Reviews

The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury

morbiussweep's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

tfc's review against another edition

reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

mckjohn's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A

4.0

greevianguy's review against another edition

5.0

This is how my brain felt after reading some of these stories, but not in a bad way. One of the marks of a good story is that it gets you thinking. Not that all of the ideas in here are very original, but Bradbury has a way of writing that is very interesting to me. He points out details that I would think are unneeded, but end up making his stories richer and more immersive.
Also, if you are going into this expecting hardcore science fiction, prepare for disappointment. Keep in mind this was written in the 40's/50's/60's, when tin can rocket ships and invaders from mars were swell and groovy. These stories are not about super advanced computers and how they work, it's about how mankind works, not matter what planet they're on. The lack of scientific accuracy may turn some off, since most of it amounts to stuff like this:

But my answer to that is: get over it. These stories are still well worth reading. Definitely a favorite of mine.

oli_chip's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

5.0

mazzie's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

smallpanini's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Body horror

Moderate: Fatphobia, Murder, and Racism

Minor: Racial slurs, War, and Blood

mollymisek's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.25

Classic Bradbury. Standouts are Zero Hour (weird kids and aliens) and The Long Rain (trapped in perpetually stormy Venus jungles).

andrew_corduroy's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

alguienmescucha's review against another edition

4.0

Esta antología me gustó bastante. Siento que la mayor parte de los cuentos son bastante pesimistas, así que eso fue lo que me tiró un poquito para atrás. Un cuento así, está bien. Pero dos, tres, cuatro seguidos, ya empezó a ser un poco mucho.

Tengo algunos favoritos igual, pero es que me encanta como se pone a filosofar el autor por momentos. Como imagina 1500 millones de fines del mundo, o fines de la vida por algún motivo, y eso lo lleva a mucho más.

Creo que es un autor increíble, y quiero leer más de él.