Quicker Than the Eye

by Ray Bradbury

The internationally acclaimed author of The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man, and Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury is a magician at the height of his powers, displaying his sorcerer's skill with twenty-one remarkable stories that run the gamut from total reality to light fantastic, from high noon to long after midnight. A true master tells all, revealing the strange secret of growing young and mad; opening a Witch Door that links two intolerant centuries; joining an ancient couple in their wild assassination games; celebrating life and dreams in the unique voice that has favored him across six decades and has enchanted millions of readers the world over.

Genres: Short Stories, Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Ebooks, Classics

304 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 1996

About the author

Ray Douglas Bradbury was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and realistic fiction.

Bradbury is best known for his novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953) and his short-story collections The Martian Chronicles (1950), The Illustrated Man (1951), and The October Country (1955). Other notable works include the coming of age novel Dandelion Wine (1957), the dark fantasy Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962) and the fictionalized memoir Green Shadows, White Whale (1992). He also wrote and consulted on screenplays and television scripts, including Moby Dick and It Came from Outer Space. Many of his works were adapted into television and film productions as well as comic books. Bradbury also wrote poetry which has been published in several collections, such as They Have Not Seen the Stars (2001).

The New York Times called Bradbury "An author whose fanciful imagination, poetic prose, and mature understanding of human character have won him an international reputation" and "the writer most responsible for bringing modern science fiction into the literary mainstream".

Reviews

[Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great collection of short stories by Ray Bradbury!!!
I love them all..
Bradbury is indeed the master of short stories, a literary magician per excellense..
He creates worlds full of life out of ordinary peoples, events, circumstances and items!!!
And yes, in his books he also loves and celebrates life and unveils himself as the master story teller which he indeed is!!

I cannot recommend this collection highly enough!!!
This stories had made me laugh, cry, and to sit quietly, marvelling and digesting what I had just read..

**that woman on the lawn**
A terrific tale, born out of a dream, writen like a poem!!
A young man awake every night to see a young woman in front of his house searching and crying, after chasing her again and again, he lastly discovers an amazing life changing truth!!!

**exchange**
This is my absolute favorite story!!!
After long years abroad a man visits for a few hours the town in which he grew up in search of old friends and his childhood!!
The train waiting, and with only a short time to be there, he visits the library to meet his memorys..
Full of melancholia and magic..
A classic, Bradbury at his best!!!
Terrific and awesome!!!

**the other highway**
Another terrific story!!!
A family with children in a car busy driving, discover a different and deserted way to drive home..
They will be confronted with life itself!!
And will have to make a decision with lasting repercussions..
This story is about the real values in life, and how to deal with deception!!
Terrific again, I fall short of adjectives to describe it accuratedly and vividly enough..

So, at the end of the day its up to you..
But let me say that if you will choose to read this collection, you will have made a great choise indeed..
It will not disappoint you, that for sure, and will open your eyes to see life itself, and ordinary items, things and events, also people in a completely different light!!!
This book is an genuine eye oppener and will leave you with hunger!!!
Hunger for more of Bradburys terrific tales.. this timeless magician and word smith will give you something to think about..

Dean;)

[Bionic Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quicker Than the Eye is a collection of his own stories by that master wordsmith, weaving his magical tales, the writer Ray Bradbury. In it he includes 11 stories which had been published in various American magazines between 1994 and 1996, and 10 stories written especially for the anthology. Some I found succeeded better than others, but all are unmistakably by him. They are:

Unterderseaboat Doktor
An odd tale in which a former submarine captain in Hitler’s undersea fleet, now works as a psychiatrist, making connections between the submarine and the subconscious. In the end the periscope is found to have been specially constructed to descend from the ceiling in his apartment. Ray Bradury tells us that the story is about people not hearing themselves talk, and is about an actual person whom his friend knew.

Zaharoff/Richter Mark V
This story features a shack with virtually reality machines playing disasters. The viewer is invited to speculate on why so many major cities are in such dangerous locales. The answer is that the disasters were orchestrated by architects. The inspiration for this one was because Los Angeles is built on the San Andreas fault, and is thus subject to more earthquakes than average.

