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Average Customer Rating:

Clever and creative

Customer Rating:

Very interesting book. Never gets dull, as it is really a series of very short stories almost all of them concerning the nature of God. Bradbury comes out strongly against both religious people who are inflexible in their definition of God AND atheists. As an agnostic, I was actually a little irritated with parts of it, but you know, it would be hypocritical of me to expect Christians to take it, but not accept a little bit of criticism myself. So, just read it with a very open mind and a lot of curiosity about the world, and you'll love it.

The Illustrated Man is a MUST READ	Customer Rating:
I first read this when i was in the 7th grade and saw the movie as part of a lesson in middle school. I was so impressed by this book that I have read it over and over and over again since. Now im 28 and I finally ordered my own copy and I love it. Everyone should read Bradbury and The Illustrated Man is a must read.

Classic collection by the legendary Bradbury

Customer Rating:

Ray Bradbury is always a delight. While I'm a huge fan of his (sparse few) novels, it's impossible to deny that where he really shines is in his copious short works. He is, in my opinion, one of the 20th Century's great short story writers. The Illustrated Man plucks a character from Something Wicked This Way Comes and uses him as a set of bookends for this collection of 18 short stories. Like any such collection, there are high points and low points. The low points - the story about famous authors dying as their books are burned, for instance - are still fairly solid, though far from classics, while the high points - the rains on Venus, the father who is always away in his rocket, the astronauts floating to their deaths in space, the poor man and his fake rocket, the telepathic man among the sick exiles, the alien invasion via children - are high points indeed. Very, VERY high points. Bradbury never fails to impress. This is an excellent collection full of rich ideas, wonderful languages and stories you'll never forget.

Dark Magic

Customer Rating:

A strange man's magical tattooes weave stories while he sleeps, stories that amaze, excite, and horrify. And when the moon is risen and the tales are told, the dark marks may tell the most horrifying story of all. Bradbury isn't for everyone, and several of his stories aren't for the squeamish. This collection of short stories is mostly tame, and as uneven in quality as most short-story collections. "The Veldt" and "Zero Hour" are brilliantly-stirred blends of sci-fi and gothic horror, while "The Man" and "The Fire Balloons" are dull and meandering improvisations on religious themes. Among Bradbury's most intriguing stories are the psychological dramas of "Kaleidoscope" and "The Last Night of the World," balanced by the tedious moralizing of "The Other Foot" (a story which probably had much greater punch in the years before desegregation). "The Illustrated Man" is a product of its time, and is streaked through with the dialogue, assumptions, fears, and expectations of the mid-20th century. Some of the themes Bradbury explores still resonate, but he never rises to the timeless transcendence of a Dickens, a Hugo, or an Austen. However, as one of the most popular and devilishly clever American novelists of the 20th century, his short stories here collected deserve a look. But don't look too closely...the picture may begin to move, and you may see yourself...

A good intro to the genre

Customer Rating:

This was my introduction to Science Fiction although some of the stories are perhaps more horror/fantasy than science fiction. And yes, there is a lot of unevenness in the quality of the stories - some are really exceptional and haunting and some are over before ever getting started. Truth is, even those are good but they require much more participation on the part of the reader! My only real complaint is that this edition (like most!) does not include, "The Playground" which is a very powerful story on an aspect of childhood. Why this story does not appear in most editions is beyond me but it's a great read.