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Rating: 
Summary: Good Stories Read by the Author
Review: Back in the late 1970s, Ray Bradbury performed several short stories on record. This collection is comprised of four tapes, two of which feature stories from The Martian Chronicles and two feature short stories which were released in the 70s under the title The Illustrated Man, although the stories came from a variety of sources. Of course, all the stories have been published before, so if you are familiar with Bradbury's work, there is a good chance you have already read most of the stories contained on these tapes. In fact, reading The Martian Chronicles will give you eleven of the stories. "There Will Come Soft Rains," included on The Illustrated Man tapes, is actually a late chapter of The Martian Chronicles. However, listening to a story on tape is different than reading a story, and many of these stories are short enough that you can practically listen to an entire story while driving to the corner story. What you gain from hearing these stories on tape is the sound of Bradbury's voice reciting his own stories and giving them the inflections and patterns in which he conceived the stories. Bradbury's voice is good for reading, without an annoying accent. Furthermore, the technicians set the sound levels properly. The stories, of course, are vintage Bradbury. Although usually labelled a science fiction author, Bradbury's writings tend more towards the horrific. The terror inherent in "The Illustrated Man," "The Crowd" or "The Third Expedition" ranks with anything traditionally labelled "horror." The unthinking cruelty shown in "The Dwarf" is as applicable in the 1990s as it was when Bradbury published the story in 1953. In fact, many of these stories by Bradbury have aged quite well and read better in the 1990s than many of the stories published in his most recent collection, Driving Blind. Although a minority of The Martian Chronicles stories are represented on these tapes, they were chosen well enough that there is still a narrative quality running through those tapes. While The Illustrated Man tapes don't have the same narrative coherence, the stories form a sort of "Best of Ray Bradbury" collection.
Rating: 
Summary: Ray Bradbury creates magical worlds in his readers own homes
Review: The only thing better than reading a Ray Bradbury story is having that story read to you by Ray Bradbury, himself. In this collection of nineteen stories from The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man, this "grand master of inner and outer space" (as the cover of this collection dubs him) comes home with his readers to tell his tales of Mars and the Earth, of the future and the present, of human behavior and human nature. The passion and honesty of Bradbury's work has found its perfect medium in the audio recording; in no other way could the reader's imagination interact as actively and imaginatively with Bradbury's stories than by listening to him. Every one of his stories is more than just something to be passively experienced by reading. Bradbury would not be the successful writer that he is if it was not for the imaginations which his readers bring with them to his work. These nineteen stories read by Bradbury himself epitomize the accessiblity and the liveliness of his writing style. His written words, coupled with his own voice, take his stories into a new dimension of experience for his readers. Few authors can create the magical and believable worlds that Bradbury can. This collection of tapes enables the reader to experience these worlds through the compassionate guidance and infintite wisdom of Ray Bradbury. This collection's appeal is not limited only to his die-hard fans; anyone who can appreciate an original tale which is creatively narrated will find these stories entertaining as well as thought-provoking. Whether the story is about Martians or the active imaginations of children, Ray Bradbury's enchanted voice draws his readers into the story, asks them to participate by imagining along with him, and gives them a new perspective on life and on themselves.
Rating:
Summary: Ray Bradbury creates magical worlds in his readers own homes
Review: The only thing better than reading a Ray Bradbury story is having that story read to you by Ray Bradbury, himself. In this collection of nineteen stories from The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man, this "grand master of inner and outer space" (as the cover of this collection dubs him) comes home with his readers to tell his tales of Mars and the Earth, of the future and the present, of human behavior and human nature. The passion and honesty of Bradbury's work has found its perfect medium in the audio recording; in no other way could the reader's imagination interact as actively and imaginatively with Bradbury's stories than by listening to him. Every one of his stories is more than just something to be passively experienced by reading. Bradbury would not be the successful writer that he is if it was not for the imaginations which his readers bring with them to his work. These nineteen stories read by Bradbury himself epitomize the accessiblity and the liveliness of his writing style. His written words, coupled with his own voice, take his stories into a new dimension of experience for his readers. Few authors can create the magical and believable worlds that Bradbury can. This collection of tapes enables the reader to experience these worlds through the compassionate guidance and infintite wisdom of Ray Bradbury. This collection's appeal is not limited only to his die-hard fans; anyone who can appreciate an original tale which is creatively narrated will find these stories entertaining as well as thought-provoking. Whether the story is about Martians or the active imaginations of children, Ray Bradbury's enchanted voice draws his readers into the story, asks them to participate by imagining along with him, and gives them a new perspective on life and on themselves.
Rating:
Summary: Great, yet lacking
Review: When I saw 19 stories on tape, read by Ray Bradbury, written by Bradbury, I rushed to get my copy. Do not get me wrong--I love the tapes. However, there is something lacking in his tone of voice that can cause one to possibly fall asleep or simply drift away when one should be paying absolute attention to the story. I suppose part of my dissapointment comes from the fact that we all read a story a certain way, and sometimes it is dissapointing to see how the author meant for it to be read. It is also enlightening, however, to be able to find new meaning in his words as he originally intended. I will definitely keep these tapes for a lifetime, and cannot wait to use them in the classroom.
Rating:
Summary: Great, yet lacking
Review: When I saw 19 stories on tape, read by Ray Bradbury, written by Bradbury, I rushed to get my copy. Do not get me wrong--I love the tapes. However, there is something lacking in his tone of voice that can cause one to possibly fall asleep or simply drift away when one should be paying absolute attention to the story. I suppose part of my dissapointment comes from the fact that we all read a story a certain way, and sometimes it is dissapointing to see how the author meant for it to be read. It is also enlightening, however, to be able to find new meaning in his words as he originally intended. I will definitely keep these tapes for a lifetime, and cannot wait to use them in the classroom.
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