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A review by trevisezg
The October Country by Ray Bradbury
4.0
This is my second read, it has been over 25 years since I last read it. My teacher in high school picked this book for my elective class, Science fiction. I rated here on Goodread many years after I read it, so I gave it three stars and when it came time to reread it I was hoping I would get it to 4 stars but again I am just not loving these stories. There are 19 stories in this collection and I will rate each one below.
I think what disappointed me the most my first time through was that I was expecting sci-fi and got weird and somewhat Twilight Zone stories. I wanted to like this series of stories more than I actually liked them. I read the Illustrated Man a few years ago and loved most of those stories, these ones seemed like his lesser stories. I will give it more of 3.5 and this time I will round up to 4 stars.
The Dwarf: 2.5/5
The Next in Line: 1.5/5 - This one seemed to go on for too long, I kept thinking It was over and then there was more. I also figured out the ending way early.
The Watchful Poker Chip of H. Matisse: 2.5/5
Skeleton: 3.5/5 – One man’s fight with his own skeleton.
The Jar: 4/5 – A story of a carnival attractions in a Jar. Creepy at times and interesting of what people’s imagination had about the Jar.
The Lake: 5/5 – This story was the saddest story in the collection and very good.
The Emissary: 3/5 – I think Dean Koontz would love this story. A story of a boy and his dog.
Touched With Fire: 3/5
The Small Assassin: 4.5/5 – Creepy and another good one.
The Crowd: 2.5/5 – I liked it but not satisfied with the ending.
Jack-in-the-box: 2.5/5
The Scythe: 4.5/5 – I think I liked this one because of the connection to an actual farm with Death.
Uncle Einar: 4.5/5 – An uncle with wings.
The Wind: 4/5 – Creepy in the way some of the Twilight Zone episodes were, was it all in the friend’s mind or was the wind really after him.
The Man Upstairs: 4.5/5
There Was an Old Woman: 4/5
The Cistern: 1/5 – Probably my least favorite, I remembered not like it way back when in high school
Homecoming: 4/5 – A continuation of Uncle Einar
The Wonderful Death of Dudley Stone: 4/5
I think what disappointed me the most my first time through was that I was expecting sci-fi and got weird and somewhat Twilight Zone stories. I wanted to like this series of stories more than I actually liked them. I read the Illustrated Man a few years ago and loved most of those stories, these ones seemed like his lesser stories. I will give it more of 3.5 and this time I will round up to 4 stars.
The Dwarf: 2.5/5
The Next in Line: 1.5/5 - This one seemed to go on for too long, I kept thinking It was over and then there was more. I also figured out the ending way early.
The Watchful Poker Chip of H. Matisse: 2.5/5
Skeleton: 3.5/5 – One man’s fight with his own skeleton.
The Jar: 4/5 – A story of a carnival attractions in a Jar. Creepy at times and interesting of what people’s imagination had about the Jar.
The Lake: 5/5 – This story was the saddest story in the collection and very good.
The Emissary: 3/5 – I think Dean Koontz would love this story. A story of a boy and his dog.
Touched With Fire: 3/5
The Small Assassin: 4.5/5 – Creepy and another good one.
The Crowd: 2.5/5 – I liked it but not satisfied with the ending.
Jack-in-the-box: 2.5/5
The Scythe: 4.5/5 – I think I liked this one because of the connection to an actual farm with Death.
Uncle Einar: 4.5/5 – An uncle with wings.
The Wind: 4/5 – Creepy in the way some of the Twilight Zone episodes were, was it all in the friend’s mind or was the wind really after him.
The Man Upstairs: 4.5/5
There Was an Old Woman: 4/5
The Cistern: 1/5 – Probably my least favorite, I remembered not like it way back when in high school
Homecoming: 4/5 – A continuation of Uncle Einar
The Wonderful Death of Dudley Stone: 4/5