The Martian Chronicles

This is a strangely wonderful collection of short stories, some of them interconnected, others independent from each other, with all of them being set or focused on Mars.

First published in 1951 with the future being many decades ahead - Space: 1999 anyone? - one of the best stories is September 2005: The Martian, reminiscent of Solaris by Stanislaw Lem and the later movie adaptations in which the person you most desire to come back to life mysteriously appears in a magically profound and charming story that emphasizes the importance of living right now instead of holding on to the past.

That's the essence of The Martian Chronicles, beautiful and wondrous writing that portrays the fertile imagination of Ray Bradbury, like the naive Eloi species from The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, including mysterious twists and tales of the unexpected, with often sinister and surreal elements that go beyond sci-fi and delve into darker realms.

The Martian Chronicles is odd, quaint and sometimes silly in places with its satirical sense of humor and eerie notes of H.P. Lovecraft cosmic wonder, undefined and lurking in the background, hiding behind dusty sand dunes, maybe hoping to catch you out or, who knows, waiting to bestow benevolence.

There's a sense of good versus evil, heaven over hell, Mars over a belligerent planet Earth that's now in decay.

The overall message gives you a sense of hope through radical change or flight, to get away from all the nonsense of petty politics, negative news and senseless perennial war, by shedding old skin and starting anew.

This book will need multiple rereads to grasp all the hidden messages behind our inevitable self-destruction and the demise of planet Earth, ultimately leading to escape and the beauty of eternal life in the stars, or Mars.

Dependent on the edition you own or obtain, some stories might be missing while others are present in certain versions, which is a bit of an annoyance, and not all the stories fit seamlessly together either, sometimes feeling disconnected.

But overall this is a wonderful collection of stories that showcase the insight, intelligence and quirky charms of Ray Bradbury.