Ray Bradbury's sci-fi tales focused on human element

Ann Marie Martin By Ann Marie Martin AL.com
on July 23, 2012 at 10:30 AM
bradburyRay Bradbury is shown in this 1997 file photo. Bradbury died on June 5. (AP Photo/Steve Castillo)

Ray Bradbury didn’t get Mars right – at least not from a scientific perspective.

The rocket launches and landings of “The Martian Chronicles” are too easy and too numerous. Experience has taught us that the mechanics and politics of propulsion don’t always fire on cue.

There’s no ancient, advanced civilization waiting on Mars – at least not on the surface. The electronic senses of our rovers Spirit and Opportunity have shown us as much.

So why does “The Martian Chronicles,” published half a century ago, endure?

Bradbury gets the people right, both the natives of Mars and the arrivals from Earth. He paints their stories with vivid scenes and emotions that splash indelible images across my mind and heart.

The first time I read Bradbury’s collection of stories about the human colonization of the red planet, I was in high school. When I reread the book in the wake of Bradbury’s death on June 5, I found I remembered much:

The excitement and anxiety of the Martian woman Ylla, who dreams of the arrival of strange but appealing men.

The wonder and delight of the men of the third Earth expedition, who are greeted by a small town that looks like home but houses danger.

The initial joy and ultimate sorrow of a couple from Earth when a lonely Martian, desperate for love, arrives at their door looking and acting just like their long-dead son.

Casey Johnson, a member of the Science Fiction Book Club at the Bailey Cove Branch of the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library, agrees with my assessment of “The Martian Chronicles.”

“A lot of people (at our meeting) enjoyed not necessarily the science fiction element,” he said, “but Ray Bradbury’s ability to write the human element. If you remove anything about Mars, these could be a series of horror stories or slices of life from the 1950s. The whole book is about settling a new frontier.”

The book club meets on the first Thursday of each month at the Bailey Cove Library, 1409 Weatherly Plaza S.E., and the members discussed “The Martian Chronicles” on July 5. Johnson said the club isn’t limited to hard-core science fiction but includes other types of speculative fiction, sword-and-sorcery fantasy included.

The group will discuss “Robopocalypse” by Daniel H. Wilson at the next meeting on Aug. 2 from 6 to 7 p.m. The book explores our relationship to our machines two decades in the future when a powerful AI computer goes rogue and all the machines on Earth rebel.

The Science Fiction Book Club is just one of many groups and programs for adults, teens and children offered at the Bailey Cove Library, branch manager Patsy Ducote pointed out.

Bailey Cove Classics, which meets on first Mondays, takes up Charles Dickens’ “The Old Curiosity Shop” beginning Aug. 6 from noon to 1 p.m. This celebration of Dickens’ 200th birthday – he was born Feb. 7, 1812 – continues in September.

“There will be cake,” Ducote promised.

She said the Classics Book Club is set to change its name and expand its focus soon to become Literature Out Loud. Along with classic reading, meetings will feature art slide shows that relate to the discussion book as well as poems from the same era.

The Morning Book Club meets every other month on the second Tuesday at 10 a.m. The group will discuss “The Sense of an Ending” by Julian Barnes on Aug. 14.

Ducote described Creativity Night, third Thursdays at 6:30 p.m., as arts and crafts for grownups. Projects range from crafts to fine arts, and programs start with a slide show and include a demonstration and time for patrons to be creative with their own art works. The program for Aug. 16 is “Painting Trees in the Night Sky.”

“Promoting literacy in the library,” she said, “includes allowing people to feel confident of their abilities and creativity.”

Bailey Cove celebrates all things Harry Potter in a series of programs for children and teens during the week of Aug. 6-10 from 4 to 6 p.m. each day. Activities include a photo scavenger hunt, trivia games, relays and two days of Quidditch – played on the ground, not in the air. Librarian Julia Hendon is organizing the celebration.

The Bailey Cove Teen Advisory Group will hold a Book Festival on Aug. 11 from 3 to 5 p.m. Members of the group, assisted by Hendon, will talk about their favorite books, unveil the fall teen programs, and give away door prizes. They’ll also hold a book swap. Participants may bring up to five books to trade.

For more details on programs at the Bailey Cove Public Library, call 256-881-0257.

Ann Marie Martin, former books editor at The Times, is now communications director at the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library. Contact her at amartin@hmcpl.org or 256-532-2361.
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