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Title: The Martian Chronicles
Author: Ray Bradbury
Number of pages: 298
Genre: sci-fi
Book Number/Goal: 17/52
My Rating: 5/5
Notes: for Coursera Fantasy and Science Fiction course (reread)
Review:
It's a collection of loosely connected short stories tracking the progress of human colonization of Mars. There are almost no recurring characters, and every story can stand on its own, but they enrich each other and create a multi-faceted picture from many points of view. After every couple of stories there's a "surprise" story based on some completely different concept.
Writing flows more like poetry than prose, but without the shortcomings of poetry (such as pretentious vocabulary and artificial padding). It's emotional and atmospheric; the sophisticated, fragile beauty of Martian cities is permeated with the sense of sadness and imminent doom. (Thinking of it, every one of these stories is sad, even those that carry an optimistic message; but it's not heavy depression but kind of a nostalgic, bittersweet sadness.)
There's a couple of "moralistic lectures" which are too long and distracting, but this is the only (minor) flaw of this fantastic book.
Author: Ray Bradbury
Number of pages: 298
Genre: sci-fi
Book Number/Goal: 17/52
My Rating: 5/5
Notes: for Coursera Fantasy and Science Fiction course (reread)
Review:
It's a collection of loosely connected short stories tracking the progress of human colonization of Mars. There are almost no recurring characters, and every story can stand on its own, but they enrich each other and create a multi-faceted picture from many points of view. After every couple of stories there's a "surprise" story based on some completely different concept.
Writing flows more like poetry than prose, but without the shortcomings of poetry (such as pretentious vocabulary and artificial padding). It's emotional and atmospheric; the sophisticated, fragile beauty of Martian cities is permeated with the sense of sadness and imminent doom. (Thinking of it, every one of these stories is sad, even those that carry an optimistic message; but it's not heavy depression but kind of a nostalgic, bittersweet sadness.)
There's a couple of "moralistic lectures" which are too long and distracting, but this is the only (minor) flaw of this fantastic book.