Ray Bradbury – The Martian Chronicles / Марсианские Хроники
Год выпуска: 1997
Автор: Ray Bradbury / Рэй Брэдбери
Исполнитель: Peter Marinker / Питер Маринкер
Жанр: Science Fiction / Научная фантастика
Издательство: Sterling Audio Books
Язык: English
Тип: аудиокнига
Аудио кодек: MP3
Битрейт аудио: 96-160 кбит/сек
Описание: “Марсианские хроники” – цикл новелл, принесших Рэю Бредбери мировую славу, – рассказывает о покорении человеком Красной планеты, где доживает свои последние годы некогда высокоразвитая цивилизация марсиан. Марс сдается не сразу. Первая экспедиция гибнет, даже не совершив посадку (“Илла”). Вторую объявляют сумасшедшими (“Земляне”). Третья оказывается в плену собственных иллюзий (“Третья экспедиция”). Наконец, четвертая застает Красную планету уже мертвой (“И по-прежнему лучами серебрит простор луна”)… Поэтично-печальные новеллы ничуть не устарели, они по-прежнему свежи и интересны, пронзительны и тревожно-щемящи. В своих марсианских историях писатель на самом деле говорит о земных чувствах земных людей: об отношении к жизни и смерти, о мечтах и сокровенных желаниях, о дневных страхах и ночных кошмарах, о душевных мучениях и телесных соблазнах…
From “Rocket Summer” to “The Million-Year Picnic,” Ray Bradbury’s stories of the colonization of Mars form an eerie mesh of past and future. Written in the 1940s, the chronicles drip with nostalgic atmosphere–shady porches with tinkling pitchers of lemonade, grandfather clocks, chintz-covered sofas. But longing for this comfortable past proves dangerous in every way to Bradbury’s characters–the golden-eyed Martians as well as the humans. Starting in the far-flung future of 1999, expedition after expedition leaves Earth to investigate Mars. The Martians guard their mysteries well, but they are decimated by the diseases that arrive with the rockets. Colonists appear, most with ideas no more lofty than starting a hot-dog stand, and with no respect for the culture they’ve displaced.
Bradbury’s quiet exploration of a future that looks so much like the past is sprinkled with lighter material. In “The Silent Towns,” the last man on Mars hears the phone ring and ends up on a comical blind date. But in most of these stories, Bradbury holds up a mirror to humanity that reflects a shameful treatment of “the other,” yielding, time after time, a harvest of loneliness and isolation. Yet the collection ends with hope for renewal, as a colonist family turns away from the demise of the Earth towards a new future on Mars. Bradbury is a master fantasist and The Martian Chronicles are an unforgettable work of art. –Blaise Selby –This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.
From AudioFile
The Martian Chronicles was probably never intended to represent the real planet. Bradbury’s Mars is a shifting metaphor for “the frontier” or for mystery. This lush prose poem was obviously composed in terms of sound; even the production uses purely aural devices, such as echoing repetition. Peter Marinker demonstrates a clear understanding of the writer’s intention, and he has the vocal technique to project it effectively. He makes it easy for the listener to become engulfed in the dreamy, luminous atmosphere that is as much Bradbury’s message as the story line. J.N. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Main