Remember Sascha?
A cute story about a romantic couple and their unborn child who talks to them regularly. Is it their fantasy; their imagination, or something more? Ray Bradbury says that this began as a metaphor and is a story he loves, and published here as “no one wants” it.

Another Fine Mess
As the title suggests, this is an homage to the early film comedians Laurel and Hardy. A housewife believes she is haunted by the ghosts of Laurel and Hardy, who, believing that everyone has forgotten them, repeat one of their films where they carry a piano down a hill every night until they are told that they are still loved. The story is a sequel to “The Laurel and Hardy Love Affair” and was inspired by a visit to Ireland which Ray Bradbury says Laurel and Hardy had made forty years earlier. He tells us he had bought the last ticket for their single appearance, and sat watching “with happy tears streaming down my face.”

The Electrocution
A horror tale set in a carnival, where one of the acts is for a woman to be repeatedly electrocuted in the electric chair. Her husband deduces that she and a man in the audience have fallen in love, and fixes the chair so that the crackles and flashes are no longer just for show, but a reality.

Hopscotch
A sweet tale about a first kiss at 17. The descriptive language here is beautifully atmospheric; unique and strange.

The Finnegan
A tall tale with a Victorian feel. Absurd it may be, but the idea of an underground -dwelling unique giant spider surfacing every fortnight to target, catch and devour its prey was very effective, even when read outside on a sunny summer afternoon.

That Woman on the Lawn
Another ghost story, with a mournful feel. The protagonist recognises a crying women whom he sees outside his window and realises that it is his own mother when young. It is thought to be set in the fictitious Green Town, based on Bradbury’s hometown, Waukegan, Illinois. Ray Bradbury says that it is a story about his mother as “a young and needful woman”. What I found most effective about this story was the communication between the two, where one senses more of the truth than the other.

The Very Gentle Murders
A dark comic fantasy of marital strife, where a very old couple knowingly each attempts to murder the other. In the end they both fall victim to the poison they had prepared for their spouse, and everyone assumes it had been a suicide pact.

Quicker Than the Eye
Another story about a carnival act, this time about a “lady pickpocket who is quicker than the eye”. What makes this so weird is that the viewpoint character sees himself as one of the volunteers. His wife agrees that the volunteer is identical. Ray Bradbury weaves his words to produce a magical atmosphere which could only be his, despite the oddly misogynistic feel of this story. Apparently it is based on an impression he had watching a real life carnival.

Dorian In Excelsis
A curious mix, paying homage to both Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray” and Ursula K. Le Guin’s “The Ones who Walk Away from Omelas”, but with Ray Bradbury’s unique twist.

No News, Or What Killed the Dog?
A story about an ordinary suburban family, and how each of them reacts when their beloved old dog peacefully dies. The moral here is to recognise what you have in life, and make the most of it. The inspiration for this story was a Victrola record which Ray Bradbury played over and over again when he was five, to the neighbours’ increasing annoyance.

The Witch Door
Witch doors seem to be like Priest holes here in England; secret cubby holes where those persecuted for their beliefs (or supposed beliefs) hide away. This is a short dystopian ghost story possibly involving time travel, where a crying woman can be heard in a remote cabin. A friend fleeing from the law for her outspoken views then hides in the secret cubby hole, but later is found to have disappeared. At the end we learn that this is Salem, which is a nice twist.

The Ghost in the Machine
Set in a village in 1853, the “Searcher”, a learned doctor comes from London, collecting curiosities for the Queen. He wants to investigate a so-called lunatic whom the village fear, and who calls himself the “Inventor”. The man has invented an electrically charged bicycle, powered by his own pedalling, but such things are considered to be lunatic devices; insane machines which are works of the Devil. The Searcher takes him back to London so that he can safely pedal around the marble corridors of the “London Historical and Scientific museum”.

At the End Of the Ninth Year
A whimsical piece about a couple, based on the idea that our bodies are literally replaced every nine years. This story does not really work and I suspect is a filler.

