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Dark They Were, and Golden Eyed
Short story about a colonizing family on Mars.
Audio Cassette
First published August 1, 1949
13 people are currently reading
627 people want to read
About the author
Ray Bradbury
2,568 books25.5k 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 - 30 of 64 reviews
October 7, 2018
Let’s go to Mars!
Mars to Ray Bradbury was his “other”, his fantasy land, the place to where his mid-century psychology could go to make his unique magic.
First published in 1949, this is a classic example of his soft science fiction – which is a nice way of saying it’s not really science fiction at all. Even Bradbury said that science fiction fell under the larger umbrella of fantasy, so he was just taking artistic license to astronomical extremes. Fans of hard science modern thrillers like – oh I don’t know – The Martian, maybe, HEY! there’s one – will maybe be put off by his lack of even trying to include some science. His Mars looked a lot like Iowa, including hot spells and swims in the canals.
A colonist family from Earth gets stuck on Mars, home of ancient ruins of a lost culture. The family slowly begins to assimilate to the old Martian ways, mysteriously becoming Martian and culminating in them moving into the ageless villas of the old Martians.
Bradbury explores themes of conformity and what it means to be human. One of his best short stories.
Mars to Ray Bradbury was his “other”, his fantasy land, the place to where his mid-century psychology could go to make his unique magic.
First published in 1949, this is a classic example of his soft science fiction – which is a nice way of saying it’s not really science fiction at all. Even Bradbury said that science fiction fell under the larger umbrella of fantasy, so he was just taking artistic license to astronomical extremes. Fans of hard science modern thrillers like – oh I don’t know – The Martian, maybe, HEY! there’s one – will maybe be put off by his lack of even trying to include some science. His Mars looked a lot like Iowa, including hot spells and swims in the canals.
A colonist family from Earth gets stuck on Mars, home of ancient ruins of a lost culture. The family slowly begins to assimilate to the old Martian ways, mysteriously becoming Martian and culminating in them moving into the ageless villas of the old Martians.
Bradbury explores themes of conformity and what it means to be human. One of his best short stories.
October 31, 2025
A good short story is not about the words on the page. Sure, they're part of it. But there is a space between the words where a whole other world exists. A good short story provides a door to get to that space. Once you're there, it's limitless. It's not about structure, or sentences, or writing style. A story is bigger than life. Bradbury is the master of this form because he captures all that with brevity. He's a poet with succinctness and offers to us doorways into which we may pass into an endless sea of possibilities that are our own creations. Brilliant!
Also, his use of the color green, so simple, something that makes my heart skip every time. He makes the color profound.
Also, his use of the color green, so simple, something that makes my heart skip every time. He makes the color profound.
July 13, 2018
I read this as "The Naming of Names", its original name apparently (not to be confused with the story of the same name that is part of the Martian Chronicles).
A short story set on a recently settled Mars, with gleaming Martian ruins dotting the alien landscape.
I love the anachronisms, the little things that so obviously are impossible on our real Mars. Trucks, turning off the gas, waiting for newspapers to be delivered from Earth by rocket. Marvelous and nostalgic.
But more than that: beautifully written, evocative, and subtle.
A short story set on a recently settled Mars, with gleaming Martian ruins dotting the alien landscape.
I love the anachronisms, the little things that so obviously are impossible on our real Mars. Trucks, turning off the gas, waiting for newspapers to be delivered from Earth by rocket. Marvelous and nostalgic.
But more than that: beautifully written, evocative, and subtle.
November 28, 2016
3.5 Stars
This story takes place on Mars.
When there is a threat of atomic attack on Earth then a group of people move to Mars. But the Martian Environment isn't suitable for Earth people. Martian Air contains Virus which affects the memory of people.
This short story contains a lot of PLOT HOLES which are intolerable for me. Specially its ending. What a garbage it was! It didn't seem an end to me.
Its ending is just like that:
Author will give you a mystery without any solution!
I think:
Author was trying to say:
No matter how worst the situation my get, never give up!
This story takes place on Mars.
When there is a threat of atomic attack on Earth then a group of people move to Mars. But the Martian Environment isn't suitable for Earth people. Martian Air contains Virus which affects the memory of people.
