The Martian Chronicles: A Review

So, today I'll be reviewing one of the chapters from Ray Bradbury's "The Martian Chronicles."  The chapter that I've chosen to review today is the final one, "October 2026: The Million-Year Picnic."  This chapter/story is abut a family living on Mars.  While being on a fishing trip, they pass by various old and completely abandoned cities (or as described in the book, 'dead' cities).  The family passes by more and more dead cities as the story progresses, and the children (Timothy, Michael, and Robert) are asked to choose a favorite out of the cities.
  Later on, the existence of Martians is discussed, and it is said that they're a dead race.  However, the final words of the novel and "The Martians were there.  Timothy began to shiver.  The Martians were there--in the canal--reflected in the water.  Timothy and Michael and Robert and Mom and Dad.  The Martians stared back up at them for a long, long silent time from the rippling water...."  This shows that the family were, in actuality, true Martians, considering that they now inhabited and practically owned the entire planet of Mars.
Now, you may be wondering-  Is the family really on Mars?  Well, today's your lucky day!  I've got a passage from the novel to answer that question of yours.  That passage would be "They looked with fervent  anticipation, and the dead city lay made on Mars by a Martian weatherman."  The portion that says "...made on Mars by a Martian weatherman" clearly identifies the setting in terms of location and weather.  As for the time, the chapter's title ("October 2026: The Million-Year Picnic") reveals that.
In relation to the rest of the story, this chapter, being the final chapter, is at the very end of the novel.  However, another important question is "How does Bradbury use setting to comment on character, theme, tone or conflict in the story?"  Well, I believe that Bradbury does this in a multitude of ways.  I think that the most effective way he does this, however, is the fact that there's just this family--  A single family of five people, that are now living on the planet Mars.  Not only this, but they're the only living inhabitants of the planet.  This contributes to the theme and tone of the story, overall.
 In conclusion, I enjoyed the chapter overall.  The novel as a whole wasn't bad, really, and I liked it quite a bit.  It had various notions to it that I found to be pretty intriguing.