Bug
Engaging story about an exceptionally talented dance hall lad who wins cups for his jitterbugging. When he falls on hard times, his friend from the past returns and boosts his ego.

Once More, Legato
Quite effective story about a man who becomes a famous composer by scrupulously transcribing the birdsong in his garden by means of musical notation. (Incidentally, homage is paid to Satie, and a few earlier composers who had included birdsong-like elements in their music, but oddly not Messiaen who used birdsong extensively, and worked out a system to transcribe the wide variety of harmonics and unusual combinations of notes for different bird species.) This was originally published in the excellent but defunct “Omni” magazine, and is one of the best stories in this collection.

Exchange
A sweet and moving tale about a lonely bookish boy who later returns to the library he used to love as a child, to find that the old librarian is still there. She remembers him too, and fetches all the books he used to read over and over again. There he finds all the friends he yearns for. Just lovely!

Free Dirt
A story in the mould of Stephen King (pardon the pun). The “dirt” is the excess soil, leaf mould, loam and general rendering down of the contents of old graves in churchyards. A visitor comes with a trailer to take advantage of the offer. But what will happen once it is used as topsoil on his own garden?

Last Rites
The protagonist has constructed a time machine which he calls the Mobius machine, because it is shaped like a Mobius strip. He wonders where - or when - he could visit, and decides to visit authors who were geniuses, but achieved the most fame after they died. He visits three of them on their deathbed, in order to reassure them in the future that what they wrote will be appreciated. We can work out that he visits Herman Melville, Edgar Allen Poe and Oscar Wilde. I like this story very much.

The Other Highway
A man is driving along a busy highway with his wife and two children. All are relieved to be out of the congested city. They come to a track which used to be a winding road the parents remember from childhood, and turn down it to see what they can find. The inspiration for this story comes from an old unused road which apparently lies next to the main route north from Los Angeles.

Finally, in “Make Haste To Live: An Afterword” Ray Bradbury describes his writing process, and the inspiration for some of the stories in this collection. He describes how ever since the age of 8, when he saw a billboard on the back of a cinema advertising a magician’s act, he knew that some day he must become a magician.

“I’m not a science fiction, fantasy, magic-realism writer of fairy tales and surrealist poems. Quicker than the Eye may be the best title I have ever conjured for a new collection. I pretend to do one thing, cause you to blink, and instead instantly seize twenty bright silks out of a bottomless hat …

I don’t have to wait for inspiration. It jolts me every morning. Just before dawn, when I would prefer to sleep in, the damned stuff speaks between my ears with my Theater of Morning voices …

I am merely a practitioner of optimal behavior, which means behave yourself, listen to your Muses, get your work done, and enjoy the sense that you just might live forever.”

So wrote the great Ray Bradbury, at the age of 76. The blurb on this edition says: “Mr Bradbury has spun these enchanted metaphors from what began as his own observations and experiences … Here is a truly great writer working at the height of his abilities.”

I’m not sure I agree that Quicker Than The Eye is one of Ray Bradbury’s best collections. As with many collections of short stories, they do vary as to how effective they are. Overall though, this is a collection well worth reading.

[Samir Rawas Sarayji · Rating 1 out of 5]

As far as genre fiction goes, this short story collection is good writing. Adverbs are nonexistent, adjectives are seldom used, there is creative usage of verbs, and exposition is minimal without any info dumping. All kudos and probably why I was able to read the collection.

Sadly, although there is nothing wrong technically with these stories, they are all fluff. There is nothing to make you stop and think, simply no room for contemplation. They are a fast-paced read with clever plotlines that are revealed at the end of each story. In no single story did I care about any of the characters or the events they experienced. It is rather sad to see a writer who can clearly express his ideas well focus solely on the plot and not bother to let a reader actually care for something more. And on plot, many of the stories lingered in the realm of ghosts, in one way or another. So, that type of fantasy story needs to appeal to the reader.

