Sunday, April 26, 2015

The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

 

Quite literally the chronicles of Martians, this work of fiction creates a lovely and creepy futuristic history of life on Mars. It jumps between different points and places in time, from 1999 to 2026, documenting man’s journey to living on Mars.

Written in the 1940’s, it is always strange to read a futuristic novel that takes place during the present time. Going along with similar themes of Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury paints a strange and scary sci-fi filled future. Progressing through time, from man’s first mission to Mars, to its final, what is discovered is bleak and stunning.

Bradbury’s writing is gorgeous. His descriptions are beautiful and dialogue realistic. Despite the lack of main characters, his writing allows emotion to form around humanity as a whole. The twists throughout the book were shocking and unexpected, with a surprising, though necessary, amount of violence.

This was such a pure sci-fi read. It felt like it could happen in some parallel universe somewhere. Although several aspects of it date it to the 40’s, this classic is one that will stand the test of time. With its perfect, symbolic ending, finishing this book was like traveling to the future and back.


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