Martian Chronicles from Subterranean Press

Martian Chronicles cover

Martian Chronicles cover

Review by John King Tarpinian: What can one say about Ray Bradbury’s Martian canon that is not known? In this volume there are more than 50 stories, essays, introductions and two full-length screenplays by Bradbury, just fewer than 800 pages. Over the past five decades and in different editions of Martian Chronicles stories have migrated in and out of the book that was currently in print. What Subterranean Press and PS Publishing have done is bring EVERY known Martian story of Ray’s together in one volume,  The Martian Chronicles: The Complete Edition. This includes ones that have never been in any book with the title Martian Chronicles and a few that have never been in print before, forty-nine stories in all. To add to the pleasure of this volume are two screen plays written by Bradbury. His introduction to the 40th anniversary edition is included. Lastly, in his own words, “How I Wrote This Book.”

The seven previously unpublished Martian stories are: The Disease, Dead of Summer, The Martian Ghosts, Jemima True, They All Had Grandfathers, The Wheel and The Marriage.

There are a few other contributors, writing introductions (really more like essays) to the different parts of the book. Reading a few of their words made my eyes mist up. They are Meeting the Wizard introduction by John Scalzi, Undiscovered Mars, Unseen Bradbury by Joe Hill, Lost Mars, the Unpublished Martian Stories of Ray Bradbury by Marc Scott Zicree and For Ray Bradbury by Richard Matheson.

The book is truly a work of art with Bradbury’s words being the canvas. This is the first and probably the last chance one will ever have to own ALL Martian stories in one volume. All of which came to life from the mind of a then little boy who read Edgar Rice Burroughs and since he could not afford to buy another John Carter novel went about writing his own Mars.

[The Table of Contents follows the jump.]

The Martian Chronicles: The Complete Edition
By Ray Bradbury
Jointly published by Subterranean Press and PS Publishing UK
(Available last January/early February)

http://www.subterraneanpress.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=bradbury09&Category_Code=B&Product_Count=16

Illustrated by Edward Miller
Introduction by John Scalzi
Limited: $300 (500 signed numbered copies)
Lettered: $900 (26 signed, deluxe bound copies, housed in a custom tray case)

Table of Contents:

The Martian Chronicles (Classic book)

  • Rocket Summer
  • Ylla
  • The Summer Night
  • The Earth Men
  • The Taxpayer
  • The Third Expedition
  • And the Moon Be Still as Bright
  • The Settlers
  • The Green Morning
  • The Locusts
  • Night Meeting
  • The Shore
  • The Fire Balloons
  • Interim
  • The Musicians
  • The Wilderness
  • The Naming of Names
  • Usher II
  • The Old Ones
  • The Martian
  • The Luggage Store
  • The Off Season
  • The Watchers
  • The Silent Towns
  • The Long Years
  • There Will Come Soft Rains
  • The Million-Year Picnic

The Other Martian Tales (uncollected/unpublished stories)

  • The Lonely Ones
  • The Exiles
  • The One Who Waits
  • The Disease (previously unpublished)
  • Dead of Summer (previously unpublished)
  • The Martian Ghosts (previously unpublished)
  • Jemima True (previously unpublished)
  • They All Had Grandfathers (previously unpublished)
  • The Strawberry Window
  • Way in the Middle of the Air
  • The Other Foot
  • The Wheel (previously unpublished)
  • The Love Affair
  • The Marriage (previously unpublished)
  • The Visitor
  • The Lost City of Mars
  • Holiday
  • Payment in Full
  • The Messiah
  • Night Call, Collect
  • The Blue Bottle
  • Dark They Were, and Golden Eyed

Screenplays

  • 1964 version (previously unpublished)
  • 1997 version (previously unpublished)

Essay

  • How I Wrote My Book
Art from Martian Chronicles

Art from Martian Chronicles

More art from Martian Chronicles

More art from Martian Chronicles

3 thoughts on “Martian Chronicles from Subterranean Press

  1. So “The Martian Chronicles” is science fiction’s “White Album” then? Every few years the author finds some reason to re-issue it, and all the fans have to troop out and buy another copy?

    I think I’ll stick with the one I have.

  2. You probably didn’t run out and buy the Star Wars DVD with the Jabba the Hutt outtakes either. How do you live with yourself?

  3. The text of the 1950 Doubleday edition is what I suspect most of us are familiar with. Though it should be noted that the 1951 Rupert Hart-Davis UK edition entitled “The Silver Locusts” replaced “Usher II” with “The Fire Balloons”.

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