The afterword by Bradbury irritated me to no end. He came across as so full of himself and his abilities that it was a total turn off. The focus is on his enthusiasm for writing but with the message that ‘speed is everything,’ well sorry to say, but BS. Yes, the pacing is important, but if that is the only focus, then this collection is the result: a mediocre, superficial, cleverly plotted collection of short stories with no character. The stories may be technically contrived, but they are artistically deprived.

[TK421 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been a devoted Bradbury fan since I first read FARENHEIT 451 in high school. Some say he is over the top; I say they are too closed in their thinking.

Granted, Bradbury is an acquired taste. His word choice is unique, confounding, and even sometimes bizarre. But after reading one of stories, you will understand why he chose to describe something the way he did.

Some of the earlier reviews about Bradbury's works have stated that he has focused too much on the dying notion of a 40s or 50s childhood, that he has repeatedly mined and recycled his ideas only to make them bland or less impacting. To those reviewers I offer my pity. Yes, he has seemed to stick with a certain age and storytelling that lends him to recycle an idea or two, but that is where the magic happens in his storytelling. Just when you think that you've read something like this before, Bradbury takes your hand and reassures you that this is a different version, one to think about, ruminate over, or discuss with your own imagination.

Bradbury encourages you to look beyond what you think you know and explore different realms of thought and possibility. QUICKER THAN THE EYE not only offers a reader to escape into a world of wonder, but makes a wonder of the known world.

Not all of these stories are the proverbial homerun, but take a look at these ones:

Zaharoff/Richter Mark V
Remember Sascha?
The Finnegan
The Very Gentle Murders
At the End of the Ninth Year
Bug
Exchange

I’m sure that if you read these stories you will see how a true craftsman can beguile an audience through wordplay and story, description and setting.

There is also an afterword, where Bradbury urges everyone to make every moment and possibility everlasting, important, awe-inspiring. (if you’ve ever had any notions of wanting to write yourself, this afterword may be the encouragement and fire you’ve sought but never found.)

You may have had your doubts about Bradbury in the past, but forget about those reservations and allow yourself to become lost in his creation.

We can all use a bit of time in someone else’s playground every once in a while. Don’t you agree?

[Yas · Rating 4 out of 5]

پنج داستان کوتاه - قتل‌های آبرومندانه

چشم بسته داستان کوتاه‌هاشو میخرم*_*

[Lost Planet Airman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good Bradbury collection, all short stories and masterfully done. A dozen of the twenty-one, I had already read; mostly I think in Bradbury Stories: 100 of His Most Celebrated Tales.

The remaining nine (plus*two*re-reads) were: "Zaharoff/Richter Mark V", 1996; "The Electrocution", 1946; "The Very Gentle Murders", 1994; "Quicker Than the Eye", 1995; "Dorian in Excelsis", 1995; *The Ghost in the Machine*, 1996; "At the End of the Ninth Year", 1995: "Exchange", 1996; "Free Dirt", 1996; *Last Rites*, 1994; "The Other Highway", 1995. (Odd -- the two rereads were about time-travel and writers. As if, perhaps, karma directed my steps to a juction of repeating the past with the written word!)

Quicker Than the Eye placed 3rd for collections in the 1997 Locus poll, so places in both my Best SF&F (Authors) and Best SF&F (Books & Stories) collections. (None of the short stories were individual award winners, though.)

[DrWarthrop · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eine tolle, emotionale und spannende Geschichtensammlung. Die abwechslungsreiche Sprache und ungewöhnlichen Situationen verleihen dem Buch seinen Charme und jeder Geschichte ihre eigene Daseinsberechtigung. Viele der Geschichten drehen sich um Literatur oder die Liebe dazu, wofür eine gewisse Affinität benötigt wird. Ray Bradbury’s Bücher sind und bleiben unvergleichlich gut.

[Liesa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Passend zur herbstlichen Jahreszeit, die ja immer mit Horror und Grusel verbunden wird, habe ich mich an einen Band mit Erzählungen von Ray Bradbury herangewagt, der zwar keinen Horror versprach, aber mysteriöse und magische Geschichten enthalten sollte. Da solch geheimnisvolle und unerklärliche Elemente in Geschichten meist noch anziehender auf mich wirken, als das blanke Grauen, habe ich mir diese Kurzgeschichtensammlung als Lektüre für Halloween ausgewählt und wurde auch nicht enttäuscht.

