The Martian Chronicles Critical Essay | Critical Review by Christopher Isherwood

Critical Review by Christopher Isherwood

SOURCE: A review of The Martian Chronicles, Tomorrow, Vol. X, No. 2, October, 1950, pp. 56-8.

In the following assessment of The Martian Chronicles—the first major review of any Bradbury work—Isherwood considers Bradbury an author of fantasy literature in the tradition of Edgar Allan Poe, rather than an author of science fiction.

In February 1999, the first rocketship from Earth will land on Mars. Its two crew members will immediately be shot dead by a Mr. Yll K, with a gun which fires bees. Six months later, the crew of a second rocket will be subjected to a mercy killing by Mr. Xxx, a psychologist, in the belief that his victims must be incurable lunatics. In April 2000, the crew of a third rocket will likewise be murdered, while under a deep hypnosis which persuades them that they are visiting their dead relatives and their childhood homes on Earth....
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