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—And the Moon Be Still as Bright [June 2001/2032]
First published in Thrilling Wonder Stories, June 1948.
The men of the Fourth Expedition gather firewood against the cold Martian evening. The scientists have found that all of the Martians have died of chickenpox (brought by one of the first three expeditions)—analogous to the devastation of Native American populations by smallpox.
The men of the Fourth Expedition gather firewood against the cold Martian evening. The scientists have found that all of the Martians have died of chickenpox (brought by one of the first three expeditions)—analogous to the devastation of Native American populations by smallpox.
22 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 1948
62 people want to read
About the author
Ray Bradbury
2,561 books25.2k followersRay Douglas Bradbury was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and realistic fiction.
Bradbury is best known for his novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953) and his short-story collections The Martian Chronicles (1950), The Illustrated Man (1951), and The October Country (1955). Other notable works include the coming of age novel Dandelion Wine (1957), the dark fantasy Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962) and the fictionalized memoir Green Shadows, White Whale (1992). He also wrote and consulted on screenplays and television scripts, including Moby Dick and It Came from Outer Space. Many of his works were adapted into television and film productions as well as comic books. Bradbury also wrote poetry which has been published in several collections, such as They Have Not Seen the Stars (2001).
The New York Times called Bradbury "An author whose fanciful imagination, poetic prose, and mature understanding of human character have won him an international reputation" and "the writer most responsible for bringing modern science fiction into the literary mainstream".
Bradbury is best known for his novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953) and his short-story collections The Martian Chronicles (1950), The Illustrated Man (1951), and The October Country (1955). Other notable works include the coming of age novel Dandelion Wine (1957), the dark fantasy Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962) and the fictionalized memoir Green Shadows, White Whale (1992). He also wrote and consulted on screenplays and television scripts, including Moby Dick and It Came from Outer Space. Many of his works were adapted into television and film productions as well as comic books. Bradbury also wrote poetry which has been published in several collections, such as They Have Not Seen the Stars (2001).
The New York Times called Bradbury "An author whose fanciful imagination, poetic prose, and mature understanding of human character have won him an international reputation" and "the writer most responsible for bringing modern science fiction into the literary mainstream".
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 7, 2024
"He wondered where the people had gone, and what they had been, and who their kings were, and how they had died. And he wondered, quietly aloud, how they had built this city to last the ages through, and had they ever come to Earth? Were they ancestors of Earth Men ten thousand years removed? And had they loved and hated similar loves and hates, and done similar silly things when silly things were done?"
"Lord Byron," said Jeff Spender."
«And the Moon Be Still as Bright» é o verso de Byron que intitula este conto que fala da extintação da raça de marcianos que já não vogará os mares desertos durante a noite, colonização,exploração, memória, ética, poluição, maiorias, minorias e o negativo impacto dos humanos nos novos mundos. Ray Bradbury frequentemente fazia referências literárias nas suas obras para criar uma atmosfera de nostalgia e perda, reflectindo os sentimentos dos personagens.
"So we'll go no more a-roving
So late into the night,
Though the heart be still as loving,
And the moon be still as bright."
Marte era um mundo morto e irreal: um túmulo, uma civilização morta. Nunca encontramos Marcianos nos contos do autor - foram dizimados por vírus transmitidos pelos terráqueos nas suas múltiplas viagens ao planeta vermelho. Não era uma morte digna nem justa.
Há um elemento desta expedição, Spender, que se revolta e pergunta aos outros como se sentiriam se fossem marcianos e chegassem ao seu planeta pessoas que o começassem a destruir. Ninguém respondeu. Encontrado é dado.
O sistema corrupto e opressivo. Uma civilização destruida por fanáticos gananciosos e moralistas que são a maioria. Mas há a minoria que acredita que os marcianos são o povo encontrado que soube combinar a ciência e a religião, nenhuma negando a outra, cada uma enriquecendo a outra. As causas e as boas razões das minorias.
"What is this majority and who are in it? And what do they think and how did they get that way and will they ever change and how the devil did I get caught in this rotten majority?"
"Can one man be right, while all the world thinks they are right?"
Conclusão:"We Earth Men have a talent for ruining big, beautiful things."