21 Geschichten sind es, die sich in diesem Buch tummeln und sie sind alle so unterschiedlich wie Tag und Nacht – zwar gibt es einige Details und Einzelheiten, die in mehreren Geschichten auftauchen, aber diese haben meist nichts mit der Handlung zu tun, sondern sind eher Randerscheinungen. Da gibt es Geschichten von einem alten Ehepaar, das sich gegenseitig umbringen will und daraus seine Lebenskraft zieht, einem äußerst geheimnisvollen Psychiater, der ein ehemaliger U-Boot-Kommandant war, einem ungeborenen Kind, das höchst eloquent mit den werdenden Eltern kommuniziert, einer abstrusten Interpretation von „Das Bildnis des Dorian Gray“, einer verzauberten Hexentür, durch die Menschen auftauchen und verschwinden oder einer ungewöhnlichen im Wald lebenden Spinnenart, die das Blut dreier Kinder aufgesogen hat – und noch so viele mehr. Die Geschichten beginnen stets in der Realität und sind auf dem ersten Blick sehr alltäglich. Manche bleiben dort auch, machen es sich dort gemütlich und erzählen einfach komische aus dem Leben gegriffene Anekdoten, die jedem von uns widerfahren könnten und die unsere Vorstellungskräfte nicht überstrapazieren. Andere dagegen driften an einem gewissen Punkt ins Skurrile ab, werden unvorhersehbar und Realität und magische Elemente vermischen sich zu einer wahrhaften Gruselgeschichte.

Die Mischung dieser bizarren Geschichten hat für mich auf jeden Fall den größten Reiz ausgemacht – man konnte sich von Erzählung zu Erzählung hangeln, ohne dass Verwechslungsgefahr bestand, weil Ray Bradbury so vielseitig und erfinderisch schreibt, vor allem auch seine Charaktere so plastisch wirkten, obwohl er gar nicht unbedingt viel Zeit darauf verschwendet, sie überhaupt zu beschreiben – dafür sind die Geschichten auch viel zu kurz. In diesen 21 Kurzgeschichten gelingt es ihm außerdem, so viele Themen anzusprechen: Eine große Rolle spielt der Tod, generell (Existenz-)Krisen, aber auch die Einsamkeit, genauso wie Beziehungsstrukturen – Ray Bradbury nähert sich dem nicht nur literarisch, sondern teilweise auch sehr psychologisch und analysierend, es ist ein bisschen so, wie eine Menschenstudie, falls man das so sagen kann. Bradbury inspiriert dazu, hinter die Fassaden zu blicken, die Fantasie schweifen zu lassen und die eigene Vorstellungskraft zu nutzen, um die Welt als etwas magisches zu begreifen.

Berührt hat mich dann aber vor allem das Nachwort von Bradbury, in dem er lautstark dazu auffordert, das Beste aus jedem Augenblick zu machen, die Wunder unserer Welt wahrzunehmen. Darin schreibt er außerdem über seine persönliche Inspiration, was ich sehr spannend fand und erzählt, wie es zu einigen der in diesem Buch erfassten Geschichten gekommen ist und macht gleichzeitig total Lust darauf, selbst einfach einen Stift und ein Blatt Papier zur Hand zu nehmen und drauflos zu schreiben.

„Schneller als das Auge“ enthält extrem lesenswerte moderne Märchen, Satiren, Kriminalkomödien, aber auch Geschichten, die – magische Elemente hin oder her – wahrer sind, als wir es vielleicht für möglich halten. Auch wenn mir einige Erzählungen besser als andere gefielen, so kann ich am Schluss doch eines feststellen: Ray Bradbury ist ein Genie.

[Dylan Perry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely my least favorite Bradbury so far.

