"The Martian Chronicles" is a cycle of novellas that brought Ray Bradbury worldwide fame. It tells of humankind conquering the Red Planet, where the last years are lived by a once highly developed civilization of Martians.
Mars doesn’t surrender right away. The first expedition dies even before landing (“Ylla”). The second is declared insane (“The Earthmen”). The third ends up trapped in its own illusions (“Third Expedition”). And finally, the fourth finds the Red Planet already dead (“And Still the Moon Silvered the Vastness…”)
Poetically sad novellas are by no means outdated; they remain fresh and interesting—piercing and тревожно-щемливі. In his Martian stories, the writer is actually talking about earthly feelings of earthly people: their attitude to life and death, their dreams and secret desires, their daytime fears and night terrors, their tormenting doubts and bodily temptations…