Um conto riquíssimo para reflexão, uma lição prática sobre as civilizações e o futuro que desejamos para a humanidade.
"Lord Byron," said Jeff Spender."
«And the Moon Be Still as Bright» é o verso de Byron que intitula este conto que fala da extintação da raça de marcianos que já não vogará os mares desertos durante a noite, colonização,exploração, memória, ética, poluição, maiorias, minorias e o negativo impacto dos humanos nos novos mundos. Ray Bradbury frequentemente fazia referências literárias nas suas obras para criar uma atmosfera de nostalgia e perda, reflectindo os sentimentos dos personagens.
"So we'll go no more a-roving
So late into the night,
Though the heart be still as loving,
And the moon be still as bright."
Marte era um mundo morto e irreal: um túmulo, uma civilização morta. Nunca encontramos Marcianos nos contos do autor - foram dizimados por vírus transmitidos pelos terráqueos nas suas múltiplas viagens ao planeta vermelho. Não era uma morte digna nem justa.
Há um elemento desta expedição, Spender, que se revolta e pergunta aos outros como se sentiriam se fossem marcianos e chegassem ao seu planeta pessoas que o começassem a destruir. Ninguém respondeu. Encontrado é dado.
O sistema corrupto e opressivo. Uma civilização destruida por fanáticos gananciosos e moralistas que são a maioria. Mas há a minoria que acredita que os marcianos são o povo encontrado que soube combinar a ciência e a religião, nenhuma negando a outra, cada uma enriquecendo a outra. As causas e as boas razões das minorias.
"What is this majority and who are in it? And what do they think and how did they get that way and will they ever change and how the devil did I get caught in this rotten majority?"
"Can one man be right, while all the world thinks they are right?"
Conclusão:"We Earth Men have a talent for ruining big, beautiful things."
Um conto riquíssimo para reflexão, uma lição prática sobre as civilizações e o futuro que desejamos para a humanidade.
January 18, 2021
Tension arises when some of the fourth expedition trash cultural artefacts. Others are respectful of this new world and want to preserve it, and even go native - but at what cost?
"We Earth Men have a talent for ruining big, beautiful things."
This story is also published as one of The Martian Chronicles, which I've reviewed in detail HERE.
"We Earth Men have a talent for ruining big, beautiful things."
This story is also published as one of The Martian Chronicles, which I've reviewed in detail HERE.
August 16, 2016
“And they got into the rocket and they went to Mars.”
That is the simplistic beauty of Ray Bradbury’s writing. From his writing perspective, science fiction was a sub-genre of fantasy. And fantasy was pure imagination. But before we break into a Willy Wonka song, Bradbury could also write and tell a story.
This gem was first published in the June 1948 issue of Thrilling Wonder Stories. He probably got a cent a word and cashed the check for rent money. Actually, if I get my golden era writer stories correct, he was blessed with success early on.
Blessed with natural ability for one thing.
This tells of a trip to Mars where prior teams had vanished. What the crew finds is that the Martian civilization, maybe thousands of years old, has collapsed and vanished. One crewmember goes a little crazy and goes native.
What Ray has done here is succinctly blended a science fiction story with an allegory for our western civilization / human ability to screw things up on a planetary scale. Somewhat of a very early conservationist cautionary tale, this is really more of a playful indictment of mankind’s ability to be an insensitive ass on many different levels. Told with his inimitable charm and warmth, and with a certain flair, this was an enjoyable visit with good ole Uncle Ray.
As SF short stories go this is pure gold.
That is the simplistic beauty of Ray Bradbury’s writing. From his writing perspective, science fiction was a sub-genre of fantasy. And fantasy was pure imagination. But before we break into a Willy Wonka song, Bradbury could also write and tell a story.
This gem was first published in the June 1948 issue of Thrilling Wonder Stories. He probably got a cent a word and cashed the check for rent money. Actually, if I get my golden era writer stories correct, he was blessed with success early on.
Blessed with natural ability for one thing.
This tells of a trip to Mars where prior teams had vanished. What the crew finds is that the Martian civilization, maybe thousands of years old, has collapsed and vanished. One crewmember goes a little crazy and goes native.
What Ray has done here is succinctly blended a science fiction story with an allegory for our western civilization / human ability to screw things up on a planetary scale. Somewhat of a very early conservationist cautionary tale, this is really more of a playful indictment of mankind’s ability to be an insensitive ass on many different levels. Told with his inimitable charm and warmth, and with a certain flair, this was an enjoyable visit with good ole Uncle Ray.
As SF short stories go this is pure gold.
November 23, 2018
Okay. Hear me out.
There's no real science in this fiction. It was 1948, our best telescopes couldn't see much of Mars's surface, we had lots of ideas about what maybe was there, but the story isn't really about the Martians and Mars. Like most Bradbury stories, it's about American arrogance and exceptionalism. It's about the crappy awful way we behave when we have no reason to think anyone else can do anything to stop us.
It does this soul-searching well, and at a moment when triumphalism was rampant, and manages to keep its promise to entertain while warning.
Also available as a radio drama from the 1950s drama X Minus One. At 22 minutes, it does a creditable job of making the story real (remembering how little we knew back then!), but it has a raw quality due to the fact it's an audition episode made on spec. It was good enough to win the show three seasons on network radio! Quite an achievement.
But wait! There's more!! Bradbury being a veritable cockroach of storytelling, there was a filmed version of this story in 1990 on The Ray Bradbury Theater show that was on USA in them days, and is now available on Prime. This is episode 7 of season four.
It's surprising to see David Carradine in this low-low budget half-hour episode; more interesting, I suppose, is that the character who has Native blood is played by a First Nations actor called Ben Cardinal. (A later, better role he played was Charley Jiminy in the season-long Animal Planet-shown adaptation of Call of the Wild .)
This Bradbury boy had somethin', eh what?
There's no real science in this fiction. It was 1948, our best telescopes couldn't see much of Mars's surface, we had lots of ideas about what maybe was there, but the story isn't really about the Martians and Mars. Like most Bradbury stories, it's about American arrogance and exceptionalism. It's about the crappy awful way we behave when we have no reason to think anyone else can do anything to stop us.
It does this soul-searching well, and at a moment when triumphalism was rampant, and manages to keep its promise to entertain while warning.
Also available as a radio drama from the 1950s drama X Minus One. At 22 minutes, it does a creditable job of making the story real (remembering how little we knew back then!), but it has a raw quality due to the fact it's an audition episode made on spec. It was good enough to win the show three seasons on network radio! Quite an achievement.
But wait! There's more!! Bradbury being a veritable cockroach of storytelling, there was a filmed version of this story in 1990 on The Ray Bradbury Theater show that was on USA in them days, and is now available on Prime. This is episode 7 of season four.
It's surprising to see David Carradine in this low-low budget half-hour episode; more interesting, I suppose, is that the character who has Native blood is played by a First Nations actor called Ben Cardinal. (A later, better role he played was Charley Jiminy in the season-long Animal Planet-shown adaptation of Call of the Wild .)
This Bradbury boy had somethin', eh what?
February 27, 2025
Fourth Time's a Charm.
A Fourth Expedition is sent to Mars, but when they finally arrive they find the planet completely deserted and everyone dead by chickenpox. Bummer!
This was somewhat strange, but I guess it was ok. I have not much to say in favor or against it. Even with few characters this was sort of confusing, clearly they could've been a little better defined. But it was nice finally seeing a successful mission, at last, sort of speak.
-----------------------------------------------
PERSONAL NOTE :
[1948] [22p] [Sci-Fi] [Not Recommendable]
-----------------------------------------------
???????? The Martian Chronicles. <--
-----------------------------------------------
La Cuarta es la Vencida.
Una Cuarta Expedición es enviada a Marte, pero cuando finalmente llegan encuentran el planeta completamente desierto y todos muertos por varicela. ¡Qué bajón!
Esto fue un poco extraño, pero supongo que estuvo bien. No tengo mucho que decir a favor o en contra. Incluso con pocos personajes esto resultó algo confuso, claramente podrían haber sido un poco mejor definidos. Pero fue agradable ver por fin una misión exitosa, por así decirlo.
