The Martian Chronicles
by Ray Bradbury · first published 1950
60% recommend33% neutral7% critical
Why HN recommends it
Lyrical, dream-like linked stories about colonizing Mars, valued as a soft, poetic counterpoint to hard sci-fi. Readers praise its themes of family, community and facing a different culture, often read as allegory.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
This is a collection of science fiction short stories, cleverly cobbled together to form a coherent and very readable novel about a future colonization of Mars. As the stories progress chronologically the author tells how the first humans colonized Mars, initially sharing the planet with a handful of Martians. When Earth is devastated by nuclear war the colony is left to fend for itself and the colonists determine to build a new Earth on Mars.
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…critical taste when it comes to literature. (not trying to sound snobby by the way, I just don't praise books like these lightly or without good reason) So I love Lord of the Rings, the Silmarillion, Martian Chronicles (and other Ray Bradbury books), Ursula K Le Guin(Earthsea), Kurt Vonnegut (Cat's Cradle, Sirens of Titan, Slaughterhouse Five etc), Dune, Game of Thrones series, Neuromancer, Asimov (basically everything…
on “Gene Wolfe Turned Science Fiction into High Art (2019)” ↗RIP Bradbury. Martian Chronicles is indirectly one of the most influential books in my life, due to an interesting twist... In high school, we had a literature class where there was a list of a couple hundred books we could choose from…
on “R.I.P. Ray Bradbury, Author of Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles ” ↗They are sort of corny and 1950s but I have always liked Bradbury's "The Martian Chronicles."
on “Scientists propose one-way trips to Mars” ↗RIP, one of my favourite authors. Martian Chronicles and Illustrated Man were story collections on par with the likes of Hemingway IMO. The last collection I bought, One for the Road, wasn't more than ten years ago. I think he had a few more since then…
on “R.I.P. Ray Bradbury, Author of Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles ” ↗…heller, evelyn waugh, joseph conrad All of the above writers are absolutely brilliant and you will not be wasting your time picking up any of their books (except for bradbury, make sure you only get martian chronicles or farenheit 451).
on “Ask HN: Please name two of your most favorite books.” ↗…excellent. Not 100% sure it contains the very first men on Mars, but it does contain everything afterward. For a more dramatic and dream-like take -- not "hard" sci-fi by any means -- read Bradbury's Martian Chronicles. I consider them to be masterpieces, though again, it's a softer, more mythological-like style.
on “Scientists propose one-way trips to Mars” ↗I loved The Martian Chronicles, though I found it difficult to enjoy much of the rest of his writing. But his skill was undeniable, his influence is still huge, and you can find touches of his style in many other authors' work. RIP
on “R.I.P. Ray Bradbury, Author of Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles ” ↗I read and enjoyed Bradbury's short stories as a teenager, but his novels made no connection with me. I found them boring. A few years ago, I started reading science fiction again and reread The Martian Chronicles. The degree to which it's themes about family and community connected was stunning.
on “R.I.P. Ray Bradbury, Author of Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles ” ↗…next step in evolution Anhilliation - Fish out of water like story of exploring a mysterious, horrific, environment (2 sequels drag on for too much after this one though) Many Ray Bradbury stories (Martian chronicles, and the Everyman collection contain the best ones) Infinite Jest (Alternate American future of a culture of addiction and depravity, partly mediated by technology) The Circle (haven't read, but like…
on “What are your favorite sci-fi and fantasy books?” ↗I am re-reading "Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury, it made a strong impression on me four or five years ago, with its pessimistic yet poetic view of the Mars colonization. My new boss is an annoying Mars colonization enthusiast so I'm…
on “Ask HN: Which book have you re-read recently?” ↗On the topic of Mars, may I suggest The Martian Chronicles by R.Bradbury. It's on the other end of the spectrum from hard SciFi - more like lyrical and poetic SciFi.
on “Ask HN: Recommend one book I need to read this summer?” ↗https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Sheckley_short_stories_... Many were printed in the Galaxy (linked from the article). Also find: Martian Chronicles (Ray Bradbury). Damnation Alley (Roger Zelazny) (later period, but very good).
on “One of the greatest science fiction magazines is now available online (2017)” ↗…/ insightful to least. - Edward O. Wilson - Biophilia - Will Durant - The Lessons Of History - Freeman J. Dyson - A Many-Colored Glass - Venkatesh Rao - The Gervais Principle - Ray Bradbury - The Martian Chronicles - Colin Wilson - The Outsider - Stanislaw Lem - Cyberiad - Chaos Monkeys - Antonio Martinez - Ben Horowitz - What You Do Is Who You Are - Alice Flaherty - The Midnight Disease - Oliver Sacks - Musicophilia…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2022 and recommend for 2023” ↗…wrong with The Western Canon. Charles Fort, if you can decipher him. E.O. Wilson, "Anthill" and "Biophilia" Freeman Dyson, "A Many-Colored Glass" Annie Dillard, "Holy the Firm" Ray Bradbury, "The Martian Chronicles" Douglas Coupland, "Kitten Clone". His writing style felt unique to me.
on “Ask HN: What are the best Well-Written Books?” ↗Several immediately come to mind. Short stories: The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories (Ken Liu); Stories of Your Life and Others and Exhalation (Ted Chiang); The Martian Chronicles (Ray Bradbury) Novels: The Monk (Matthew Gregory Lewis); Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)
on “Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?” ↗