The Martian Chronicles

The legendary Ray Bradbury! - I read The Martian Chronicles years ago and, though I had lost the memory of it, I remember thinking it was just okay. I had felt a little let down that The Martian Chronicles wasn't an amazing book. I don't think I ever read anything else by Bradbury, because of having been disappointed with The Martian Chronicles. I hadn't read Fahrenheit 451, his other most famous work.

So, now I was thinking about finally reading Fahrenheit 451 but I had to get on the library waiting list, so in the meantime I reread The Martian Chronicles. Actually, I heard the audiobook version, read by Bradbury himself, with oral comments and annotations between chapters. The Martian Chronicles is a series of connected short stories written in the late 1940s and early 1950s when Bradbury was in his twenties. It is perhaps his first published work; certainly it's early in his career. The stories are mildly interesting and pleasant to read, but they seem naive and unsophisticated, maybe one could even say they are simplistic. The earlier ones certainly seem that way. The later ones are better, I think. Really, it's surprising to me that Bradbury rose to greatness on the strength of The Martian Chronicles. My reaction is pretty much the same as it was all those years ago. The stories are okay, but not great. I still have Fahrenheit 451 on hold, and I'll read it when it becomes available. Who knows, maybe I'll love it.