Rating: 
Summary: Intentional exaggerations, calculated caricatures, high camp
Review: "All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages."
--Shakespeare, As You Like It (Act 2, Sc. 7) Ray Bradbury, one of the most celebrated fiction writers of our time, has published more than thirty books, close to 600 short stories, and numerous poems, essays, and plays. Bradbury was born August 22, 1920 in Waukegan, Illinois, and now lives in Los Angeles. He is best known for his novels, such as Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man, and Something Wicked This Way Comes. The author's new novel virtually defies categorization. Set in 1960, in Venice, Calif., Let's All Kill Constance is a tongue-in-cheek Gothic tale, a noir mystery that balances kitsch and class. A murder mystery? Well, not exactly. It's more like an unmurder mystery. In her time, Constance Rattigan played many parts. An aging film star, the five-foot-two femme fatale with a golden tan still possesses beauty that causes passersby to turn their heads for a second look. A method actress, a woman with a thousand faces, Constance is a chameleon who changes her personality and appearance to adapt to various roles. Trouble is, by assuming multiple personalities, Constance has lost her identity. No longer knowing who she is, she determines to kill the past--to destroy her multiple personae and rediscover her true self. The narrator of this story is an unnamed science-fiction writer, at whose beachfront bungalow Constance Rattigan appears on a dark and stormy night, with lightning flashing and the waves crashing. Constance brings a 1900 Los Angeles telephone directory, a "Book of the Dead" containing names of the dead and the soon-to-be-dead. Constance's name, along with several others, is marked with a red ink circle around it and a crucifix. Convinced that Death has been chasing her down the seashore, Constance is terrified. She enlists the aid of our sci-fi writer-hero, who, with his wacky sidekicks--irascible Detective Elmo Crumley, Blind Henry, and Fritz Wong--uncover the secrets of a decadent Tinseltown. In search of clues, our semi-fearless foursome sally forth boldly, being careful to heed the counsel of Satchel Paige, who said, "Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you." They ascend Mount Lowe, to the musty archives of an eccentric newspaper collector; press on to the Psychic Research Lodge of Queen Califia (astrologer, palmist, and phrenologist); visit St. Vibiana's Cathedral and Constance Rattigan's big white Arabian-fortress beach house; drive down Hollywood Boulevard to legendary Grauman's Chinese Restaurant, the most famous movie palace in the world; explore the spooky, ghost-haunted depths of L.A.'s catacombs, and tour the tombs at Glendale's Forest Lawn Cemetery. Slowly but surely, a portrait of Constance Rattigan emerges: a vixen who sells herself--body and soul--in cutthroat competition with other actresses in order to win prize roles in films, and to steal their men. "Why is it," says our narrator, "someone like Constance is a lightning bolt, performing seal, high-wire frolicker, wild laughing human, and at the same time she's the devil incarnate, an evil cheater at life's loaded deck?" As I read Bradbury's ludicrous tale, I felt my thumb slowly turning downward. It suddenly dawned on me, however, that this book is a send-up. The book's opening lines should have alerted me to this fact: "It was a dark and stormy night. Is that one way to catch your reader?" Surely, somewhere the spirit of Charles Schulz must be smiling. Liquor flows freely through these pages. Corks are popped at the drop of a hat. Our narrator muses: "Malt does more than Milton can, / to justify God's way towards Man. / And Freud spoils kids and spares the rod, / to justify Man's ways toward God." Judged "seriously," Let's All Kill Constance is ludicrous. The point, however, is that Bradbury's work sparkles with fun and joie de vivre. His exaggerations are intentional. His caricatures are calculated. Listening with ears attuned to Bradbury's wavelength, one hears the "Pow! Biff! Bam!" of high camp. Appreciating this crucial point is the key to understanding and enjoying Bradbury's latest offering. Buy into what Bradbury is selling, and you will have a blast...
