The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury. 1951
The Illustrated Man is rated 92%.
AVERAGE STORY: 4.16
6 great / 10 good / 3 average / 0 poor / 0 DNF.
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It is easy to forget that this isn’t a “Best of Ray Bradbury” collection. This reads like the gems from a lifetime of writing Science Fiction and yet it is merely stories from 1947 through 1951. Some of Bradbury’s all time classics are here as well as his most important themes: Mars, Rockets, Family, and Midwestern Americana. Almost every word of this collection is worth reading. More than that, it is worth thinking about. While the language and circumstances may seem quaint to a modern reading, the messages and emotions are truly timeless.
Some of the truly great stories in this collection are:
“The Veldt.” This is a well known classic, but one that feels as fresh as ever. Spoiled children keep playing in a ‘virtual reality’ version of the African Veldt. By the time their parents notice and care, it may be too late.
“Kaleidoscope.” Tragic, painful, and undeniably human. The final conversations of astronauts lost in space after an accident dredge the raw feelings of lost opportunities, seething angry, and unfinished business. A work of beauty.
“The Rocket Man.” The quiet human story of a Rocket Man’s relationship with his family. This is what Bradbury does best. He takes the structure of science fiction to tell an eternal story of husbands and wives and fathers and sons and work and family.
“The Fox and the Forest.” Luscious in the environment and terrifying in suspense. A married couple flee their dystopian present full of war in favor of 1938 Mexico. But they are being hunted.
“Zero Hour.” A sinister take on the games that children play. Beneath the not-at-all-watchful eyes of their parents, young children have started playing a new game. “Invasion,” they call it. And they are playing with imaginary friends.
“The Rocket.” Another family story of heartbreaking beauty. A junkyard owner watches the Rockets and dreams of a trip to Mars. He has enough money to send only one member of the family.
The Illustrated Man is rated 92%.
6 great / 10 good / 3 average / 0 poor / 0 DNF.
How do I arrive at a rating?
The Veldt. 1950
Great. Spoiled children are spending way too much time in their new playroom, recreating the African Veldt and its wildlife.
· Kaleidoscope. 1949
Great. A heartbreaking story of astronauts last conversations as they float to their deaths following an explosion of their rocket ship. Raw, painful, and honest.
· The Other Foot. 1951
Good. In a story written before the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, Black people prepare for vengeance on the white people who are about to land on their planet.
· The Highway. 1950
Good. A rural man south of the United States is barely effected by the end of the world up north.
· The Man. 1949
Average. To their dismay, astronauts land on a planet the same day that the Messiah comes.
· The Long Rain. 1950
Good. A riveting tale of peril, panic, despair, perseverance, and unstopping rain on Venus.
· The Rocket Man. 1951
Great. One of the great human tales of the passion for exploration and the price paid by those left behind.
· The Fire Balloons. 1951
Average. Priest wish to save the souls of aliens, but first must determine if they possess souls.
· The Last Night of the World. 1951
Good. A quiet story of a simply peaceful ‘end of the world.’
· The Exiles. 1949
Average. A mystical tale of a planet full of famous authors and there fantastic creations, but the scientific rational people who destroyed it all on Earth are coming to this planet as well.
· No Particular Night or Morning. 1951
Good. A man slowly comes unhinged during a space mission and starts denying everything that cannot be proven. Even the existence of Earth.
· The Fox and the Forest. 1950
Great. Rivetingly suspense story of a future couple that escape their terrible future into 1938 Mexico, only to find that they are being hunted.
· The Visitor. 1948
Good. Men dying on Mars have their world turned upside down by a visitor who has the ability to make his imagination feel totally real
The Concrete Mixer. 1949
Good. An invading Martian army gets surprised by humanity peaceful accepts their rule.
Marionettes, Inc. 1949
Good. Two men, in unhappy marriages, create robot copies of themselves for a bit of freedom, until it starts to go horribly wrong.
The City. 1950
Good. The great mechanized City sleeps for 20 Thousand years until Earthmen arrive and it can finally wake and begin its mission.
Zero Hour. 1947
Great. Unsupervised children are playing a came of Invasion in this creative and chilling tale.
The Rocket. 1950
Great. The owner of a junkyard has enough money to send one member of the family on a trip to Mars. Or to buy a model of a rocket.
The Illustrated Man. 1951
Good. A riveting story of a disintegrating marriage, carnivals, and a man who gets a witch to cover his body in tattoos. Hauntingly great story, but fantasy - not science fiction.
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