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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
Ray Bradbury is a master with words and the way he can describe a scene is so interesting and specific. Now, not all the stories were hits for me but overall loved this book. Reminded me of vintage comic horror stories.
The Dwarf - 3/5
The Next in Line - 3/5
The Watchful Poker Chip of H. Matisse - 4/5
Skeleton - 4/5
The Jar - 4/5
The Lake - 5/5
The Emissary - 3/5
Touched with Fire - 3/5
The Small Assassin - 3/5 (reminded me of Rosemary’s Baby)
The Crowd - 4/5
Jack in the Box - 4/5
The Scythe - 3/5
Uncle Einar - 4/5
The Wind - 3/5
The Man Upstairs - 4/5
There Was an Old Woman - 3/5
The Cistern - 4/5 (reminded me of Shirley Jackson)
Homecoming - 4/5
The Wonderful Death of Dudley Stone - 2/5
The Dwarf - 3/5
The Next in Line - 3/5
The Watchful Poker Chip of H. Matisse - 4/5
Skeleton - 4/5
The Jar - 4/5
The Lake - 5/5
The Emissary - 3/5
Touched with Fire - 3/5
The Small Assassin - 3/5 (reminded me of Rosemary’s Baby)
The Crowd - 4/5
Jack in the Box - 4/5
The Scythe - 3/5
Uncle Einar - 4/5
The Wind - 3/5
The Man Upstairs - 4/5
There Was an Old Woman - 3/5
The Cistern - 4/5 (reminded me of Shirley Jackson)
Homecoming - 4/5
The Wonderful Death of Dudley Stone - 2/5
I just wasn't a fan of the stories, but I think it was more to do with the time period in which they were written. Might try again in the fall.
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
A collection of 19 macabre short stories from Bradders. Published in 1955, around the same time as Marty McFly went back in time, these stories easily hold up today. The language, the descriptions, the characters - it would all still work just as well if the stories were written exactly the same but set in present day.
The stories are mostly themed on horror or fantasy with a few bizarre tales chucked in. The stand-out stories for me were The Dwarf, about a dwarf who frequently visits a hall of mirrors at a carnival to look at himself in a mirror that makes him tall. Skeleton, about a man convinced his skeleton is trying to do him harm. The Wind, about a man convinced that the wind is following him and trying to kill him. And then there's The Scythe, a haunting tale about the job of Death.
Most of the tales have grim endings, which I often enjoy more than happy endings because I'm a miserable get. Even though the stories are short and you don't have time to get to know the characters, Bradbury writes them so well that by the time the bleak ending comes, you are left feeling for them.
Now, I would have given this 4 stars, but there are a couple of stories in the collection that let it down a little. I wouldn't call them duds, but they lack the magic of the good ones. The ones that I didn't enjoy were The Watchful Poker Chip of H. Matisse, Touched With Fire, and There Was An Old Woman. They weren't particularity bad, I just found them a little boring. But they were easy to get through with them all being around 10-14 pages long.
So yes, this was a good introduction to Ray Bradbury for me and I'll be looking out for more stuff by him.
The stories are mostly themed on horror or fantasy with a few bizarre tales chucked in. The stand-out stories for me were The Dwarf, about a dwarf who frequently visits a hall of mirrors at a carnival to look at himself in a mirror that makes him tall. Skeleton, about a man convinced his skeleton is trying to do him harm. The Wind, about a man convinced that the wind is following him and trying to kill him. And then there's The Scythe, a haunting tale about the job of Death.
Most of the tales have grim endings, which I often enjoy more than happy endings because I'm a miserable get. Even though the stories are short and you don't have time to get to know the characters, Bradbury writes them so well that by the time the bleak ending comes, you are left feeling for them.
Now, I would have given this 4 stars, but there are a couple of stories in the collection that let it down a little. I wouldn't call them duds, but they lack the magic of the good ones. The ones that I didn't enjoy were The Watchful Poker Chip of H. Matisse, Touched With Fire, and There Was An Old Woman. They weren't particularity bad, I just found them a little boring. But they were easy to get through with them all being around 10-14 pages long.
So yes, this was a good introduction to Ray Bradbury for me and I'll be looking out for more stuff by him.
The October Country by Ray Bradbury is an excellent collection of short stories ranging from weird to creepy to even a bit beautiful. I haven’t read Bradbury since high school and I’m so glad I decided to pick this book up this October. It’s a wonderful volume for spooky season, especially for readers who might want stories that seem to fit Halloween but aren’t all hardcore horror. Bradbury’s introduction is one of the best I’ve read and the stories were pretty much all 3 stars and up, with lots of fours and some fives. Some of my favorite tales from this collection included The Dwarf, The Crowd, The Scythe, The Man Upstairs, and Homecoming. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is a perfectly autumnal collection of stories with a huge range of concepts and vibes that all fit into a fall day of reading. I loved it.
Bradbury’s prose is next level. It is absolutely gorgeous. I reread so many sections of description just to soak it in.
The Dwarf: 4/5
The Next in Line: 2/5
The Watchful Poker Chip of H. Matisse: 2.5/5
Skeleton: 3.5/5
The Jar: 4/5
The Lake: 4.5/5
The Emissary: 5/5 (one of my favorites)
Touched with Fire: 3/5
The Small Assassin: 5/5 (another favorite)
The Crowd: 4.5/5 (top 5)
Jack-in-the-Box: 4/5 (this one is absolutely insane; imagery, worlds, fantasy, monsters, confusion. It’s crazy)
The Scythe: 4.5/5 (top 5)
Uncle Einar: 3/5
The Wind: 3.5/5
The Man Upstairs: 2/5
There Was an Old Woman; 1/5 (I dnfed this one)
The Cistern: 4.5/5 (top 5)
Homecoming: 3.5/5 (the Halloween vibes are amazing)
The Wonderful Death of Dudley Stone: 4/5
Bradbury’s prose is next level. It is absolutely gorgeous. I reread so many sections of description just to soak it in.
The Dwarf: 4/5
The Next in Line: 2/5
The Watchful Poker Chip of H. Matisse: 2.5/5
Skeleton: 3.5/5
The Jar: 4/5
The Lake: 4.5/5
The Emissary: 5/5 (one of my favorites)
Touched with Fire: 3/5
The Small Assassin: 5/5 (another favorite)
The Crowd: 4.5/5 (top 5)
Jack-in-the-Box: 4/5 (this one is absolutely insane; imagery, worlds, fantasy, monsters, confusion. It’s crazy)
The Scythe: 4.5/5 (top 5)
Uncle Einar: 3/5
The Wind: 3.5/5
The Man Upstairs: 2/5
There Was an Old Woman; 1/5 (I dnfed this one)
The Cistern: 4.5/5 (top 5)
Homecoming: 3.5/5 (the Halloween vibes are amazing)
The Wonderful Death of Dudley Stone: 4/5
Some of the stories hold up better than others, but all are distinctive and many are at the very least quietly unsettling. Bradbury is excellent at writing settings that, whether noir or realist or gothic or whatever, ratchet up the spookiness. I also appreciate that he doesn't typically do conventional monster or ghost stories; what's creepy here is almost always some sort of supernatural or metaphysical wrongness in the world. The October Country seems to be a place where the laws of physics, mortality, and more are quietly, impossibly, irreparably bent.
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
October Country is often described as the perfect read for october with chilly, creepy stories and autumnal vibes. I did not really get those feelings from this collection. Only the short preface titled October Country and a couple of other stories evoke those vibes. The stories vary in setting and atmosphere. For example "The Next in Line" is set in Mexico and "The Jar" is set in Louisiana and "Touched with Fire" is all about 92 degrees Fahrenheit being the tipping point for human irritibility causing them to snap. So yeah not exactly fall vibes for me. That doesnt mean the stories aren't interesting. Most seem to be observations and studies of human nature. The irrational mind, dealing with obsession, paranoia and death. I only found a couple of them creepy though. The rest is just weird or dark fiction. Overall its a decent read and Bradbury's classic writing style has a way of pulling you through even the most mundane tale. I really enjoyed "The Scythe", The Next in Line", "The Small Assassin" and "The Wind". However if you want Halloween or Autumn vibes there are much better short story collections out there.