Rating: 
Summary: Let's All Not Bother
Review: A self-indulgent conceit from a highly successful and respected author who knows he does not have to try very hard any more. All the characters speak with the same voice. The story leads nowhere and says nothing. The many fantasy elements are used not to illuminate truths, which good fantasy can do, but as an excuse for implausibility and incoherence. The one saving grace of the novel is the affectionate description of some aspects of Los Angeles history and geography. The passages about Mount Lowe are fascinating to anyone who lives here. But if I want to learn more about my adopted city I'll look to a guidebook rather than a third-rate fantasy thriller. There is no doubting Bradbury's greatness. How sad that he now feels able to reel off routine dross like this.
Rating: 
Summary: Not typical Bradbury
Review: After reading (or rereading) several other Bradbury stories, I was looking forward to this one to see how his style has changed. I must say I am disappointed. I couldn't bring myself to care about any of the characters; they were all too busy with their "witty" repartee to be sympathetic (or even interesting). The main character, obviously based on Bradbury himself, would cry at the deaths of other characters, but I felt nothing because Bradbury didn't paint them realistically or sympathetically. To top it off, the main character was really just a jerk, but I got the impression that the reader is supposed to like him. Characters with major character flaws can be interesting. This one was not; he was just a jerk, and for no apparent reason. The only part I liked was the description of how LA used to be, since I grew up in southern California.
I am surprised by the number of reviewers who described this as "typical Bradbury." Not in my experience. If this were typical of his other work, I couldn't recommend any of it. Luckily that's not the case. You would be better served by rereading some classic Bradbury than by spending any time on this.
Rating:
Summary: Compelling and thoughtful
Review: Aging movie star Constance Rattigan shows up on Ray Bradbury's doorstep with a problem. Someone has dropped off an address book that Constance got rid of years before--because so many of the people in it are dead. It is a book of the dead--and a threat--especially since some of the people listed in it aren't dead, yet. Bradbury is sucked into the mystery and follows it through the streets of old Hollywood. As he and his friends investigate, they find that Constance was more than they had suspected--and more dangerous. For Constance is investigating on her own, and where she goes, death seems to follow. Could the entire thing be a setup by Constance? Or is someone systematically destroying her past--before they destroy her? Author Ray Bradbury is a master at taking a simple story and revealing the layers of meaning and depth that are normally hidden and LET'S ALL KILL CONSTANCE is a fine example. In the early 1960s Hollywood where so many people are creations, Constance is the ultimate creation. What she really is underneath the Hollywood glitz, Bradbury, the others, and even Constance herself can scarcely discern. Fans of Ray Bradbury will get a kick out of seeing him come up with the ideas for several of his best and most famous works as he chases down the mystery. In the final third of the book, LET'S ALL KILL CONSTANCE occasionally gets muddled in itself. Still, Bradbury brings it to a strong (if weird--but it's Bradbury so you wouldn't expect anything else) conclusion. Bradbury's strong writing and the powerful character of Constance herself carry the reader's interest and compell us through this short novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Thank you, Mr. Bradbury
Review: Bradbury made a writer out of me when I was twelve, reading stories he'd written before I was even thought of. Thirty-three very odd years later he's still presenting me with wonders that must be read in one sitting--damn my own deadllines-- a rare pleasure these days. Ray is the perfect hallucinogen for those of us who never did drugs. Let's All Kill Constance reads like a dream--literally. Our nameless protagonist lurches us through an unlikely train wreck of events, with deaths and odd coincidences piling up with the fun house logic that only works in dreams. Sure it all falls apart when you wake up, but that's not the point. Let go and let Ray, to coin a phrase. That's the beauty of all his work--phantasmagoria, surrealism, and word play thick as late summer sunlight and twice as golden. One particular passage made me stop and dog ear a page, as Crumley rants: "You don't know anyone. You'll never write the great American novel, because you don't know shoats from shinola. You overestimate character where there is none, so you upchuck fairy princes, virgin milkmaids. Most writers can't even do that, so you go with your taffy pulls, thirteen to the dozen. Let those realists scoop dog doo. . . .You know what your problem is? You love people not worth loving." Amen, brother and God bless you, Mr. Bradbury. I hope you're still writing when *I'm* 80. I always read you in October.
