One of Bradbury's rare novels (Fahrenheit 451 is another), my memory of it from my read decades ago as a teen was that it was amazing. On reread I feel its age shows. The Chronicles are a series of 26 vignettes first published in 1950 with two stories going back to 1948 and it's as if it took the socio-politico obsessions of that era, and translated it into an interplanetary future fifty years hence that's now our present: Cold War Nuclear Holocaust, Jim Crow, the Red Scare are depicted in ways that I don't think resonate today because they feel too early fifties--especially given that the book is supposed to span from January 1999 to October 2026.
That said, Bradbury is imaginative and often writes beautifully and strikingly especially when depicting his Martians--their contact with Earthmen is poignant and tragic--reminiscent of the collision and destruction when the Old and New World of Earth met. I think the most powerful parts of the book are the ones that were originally published on their own as short stories, especially "--And the Moon Be Still as Bright," "The Off Season" and "There Will Come Soft Rains." And I still found the close powerful and moving.