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up Quicker Than The Eye at the library this weekend, and read thru this short story collection as an antidote to Running with Scissors.

The first few stories "Unterseaboat Doktor" and "Zaharoff/Richter Mark V" didn't do much to dispel my depressed mood. However, "Another Fine Mess" (his second tribute to Laurel and Hardy) made me smile and I settled once again into his fantastic world.

IMHO, Bradbury is a master of the short story - if you've avoided his work because of the science-fiction stigma, you are depriving yourself of some wonderful reading. This particular collection would go well with Gabriel Garcia Marquez or Jorge Luis Borges in the "magical realism" category, with stories like "Once More, Legato" or "Remember Sascha?". He delves into dark humor as well, with "The Very Gentle Murders"; while "Dorian In Excelsus" has a couple of wonderful shivers in it.

I was fortunate enough to attended a talk by Ray Bradbury and Douglas Adams about five years ago - Ray was in a wheelchair and got a bit rambly at times, but what energy and enthusiasm! His afterword in this collection "Make Haste To Live" does a good job of explaining his longetivity - he wakes up every morning with a story in his head - "The 90-mph dash to your machine is a sure cure for life rampant and death most real". He'll be celebrating his 83rd birthday this year [2003], and unlike the literary giants he honors in "Last Rites" Ray Bradbury will *not* die unknown and unread.

[Marvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This 1996 collection of later short tales illustrates just how subjective the measurement of a literary genius can be. If these short stories were written by a new writer the critics would be raving. But these pieces are written by a older gentlemen whose genius has already been proven and proven again. Bradbury's masterpiece collections of short fiction will always be books like The Martian Chronicle and The Illustrated Man. The stories in Quicker Than The Eye are beautifully written but they do not meet the expectations expected from a writer of Bradbury's esteem. They are often more like brief ideas or outlines than fully fleshed fiction. A couple are homages to other icons such as Laurel and Hardy or Dorian Gray and these happen to be my favorites of the lot. But any Bradbury piece is worth reading so enjoy!

[Ingrida Lisauskiene · Rating 5 out of 5]

17-oji XX a. Aukso fondo knyga. Amerikiečių rašytojo fantasto, išgarsėjusio pasaulyje romanu „451 Farenheito“ apsakymų rinkinys, kur kiekvienas pasakojimas yra skirtingas savo idėja, geru humoru, fantastika derinama su kasdienybės problemomis, aprašomomis emocijomis. Pats autorius apibudina šį savo kūrinį taip:"Apsimetu ketinąs daryti visai ką kitą, jūs nespėjate net mirktelti, o aš iš bedugnės skrybėlės jau traukiu šilkinius kaspinus."

[Vismantė · Rating 4 out of 5]

„– Maniau, kad tik aš viena moku verkti {...}.
– Visi taip mano. Tai viena iš tų mažų paslapčių, kurias saugom vienas nuo kito {...}“.

Ray Bradbury kuo toliau, tuo labiau patraukia mano širdį. Jis geba labai lengva kalba papasakoti labai rimtas istorijas, paskleisti svarbias žinutes, kasdienybėje surasti mažas detales, kurios priverčia skaitytoją suklusti, suprasti ir pajusti.

"Akies mirksniu" – trumpų istorijų rinkinys. Vis bandžiau suprasti, kokio dydžio vaizduotę turi autorius, nes kiekviena istorija išgludinta nuo pirmo iki paskutinio žodžio, kiekvienos istorijos plotmė yra išskirtinė, kiekviena konstruojama mintis nėra dirbtinė. Kiekviena apysaka yra tarsi akies mirksnis veikėjų gyvenimuose, skaitytojas įtraukiamas į to gyvenimo akimirką, niekada nežinai, kokia buvo pradžia, dažnai nežinai ir istorijos pabaigos. Tau duoti vos kelis puslapiai pažinti vieną veikėją, suprasti jį, jo mintis, bet to yra daugiau nei užtektinai. Pasakojimai neprailgo, buvo įdomūs, skaitėsi lengvai. Manau, kad kiekvienas skaitytojas šiame apysakų rinkinyje ras nors vieną pasakojimą, kurį įsimylės. Aš įsimylėjau juos visus.

"Akies mirksniu" mini pasakojimai yra tari daug "Pienių vynų". Jeigu pamilote pastarąją, manau, gal galiu drąsiai rekomenduoti ir šią.

[Miglė · Rating 3 out of 5]

Patiko paprasta, bet vietomis labai graži kalba, ir už šių apsakymų slypinti neįkyri viltis / meilė žmonijai. Fantazija tačiau neišskraidino, o ir šiaip buvo toks jausmas, kad knyga man būtų daug labiau patikusi, jei būčiau paauglys vaikinas. Jei esate paaugliai vaikinai, rekomenduoju.

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bradbury continues to be one of my favorite writers. His concepts are elegant and his word choice is magical.

My favorite stories in this collection are: Last Rites, Zaharoff/Richter Mark V and Exchange.

Many readers skip the "afterwords" of a book - this one is worth reading. I found myself wondering, "where does Bradbury conjure up these themes & characters?" The "afterwords" will shed insight and will inspire you as both a reader & a writer.

Although Bradbury says he is not a magician, these stories all evoke such magic...as Bradbury says about this collection, "I pretend to do one thing, cause you to blink, and in the instant seize 20 bright silks out of a bottomless hat." (p.287)

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quicker Than The Eye, as per my previous Bradbury reading experiences, leaves me with the wonderful sensation of recognition, of having found answers to questions I could never consciously formulate and thoughts I was never aware of thinking; emotions I thought too elusive and varied to be caught on paper.

His writing brings to mind bedrock and soil. It's solid, and fertile. As occasionally fantastic as his storytelling is, it consistently has a sense of purpose. Proclamation wrapped in poetry.

Yeah. I'm a fan.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometime between 1999 and 2004, my friend Becky gave my this book because she knew I liked weird stories. I read the first one or two stories and couldn't get into it. I liked other Bradbury stories, but didn't connect with the first few. I've tried over the years to get going again, only to stall out. This time, however, I guess I was ready. Some I liked more that others. The stories towards the back half of the collection were quite excellent! One nearly made me cry.

I guess the moral of this story is: if you don't connect with the first few stories, skip them and come back when you're ready. Don't miss out on the gold that awaits.

[Dez Nemec · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some really great stories, and some meh ones. Highlights for me were "Another Fine Mess," "The Very Gentle Murders," "Dorian in Excelsus," and "Last Rites." "The Very Gentle Murders" was my absolute favorite, about a very old couple that's been married forever and are trying to kill each other but make it appear to be an accident. It was hilarious!

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection of short stories that are all classic Bradbury. As with any collection some are better than others, but all definitely worth the read.

[Tricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is a collection of short stories. Some were better than others but overall most were ok

[Greg Hamm · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a lifelong fan of Ray Bradbury, how could I not like this book? There are some of his others that I enjoyed more but Quicker Than The Eye does not disappoint. I only wonder why it took me so long to finally partake.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another excellent collection of short stories by one of the all-time masters of the form, this volume, from the mid 90s, shows that Bradbury had not slowed down one whit, more than fifty years into his career. Not all of these nuggets are masterpieces, but those that fall short are flawed gems, and still a joy to read. "Zaharoff/Richter Mark V"; "The Finnegan"; "Dorian In Excelsus"; "The Ghost In The Machine"; "Bug"; and "Once More, Legato" are all either too far-fetched or too rough around the edges to move the reader as fully as the best stories found here, but even these are just shy of his stronger efforts. And there are some very strong efforts here: "Remember Sascha?"; "Hopscotch"; "No News"; "The Witch Door"; "Exchange"; and "Last Rites" all compare favorably with Bradbury's best tales. Perhaps the biggest treat, however, is the elder statesman's afterword ("Make Haste To Live") in which brother Ray breaks the fourth wall and speaks directly to his fans and fellow writers with such warmth and conviction that the reader is set aglow. As with all of his work, this will be time well spent.

