from The Twilight Zone. Something else that never goes out of style. You just can’t go wrong with Mr. Bradbury. I

A Great Introduction to Ray Bradbury

Mark Boyett’s voice reminded me of Rod Serling...and of course the time period of Bradbury’s writing overlays with the Twilight Zone...

Profound stories told by a master storyteller.

Ray Bradbury has been one of my top five favorite authors ever since I was a boy and first read "S is for Space" and "R is for Rocket" as well as his other books. His writing and meaning always speak to me, even now, 50+ years later. While I have read many of his books more than once, I have read "The Martian Chronicles" most of all.

I have sampled many audio versions over the years. None of them began to do these stories justice, IMO. Mark Boyett, however, tells (reads) them in such an understanding and powerful way. When I listen to him reading these stories, I almost feel like I did when I read them for the first time long ago. Not only does he fill the characters with new life, but he understands and has compassion for them as well. He definitely does them justice.

Classic Bradbury Statements on Humanity

Bradbury almost always has good stories to coincide with his excellent ideas and statements on the condition of humankind. This is no exception. It’s a slow start, but it picks up, and true to form, makes the reader force an introspective view.

I had forgotten that his homage to Poe was part of this book. I hadn’t read Chronicles before now, but read Usher 2 as a stand-alone story in grade school, and loved it. It still holds today.

I’m not sure why the narrator framed so many of the characters as blue collar New Yorkers. It didn’t always work, as it seemed somewhat stilted time after time. I’m not overly thrilled with his character work, but his overall narration was fine.

Bradbury’s style may be a bit dated (as is Asimov’s and Clarke’s), but it always delivers.

A True Classic

This is science fiction at its best - a look into the past, present and future that is foreboding, insightful, deeply critical, and perhaps with just a ray of hope.

The performance is excellent.

This is a must for people who want a taste of Bradbury and stories that are as relevant and instructive as they were over a half century ago.

Will we take the warnings more seriously than our peers from the earth in the Chronicles? That’s for all is us to answer.

I guess a classic

The miniseries from the 1980 was too Hollywoodized and weird. The actual book story is a better one than the one from the TV miniseries. Still think the story being too pushy about the morals, ideas and philosophies the author want to push. An above average story but not the greatest.