• (Tears) The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

    From jdnicoll@jdnicoll@panix.com (James Nicoll) to rec.arts.sf.written on Sun Jan 11 08:35:43 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

    Tales of America's thrilling genocide on and colonization of Mars!

    https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/welcome-to-mars
    --
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  • From Don@g@crcomp.net to rec.arts.sf.written on Sun Jan 11 18:12:18 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    James Nicoll wrote:
    The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

    Tales of America's thrilling genocide on and colonization of Mars!

    https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/welcome-to-mars

    Poe influenced Bradbury. Authors who appreciate Poe enjoy favorable
    feelings from me.

    "you might have a hard time sliding a piece of paper
    between it and nothing"

    "plot spackle"

    Your wit is worthy of Francis Bacon. So, you've won a Porky Award from
    me. Don't let the name fool you. Winning a Porky's a good thing, as it indicates genius.

    The greatest thing by far is to be a master of metaphor.
    It is the one thing that cannot be learned from others;
    and it is also a sign of genius, since a good metaphor
    implies and intuitive perception of the similarity of
    the dissimilar.

    Before we arrive at my rant allow me to share some apropos excerpts
    from Perry Rhodan stories recently read by me. These snippets pertain
    to Akons, an alien species with a supreme superiority complex:

    rCYI wish they would attack us,rCY Rhodan sighed, rCYopenly and
    honourably with their ships! But I'm afraid their next move
    will be as sneaky as their first. They fear war but they
    don't shrink from murder. Is the Drusus ready to start,
    Reggie?rCY

    rCYKidnapping,rCY said Rhodan, rCYwhich in civilized circles is
    considered to be a crime!rCY

    rCYAs you can see, Auris of Las-Toor, this is what the
    colonial descendants look like whom your people despise
    and refer to as 'degenerated' Do you think it was very
    advisable or commendable to kidnap the ruler of billions
    of people like him?rCY

    Your brief synopsis of WAY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE AIR nudged my mind's
    memory enough to remember it in its entirety. It's a typical Bradbury
    nod to the chosen narrative of a bygone era: Moses leading slaves to
    freedom.
    Reality's Jews tend to pass for white in Bradbury's head. Perhaps
    Bradbury was ignorant of history. On the other hand, Afro-American
    Catholic Candace calls them out:

    Jews enslaved black people.
    You can say sorry or you can stfu about it.

    [An embedded, historic image of a list of fifteen slave
    ships, all owned by Jews.]

    <http://x.com/RealCandaceO/status/2002503192630980863>

    In fact, the cotton-plantations in many parts of the South
    were wholly in the hands of the Jews, and as a consequence
    slavery found its advocates among them.

    <http://x.com/RealCandaceO/status/2002507659669615054>

    The Likud party in Israel just named me and Tucker Carlson as
    enemies that must be fought.

    These people are murderers. Murderers are threatening me and
    Tucker Carlson over speech. How is this at all acceptable to
    our government?

    <http://x.com/RealCandaceO/status/2009423991820194247>

    --
    Don.......My cat's )\._.,--....,'``. veritas _|_ telltale tall tail /, _.. \ _\ (`._ ,. liberabit |
    tells tall tales.. `._.-(,_..'--(,_..'`-.;.' vos |

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  • From BCFD 36@bcfd36@cruzio.com to rec.arts.sf.written on Sun Jan 11 11:58:17 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 1/11/26 05:35, James Nicoll wrote:
    The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

    Tales of America's thrilling genocide on and colonization of Mars!

    https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/welcome-to-mars

    Interesting reading. Ray Bradbury could really write.

    I haven't read The Martian Chronicles in at least 40 years, maybe 50.
    But I remember it. I remember two most of all, "There Will Come Soft
    Rains" which I ran across recently and reread standalone and "Way Up In
    the Middle of the Air" which I just reread 5 minutes ago. I also
    remembered that there was kind of a followup to WUITMOTA in "The
    Illustrated Man". WUITMOTA definitely made an impression on me when I
    read it as a teenager and later as a very young adult as did the followup.

    Even as a teenager in the '70s, I knew that this wasn't a novel but a collection of short stories. If someone thought that this was a novel,
    they were naive at best.

    "The Fire Balloons" was mentioned and I didn't remember the title. So I
    found it and read it. I MAY have read it years ago, but there is only a whisper of a memory and it may not be true.

    I cannot find my copy of "The Martian Chronicles". I have one more place
    to look. If not there, I may have to buy a copy.

    I also ran across an article about the censorship of WIUTMOTA. I am not surprised at all.
    --
    ----------------

    Dave Scruggs
    Senior Software Engineer - Lockheed Martin, et. al (mostly Retired)
    Captain - Boulder Creek Fire (Retired)
    Board of Directors - Boulder Creek Fire Protection District (What was I thinking?)
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  • From Ignatios Souvatzis@u502sou@bnhb484.de to rec.arts.sf.written on Sun Jan 11 19:32:44 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    James Nicoll wrote:
    The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

    Tales of America's thrilling genocide on and colonization of Mars!

    https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/welcome-to-mars

    I wasn't aware of the editorial changes hinted at by you between editions,
    but this would explain why the stories I remember are only a subset of
    the ones you describe.

    (I read a translation to German int the late 1970s or early 1980s.

    My impression was that the M.C. are an allegory on the colonisation of
    North America.)

    -is
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  • From Lawrence =?iso-8859-13?q?D=FFOliveiro?=@ldo@nz.invalid to rec.arts.sf.written on Sun Jan 11 21:31:42 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

    On 11 Jan 2026 19:32:44 GMT, Ignatios Souvatzis wrote:

    My impression was that the M.C. are an allegory on the colonisation of
    North America.)

    Can you really tell one colonization project apart from another?
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