Ray Bradbury dies; sci-fi author wrote ‘Fahrenheit 451,’ ‘Martian Chronicles’ - The Washington Post Ray Bradbury dies; sci-fi author wrote ‘Fahrenheit 451,’ ‘Martian Chronicles’ The inside track on Washington politics. Be the first to know about new stories from PowerPost. Sign up to follow, and we’ll e-mail you free updates as they’re published. You’ll receive free e-mail news updates each time a new story is published. You’re all set! By Becky Krystal By Becky Krystal June 6, 2012 Follow @BeckyKrystal Ray Bradbury, a boundlessly imaginative novelist who wrote some of the most popular science-fiction books of all time, including “Fahrenheit 451” and “The Martian Chronicles,” and who transformed the genre of flying saucers and little green men into literature exploring childhood terrors, colonialism and the erosion of individual thought, died June 5 in Los Angeles. He was 91. His agent, Michael Congdon, confirmed the death but declined to disclose the cause. Mr.

Bradbury, who began his career in the 1930s contributing stories to pulp-fiction magazines, received a special Pulitzer Prize citation in 2007 “for his distinguished, prolific and deeply influential career as an unmatched author of science fiction and fantasy.” His body of works, which continued to appear through recent years to terrific reviews, encompassed more than 500 titles, including novels, plays (“Dandelion Wine,” adapted from his 1957 semi-autobiographical novel), children’s books and short stories. His tales were often made into films, including the futuristic story of a book-burning society (director Francois Truffaut’s “Fahrenheit 451” in 1966), a suspense story about childhood fears (“Something Wicked This Way Comes” in 1983) and the more straightforward alien-attack story (“It Came From Outer Space” in 1953). He helped write filmmaker John Huston’s 1956 movie adaptation of Herman Melville’s novel “Moby-Dick” and contributed scripts to the TV anthology programs “The Twilight Zone” and “Alfred Hitchcock Presents.” Mr.

Bradbury hosted his own science-fiction anthology program, “The Ray Bradbury Theater,” from 1985 to 1992 on the HBO and USA cable networks. “Bradbury took the conventions of the science-fiction genre — time travel, robots, space exploration — and made them signify beyond themselves, giving them a broader and more nuanced emotional appeal to general readers,” said William F. Touponce, a founder and former director of the Center for Ray Bradbury Studies at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. “His stories expanded the range of the genre by mixing in with science-fiction themes more traditional elements of romance, together with humor and satire, and even myth and fairy tales, which no doubt contributed to their appeal to a wider audience,” Touponce said. Having grown up steeped in horror films and pulp magazines such as Amazing Stories, Mr. Bradbury was well-versed in the conventions of science fiction. But the author took those motifs to another level, Touponce said, by using them to comment on broader human themes. “The Martian Chronicles,” released to wide acclaim in 1950, used the guide of science fiction to explore colonialism, nuclear war and the transformative power of one’s environment.

The book sealed his reputation as a science-fiction writer, but Mr. Bradbury frequently eschewed the label. “People say, ‘Are you a fantasy writer?’ No,” Mr. Bradbury told the Charlotte Observer in 1997. “ ‘Are you a science-fiction writer?’ No. I’m a magician.” He explained: “Science fiction is the art of the possible, not the art of the impossible. As soon as you deal with things that can’t happen, you are writing fantasy.” Mr. Bradbury said “Fahrenheit 451,” based on a novella he called “The Fireman,” was his only work of science fiction. The 1953 book centers on Guy Montag, a fireman of the future charged with burning books. Montag joins a rogue group seeking to save the great writings of civilization through memorization. Mr. Bradbury said the story was inspired by the Nazi book bonfires of the 1930s that he saw in movie newsreels as a young man. Many observers linked the anti-book-burning message and that “Fahrenheit 451” was published at a peak moment of Sen.

Joseph McCarthy’s (R-Wis.) anti-communist crusade. Mr. Bradbury said “Fahrenheit 451” was not necessarily about top-down censorship. “The real threat is not from Big Brother, but from little sister [and] all those groups, men and women, who want to impose their views from below,” he told the Times of London in 1993. “If you allow every minority to grab one book off the shelf you’ll have nothing in the library.” “Fahrenheit 451” continued to spark controversy. It was on the American Library Association’s list of the 100 most-challenged, although not necessarily banned, books of 2000-07. The book’s critics objected to what they considered its inappropriate language and anti-establishment message. It remains, however, a popular selection for schools’ required reading lists and community-wide literary programs. Ray Douglas Bradbury, who was born Aug. 22, 1920, in Waukegan, Ill., was shaped in many ways by a horrific car wreck he saw as a teenager.

He never learned to drive and grew compulsively wary of the potential dangers of modern mechanized life; he took his first plane trip in 1982, and only then after drinking three double martinis. He developed a love of books at an early age, with favorite authors including Edgar Allan Poe, Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, and spent many nights at the local library. In a 1985 interview with the Los Angeles Times, he recalled that he was “fairly poor” — his father was a lineman who had trouble finding work — and that he used the scraps of paper provided by the library for reference notes to write down bits of short stories. He was inspired to write his first story at age 12 by Mr. Electrico, a performer at a traveling carnival. The performer sent an electric current through the boy’s body, proclaiming, “Live forever!,” and later said they’d known each other in one of Mr. Bradbury’s previous lives. The experience evolved into the novel “Something Wicked This Way Comes” (1962), the basis for a film of the same name starring Jonathan Pryce as a diabolical circus owner.

Rejected by the Army during World War II because of poor eyesight, Mr. Bradbury lived with his parents and made money by selling stories to pulp magazines. In 1946, he walked into a bookstore carrying a briefcase and trench coat, and a sales clerk suspected him of being a book thief. The employee was named Marguerite McClure. Mr. Bradbury asked her out for coffee. “I’m going to the moon some day,” Mr. Bradbury announced. “Wanna come?” They were married in 1947. Mrs. Bradbury died in 2003. Survivors included four daughters, Susan Nixon, Ramona Ostergren, Bettina Karapetian and Alexandra Bradbury; and eight grandchildren. Mr. Bradbury’s first book, a short-story collection called “Dark Carnival,” was published in 1947. Many of the stories in the collection, which also introduced the Elliott family of some of his later works, were based on his childhood experiences and fears. He further mined his personal life in a variety of other works, among them “Dandelion Wine,” a snapshot of a small town based on Waukegan. Accolades began to pile up. Mr.

Bradbury received the prestigious O. Henry Award for short stories in 1947 and 1948. His popular breakthrough was “The Martian Chronicles,” which sold a few thousand copies before the paperback edition swept him to the bestseller lists. His next collection of stories, “The Illustrated Man” (1951), hit on the Mars theme as well. Afraid of being distracted at home by his children, Mr. Bradbury wrote “The Fireman” on a typewriter he rented for 10 cents per half-hour in a basement room at UCLA. He renamed the work “Fahrenheit 451” after phoning a nearby fire department and asking the chief at what temperature book paper burns. At the time, a critic writing in the New York Times credited Mr. Bradbury with “remarkable virtuosity” and wrote that “Fahrenheit 451” was “moving and convincing at times,” but noted that “the characters remain spare symbols whose imagined lives are curiously inconsistent with established fact.” Mr. Bradbury gave mixed reviews of the later film adaptation with Oskar Werner and Julie Christie in the lead roles.

