Ray Bradbury has been called one of the greatest science fiction/fantasy/horror writers of the past century. He is best known for his collections of short stories and The Illustrated Man published in 1951 (along with The Martian Chronicles) is one of his all-time masterpieces. The novel consists of eighteen stories all of which except one had been published previously in other publications. The collection won the International Fantasy Award in 1952.
The book begins with a muscular carnival performer whose body is completely covered by tattoos given to him by a time traveling woman. Each of the designs is animated and tells a story which are the tales presented in the collection. They deal heavily with human psychology and fantasy/science fiction themes. The Veldt, probably the most well known of the stories, deals with children whose playroom is a virtual reality simulation. The children have created with their minds an African locale with wild animals. When the parents tell the children something they do not like, the Veldt becomes a dangerous simulation in which there will be casualties and carnage. The Exiles details a story in which deceased famous authors from our past have formed a colony on Mars. They are kept alive as long as their published works are still in existence but they are placed in jeopardy due to the burning of much of their work by people on earth. In The Fox and the Forest a couple time travels to 1938 Mexico before modern civilization destroyed the environment. Their happiness will be short lived due to future security guards also time traveling who want to bring them back. Perhaps one of my favorite stories is The Visitor. Mars is in isolation and in quarantine due to a virus. An eighteen year old with the powers of telepathy can create beautiful scenarios and images in other people’s minds. He becomes too popular however when multiple colonists begin fighting to control him. Another favorite story of mine is Marionettes Inc. A man by the name of Braling creates an android copy of himself to deal with his difficult wife. He needs to be careful what he wishes for since the robot has plans of its own by taking over Braling’s life. In The City a group of astronauts come to a colony that they think has been abandoned. The alien colonists there have a diabolical plan to destroy the explorers. In Zero Hour, the children of earth become obsessed with a game in which they are actually pawns for starting an alien invasion. The Rocket concerns a junkyard owner who spends his last remaining funds to build a rocket to transport one of his family members into space. The trouble is who does he send?
Bradbury’s writing style is easy to follow and his story ideas are indeed creative and original. Because of the length of the stories, the author moves the action forward quickly. Many of the stories contain endings that will surprise and sometimes shock the reader. Bradbury’s themes are still as relevant today as they were 70 years ago.
Availability: Book; Book on CD; eBook & eAudiobook in cloudLibrary
Rating: **** Stars (I really liked it)
Reviewer: Van, Reference Librarian
ARE YOU AND THIS BOOK A GOOD MATCH? DISCOVER MORE WITH NOVELIST APPEALS! The Illustrated Man
GENRE: Books to Movies; Horror; Science Fantasy; Science Fiction; Science Fiction Classics; Short Stories
TONE: Disturbing; Haunting; Melancholy; Thought-Provoking
STORYLINE: Character-Driven
WRITING STYLE: Descriptive
LOCATION: Earth; Mars
SUBJECT: Aliens; Children; Husband and Wife; Magic; Prejudice; Space Colonies; Space Flight; Storytelling; Tattooing; Technology and Civilization; Virtual Reality