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evamarina's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
alienclans's review against another edition
4.0
There's nothing I love more than a good short story collection and this is certainly a good one. Great, even. I loved every story but my favorites were The Veldt, No Particular Night or Morning, Marionettes, Inc., and Zero Hour.
rudy_riot's review against another edition
4.0
This was my first book by Bradbury that I have read and I can't wait to dive more into his works. I enjoyed a lot of the stories from this book which says a lot since I'm not the biggest sci-fi buff. The horror and thriller elements to each story are what really did it for me, though. I think there were only two that I didn't actually finish because I couldn't get into them. One story that really stuck out to me and had the biggest impact was 'The Fox and the Forest', because although it had a simple twist, it still shocked me and I actually felt my stomach sink when I got to it. The stories all have really simple but good morals to them that everyone should learn. A HUGE one for me was pay! attention! to! your! children!
I do wish that the Illustrated man in the book had a bigger part in the story too. I would love to have an extended story about him and his journeys and struggles as well.
A few other favorite stories from this book that I really enjoyed in no particular order: The Veldt, The Other Foot, The Rocket Man, Zero Hour, and The Rocket.
If you haven't read this yet, I would definitely recommend it!
I do wish that the Illustrated man in the book had a bigger part in the story too. I would love to have an extended story about him and his journeys and struggles as well.
A few other favorite stories from this book that I really enjoyed in no particular order: The Veldt, The Other Foot, The Rocket Man, Zero Hour, and The Rocket.
If you haven't read this yet, I would definitely recommend it!
hannahrg752's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
doctorlaurentius's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
troe's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
4.0
Really enjoyed the conceit of a man's magical tattoos telling all these weird stories. They're mainly sci-fi in nature, and very of there time in places: a lot of them feature rockets, all the technology is very mechanical (Ray did not see software coming!) and all the social norms stay more or less unchanged. As with all short story collections, enjoyed some more than others - the one set on a planet where it literally never stops raining and sends the men stranded there steadily mad felt relatable as someone currently living through a really lousy British summer.
louiza_read2live's review against another edition
4.0
What an ingenious idea! We begin with the narrator telling us in the prologue the story of how he met the illustrated man. It begins as a story of magical realism I might say that takes an unexpected turn of high sci-fi. The prologue with the story of the illustrated man serves as a frame story for the individual short stories that follow, and eventually on the epilogue we come full circle back to the story of the narrator and the illustrated man.
Ray Brabury has created in each story a world where space travelling, rockets, alien invansion, Martians, etc. are part of every day life. In most stories, earth has been deemed uninhabitable and people are living in Mars or looking for place to live in space. In other stories (or rather in all stories) we see the terrifying and catastrophic effects of advanced, futuristic technology not only on earth and individual humans, but also on human relationships: even on the most familial relationships. And Bradbury doesn't stop there; he also touches themes on religion, parenting, faith and hope versus giving up, and more... I'm sure a better examination of the text by someone familiar and well versed on Bradbury's work, the genre of sci-fi, and literature in general might find more themes being explored through this small, truly bizzare, but clever work.
I don't want to say anything on the character of the illustrated man because I didn't know anything prior to reading it, and I believe it is better to not read about him before. The unexpected turn the story will take is worth the wait to find out about him through the reading rather than through external sources.
I had absolutely loved Bradbury's Farenheit 451, but I was wary of reading anything else by him as I don't read much sci-fi. A friend recommended me this, and I'm so glad I gave it a try. It was worth it.
A word of caution to not make the same mistake I made: If you are buying a physical copy or reading The Illustrated Man on Kindle make sure that you buy to read a copy with the full epilogue. I didn't realize when I bought my copy that the small paperback from Simon and Schuster publishing does not include the whole epilogue, and I had to read the missing part on a different edition (the edition you see in the image here is the complete one). It makes a huge difference!! Without the full epilogue, it is a whole other book. The epilogue is a few pages, not just one page with a couple small paragraphs, and the epilogue makes the book what it is in the first place. My old copy (new from Barnes & Nobles) doesn't mention anywhere that is missing almost all the epilogue, so check the back of the book to make sure the epilogue is compete.
Ray Brabury has created in each story a world where space travelling, rockets, alien invansion, Martians, etc. are part of every day life. In most stories, earth has been deemed uninhabitable and people are living in Mars or looking for place to live in space. In other stories (or rather in all stories) we see the terrifying and catastrophic effects of advanced, futuristic technology not only on earth and individual humans, but also on human relationships: even on the most familial relationships. And Bradbury doesn't stop there; he also touches themes on religion, parenting, faith and hope versus giving up, and more... I'm sure a better examination of the text by someone familiar and well versed on Bradbury's work, the genre of sci-fi, and literature in general might find more themes being explored through this small, truly bizzare, but clever work.
I don't want to say anything on the character of the illustrated man because I didn't know anything prior to reading it, and I believe it is better to not read about him before. The unexpected turn the story will take is worth the wait to find out about him through the reading rather than through external sources.
I had absolutely loved Bradbury's Farenheit 451, but I was wary of reading anything else by him as I don't read much sci-fi. A friend recommended me this, and I'm so glad I gave it a try. It was worth it.
A word of caution to not make the same mistake I made: If you are buying a physical copy or reading The Illustrated Man on Kindle make sure that you buy to read a copy with the full epilogue. I didn't realize when I bought my copy that the small paperback from Simon and Schuster publishing does not include the whole epilogue, and I had to read the missing part on a different edition (the edition you see in the image here is the complete one). It makes a huge difference!! Without the full epilogue, it is a whole other book. The epilogue is a few pages, not just one page with a couple small paragraphs, and the epilogue makes the book what it is in the first place. My old copy (new from Barnes & Nobles) doesn't mention anywhere that is missing almost all the epilogue, so check the back of the book to make sure the epilogue is compete.
blancagcp's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I liked The Martian Chronicles better, just because the stories were more connected. These are totally independent of each other, but similar enough that they could be part of the same thing (but aren’t, which is what I found frustrating).
connorstory's review against another edition
It’s like a literary Twilight Zone but every episode is about MARS!
Favorites were: Kaleidoscope, The Rocket Man and No Particular Night or Morning.
Favorites were: Kaleidoscope, The Rocket Man and No Particular Night or Morning.
sunflower7skull's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0