This short story contains a lot of PLOT HOLES which are intolerable for me. Specially its ending. What a garbage it was! It didn't seem an end to me.
Its ending is just like that:
Author will give you a mystery without any solution!
I think:
Author was trying to say:
No matter how worst the situation my get, never give up!
January 5, 2023
i read this in 7th grade and never remembered the title until today i feel so accomplished
December 3, 2025
Wouldn’t normally put a short story but I read this solo 3 times, aloud 5 times, and solo 2 more times in the past 10 days. 14x10=140 page book
Students enjoyed, I enjoyed, no complaints
Students enjoyed, I enjoyed, no complaints
February 14, 2016
The more I read Bradbury, whether in English, Spanish or Portuguese, the more I fall in love with literature and language. Reading Bradbury is like being caressed slowly and soothingly by a lover.
And the illustrations, on point!
And the illustrations, on point!
April 8, 2016
Bradbury, poet laureate of fantasy and science fiction
June 3, 2017
I liked the way author made the setting on Mars and had a good story behind it. I like the plot twist very much aswell.
February 24, 2023
* insert drake meme template *
Ray Bradbury's novels :/
Ray Bradbury's short storys :D
Ray Bradbury's novels :/
Ray Bradbury's short storys :D
June 2, 2021
I really enjoyed this short story and I think there was so much to uncover and the ending left you with so much to think about.
I truly enjoyed this one.
Possibly the first one i liked to read in school
I truly enjoyed this one.
Possibly the first one i liked to read in school
October 14, 2024
Bradbury's Mars stories tap into a primal set of feelings that I can't properly describe. Do highly recommend giving this a read to soothe your nerves if, like me, you're beset with a tinge of cosmic existential dread.
What are we in the midst of the universe, anyway, and why should we worry about it? Nature does what it will. Life goes on.
What are we in the midst of the universe, anyway, and why should we worry about it? Nature does what it will. Life goes on.
Read
April 18, 2022This book was good except the “mystery” is very obvious. But other than that I liked the writing. I read it for ela class so it was long or anything but it was basic mystery.
March 8, 2016
Personal response:
I enjoyed this short story thoroughly. The plot was very thought provoking and original. I loved the picture that Bradbury painted with his words. His words were so descriptive that it felt like I was also on Mars experiencing and feeling everything that the main character did.
Plot summary:
The story opens with a bunch of people landing on Mars in spaceships. They have come to Mars in hopes of getting away from a terrible war back on Earth. The main character of the story is a man named Harry Bittering, whose family moved with him to the rusty planet. The new settlers set up a small town of houses and begin their new life. But not everything is fine and dandy. Harry, who hated Mars the moment he opened the space shuttle door, starts noticing strange, little changes. The grass of his lawn is growing up a subtle purple shade, all the vegetables and plants in his garden seem different, and their only cow has grown a third horn. Harry brings these dissimilarities to the attention of his family, but they don't seem the least bit worried. Determined to not be changed by the Martian lands, Harry refuses to eat any food grown on Mars, and decides to live off food they brought from Boston.All the while everyone around him is growing taller, skinnier, and their eyes are turning gold. Harry also begins to change. As time goes on he thinks the rocket, that he started building to get back to Earth, is less and less important. Pretty soon everyone decides to move into the old, abandoned Martian mansions for the summer. They plan to come back to the village in the fall. Well, that never happens and five years later, when humans finally come back to rescue them, there is nobody to be found. The only life-forms that the rescue mission finds are some friendly Martians living up in the mansions. But little did they know that the entire colony had pulled an "Animal Farm" on them and turned into the beings that had controlled the land before them.
Recommendations:
I enjoyed this story and would recommend it to readers who enjoy sci-fi. People who are familiar with Bradbury's previous works will notice that the style of writing is slightly different. And sometimes it seems like a sentence or two is missing, but neither of these factors will cause a problem while reading.
I enjoyed this short story thoroughly. The plot was very thought provoking and original. I loved the picture that Bradbury painted with his words. His words were so descriptive that it felt like I was also on Mars experiencing and feeling everything that the main character did.
Plot summary:
The story opens with a bunch of people landing on Mars in spaceships. They have come to Mars in hopes of getting away from a terrible war back on Earth. The main character of the story is a man named Harry Bittering, whose family moved with him to the rusty planet. The new settlers set up a small town of houses and begin their new life. But not everything is fine and dandy. Harry, who hated Mars the moment he opened the space shuttle door, starts noticing strange, little changes. The grass of his lawn is growing up a subtle purple shade, all the vegetables and plants in his garden seem different, and their only cow has grown a third horn. Harry brings these dissimilarities to the attention of his family, but they don't seem the least bit worried. Determined to not be changed by the Martian lands, Harry refuses to eat any food grown on Mars, and decides to live off food they brought from Boston.All the while everyone around him is growing taller, skinnier, and their eyes are turning gold. Harry also begins to change. As time goes on he thinks the rocket, that he started building to get back to Earth, is less and less important. Pretty soon everyone decides to move into the old, abandoned Martian mansions for the summer. They plan to come back to the village in the fall. Well, that never happens and five years later, when humans finally come back to rescue them, there is nobody to be found. The only life-forms that the rescue mission finds are some friendly Martians living up in the mansions. But little did they know that the entire colony had pulled an "Animal Farm" on them and turned into the beings that had controlled the land before them.
Recommendations:
I enjoyed this story and would recommend it to readers who enjoy sci-fi. People who are familiar with Bradbury's previous works will notice that the style of writing is slightly different. And sometimes it seems like a sentence or two is missing, but neither of these factors will cause a problem while reading.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 8, 2017
Short, easy and fun read.
November 16, 2017
Entertaining and supenseful.
January 14, 2020
Through reading this story, I have realized that there is a key theme of change that constantly appears. In "All Summer in A Day" also by Ray Bradbury, the core theme of change is apparent as well. Both of the main characters in these stories do not like the change that they have to go through, but the difference between them is that Harry (the main character of "Dark They Were, and Golden Eyed") changes, while Margot (the main character of "All Summer in A Day") does not. Margot's inability to change puts her in a terrible situation. It seems like there was no way out of that situation, and that she was going to get that ending whether she liked it or not, but in reality, there was a way to avoid this tragic ending. All that Margot needed to do was move on. She needed to move on with her life so that she could be able to enjoy her time on Venus. While Harry moved on with his life, and was able to live a peaceful life in the valleys on Mars, Margot had to deal with the bullies at school because she held on to the past.
March 6, 2019
My comments about "Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed" are not actually about the audiobook, but rather about the print version included in the anthology The Best from Startling Stories, edited by Samuel Mines. It appeared there under its original title, "The Naming of Names."
"The Naming of Names" by Ray Bradbury usually appears under the title "Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed." This is one of Bradbury's tales of a Mars that never was nor ever could be, existing at the cusp of science fiction and fantasy. People of Earth travel to Mars, where there are relics of the former Martian civilization. This story was included in the anthology Masterpieces: The Best Science Fiction of the Century, edited by Orson Scott Card.
"The Naming of Names" by Ray Bradbury usually appears under the title "Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed." This is one of Bradbury's tales of a Mars that never was nor ever could be, existing at the cusp of science fiction and fantasy. People of Earth travel to Mars, where there are relics of the former Martian civilization. This story was included in the anthology Masterpieces: The Best Science Fiction of the Century, edited by Orson Scott Card.
March 29, 2020
The short sci fi story "Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed" by Ray Bradbury based on the knowledge about the planet Mars of the previous century. The writer imagined that the process of colonization of the planet can be similar to the time of colonization of America by Europeans.
The central idea of the story is an influence of the environment of a person. The author put on the agenda the problem of keeping individuality. Despite the fact that nothing bad happened with the main characters, the story is terrifying. According to the narration, people can only accept their fate.
Here is the text of the story:
https://profrush.files.wordpress.com/...
The central idea of the story is an influence of the environment of a person. The author put on the agenda the problem of keeping individuality. Despite the fact that nothing bad happened with the main characters, the story is terrifying. According to the narration, people can only accept their fate.
Here is the text of the story:
https://profrush.files.wordpress.com/...
January 17, 2021
I read this short story with my seventh graders for the first time this year. We’re reading a lot of nonfiction about colonizing Mars for an argumentative unit, but I wanted to mix in some fiction to analyze the ways authors communicate messages about topics through the characters and events of a story.
The writing is very atmospheric and Bradbury does a great job at creating this uncomfortable, unusual, mysterious tone in his writing. Even my students, who were less familiar with the language being used, could pick up that something strange was happening, and they truly enjoyed the twist at the end. I recommend anyone who enjoys sci-fi, dystopia-styled writing. Quick and thought provoking!
The writing is very atmospheric and Bradbury does a great job at creating this uncomfortable, unusual, mysterious tone in his writing. Even my students, who were less familiar with the language being used, could pick up that something strange was happening, and they truly enjoyed the twist at the end. I recommend anyone who enjoys sci-fi, dystopia-styled writing. Quick and thought provoking!
October 17, 2021
Enjoyed it, save for one snag of what the TVTropes ringmasters call https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph..., "Fridge Logic", and we English majors call lack of internal consistency.
Viz., what happened to
Haunting beauty isn't enough reason for a plot hole.
Viz., what happened to
Haunting beauty isn't enough reason for a plot hole.
February 10, 2023
So this is a 1949 science fiction for middle grade book. It never cease to amaze me how kids' short story gives us a lot to ponder upon.
It's like you want to change something but then the change itself changes you? That's scary tbh. And then the feeling of wanting to go back to what you were but you can't so you have to blend in with the place and embrace the current surrounding? And what about when other people from your original place see you as outsiders, but not of their own anymore?
Goosebumps, really.
It's like you want to change something but then the change itself changes you? That's scary tbh. And then the feeling of wanting to go back to what you were but you can't so you have to blend in with the place and embrace the current surrounding? And what about when other people from your original place see you as outsiders, but not of their own anymore?
Goosebumps, really.
February 23, 2023
*Read as part of the "Masterpieces The Best Science Fiction of the Twentieth" Century by Orson Scott Card*
I love how Bradbury writes, but this is not my favorite. Humans go to Mars, disappear. More humans come. Where are the humans? Who are these weird Martians who look vaguely human with yellow eyes? HMMMM. It hasn’t aged well and the twist is so obvious I’m not sure where the tension is supposed to come from.
I love how Bradbury writes, but this is not my favorite. Humans go to Mars, disappear. More humans come. Where are the humans? Who are these weird Martians who look vaguely human with yellow eyes? HMMMM. It hasn’t aged well and the twist is so obvious I’m not sure where the tension is supposed to come from.
June 14, 2025
Interesting commentary on colonialism. Recalling the Roanoke disappearance, this story is about a groupp of martian colonists slowly integrating into the land, forgoing their earth ways, slowly slipping away. Something about the power of original names. Something about the native land. You will become a native at some point, no matter how hard you resist, as long as you live there. You're bound to become one with the land you live in.
October 3, 2022
Dark They Were, and Golden Eyed is a good short story that is more thought provoking and strange than entertaining. Bradbury certainly liked to write about Mars and this one follows some of the themes he outlined in other Martain tales about Mars colonizing the colonists rather than the colonizers colonizing Mars.
January 8, 2022
i tried to write something comprehensive about this, but mostly i am just squeaking inside because of how rich bradbury's imagination is. cultural rupture at its finest, with extraordinary results (not to spoil anything if you decide to read it - please read it).
February 27, 2023
My absolute favorite Bradbury. I've listened to the radio drama about ten times and it never gets old. I like that it references his hometown of Waukegan. In the end he succumbs to his fate of changing over and confesses, "If I lie here long enough, maybe the water will work and eat me away."
February 26, 2025
Egy hosszú pillanatig nézte a kis fehér kunyhót, elfogta a vágy, hogy visszarohanjon, megérintse, búcsút mondjon neki, mert úgy érezte, mintha hosszú utazásra indulna, és elhagyna valamit, amihez soha nem térhet vissza többé, amit soha többé nem fog megérinteni.
November 7, 2025
I read this book in ELA for an assignment and I really liked it. We didn’t finish it so I finished it at home and it is so well written. Really interesting and got me really hooked. Totally recommend
January 29, 2026
A funny, brief story that was written well and was just interesting enough to entertain the imagination for a moment. Clearly, Bradbury was not very concerned with science or logic in this story at all, but the story works as a warning and a metaphor, and the ending definitely left an impact.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews