Rating: 
Summary: writing cannot get any greater
Review: Ray Bradbury is one of the few writers I have read who has been able to successfully capture or draw out emotions every time, whether it be sadness, love, excitement, fear, the list goes on... He has mastered what it takes to write a short story that will affect the reader or make them think, not only in this book, but in all other collections of his I have read. His writing style should be one that all writers of any caliber strive to achieve.
Rating: 
Summary: Not up to Bradbury's high standards
Review: Short story master Ray Bradbury presents 22 offerings variously set in ancient times, in out-of-the-way rustic hills, and in modern cities of Europe and the Americas, but never really seems to hit his stride. While best known for such science fiction classics as The Martian Chronicles and the short novel Fahrenheit 451, a significant portion of Bradbury's output is not very sci-fi, and sometimes scarcely even qualifies as fantasy. First and last, Bradbury's stories are about human emotion, and the setting (be it Mars, Hollywood, or ancient China) merely facilitates the drama for the disturbingly familiar players.The few science fiction stories in this collection are not very notable. "The Pedestrian" is probably the best, with its strong statement about the rights of the individual. "Embroidery" shows three elderly women trying to create beauty in a world that is crashing around them and so demonstrates Bradbury's penchant for female characters as well as mature ones. Women's inner strength is also the subject of "The Wilderness" which would fit nicely into the Martian Chronicles collection except that it isn't quite powerful enough. "A Sound of Thunder" is a very conventional time travel tale that reads like Bradbury imitating Asimov, while "The Golden Apples of the Sun" is the re-telling of an ancient fable in the style of Arthur C. Clarke. The few fantasies are an odd mixture, but only the lonesome sea monster of "The Foghorn" makes any real impression. Combined, the sci-fi and fantasy pieces make up only about half of this volume's 22 stories; the other half consists of Bradbury's brief glimpses of the real world. The most memorable is probably "The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl" in which a murderer tries to clean up the stain of his crime, but most of the others are all-too forgettable. Readers will page through tales of bureaucratic indifference, racial bigotry, the tragedy of illiteracy, but always the main theme is loneliness, loneliness, loneliness. Bradbury's hushed narrative voice is perfect for these kinds of stories, but readers of sci-fi and fantasy may come away less than delighted. This book feels like a grab bag of stories that didn't make it into any other collections, and really isn't quite up to the author's usually high standard. Devoted fans will surely enjoy these stories, but few will be impressed by the strength of this collection alone. Those anxious to discover this fine writer's work would do better to look into the above-mentioned novels, or else the wonderful Machineries of Joy, which shows the author's skill with short stories to much better advantage.
Rating:
Summary: The poet laureate of science fiction
Review: This is the first collection of Ray Bradbury's stories I ever read, and it still rocks! I was only 13, and it immediately put me into his own, lyrical and yet dark world: lovelorn sea monsters, pining away for foghorns; time-traveling big-game hunters who accidentally change our history; spaceships dispatched to collect a piece of the sun; dictatorships that outlaw any form of eccentric behavior, such as *not* watching television---a scary premise, indeed, since we're practically in that world now; and more. Bradbury's delight in telling stories, inventing fabulous glimpses into other worlds as well as our own, radiates from every page. His work is warm, but it is not overly sentimental---he is unafraid to let a story end very badly for its characters, if it should help him to make the point he has in his mind. Nor are his tales all scary and dark---one or two are positively hilarious. This is not just highly recommended---it is urged that you rush out and purchase it...
Rating:
Summary: fantastic
Review: Though there may be "nothing new under the sun," Bradbury is the closest of any to finding something new. These stories are some of the most beautiful, romantic stories to be found. I will never stop reading Bradbury. He is not only a science-fiction master, but he knows the human soul a good deal more than most. If you haven't read this, do! There are a couple of stories that could be omitted, but they take away nothing from this book.
Rating:
Summary: fantastic
Review: Though there may be "nothing new under the sun," Bradbury is the closest of any to finding something new. These stories are some of the most beautiful, romantic stories to be found. I will never stop reading Bradbury. He is not only a science-fiction master, but he knows the human soul a good deal more than most. If you haven't read this, do! There are a couple of stories that could be omitted, but they take away nothing from this book.
Rating:
Summary: A lesson in short story writing.
Review: Whenever people hear the name of Ray Bradbury, where they have heard it before they associate it with "The Martian Chronicles" mostly. But, they forget that Ray Bradbury doesn't only have an eye fixed fixed on the wonders of life on other planets. Ray Bradbury too, writes with an uncanny understanding of human nature and he has the ability to make the reader be a part of the story, too. I will just mention a few of the stories here which, in my view further complimented the reasons why Ray Bradbury is what he is today. "The Foghorn", "Here there be Tygers", "A sound of thunder","The murderer"... these show fear, direct confrontations with man against beasts he would never have encountered before, as well as man with his own internal beasts, the very ones which destroy his inner self. It is on the whole a brilliant, disturbing and beautiful compilation, to which five stars is not a sufficient evaluation.
Rating:
Summary: Bradbury's SF strength is in the humanity...
Review: You've probably heard a half a dozen Ray Bradbury stories without even knowing it. His tales of space flights, Martian expeditions, and strange occurences on our own planet are all classics. While "Martian Chronicles" is arguably the best collection of Bradbury stories, this book also shows the amazing talent of Bradbury. His ability to mix the human with the fantastic makes for incredible stories. This book collects several of the best stories Bradbury ever created in one volume. There are several books that group Bradbury stories together, but few contain the raw number of stories as this one. My own personal favorite Bradbury story is in this collection: "A Sound of Thunder." This short tale of a time-travelling dinosaur safari is an amazingly powerful look at the wonder and consequences of time travel and personal behavior. The story is easily consumed by the youngest reader and just as easily debated by science fiction scholars for hours. I first heard this story on an audio tape during a family car trip--hearing it inspired me to read other Bradbury stories. To me, Bradbury will always be "A Sound of Thunder" and that's quite a reputation to have. One of Bradbury's longer shorts, "Frost and Fire," is also included. This is an amazing tale of the rapid development of humans on Mercury. Rapid in that everyone grows quickly and dies young. Set against the backdrop of a planet that allows only a few brief minutes of freedom on the surface before the residents must hide from the scorching heat or blistering cold. The story can be appreciated from a pure SF perspective or just from the human side--Bradbury creates realistic worlds in the most fantastic location. Two other stories are also stand-outs: "The Fog Horn" and "Here There Be Tygers." Saying anything about the actual plots would give away the stories, but I will say they both present unexpected twists that will have you thinking twice about your own normal everyday lives. As a first introduction to Bradbury this collection is excellent. It gathers together a wide variety of his stories from various sub-genres and has enough to keep readers busy for a while. Ultimately you'll want to read other story collections, but this book will give you a taste of things to come. For Bradbury fans who haven't read some of these stories I probably don't need to recommend the book at all--by now you've already clicked on a purchase link and had the book sent to you. For everyone else I can only urge that you try Bradbury. Even if you aren't a science fiction fan, Bradbury is a very approachable author and his works cross the traditional boundaries of science fiction. This isn't nerdy Star Trek or hard-core Neuromancer. His stories are human and that's what makes them universal. Rocketships are entirely optional.
Rating:
Summary: Bradbury's SF strength is in the humanity...
Review: You've probably heard a half a dozen Ray Bradbury stories without even knowing it. His tales of space flights, Martian expeditions, and strange occurences on our own planet are all classics. While "Martian Chronicles" is arguably the best collection of Bradbury stories, this book also shows the amazing talent of Bradbury. His ability to mix the human with the fantastic makes for incredible stories. This book collects several of the best stories Bradbury ever created in one volume. There are several books that group Bradbury stories together, but few contain the raw number of stories as this one. My own personal favorite Bradbury story is in this collection: "A Sound of Thunder." This short tale of a time-travelling dinosaur safari is an amazingly powerful look at the wonder and consequences of time travel and personal behavior. The story is easily consumed by the youngest reader and just as easily debated by science fiction scholars for hours. I first heard this story on an audio tape during a family car trip--hearing it inspired me to read other Bradbury stories. To me, Bradbury will always be "A Sound of Thunder" and that's quite a reputation to have. One of Bradbury's longer shorts, "Frost and Fire," is also included. This is an amazing tale of the rapid development of humans on Mercury. Rapid in that everyone grows quickly and dies young. Set against the backdrop of a planet that allows only a few brief minutes of freedom on the surface before the residents must hide from the scorching heat or blistering cold. The story can be appreciated from a pure SF perspective or just from the human side--Bradbury creates realistic worlds in the most fantastic location. Two other stories are also stand-outs: "The Fog Horn" and "Here There Be Tygers." Saying anything about the actual plots would give away the stories, but I will say they both present unexpected twists that will have you thinking twice about your own normal everyday lives. As a first introduction to Bradbury this collection is excellent. It gathers together a wide variety of his stories from various sub-genres and has enough to keep readers busy for a while. Ultimately you'll want to read other story collections, but this book will give you a taste of things to come. For Bradbury fans who haven't read some of these stories I probably don't need to recommend the book at all--by now you've already clicked on a purchase link and had the book sent to you. For everyone else I can only urge that you try Bradbury. Even if you aren't a science fiction fan, Bradbury is a very approachable author and his works cross the traditional boundaries of science fiction. This isn't nerdy Star Trek or hard-core Neuromancer. His stories are human and that's what makes them universal. Rocketships are entirely optional.
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