BDC Contest - An out-of-this-world experience

When I was around 10 years old I became interested in books, thanks to my father who was a fervent reader and had a giant library full of novels, stories, poems, among others. He, my dad, always read us fairy tales before bedtime. A selection of short stories he acquired especially for us. And although I liked all those stories, I was interested in something heavier and different. I wanted to learn that reading habit he had and read what he read.

That's how I made the decision to read a book on my own for the first time. I headed to the library and started digging around. I was looking for the most attractive one, one that was hardcover and thick. And above all, one that had that particular old book smell. Very ambitious. After a while I found a book that had an illustration that caught my attention; it was a large anthropomorphic figure, almost like a giant, with a fish tank that enclosed inside it some little houses and served as a head, he was wearing underpants and on his chest was stamped a human face. That image definitely had an impact on me and has remained in my memory to this day. They say that children enjoy picture books more, but I believe that adults also like those images. Such a book was entitled: The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury. I took the book in my hands, it felt firm and heavy. That was the one.

Before I started reading it, I consulted of course with my dad, my main reference about the world of books and he gave his opinion about my choice. He told me that it was about a series of stories that told various stories about the arrival of man on Mars, a book written by a very famous man. Martians. That title actually horrified me because I was very afraid of Martians and everything related to outer space. I think that's why I chose that book, to be afraid. He smiled and gave me his approval and told me that I was going to like it. So, with those words, I started immediately.

At the beginning I must say that I was very impatient. Each story took forever because it was slow and leisurely. I expected something interesting to happen at any moment, page after page. Little by little I was advancing and I realized that it was not so bad, I was enjoying it quite a lot because the first stories narrated the first landings of man on Mars and its outcome. A series of very interesting and even funny characters appeared.

Things changed when I got to the story 'The Third Expedition (April 2000)'. The story tells the story of John Black, a commander who led a crew of 17 people in charge of inspecting all of Mars. Everything was going very smoothly, part of the men stayed on the ship and part went out on the mission, until they run into something very unexpected. They have arrived at a town that seems to have been stuck in the 1920's United States and not only that, all the deceased relatives of the astronauts are also inhabiting the place. None of the astronauts felt fear or rejection when they saw this, on the contrary, they were happy to see all their loved ones again. John Black, the commander, accepts this reality and enjoys it for a whole day. In the evening, he realizes that all this is nothing more than an illusion, a deception, because his mother is not really his mother but a Martian. All the loved ones were actually Martians undercover who took the memories of the astronauts to build this mirage. When John Black finds out, the Martians decide to assassinate the entire crew. Finally, the Martians bury them all in a ceremony where, amid tears, their true faces are revealed.

That night I did not sleep. I was very afraid imagining that my parents were Martians and that everything I was living was really an illusion. That story was not classified as horror, it was science fiction, but it was scarier than anything I had read before. Time went by and I finished reading the book because it couldn't stay that way but no real story grabbed me like this one.

The reasons why I consider this book as my favorite is because it was the first one I read and I am especially fond of it, but besides that, it was the first one to generate in me an out-of-this-world experience. Without the need to resort to villains, violence, gore, grotesque details, stilted words and other embellishments, this book was able to make me feel real fear with very little. I could imagine it all. I could feel it all. That's worth a lot to me. Simplicity is something that if used correctly can be great. Just like this great work.

I could mention some authors with literary works that transcend as the best in the world. And yes, there are, and I admire them too. But I think this author and this book in general, is my favorite. For all of the above.