-----------------------------------------------
NOTA PERSONAL :
[1948] [22p] [Ciencia Ficción] [No Recomendable]
-----------------------------------------------
A Fourth Expedition is sent to Mars, but when they finally arrive they find the planet completely deserted and everyone dead by chickenpox. Bummer!
This was somewhat strange, but I guess it was ok. I have not much to say in favor or against it. Even with few characters this was sort of confusing, clearly they could've been a little better defined. But it was nice finally seeing a successful mission, at last, sort of speak.
-----------------------------------------------
PERSONAL NOTE :
[1948] [22p] [Sci-Fi] [Not Recommendable]
-----------------------------------------------
???????? The Martian Chronicles. <--
-----------------------------------------------
La Cuarta es la Vencida.
Una Cuarta Expedición es enviada a Marte, pero cuando finalmente llegan encuentran el planeta completamente desierto y todos muertos por varicela. ¡Qué bajón!
Esto fue un poco extraño, pero supongo que estuvo bien. No tengo mucho que decir a favor o en contra. Incluso con pocos personajes esto resultó algo confuso, claramente podrían haber sido un poco mejor definidos. Pero fue agradable ver por fin una misión exitosa, por así decirlo.
-----------------------------------------------
NOTA PERSONAL :
[1948] [22p] [Ciencia Ficción] [No Recomendable]
-----------------------------------------------
February 22, 2018
heard this story via x minus one podcast... a great resource
July 19, 2018
A super Bradbury text that provokes what we are, what we think of life individually and socially.
How various human political systems are flawed simply because man is flawed: he thirsts for power, for imposing truths, for generalities and generalizations.
How much we have to think politically correct and like everyone.
How much despite years of evolution, we are still wild.
How much we separate reason, faith, science and the absurd of life and we do not realize our mental, emotional, and logical limitations.
How much we stop living and we become the greatest insane predators on planet Earth and who knows the whole universe.
______
Um super texto de Bradbury que provoca o que somos, o que achamos da vida individualmente e socialmente.
O quanto os diversos sistemas políticos humanos são falhos simplesmente porque o homem é falho: tem sede de poder, de imposição de verdades, de generalidades e generalizações.
Do quanto temos que pensar politicamente corretos e como a maioria.
O quanto apesar de anos de evolução, continuamos selvagens.
O quanto separamos a razão, da fé, da ciência e do absurdo.
O quanto deixamos de viver e nos tornamos os maiores predadores insanos do planeta Terra e quem sabe de todo o universo.
How various human political systems are flawed simply because man is flawed: he thirsts for power, for imposing truths, for generalities and generalizations.
How much we have to think politically correct and like everyone.
How much despite years of evolution, we are still wild.
How much we separate reason, faith, science and the absurd of life and we do not realize our mental, emotional, and logical limitations.
How much we stop living and we become the greatest insane predators on planet Earth and who knows the whole universe.
______
Um super texto de Bradbury que provoca o que somos, o que achamos da vida individualmente e socialmente.
O quanto os diversos sistemas políticos humanos são falhos simplesmente porque o homem é falho: tem sede de poder, de imposição de verdades, de generalidades e generalizações.
Do quanto temos que pensar politicamente corretos e como a maioria.
O quanto apesar de anos de evolução, continuamos selvagens.
O quanto separamos a razão, da fé, da ciência e do absurdo.
O quanto deixamos de viver e nos tornamos os maiores predadores insanos do planeta Terra e quem sabe de todo o universo.
April 10, 2021
"—And the Moon Be Still as Bright" by Ray Bradbury
Quoting Lord Byron's poem "We won't go a roamin' ..."
Spender goes native Martian! Good story! (3 stars)
Quoting Lord Byron's poem "We won't go a roamin' ..."
Spender goes native Martian! Good story! (3 stars)
July 23, 2021
Awsome
August 20, 2021
3.5 out of 5
October 15, 2023
Nihilistic and cynical criticism of Western intolerant, destructive society. Perfect job.
March 12, 2024
Ray, like with ST:OS, has a lot of ways for Earthlings on Mars to Die.
Read
July 24, 2024Not sure if I read this in 1969 or 1970.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 23, 2019
* Figuras recurrentes: Extraterrestre.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews