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coballe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Gun violence
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
erebus53's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
Because this is written in the 1940s-50s it is coloured by dreams of the future than include the space race, automation and other fantastic futuristic inventions. It's a marvellous muddle of nearly real and utterly unreal that appears unself-conscious. I was lucky to happen upon a publication that has a foreword by the author written in 1997 (he eventually passed in 2012). He tells some of the background behind stories like "The Other Foot", a fanciful story about what happens when Mars is colonised by African Americans who stay there alone because of Earth delving into a civilization-destroying nuclear war, only to have a refugee ship with White people in it turn up decades later, begging for help. This was a story that nobody wanted to publish in 1951.
I did find it funny to hear 80 year old ideas about what VR and smart houses might be like... now I want a shoelace tying machine. Ideas about hiking over the surface of Venus have a gothic and emotional quality, that is only unsettled for me a little by the presumption that Venus might have day and night like Earth does (whereas Venus has a night ~4 Terran months long).
I guess I am used to Bradbury's quirks a lot more than I used to be as a child, because I have a quirk of amusement every time I figure out 'the trick' of the story. It's always fun though... though sometimes in a somewhat macabre way.
The Exiles tells the story of the ghosts of horror, fantasy, magical and mystical authors and stories in a time when these have all been outlawed. The idea amused me and so I have constructed a reading challenge from the "outlawed" authors, stories and themes that Bradbury mentioned in this story - everything from Lovecraft to Lord Dunsany, Dickens to Poe.
Definitely worth a look.
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexism, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Racism, War, Violence, Alcoholism, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, and Genocide
bearbookshelf's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.75
As always with Bradbury's writing, I found this collection was hit and miss. Some storurs were delightfully callous, cruel, and foreboding, but others felt like F451 if it was written at an appropriate length for its actual depth and breadth of content. I think to some degree a handful of the stories fall flat purely from being outdated politically, scientifically etc... But I suppose that is one of the tensions in the genre of sci-fi... Time tends to continue onward. All-in-all, worth the read and entertaining, but certainly a handful of stories I wouldn't feel guilty skipping on a reread.
Moderate: Racism, Self harm, Violence, Hate crime, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, War, Gun violence, Death of parent, Gore, and Suicide
bexi's review
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
Graphic: Body shaming
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Death, Fatphobia, Murder, and Racism
Minor: Alcohol, Gun violence, Misogyny, and Sexism
kenzieiscool's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Death, Grief, Gun violence, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, and Violence
Minor: War, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death of parent