The Martian Chronicles is a visionary account of the first attempt to extend the human enterprise to another planet. The episodic saga begins during the “rocket summer” of 1999, when the first outbound ships depart for Mars, leaving the bleak Ohio winter behind. It ends, 27 years later, during a “million year picnic” which casts a harsh, reflective light on an entire civilization.

Along the way, Bradbury introduces a gallery of distinctive characters, all of whom have powerful reasons for seeking a newer life. Some are actively escaping—from racism, from political and cultural repression, from the never-ending prospect of war. Some are actively searching—for adventure, for uncharted horizons, for a sense of spiritual renewal. Together, they create a frontier society as complex, varied, and tragically flawed as the one they left behind.

The work is filled with memorable scenes and indelible images:

• A wealthy settler builds a new “House of Usher” and wages bloody war against a dull and lifeless bureaucracy.
• Translucent “fire balloons” offer intricate lessons in matters of the spirit.
• A telepathic Martian helplessly absorbs the hopes, grief, and memories of the surrounding human populace.
• A solitary survivor creates an automated family to help keep loneliness at bay.

The Martian Chronicles: The Complete Edition includes more than 50 stories, essays, introductions and two full-length screenplays by Bradbury himself, chronicling the evolution of Bradbury’s Mars from the original classic volume and beyond.