For some reason I expected this to be a more modern take on Mars and the Martians than what was widely common around the time of its release. This led to the naive descriptions of Mars and Martians being hard to take seriously. But as the book progressed I realized that this is not a book that is loved today for being naive and old fashioned. It's a book that's written in its time as a clear warning against what is happening around it, just as the best science fiction is. The anti-science standpoint it takes in the introduction (and throughout) makes complete sense just after a destructive world war. It's not about going against knowledge, it's against technological advances happening without proper reflection.

I really loved the structure of this book. It's really (and obviously) a series of short stories pieced together to a whole, with some minor links between them. A few characters shows up (or are mentioned) in several chapters, but most of the chapters offers its own unique perspective on humanity. And it covers racism, love, technology, fear, isolation and several other themes in unique ways.