His early experience writing for Hollywood gave him financial independence for the first time, but he struggled working with the mercurial Huston. A later story, “The Banshee,” was based on their collaboration and centered on a director who torments a young writer with practical jokes and mind games. Mr. Bradbury continued to publish in the following decades while also working in theater and children’s literature. The story collection “I Sing the Body Electric” appeared in 1969. In something of a departure from his tradition, Mr. Bradbury in 1985 published the novel “Death Is a Lonely Business,” a noir mystery with a protagonist modeled after himself in the late 1940s. He ventured into detective fiction with “Let’s All Kill Constance” in 2003. He scripted the 1962 animated history of flight, “Icarus Montgolfier Wright,” which received an Academy Award nomination for best short film, and won a Daytime Emmy in 1993 for writing the animated children’s program “The Halloween Tree.” In 2004, President George W. Bush presented Mr.

Bradbury with the National Medal of Arts, the nation’s highest award given to artists. “I can’t name a writer who’s had a more perfect life,” Mr. Bradbury told the New York Times in 1983. “My books are all in print, I’m in all the school libraries, and when I go places I get the applause at the start of my speech.” The Martian Chronicles: Ray Bradbury: 9780380973835: Amazon.com: Books The Martian Chronicles Buy the selected items together This item:The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury Hardcover $16.20 In Stock. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury Hardcover $16.44 In Stock. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought Page 1 of 1 Start over Page 1 of 1 This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

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Florida noir at its best." Florida Weekly Stormhaven Rising (Atlas and the Winds Book 1) Eric Michael Craig How far will a president go to keep the possible end of the world secret, and how far can a wealthy industrialist go to make sure the truth gets out? The Tower of Daelfaun (The Tales of Zanoth Book 1) Aaron J. Ethridge Liches and zombies and ghouls, oh my! Zanoth is depending on the reluctant valor of an amateur paladin summoned from Earth who'd rather be back home. Valkyrie (Vickie Book 2) Mike Sims Book 2 of the Vickie series following Vickie and preceding Vic/Tim. It continues the story of Vickie as she takes on life's injustices. Kindle Edition Editorial Reviews Amazon.com Review From "Rocket Summer" to "The Million-Year Picnic," Ray Bradbury's stories of the colonization of Mars form an eerie mesh of past and future. Written in the 1940s, the chronicles drip with nostalgic atmosphere--shady porches with tinkling pitchers of lemonade, grandfather clocks, chintz-covered sofas.

But longing for this comfortable past proves dangerous in every way to Bradbury's characters--the golden-eyed Martians as well as the humans. Starting in the far-flung future of 1999, expedition after expedition leaves Earth to investigate Mars. The Martians guard their mysteries well, but they are decimated by the diseases that arrive with the rockets. Colonists appear, most with ideas no more lofty than starting a hot-dog stand, and with no respect for the culture they've displaced. Bradbury's quiet exploration of a future that looks so much like the past is sprinkled with lighter material. In "The Silent Towns," the last man on Mars hears the phone ring and ends up on a comical blind date. But in most of these stories, Bradbury holds up a mirror to humanity that reflects a shameful treatment of "the other," yielding, time after time, a harvest of loneliness and isolation. Yet the collection ends with hope for renewal, as a colonist family turns away from the demise of the Earth towards a new future on Mars. Bradbury is a master fantasist and The Martian Chronicles are an unforgettable work of art. --Blaise Selby --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

"A modern classic" --"The Washington Post" "A wonderful storyteller....Nearly everything he has written is sheer poetry." --"St. Louis Post-Dispatch" "One of the greats of twentieth century American fantasy." --"Newsday" "A giant...One of the country's most popular and prolific authors." --"Los Angeles Times" "There is no simpler, yet deeper, stylist than Bradbury. Out of the plainest of words he creates images and moods that readers seem to carry with them forever." --"San Francisco Chronicle" --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. See all Editorial Reviews If you buy a new print edition of this book (or purchased one in the past), you can buy the Kindle edition for only $2.99 (Save 69%). Print edition purchase must be sold by Amazon. Learn more . For thousands of qualifying books, your past, present, and future print-edition purchases now lets you buy the Kindle edition for $2.99 or less. (Textbooks available for $9.99 or less.) Thousands of books are eligible, including current and former best sellers.

Look for the Kindle MatchBook icon on print and Kindle book detail pages of qualifying books. You can also see more Kindle MatchBook titles here or look up all of your Kindle MatchBook titles here . Read the Kindle edition on any Kindle device or with a free Kindle Reading App . Print edition must be purchased new and sold by Amazon.com. Gifting of the Kindle edition at the Kindle MatchBook price is not available. Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here , or download a FREE Kindle Reading App . Ignite your imagination with these editor's picks from Kindle books. See more Product Details Publisher: Avon Books; Subsequent edition (February 1, 1997) Language: English Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces ( View shipping rates and policies ) Average Customer Review: By R. R. on April 6, 2014 Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase I love The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury. It's a Five Star book however due to censorship I give it a one star. It has great short stories and make your think about things, especially for the time period it was written. It's a quick and easy read.

With that said, my issue with this version is the publishers have censored it taking out one of the chapters due to racism, usage of the "N" word. I'm very much against book censorship and would want them to update it to leave the book to it's original intent or for the readers not get this version. Please look for the book in its intentional form. By Hal Sawyer on December 16, 2013 Format: Mass Market Paperback This book has been extensively altered from the original and classic Martian Chronicles. All of the dates Bradbury used in the chapter headings have been changed, rendering the Cold War/Atomic Age context of the book meaningless. One of the most important chapters "Way in the Middle of the Air", which establishes the violence and hatred endemic in the American culture which invades Mars has been completely removed from the book. An additional, inferior chapter, "The Fire Balloons" which was never part of the original book, has been put in its place. Don't buy this re-hash, find an older version and buy that. By Beverly Rigsby on February 16, 2016 Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase I bought this in spite of some comments saying not to.

I believe that since it's Bradburyâs work, he is entitled to change it, tweak it, or even delete it if he feels itâs no longer pertinent. I, too, read the original back in the âolden daysâ, and Bradbury is correct when he said that back then 1999 seemed a long way off. It still does, in some ways, but in the other direction! If the stories are the same and just the dates have changed to make action seem more timely or urgent, thatâs just fine with me. Bradbury was the author that got me hooked on reading S.F. in those golden oldies days and because of him I discovered Asimov and Silverberg and Arthur Clark and Cherryh and a host of other wonderful speculative fiction writers. Many of them have stories that would resonate today with âyounger-than-me readersâ if the stories set in the future were not happening in a time that is already past. Change the date and tweak them a little and theyâre relevant again because the human condition is the same -- but only if the authors themselves want their creations to be tweaked.

The core persona of the characters in the stories would be the same. By David Monteith on December 18, 2014 Format: Paperback|Verified Purchase I purchased the regular paperback edition --- NOT the mass market paperback, which I knew was edited and missing a story. Unfortunately, the regular paperback edition is ALSO edited, with the story Way Up In The Middle Of The Air removed. Considering that one of the best stories in this collection, Usher II, is about the foolishness of censorship, the fact that editors have removed Way Up just takes ridiculousness to a whole new level. Can someone please list the specific editions which contain Bradbury's ENTIRE collection? That would be great. By claudette suarez on March 29, 2016 Format: Mass Market Paperback|Verified Purchase I had to get this book for school but unfortunately I already read the book and finished it before the book arrived but it came early. Unlike the other versions the chapter "Way in the Middle of the Air" was NOT removed which I loved because if you remove parts of the story like that then you cant get a complete understanding about what Bradbury was trying to write about the Americans.

I think its disrespectful to the aurthor to do something like that and it was the only chapter that mentioned blacks and showed an important thing about how they were racist to them and as well to the martians to show what the Americans were like. If you dont want a censored book but a book then get this verison. PS. This book did come in pretty good condition. The book was really interesting and just like bradbury's other books it was really good and conveys strong messages and themes. By KarToon12 on June 20, 2015 Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase Ray Bradbury's name is pretty much synonymous with sci-fi, so at the urging of my librarian friend, I was eager and interested to give this book a read, considering it's a pretty famous tale (or collection of tales) about Earth people colonizing Mars, and ultimately destroying the planet. While the book got pretty dark for my usual tastes, it was none the less a fascinating read; holding up a mirror to our society, and warning us that no matter where we go, our prejudices, greed, loneliness, and fear of the unknown or unusual are sure to follow.

I'll review each short story separately, while trying my best to not spoil anything. After an opening chapter detailing Earth people taking off in rockets to Mars (to escape a nuclear war), we open with "Ylla", and "The Summer Night", in which the Martians, through their telepathy, begin picking up stray thoughts from the humans approaching the planet. It was tricky for me to understand what was going on at first, until I realized the Martians were telepathic. Their looks and way of life are described in great detail, making it all the sadder when you go back and reread it--knowing what's to come later. "The Earth Men" --The second expedition to Mars arrives, to which the new comers are treated very oddly by the Martians. This one sort of played out like a Twilight Zone episode, with a funny, then sad twist ending. "The Third Expedition"-- Another group of Earthlings arrive on Mars, only to find their long lost loved ones waiting for them. Another Twilight Zone-ish chapter, with a decidedly creepy twist ending.

"And the Moon be Still as Bright/The Settlers"-- The fourth expedition discovers most of the Martian population has died of chicken pox (brought there by the previous Earth men). One of the crew members, fearing that Earthlings will ruin and destroy Mars, decides to take matters into his own hands. This is where the book really started picking up for me--containing a harsh, but poignant speech about how humanity tends to ruin nice things and not respect history, whether its our own, or another civilization. After a few short vignettes about more Earth people arriving on Mars and beginning to terraform the place, we then get "Night Meeting", in which a human and a Martian have a mysterious, chance encounter on the road. A neat statement about living in the moment and cherishing what you have before its gone. "The Fire Balloons"-- A group of missionary priests arrive on Mars; preparing to help the locals free themselves from sin, only to meet the planet's residents, who have something enlightening to teach them. This was my favorite story out of them all, with a nice moral in trying to come to an understanding with other races/life forms, and striving to be a good person, and not becoming attached to material things.

"The Musicians"-- A group of kids play in the ruins of the Martian cities. A short, but sad piece about disrespecting past civilizations, along with some creepy imagery (I'll most likely never get the "white xylophones" picture out of my head). "The Wilderness"-- Two women prepare to depart to Mars; spending one last night on Earth. Not much to say on this one, except that it plays out like a calm before a storm, when you know a nuclear war is about to commence. From what I've heard, the next segment should've been "Way in the Middle of the Air", depicting racial prejudice as many African Americans try to depart to Mars. Unfortunately, it seems this segment has been edited out of newer reprints of the book (and Kindle versions too). Hopefully, I'll be able to comment on this if I find a version that includes this tale. So instead, next we get "Usher II", in which a book lover creates a haunted house to lure in a bunch of government officials who burned books and banned entertainment and anything imaginative. Not that I didn't like this one (the ending, in particular, is greatly satisfying), but I felt this was one story that didn't fit in with the rest of the chapters.

It's a tale of censorship that I think would've made more sense to be included in "Fahrenheit 451". "The Martian"-- An old couple's dead son miraculously returns to them. This is pretty much a repeat of "The Third Expedition", only with a more bitter sweet ending about a Martian trying to fit in with the neighbors. "The Off Season"-- A man opens the first hot dog stand on Mars, only to get a nasty surprise on his opening day. This one started off funny, but then built in tension, only to end with a horrifying climax. "The Silent Towns"-- After everyone has gone back to Earth to fight in the war, only one man and one woman remains on Mars...but when they finally meet each other in person, it's not what they expected. This was the only story written with the intention of being funny. I guess it goes to show that even when you're the last person on the planet, some people aren't THAT desperate for companionship. "The Long Years"-- A spaceship captain, after twenty years, returns to Mars to visit his friend...but there's something very strange about his friend's family.

Even though I kind of guessed the twist from the start, I still liked this one, even with its bitter sweet ending. "There Will Come Soft Rains"-- After a nuclear war has wiped out the population on Earth, a dead family's automated house continues to function. This was definitely the most powerful piece of the whole book. It's both eerie, creepy, and then disturbing as we're taken through the daily routine of the house; learning about the family that used to inhabit it, and that nature will always survive and eventually reclaim the planet when humanity is gone. And finally, "The Million Year Picnic"-- A family arrives on Mars, to which the father burns any last traces of Earth; informing his children they'll be the ones to start the planet over. Although bitter sweet, this was a good story to end on--giving the reader a glimmer of hope that Man can learn from his mistakes and start again. On the whole, I'd give this book 3 1/2 stars (since Amazon can't do half stars). (For the morals and quality of writing, it gets five stars. It's just hard to say "I like it" when the whole book is pretty serious and sad).

Some stories are better than others, but all provide a window into humanity's darker side as two civilizations are ultimately destroyed by Man. The writing is very poetic; providing vivid and sometimes disturbing imagery. It can be a depressing read, but also an important one. Whether you're a sci-fi fan or not, this should become required reading. Highly recommended. Ray Bradbury | Books $16.00 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 twentieth-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.

Chapter One January 2030 Rocket Summer One minute it was Ohio winter, with doors closed, windows locked, the panes blind with frost, icicles fringing every roof, children skiing on slopes, housewives lumbering like great black bears in their furs along the icy streets. And then a long wave of warmth crossed the small town. A flooding sea of hot air; it seemed as if someone had left a bakery door open. The heat pulsed among the cottages and bushes and children. The icicles dropped, shattering, to melt. The doors flew open. The windows flew up. The children worked off their wool clothes. The housewives shed their bear disguises. The snow dissolved and showed last summer's ancient green lawns. Rocket summer. The words passed among the people in the open, airing houses. Rocket summer. The warm desert air changing the frost patterns on the windows, erasing the art work. The skis and sleds suddenly useless. The snow, falling from the cold sky upon the town, turned to a hot rain before it touched the ground. Rocket summer. People leaned from their dripping porches and watched the reddening sky.

The rocket lay on the launching field, blowing out pink clouds of fire and oven heat. The rocket stood in the cold winter morning, making summer with every breath of its mighty exhausts. The rocket made climates, and summer lay for a brief moment upon the land.... February 2030 Ylla They had a house of crystal pillars on the planet Mars by the edge of an empty sea, and every morning you could see Mrs. K eating the golden fruits that grew from the crystal walls, or cleaning the house with handfuls of magnetic dust which, taking all dirt with it, blew away on the hot wind. Afternoons, when the fossil sea was warm and motionless, and the wine trees stood stiff in the yard, and the little distant Martian bone town was all enclosed, and no one drifted out their doors, you could see Mr. K himself in his room, reading from a metal book with raised hieroglyphs over which he brushed his hand, as one might play a harp. And from the book, as his fingers stroked, a voice sang, a soft ancient voice, which told tales of when the sea was red steam on the shore and ancient men had carried clouds of metal insects and electric spiders into battle. Mr.

and Mrs. K had lived by the dead sea for twenty years, and their ancestors had lived in the same house, which turned and followed the sun, flower-like, for ten centuries. Mr. and Mrs. K were not old. They had the fair, brownish skin of the true Martian, the yellow coin eyes, the soft musical voices. Once they had liked painting pictures with chemical fire, swimming in the canals in the seasons when the wine trees filled them with green liquors, and talking into the dawn together by the blue phosphorous portraits in the speaking room. They were not happy now. This morning Mrs. K stood between the pillars, listening to the desert sands heat, melt into yellow wax, and seemingly run on the horizon. Something was going to happen. She waited. She watched the blue sky of Mars as if it might at any moment grip in on itself, contract, and expel a shining miracle down upon the sand. Nothing happened. Tired of waiting, she walked through the misting pillars. A gentle rain sprang from the fluted pillar tops, cooling the scorched air, falling gently on her. On hot days it was like walking in a creek. The floors of the house glittered with cool streams.

In the distance she heard her husband playing his book steadily, his fingers never tired of the old songs. Quietly she wished he might one day again spend as much time holding and touching her like a little harp as he did his incredible books. But no. She shook her head, an imperceptible, forgiving shrug. Her eyelids closed softly down upon her golden eyes. Marriage made people old and familiar, while still young. She lay back in a chair that moved to take her shape even as she moved. She closed her eyes tightly and nervously. The dream occurred. Her brown fingers trembled, came up, grasped at the air. A moment later she sat up, startled, gasping. She glanced about swiftly, as if expecting someone there before her. She seemed disappointed; the space between the pillars was empty. Her husband appeared in a triangular door. "Did you call?" he asked irritably. "No!" she cried. "I thought I heard you cry out." "Did I? I was almost asleep and had a dream!" "In the daytime? You don't often do that." She sat as if struck in the face by the dream. "How strange, how very strange," she murmured.

"The dream." "Oh?" He evidently wished to return to his book. "I dreamed about a man." "A man?" "A tall man, six feet one inch tall." "How absurd; a giant, a misshapen giant." "Somehow"--she tried the words--"he looked all right. In spite of being tall. And he had--oh, I know you'll think it silly-he had blue eyes"' "Blue eyes! Gods!" cried Mr. K. "What'll you dream next? I suppose he had black hair?" "How did you guess?" She was excited. "I picked the most unlikely color," he replied coldly. "Well, black it was!" she cried. "And he had a very white skin; oh, he was most unusual! He was dressed in a strange uniform and he came down out of the sky and spoke pleasantly to me." She smiled. "Out of the sky; what nonsense!" "He came in a metal thing that glittered in the sun," she remembered. She closed her eyes to shape it again.

"I dreamed there was the sky and something sparkled like a coin thrown into the air, and suddenly it grew large and fell down softly to land, a long silver craft, round and alien. And a door opened in the side of the silver object and this tall man stepped out." "A tour de force."  Denver Post "The red planet Mars has fascinated humans for centuries.

Many books and movies have been made about travel to it-the very best being Ray Bradbury's THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES."  Omaha World-Herald "A poetic and beautiful fantasy."  Portland Oregonian "THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES holds up well to a reading half a century after it was first publishedï¿½.Bradbury stage-manages remarkable sensual and emotional verbal effects that evoke vast tides of beauty, nostalgia, and hope, and he does this verve and simplicity and a profound sincerityï¿½.Much of the writing is breathtaking in a delicate sense, and there are passages that made me wish today, as longingly as that 11 - or 12-year-old did many years ago to ride a jade-green insect to the Blue Mountains, to sleep amid the rain trees, and to hold an ancient manuscript that sang its words as my hand passed over its surface."  Memphis Commercial Appeal "Not only is Bradbury the best author in the entire world, this book is his greatest piece of work. Story after story, he leaves you in total wonderment.

His stories are so well-written that when you're done reading them, you think you were actually there in the first colony on Mars."  Anchorage Daily News "More than the 'hard science' fiction of contemporaries like Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke, Bradbury's MARTIAN CHRONICLES put the romance in space flightï¿½. Bradbury's Mars stories work because they are about people, not machines."  Kansas City Star Ray Bradbury, Author of 'Martian Chronicles,' 'Fahrenheit 451,' Dies at 91 Ray Bradbury, Author of 'Martian Chronicles,' 'Fahrenheit 451,' Dies at 91 Tim Molloy Ray Bradbury, Author of 'Martian Chronicles,' 'Fahrenheit 451,' Dies at 91 More Beloved author Ray Bradbury, who wrote such classics as "Fahrenheit 451," "The Martian Chronicles," "The Illustrated Man," "Dandelion Wine," and "Something Wicked This Way Comes," has died. He was 91. Bradbury, who lived in Los Angeles, died after a long illness, his publisher said.

His works were read by everyone from schoolchildren to sci-fi and fantasy afficionados -- and sometimes he transformed the former into the latter. Also read: Notable Celebrity Deaths of 2012 He moved easily between the tender nostalgia of "Dandelion Wine" to the dystopian future of "Fahrenheit 451" -- which imagined a world where firemen burn books. (Its title was said to refer to the temperature at which paper burns.) The book, a powerful, compact statement against censorship, was especially dear to him. He ordered a tombstone, before he died, at Westwood Village Memorial Park. Along with his name, it reads simply, "Author of Fahrenheit 451." The book's themes were so familiar that Michael Moore played off of its title with his 2004 anti-Bush Administration film "Fahrenheit 9/11." Bradbury's impact on pop culture was immeasurable.

His stories became bestsellers, and aired on television for six decades on shows including "The Twilight Zone" and "Ray Bradbury Theater." They were made into films including Francois Truffaut's 1966 "Fahrenheit 451" and 1983's "Something Wicked This Way Comes." An adaptation of "Dandelion Wine" is currently underway. Bradbury also wrote the 1956 film adaptation of John Huston's, "Moby Dick," and received an Emmy for his 1993 teleplay, "The Halloween Tree." His literary awards included the 2000 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, the 2004 National Medal of Arts, and the 2007 Pulitzer Prize Special Citation. Despite the fantastical worlds he created -- often for movies and television -- he was wary of technology and conspicuous consumption. His breakthrough work, 1950's "The Martian Chronicles," tells a series of interconnected short stories in which warlike humans colonize Mars and kill most of its inhabitants with their germs.

Bradbury refused to drive or take airplanes, and complained about people turning to their cell phones instead of interacting with the human beings in front of them. With "Fahrenheit 451" in 1953, he imagined a world in which books lost their influence in favor of TV, movies, and sports, leading to a less intellectual populace. One could argue he saw that world come to life. But he wasn't bitter. In the 2005 book of essays, "Bradbury Speaks," he wrote: "In my later years I have looked in the mirror each day and found a happy person staring back. Occasionally I wonder why I can be so happy. The answer is that every day of my life I've worked only for myself and for the joy that comes from writing and creating. The image in my mirror is not optimistic, but the result of optimal behavior." He is survived by his four daughters, Susan Nixon, Ramona Ostergren, Bettina Karapetian, and Alexandra Bradbury, and eight grandchildren. His wife, Marguerite, predeceased him in 2003, after fifty-seven years of marriage.

His publisher said Bradbury liked to recount the story of meeting a carnival magician, Mr. Electrico, in 1932, when he was 12. At the end of his performance Electrico reached out to Bradbury, touched the boy with his sword, and commanded him, "Live forever!" "I decided that was the greatest idea I had ever heard," Bradbury later said. "I started writing every day. I never stopped." Related Articles: Ray Bradbury, author of 'Fahrenheit 451', dies at 91 - CNET CNET Ray Bradbury, author of 'Fahrenheit 451', dies at 91 Ray Bradbury, author of 'Fahrenheit 451', dies at 91 The legendary science fiction author, who also wrote "The Martian Chronicles," passed away in Los Angeles overnight. Up Next Governments suck at social media, but you deserve some blame Ray Bradbury with President George W. Bush and Laura Bush on receiving the 2004 National Medal of Arts.Photo by White House photo by Susan Sterner Science fiction literature pioneer Ray Bradbury, whose works included "Fahrenheit 451" and "The Martian Chronicles," died overnight.

He was 91. His passing was confirmed by io9 through his family and biographer, as well as by USA Today through his daughter. CNET contacted the Bradbury family for confirmation. We'll update the story when we get a response. Bradbury wrote one of the quintessential dystopian novels with "Fahrenheit 451," practically required reading for many high-school students. He also authored the script for the 1956 film "Moby Dick" and wrote scripts for the classic TV show "The Twilight Zone," with many of his stories forming the basis for television shows, radio, and films. His impact on the science fiction world was evident in the Ray Bradbury Award, which is presented by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and named in Bradbury's honor. While his novels offered many technological predictions, he personally expressed skepticism about the value of technology to society, and whether the Internet and cell phones brought people together or kept them apart. In 2004, Bradbury was awarded a National Medal of Arts .

The National Endowment for the Arts wrote this in its citation accompanying the award to Bradbury: For his incomparable contributions to American fiction as one of its great storytellers who, through his explorations of science and space, has illuminated the human condition. The author of The Martian Chronicles and Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury is the greatest living American writer of science fiction. His singular achievement in this genre is rooted in the imaginative originality of his works, his gift for language, his insights into the human condition, and his commitment to the freedom of the individual. Bradbury married Marguerite McClure, who passed away in 2003, and had four daughters. "The Martian Chronicles" Reviews & Ratings - IMDb IMDb trailers and videos full cast and crew trivia official sites memorable quotes Overview 35 out of 37 people found the following review useful: A dated but enjoyable series from Birkenhead, England 8 October 2004 I saw "The Martian Chronicles" as a child during its first UK transmissions between 1980 and 1984 then didn't see it for many years but so many moments from it stuck with me.

Now I've just had my video tapes of it out and watched it again for the first time in 8 years or so. The series looks very dated now in terms of special effects, photography, costumes and even in the acting - typical of late seventies US television rather than what we see today. The dates of man's arrival of Mars are now known to be rather ambitious and of course the whole "cold war" idea is something that film & television has moved on from nowadays. Despite these faults, I still found the three episodes to be highly enjoyable. Its certainly not Star Wars or even 2001, but The Martian Chronicles gives us a refreshingly different kind of science fiction. The series is not so much about martians as about humans and many human feelings are explored - loneliness, bereavement, faith, nostalgia, vanity, greed... What I really liked was the realization of the martian landscapes - even watching it now there's a real feeling of it being an alien planet and the strange stone monoliths and spheres linger in the memory. Rock Hudson I found okay as the lead. Some say he's too bland but he's not meant to be a big hero or even a particularly dominant character.

It's a relaxed performance that allows the story lines, rather than Mr Hudson himself, to come to the fore. Although each episode lasts 90 minutes, they're broken up into shorter stories which are more easily digestible, although a couple of sequences are played out a little too long. The direction is functional for the most part but there are some nice touches along the way - for instance when the second expedition lands and the fog slowly clears to reveal the ship to be in what appears to an American town is very well done, and then there's a very Prisoner-esque shot early in episode three when Rock Hudson opens the double-doors of the base back on Earth and finds it deserted. The music's quite good too! Was the above review useful to you? 23 out of 24 people found the following review useful: A reminder of how far we have NOT come from Hollywood 9 May 2011 This is a British production, made in 1979. The same time as UK's Dr. Who. The production values are almost identical. Of course, there was whimsy in Dr. Who, that made the cheesy effects campy. But still, there they were.

As for the implausibility of a Martian atmosphere and climate like earth's, Bradbury wrote these stories before 1950, when such was considered possible. The producers made a creative choice to retain the conceit that Mars was like Nevada, so the characters wouldn't have to wear space suits all the time. Those who trash this miniseries because of its production values miss its point. What the Martian Chronicles have going for them are terrific story lines, which the technical problems unfortunately obscure. I can't help thinking Rod Serling took a page from them when he came up with Twilight Zone, with its emphasis on people rather than the technology. Also fascinating is how the near future is projected. As in 2001: A Space Odyssey, our advancement into space was wildly optimistic, not because it wasn't possible, but because in reality we've lacked the character to see it through. The fact that we should have settlements on Mars by now, if not manned missions to Jupiter, but don't, speaks to how contemptible we are, in choosing rather to pursue personal gratification, while accommodating the barbarous primitives among us.

At the end of the Martian Chronicles is an affirmation of what we could yet be, if only we'd decide to stop wallowing in the gutter and once more reach for the stars. Too bad this message is lost on today's fatuous audience. Was the above review useful to you? 25 out of 28 people found the following review useful: Haunting at times... from Stevenage, England 4 May 2000 I remember seeing this series when it was first shown circa 1980 in the UK, and could not wait till the next part was shown. Of course the special effects weren't that special then - but I really don't think this takes much away from it. The sequences I like the most are the lights that appear to the monks, and save one when he tests them by throwing himself off a cliff on Mars. Very spiritual overtones here - makes me shiver now just to think of it. Also, I love the way the Martians dress - the loose-fitting robes, and those masks - excellent. Their lack of cranial hair and gold eyes, also make for a very other-worldy effect.

I borrowed the video tape "version" of this film, but was dismayed to find that about 20 minutes had been cut out - beware! I read the superb Ray Bradbury novel this was based on (originally entitled The Silver Locusts) after I saw the series, and was suitably impressed. A great atmosphere in both, but much more in the novel, I think. Was the above review useful to you? 18 out of 23 people found the following review useful: You're alive from Granada, Spain 20 January 2002 I saw this in 79-80, when I was 8 years old. It was shown quite late once a week on the BBC. Due to its late showing and married with my tender age, I was the only person out of all my peers who watched it. It left a big impression on me and I can still remember some of the scenes over twenty years on.....The thing is I have asked scores of people over these years to see if anyone remembered it. As the years passed and not one person said they had, I was beginning to wonder if it was a product of my fertile imagination - especially with its dreamy tone.

Here we are on IMDB (one of my very favourite web sites) and you have proved to me that I am not totally mad. I hope it will be available in the UK one day so I can see just why it left this mark on me. I won't place a review though as it would be unfair after so long. LONG LIVE IMDB!!! Was the above review useful to you? 12 out of 14 people found the following review useful: WHO ARE THE MARTIANS 29 March 2004 *** This review may contain spoilers *** Spoiler This version of Ray Bradbury's "The Martian Chronicles" nearly knocks you senseless with the decidedly unsubtle way in which it conveys its message, namely, that it's not always a good idea to colonize a new land or planet simply because we can. That being said, this miniseries was excellent for many reasons (Rock Hudson was NOT one of them, however).

First of all, the actors and actress who portrayed the Martians (pre-Earth colonization Martians, that is) were as eery and as beautiful and as mysterious as one would expect, with their golden eyes (how did they do that?) lyrical music, crystal-type cities and their cerebral lifestyle. Their beauty and intelligence complement the dolts who came from Earth to colonize (and steal) their planet. The pre-settlers Martians were as, I believe, Mr. Bradbury would have wanted them portrayed. But the settlers, for the most part, were idiots, totally devoid of any feeling for the planet they were conquering. Of course there were a few who appreciated the Martian culture - Capt. Wilder (Rock Hudson) and his colleague, astronaut Jeff Spender (Bernie Casey). But even they become twisted after a while; Wilder realizes he and his family are the Martians now and Spender's body is taken over by a Martian and ends up being killed, ironically, by Wilder. The most interesting parts of this miniseries was the beginning of the 1st part ("The Explorers") where we get a glimpse of Martian life before the spaceship of "Rocket Summer" descends.

My favorite segment came in the final segment when Capt. Wilder meets a Martian through a time warp. The Martian and Wilder get into a philosophic discussion and the Martian gives Wilder a philosphy of life by which to live. (I copied word for word, it is such a good philosophy). By the way, the Secret, as it is called, is not in the book, which is too bad. The worst segments are the one in which a lonely man finds a woman and the two decidedly don't hit it off. The acting, by Christopher Connelly and Bernadette Peters, is fine; it's just the story is annoying and too long. Even more annoying was the storyline of Sam Parkhill and his wife. Sam came with the Wilder expedition and, upon settling, he and his wife set up a roadside diner. Only toward the end, when Sam and his wife see Earth destroyed in a nuclear holocaust does the irritation change into something searingly frightening. But it goes back to being annoying when Sam meets a Martian who has come to give him a treaty bequeathing nearly half of Mars to Sam.

Instead of being grateful or trying to understand what this tall, regal Martian is saying, Sam (dressed in a ridiculous toupee and cowboy outfit) shoots the Martian. Overall, this is an entertaining and thought-provoking (though NOT subtle) miniseries and is worth the time. I recommend it highly. Was the above review useful to you?

10 out of 11 people found the following review useful: Somewhat flawed,but very good anyway 19 June 2005 *** This review may contain spoilers *** When The Martian Chronicles originally aired on NBC in 1980 I was excited because I am a huge Bradbury fan and The Martian Chronicles was one of my favorite books.I loved it then and still enjoyed it now.I recently re watched it on DVD.The primary flaw is the cheesy special effects,even by the standards then.Rock Hudson gives a good performance and so do others,especially McGavin,Mcdowall,Connelly,Peters,Weaver and especially Bernie Casey.The set designs and Martian costumes and makeups are cool.My favorite scene is near the end when Hudson meets a Martian who tells him to live life as well as possible and not to destroy or humble anything.Those lines have stayed with me since my first viewing.It's a better watch than most give it credit for being.Ignore the crappy visual effects and enjoy a pretty good Sci-Fi miniseries. Was the above review useful to you?

10 out of 12 people found the following review useful: Earth Colonizers from Buffalo, New York 29 October 2009 Probably another chapter might have been needed for The Martian Chronicles mini-series to have gotten in all of what Ray Bradbury had to say in his epic science fiction work about first contact. It certainly wasn't like Star Trek's First Contact to say the least. After a couple of failed expeditions that did not return to Earth from Mars in what was projected in 1980 to be the last dozen years or so right now, Rock Hudson the head of NASA heads the third expedition himself. He finds a presumably dead planet, but are these Martians really dead? The 'Martians' we do meet seem to be at all levels of human development and way in advance of us on Earth. I can see where Gene Roddenberry got his ideas for the Talosian characters who can change appearance and for the incorporeal Organians for Star Trek. We'll meet both kinds in The Martian Chronicles. Two characters really stand out for me. First is Fritz Weaver as Father Peregrine who together with Roddy McDowall has come to bring Christianity to Mars.

But how do you explain religion to beings way in advance of your development. In fact though it's the Christian religion that is used here, all religions on Earth don't take into account other beings on other worlds. Every founder of every religion only had a view of the world he was on. When 'Jesus' played by Jon Finch appears to Fritz Weaver the Martians can't even grasp the nature of Weaver's conception of him. Makes for a very interesting scene. Secondly Bernie Casey does in the old English colonial term, 'goes native' on Rock Hudson, he so identifies with the Martians as a race potentially to be exploited just as folks originating in his part of Earth were. Casey raises some interesting questions about the morality of what the Earth people are doing. There is war threatening on Earth to annihilate mankind. How many science fiction movies have as their premise a dying race coming to Earth to take it over and enslave mankind? Food for thought. There's still enough of Ray Bradbury's ideas in this mini-series to make The Martian Chronicles good viewing. One thing I would like to say, as advanced as the Martians are, you would think that what killed them is something they would have taken measure to prevent a long time ago.

Was the above review useful to you? 14 out of 20 people found the following review useful: Great from United States 19 May 2005 This mini series was great. Comparing it to big budget features like Star Wars is unfair.Its much more intelligent than Star Wars. Star Wars is also not real Science Fiction its Fantasy. Well, enough about Star Wars. If you like the Twilight zone or Star Trek, I believe you'll love this program. Yes its dated, but the genius of Ray Bradbury shines through. I found the film to be better than the Illustrated man or Fareheight 451. There's not a lot of Action, but its not suppose to be an action film. Its very methodical and will leave you thinking at the end.The acting isn't great, but its good to see Roddy MacDowell again. Hes an Icon like Peter Cushing or Pam Grier. All together its a classic! Was the above review useful to you? 7 out of 7 people found the following review useful: Metaphors To Live By.

from Deming, New Mexico, USA 12 September 2010 *** This review may contain spoilers *** Well, I've watched the first two episodes, each for the second time, and I assume the remainder fit the same template. It's not bad, as these things go. Nothing written by Ray Bradbury and Richard Matheson could possibly be VERY bad. But, as in all diachronic endeavors, sometimes one installment is better than others. Episode One deals with the first expeditions to Mars. At the time Mars was thought to be possibly inhabited, and indeed in this story it is. The Martians have evolved much like humans -- bilaterally symmetrical, four limbs, five digits, one nose, same torsos -- but they seem to have eyes like steel balls and they lack ears. Of course their clothing and ornaments are different from anything on earth. They wear long flowing robes and elaborate headgear. And their buildings look like they were planned by Euclid, with not a Bauhaus nut in sight. And the Martians speak with British accents. This is an old convention in the tradition of Hollywood. The good folk who represent "us" have American accents.

Those who are alien in any way -- Nazis, inhabitants of underground cities or Atlantis -- have foreign accents. There are a multitude of recognizable faces, chief among them is Rock Hudson as Colonel Wilder, leader of the third expedition and apparently an important political figure during Episode Two, The Settlers. In 1980, Hudson was no kid anymore and he was about to show signs of a terrible illness, but he looks great -- slightly grayed, slightly wrinkled, and robust as hell. The other performances vary from weak to professionally competent. Fritz Weaver and Jon Finch are good in their parts. Weaver is always reliable. Gayle Hunnicut is older than we're used to seeing her but still stunning. I always get her confused with Gail Strickland because they're both beautiful in the same way. I wonder. Hunnicut claims to have been born in Texas, and Strickland in Alabama. But I'm convinced they are one and the same person. No? Let me put it this way. Have you ever seen the two of them together in the same room at the same time? I thought not. Case closed.

Many or most of these stories about colonization are really metaphors for the culture clashes we've experienced here on earth. "Star Trek" evolved into not much more than one metaphor after another. One planet is inhabited by Nazis, another by communists, and so forth. When asked what might happen if UFOs landed a horde of aliens from outer space, Arnold Toynbee simply pointed to Europe's dealings with Columbus's New World as a historical example of an advanced civilization's treatment of a relatively less developed one. Example from Episode Two. Darren McGavin is one of the original settlers. He looks jubilantly around at all the red earth and rosy sawtoothed mountains and foresees a financial bonanza. There must be a fortune in minerals and gems on the planet. He sets up a rest stop at a place he reckons will be a crossroads for major highway, advertises hamburgers, coffee and other treats, and dresses like a loud-mouthed affable cowboy wearing real six shooters. When he's visited by one of the last Martians he floods out, whips out a pistol and kills him. Patently absurd, of course.

No American would invade another planet hoping to exploit its mineral resources and strutting about while dressed as a cowboy. Best incident, in my estimation, takes place during the second expedition. The three men land on Mars and discover an inviting, friendly small town that looks exactly like the Illinois home town of the expedition's commander. Not only that, but figures from the CO's personal past, now dead, come to greet him and welcome him home. Bradbury's novel handles the event better, but it's still a poignant scene -- a man discovering his deceased mother and father, and a brother with whom he'd been the warmest of friends. I won't give any more away. Bradbury himself is from Waukeegan, Illinois, born in 1920. Many of the writers from small town America born around that time, especially in the Midwest and South, seem to be at pains to capture the idyllic, untroubled lifestyles of their youth. It was treated as a kind of Golden Age for writers like Bradbury, Rod Serling, and Earl Hamner, Jr. Well, if they had happy childhoods, who can blame them for wanting to recapture some of it, even in model form?

Some of the small points made in the novel are handled with a kind of glissade though. I mean, for instance, Bradbury seemed to have had a great time thinking up names for new locations on Mars. "Mount Wilder," for the expedition's CO. "New Chicago," "Mississippi Bluffs," "New New York," "The Paris River", or whatnot. The TV miniseries strikes one, after a while, as talky and a little disjointed. Not enough characters are carried over from one incident to the next. And the Saharan landscape, even if tinted vermilion, and the mysterious electronic music eventually become ground instead of figure. Was the above review useful to you? 8 out of 10 people found the following review useful: Entertaining If You Overlook Some Obvious Flaws from Isle Of Bute, Scotland 5 June 2010 *** This review may contain spoilers *** THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES is an Anglo-American miniseries vaguely remembered with some affection by those who saw it on its broadcast in 1980 .

Having seen it again it's a fairly entertaining SF epic about the colonization of Mars by humanity , something that might have still seemed possible on it's original broadcast but now seems dated in its optimism . It's also a miniseries that suffers from some blatant flaws One of the major flaws revolve around Ray Bradbury's original source material . It's not a novel as such , more a collection of vignettes and short stories published in the 1940s by Bradbury and as such such the miniseries doesn't have a central plot . Adapter Richard Matheson does try to bring a linear structure by making Colonel John Wilder a linking device but the fact remains there's not a central structure to the story . In many ways it's similar to James A Michener's Centennial except it's set on Mars and the parallels to the colonization of the New World are maybe a little too obvious to be entirely successful .. Characters come and go but often don't contribute much to the story and disappear never to appear again . It's not helped that the cast list is the same for every episode .

The vast majority of the cast just appear as cameos The cast themselves are very uneven , so much so that the acting veers from the very good to the embarrassing that a viewer may suffer from seas sickness . Darren McGavin is okay as Sam Parkhill second in command of the third expedition to Mars but is laughably bad when it's revealed he now owns a hamburger joint on a Mars freeway . It's one of those camp cowboys characters that only exists in cheesy American TV series . Nicholas Hammond is very wooden as Captain Arthur Black . His mission to Mars finds himself landing in " Illinois " and he seems only slightly puzzled by this . Oh he landed on the wrong planet and he's only slightly puzzled , a highly unlikely reaction . Perhaps the two best performances are by Fritz Weaver as a idealistic missionary who sees a vision of Jesus played by Jon Finch only for the missionary to realise " Jesus " is in fact a Martian . It's a beautiful scene about idealism , hope and soul crushing disappointment and one people can relate to regardless of their eccelistical beliefs and is probably the most memorable scene from the series Michael Anderson is probably best remembered in Britain as being the director of THE DAM BUSTERS , a classic war film with a legendary soundtrack .

The one flaw with that film were the special effects and this is also a flaw with this miniseries especially much of the model work where the Martian sandships look like tiny models that are given away free with brands of cereal . This might have been down to the budget running out . The location work in Malta and Lanzarote must have cost a lot along with the actor cameos and you are left with the impression that late in the day the money run out . Whilst being never being up to the standard of THE DAM BUSTERS the soundtrack is memorable , very much love it or hate it and apart from the acting and model work the only serious fault Anderson makes is casting an attractive blonde as Geneviere Richard Matheson probably does his best with the original episodic source material . As stated Bradbury wrote his stories before science had any knowledge of Mars hence settlers can walk around a planet that has Earth like gravity and an atmosphere . One flaw that does seem unexplained ( Correct me if I missed the explanation ) is that the settlers are warned of an oncoming war and are evacuated back to Earth where they are wiped out in a nuclear holocaust .

Certainly one of the main reasons for traveling to other planets - a view loudly stated by Prof Stephen Hawking amongst many other eminent scientists - is that " the eggs are no longer all in the same basket " so why bother going back to a planet that is about to become a radioactive cinder ? He does however make it very easy to empathise with the characters . The Martians themselves are very benign and only kill humans in order to protect themselves After a period of almost 30 years you might just find THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES a little disappointing . Maybe as not as disappointing as seeing Jesus only to find out he's not what he seems to be , but still disappointing nevertheless but this is mainly down to its dated values . It still has a high watchability factor however and has some entertaining moments and even if you're not a die hard SF fan you still might like o give it a chance Was the above review useful to you? Page 1 of 5: Sci-fi legend Ray Bradbury dies - CNN.com Sci-fi legend Ray Bradbury dies By Alan Duke, CNN Updated 12:20 PM ET, Sat June 9, 2012 Chat with us in Facebook Messenger.

Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds. JUST WATCHED 1997: Bradbury's humble love of books 02:14 Story highlights "I started writing every day. I never stopped," Bradbury once said The writer "died peacefully ... in Los Angeles, after a lengthy illness," his publisher says Bradbury "inspired generations of readers to dream, think and create," HarperCollins says His stories predicted ATMs and live car chase broadcasts Science fiction author Ray Bradbury, whose imagination yielded classic books such as "Fahrenheit 451," "The Martian Chronicles" and "Something Wicked This Way Comes," has died at 91, his publisher said Wednesday. Bradbury was a writer of perils, possibilities and wonder Bradbury "died peacefully, last night, in Los Angeles, after a lengthy illness," HarperCollins said in a written statement. Bradbury's books and 600 short stories predicted a variety of things, including the emergence of ATMs and live broadcasts of fugitive car chases.

Sci-fi legend Ray Bradbury on God, 'monsters and angels' "In a career spanning more than 70 years, Ray Bradbury has inspired generations of readers to dream, think and create," the statement said. "A prolific author of hundreds of short stories and close to 50 books, as well as numerous poems, essays, operas, plays, teleplays and screenplays, Bradbury was one of the most celebrated writers of our time." JUST WATCHED Top five Bradbury films "In my later years I have looked in the mirror each day and found a happy person staring back." he wrote in a book of essays published in 2005. "Occasionally I wonder why I can be so happy. The answer is that every day of my life I've worked only for myself and for the joy that comes from writing and creating. The image in my mirror is not optimistic, but the result of optimal behavior." Favorite quotes from Bradbury's 'Fahrenheit 451' Bradbury's death brought immediate reaction from his literary and film peers, as well as the White House.

"For many Americans, the news of Ray Bradbury's death immediately brought to mind images from his work, imprinted in our minds, often from a young age," President Obama said. "His gift for storytelling reshaped our culture and expanded our world. But Ray also understood that our imaginations could be used as a tool for better understanding, a vehicle for change, and an expression of our most cherished values. There is no doubt that Ray will continue to inspire many more generations with his writing, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends." "He was my muse for the better part of my sci-fi career," director Steven Spielberg said. "He lives on through his legion of fans. In the world of science fiction and fantasy and imagination he is immortal." My last conversation with Ray Bradbury "Ray Bradbury wrote three great novels and 300 great stories," author Stephen King said. "One of the latter was called 'A Sound of Thunder.' The sound I hear today is the thunder of a giant's footsteps fading away.

But the novels and stories remain, in all their resonance and strange beauty." Bradbury received the 2000 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, the 2004 National Medal of Arts and a 2007 Pulitzer Prize Special Citation. Bradbury had lived in Los Angeles since his family moved there from his native Waukegan, Illinois, to look for work during the Great Depression. He is survived by his four daughters, Susan Nixon, Ramona Ostergren, Bettina Karapetian and Alexandra Bradbury, and eight grandchildren. His wife of 57 years, Marguerite, died in 2003. Rainn Wilson, others tweet tributes to Bradbury The biography released by his publisher quoted a story in which Bradbury recounted meeting a carnival magician, Mr. Electrico, in 1932. Electrico touched the 12-year-old Bradbury with his sword and commanded, "Live forever!" "I decided that was the greatest idea I had ever heard," Bradbury said. "I started writing every day.

I never stopped." Sam Weller, Bradbury's biographer and friend, said in a posting on his website Wednesday, "I'll never see you again. I'll never see you again. I'll never see you again. "The problem with death, you once said to me, is that 'it is so damned permanent,' " Weller's statement said. Weller, in one of his books about Bradbury, quoted him as saying he would sometimes open one of his books late at night and cry out thanks to God. "I sit there and cry because I haven't done any of this," he told Weller. "It's a God-given thing, and I'm so grateful, so, so grateful. The best description of my career as a writer is, 'At play in the fields of the Lord.' " He discussed how many of his best friends were no longer around. "My personal telephone book is a book of the dead now," Bradbury told Weller in his book of interviews. "I'm so old.

Almost all of my friends have died, and I don't have the guts to take their names out of the book." Amazon.com: Books Books Books Advanced Search New Releases Best Sellers The New York Times® Best Sellers Children's Books Textbooks Textbook Rentals Sell Us Your Books Best Books of the Month Kindle eBooks Ray Bradbury In a career spanning more than seventy years, Ray Bradbury, who died on June 5, 2012, at the age of 91, inspired generations of readers to dream, think, and create. A prolific author of hundreds of short stories and close to fifty books, as well as numerous poems, essays, operas, plays, teleplays, and screenplays, Bradbury was one of the most celebrated writers of our time. His groundbreaking works include Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man, Dandelion Wine, and Something Wicked This Way Comes. He wrote the screen play for John Huston's classic film adaptation of Moby Dick, and was nominated for an Academy Award. He adapted sixty-five of his stories for television's The Ray Bradbury Theater, and won an Emmy for his teleplay of The Halloween Tree.

He was the recipient of the 2000 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, the 2004 National Medal of Arts, and the 2007 Pulitzer Prize Special Citation, among many honors. Throughout his life, Bradbury liked to recount the story of meeting a carnival magician, Mr. Electrico, in 1932. At the end of his performance Electrico reached out to the twelve-year-old Bradbury, touched the boy with his sword, and commanded, "Live forever!" Bradbury later said, "I decided that was the greatest idea I had ever heard. I started writing every day. I never stopped."

Question: Who wrote 'The Martian Chronicles'?
Answer: RAY BRADBURY