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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
ray slays another day.
fav stories: the dwarf, the next in line, the jar, jack-in-the-box, the scythe, uncle einar.
so basically half of them were great, the others ranged from good to meh.
fav stories: the dwarf, the next in line, the jar, jack-in-the-box, the scythe, uncle einar.
so basically half of them were great, the others ranged from good to meh.
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I think I just don't like horror. Or at least this kind. It felt dated.
I didn't love it as much as other Bradbury collections I've read, but I still enjoyed it. My favorite short stories were: The Emissary, The Small Assassin, The Scythe, and There was an Old Woman.
Mystery box book #29!
Some books are best read at a young age, when they can creep into your blood and your bones and your imagination. I'm reading this a bit too late -- I can't help noticing that so many of Bradbury's women are shrews, and he tends to overuse exclamation marks!, and many of these tales take promising, atmospheric setups and then descend into cheap horror and dun dun DUN! endings. Yet I can also see how influential these stories clearly are -- there are bits of Neil Gaiman and Stephen King ("The Cistern"!) and many more in here. And I can remember how the Bradbury I did read when I was young made me feel.
Some books are best read at a young age, when they can creep into your blood and your bones and your imagination. I'm reading this a bit too late -- I can't help noticing that so many of Bradbury's women are shrews, and he tends to overuse exclamation marks!, and many of these tales take promising, atmospheric setups and then descend into cheap horror and dun dun DUN! endings. Yet I can also see how influential these stories clearly are -- there are bits of Neil Gaiman and Stephen King ("The Cistern"!) and many more in here. And I can remember how the Bradbury I did read when I was young made me feel.
I loved Bradbury when I was in high school, but I mostly read his science fiction- S is for Space, R is for Rocket, Fahrenheit 451. I’d never read this collection, except for maybe one that has been anthologized quite a bit (“The Dwarf” seemed familiar).
These are not sci fi at all. They’re all vaguely horror themed, although only people who write will get how horrifying the last story is. They’re also not horrifying by today’s standards— many of these stories were written in the 40s and 50s— since writers and film makers have had to continually up the ante after a dozen Friday the 13th movies, thirteen Halloween movies, It, A Quiet Place, and all the other movies I haven’t seen. A few of these are creepy or chilling, but several of them are barely even weird, and I don’t think there were any that would have made me lose sleep (which is a pretty low bar, honestly).
Like every short story collection, some stories work better than others. A few in the middle are barely average- although Bradbury is always an amazing wordsmith. But then they get better, and the last two are terrific. My favorites were The Emissary, The Scythe, and Homecoming. Four and a half stars rounded up. My kind of horror stories- barely scary at all. Ha.
These are not sci fi at all. They’re all vaguely horror themed, although only people who write will get how horrifying the last story is. They’re also not horrifying by today’s standards— many of these stories were written in the 40s and 50s— since writers and film makers have had to continually up the ante after a dozen Friday the 13th movies, thirteen Halloween movies, It, A Quiet Place, and all the other movies I haven’t seen. A few of these are creepy or chilling, but several of them are barely even weird, and I don’t think there were any that would have made me lose sleep (which is a pretty low bar, honestly).
Like every short story collection, some stories work better than others. A few in the middle are barely average- although Bradbury is always an amazing wordsmith. But then they get better, and the last two are terrific. My favorites were The Emissary, The Scythe, and Homecoming. Four and a half stars rounded up. My kind of horror stories- barely scary at all. Ha.
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Solid short story collection by Ray Bradbury. I really love Bradbury's writing style and his prose are just awesome. This short story collection really revolves around death so if you're really not into reading about that theme this is probably a short story collection to stay away from. I think it's highly worth reading though even if that theme isn't something you care to dive into. I'm amazed that he wrote all of these before he was 26.
I’ve been a Bradbury fan since I “discovered” Homecoming in an old issue of Twilight Zone magazine in the 80s. I’ve a decent collection of his stuff but this is a personal favorite that I reread every year so around this time (and occasionally dream about acquiring a physical copy of Dark Carnival). Homecoming and The Jar are probably the best known in this but by no means the best, as all are highly worthy and I hold no favorites here (though Touched by Fire and Uncle Einar hold a special place).
A must read for spooky season.
A must read for spooky season.