Rating:
Summary: Strange Tale of Secret Hollywood
Review: Constance Rattigan has received tow old phone/address books filled with the names of dead people. She thinks she is running from death when she runs into the protagonist (an unnamed author). She then disappears into the night. The author becomes worried and, with the help of a strange cast of characters, tries to track down Constance and the names that might still be alive. The quest leads into the history of Constance and Hollywood and literally delves into Hollywood's grim underbelly. This is a strange tale but full of interesting scenes and tales. It is also fun to figure out who the protagonist is. There are plenty of oblique clues. A little different from most of Bradbury's writing, but still with his unmistakable style. A good read for any Bradbury fan.
Rating:
Summary: Strange Tale of Secret Hollywood
Review: Constance Rattigan has received tow old phone/address books filled with the names of dead people. She thinks she is running from death when she runs into the protagonist (an unnamed author). She then disappears into the night. The author becomes worried and, with the help of a strange cast of characters, tries to track down Constance and the names that might still be alive. The quest leads into the history of Constance and Hollywood and literally delves into Hollywood's grim underbelly. This is a strange tale but full of interesting scenes and tales. It is also fun to figure out who the protagonist is. There are plenty of oblique clues. A little different from most of Bradbury's writing, but still with his unmistakable style. A good read for any Bradbury fan.
Rating: 
Summary: Compelling, Confusing, Constance....
Review: I am a big fan of Ray Bradbury's work. He is a genious in literature. However, this book fell short of what I expected from him. The book starts off excellant. There is a good build up and it is very quick and interesting. As the plot thickens (hehe) things tended to get a little bit confusing to me. Part of it is Bradbury's classic writing style mixed with a very odd plot. The other part is sheer madness. Everything comes back into focus for the end only to end on an off note, almost leaving you hanging. Again, let me reiterate that this is not a bad novel at all, but as far as Ray Bradbury's work goes, it is on a lower level. If perhaps this was another author I would easily give it 4 stars, but I expected more out of a Bradbury novel. If you are a die hard fan of Mr. Bradbury's work, check this one out, however if you are new to his work, start off with one of his well known classics.
Rating:
Summary: Compelling, Confusing, Constance....
Review: I am a big fan of Ray Bradbury's work. He is a genious in literature. However, this book fell short of what I expected from him. The book starts off excellant. There is a good build up and it is very quick and interesting. As the plot thickens (hehe) things tended to get a little bit confusing to me. Part of it is Bradbury's classic writing style mixed with a very odd plot. The other part is sheer madness. Everything comes back into focus for the end only to end on an off note, almost leaving you hanging. Again, let me reiterate that this is not a bad novel at all, but as far as Ray Bradbury's work goes, it is on a lower level. If perhaps this was another author I would easily give it 4 stars, but I expected more out of a Bradbury novel. If you are a die hard fan of Mr. Bradbury's work, check this one out, however if you are new to his work, start off with one of his well known classics.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderul tale about Hollywood's ghosts
Review: In "Let's all kill Constance" Ray Bradbury delivers a long awaited third noir tale that is set in the Venice Beach of 1960, but truely deeply rooted in the Hollywood of a bygone era. He also returns to the great character of Constance Rattigan, aging Hollywood diva, who was introduced in the superb "Death is a lonely business". In the current story Constance once again finds herself haunted by her Hollywood past as she finds an old phonebook at her door in which some of the names seem to be marked for death, the last survivors of her past apparently picked to die, her name labeled as well. So she runs to our narrator, nameless writer on the beach, and gets him and his trusted, grumpy sidekick Crumley into yet another adventure that explores the dark shadows of a Hollywood that is no more. Bradbury is still the superb poet of simple descriptions that are so engaging that they [pull] the reader into an imagery that will linger in your mind long after the last page is turned
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