Rating: 
Summary: "Skin illustrations, the sign of an artist"
Review:
"Eighteen illustrations, eighteen tales." "The illustrations came to life..."
A man is encountered who has skin Illustrations all over his body. Each illustration represents a tale from the future. The illustrations come to life and tell a tale of doom or impending doom. In this way ray Bradbury can tell related but different tales in this book. Its Bradbury's writing style and dialogue that holds you as much as the storyline.
At first they are intriguing and fresh. Later they don't as much repeat but are similar in form and function.
One of the best "The Veldt" is first. Of course everyone will have a different favorite.
I suggest that you make your cats leave the room if you read out loud.
Rating: 
Summary: If you don't like Science Fiction......
Review: read this and change your mind.The narrator met a man covered in tattos, tattos that moved to tell stories, eighteen of which are told in this volume. The stories, many of which have been published separately, are:
THE VELDT - overindulgence is bad for both parents and children
KALEIDOSCOPE - doomed astronauts floating in space
THE OTHER FOOT - reverse discrimination with a vengence
THE HIGHWAY - sometimes life passes you by and sometimes it doesn't
THE MAN - is it the journey or the destination that matters?
THE LONG RAIN - sometimes madness is the answer
THE ROCKET MAN - career vs. family
THE FIRE BALLOONS - is religion the answer or the question?
THE LAST NIGHT OF THE WORLD - the end with a whimper not a bang
THE EXILES - do people live for art or does art live for people?
NO PARTICULAR NIGHT OR MORNING - again the answer could be madness
THE FOX AND THE FOREST - you can run but you cannot hide
THE VISITOR - sometimes you don't know what you've got 'til its gone
THE CONCRETE MIXER - Mars invades
MARIONETTES, INC. - machines can be asked to do too much
THE CITY - revenge can be served very cold
ZERO HOUR - parents need to parent
THE ROCKET - Desire, envy and the triumph of the human spirit Although these tales are hauntingly disturbing and many contain rather gruesome images Bradbury writes with a gentleness that takes material that could be shocking in another writer's hand and instead makes it poignant. He allows the more subtle message of the stories to come through by taking the edge off the sensationalism. It is particularly interesting to read these stories and rember (or discover) what life was like in the fifties and then reflect (investigate) what changes took place in the subsequent fifty year. For those who have read this and didn't like it try it again in a few years.
Rating:
Summary: Bradbury is a master storyteller
Review: These are stories that go beyond "science fiction." The technology aspects are part of the canvas, but these stories are powerful because Bradbury paints with emotion and metaphor. He builds more empathy with characters in a few short words than other authors do in an entire novel, and his descriptions return us to a time when we were young, and simple objects filled us with awe and wonder. There is something here for everyone. Read them for yourself. Read them for your children. This short book is a celebration of the art of storytelling.
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