[Angus Mcfarlane · Rating 2 out of 5]

No, not really.

I've previously read Bradbury's 451, seen much that has added to his reputation as a scifi writer such that the 500 peso offer at the school second hand store seemed like a good deal. But it didn't live up to my expectations. Some of the stories had an interesting premise at some point which then faded to black. And others seemed to not really get to an interesting premise. A new colleague, who noted what I was reading and that he was a Bradbury fan, acknowledged this was the weaker of his books. The final chapter seemed to sum it up: get up in the morning and write, whatever it is, just write. And surely for even the most talented, some of those musings are not worth publishing. Apparently I need to read some of his classics....

[Matthias · Rating 1 out of 5]

“Meravigliose storie di fantascienza e non solo”, dice la quarta di copertina.
Invece questi racconti brevi sono una raccolta insulsa, tiepida e con una sensazione di vecchio e stantio. Mi spiace ma questi ultimi scritti di Bradbury non sono assolutamente paragonabili a Cronache marziane, seppure aleggi in esse sempre una malinconica fine del mondo.
Posso dire che è stato tempo perso?

[Ігор Антонюк · Rating 5 out of 5]

Р. Бредбері "В одну мить"
Цей збірник - калейдоскоп вражаючих картинок та відчуттів,
де кордони реальності дещо розмито.
Кожне оповідання живе. Дихає. Розмовляє. Чарує.
Так що, вимкни wifi, читай книги.

[Leah Rachel von Essen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mean, it's Bradbury, after all. No one can write quite like him.

Not all of these stories caught me completely, and the less-exciting ones were mostly up near the front. But there were plenty of classics here, and many of them towards the end. Bradbury is a master of surrealist wonderings that leave you haunted at the story's end. Some favorites:

"The Finnegan," about a series of mysterious murders and the man who simply must know whether a monster is real. "The Very Gentle Murders," a story where a husband and wife begin to plot to see who can murder the other first. "The Witch Door," a haunting tale of magical time travel and Salem. "At the End of the Ninth Year," a story about a wife who says she must leave her husband because biologically she is a replenished and new woman. "Once More, Legato," about birds with an incredible song. And "Last Rites," where a time traveler goes back to save the souls of his favorite writers by telling them on their deathbeds that their works still persist however many years later.

[Antonio Barba Ricchiuto · Rating 2 out of 5]

6/10
In questa raccolta di racconti Ray Bradbury vuole dimostrare di saper scrivere altri generi di storie oltre al fantascientifico.
In un primo momento ho associato il titolo del libro a una raccolta di racconti tutti più o meno fantascientifici (come ad esempio "Cronache marziane"), ma mi sbagliavo: ci sono pochissimi spunti interessanti in ambito fantascientifico ("Quinto grado della scala Zaharoff/Richter") rispetto ai racconti di mistero e horror (con qualche sfumatura comica in "Garbati omicidi" e "Finnegan, il ragno saltatore").
Avevo aspettative alte su questo libro perché ho sempre associato Bradbury alla fantascienza; di conseguenza tutte le storie non mi hanno preso moltissimo e ho notato un'atmosfera permeata di malinconia e nostalgia del passato ("Bug", "Libri in prestito" e "Veglie funebri").
Infine la ritengo una raccolta carina che strappa qualche sorriso e fa riflettere sull'importanza della propria esistenza nel mondo (ma non ai livelli di raccolte come "Cronache marziane" e "L'uomo illustrato").

[Esteban · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compré el libro esperando cuentos cortos de ciencia ficción, habiendo ya disfrutado todo lo que leí antes de Ray Bradbury.

Me encontré con un rejunte de historias mínimas que usan la ciencia ficción, el terror o la fantasía como motor de la historia pero siempre con una base muy humana.

En “Reciprocidad” y “Los últimos sacramentos” sentí que los relatos eran autobiográficos, una declaración de amor a los libros y a la lectura de una persona que le dedicó la vida a escribir.

Lo mejor del libro llega al final con el epílogo “Apúrense a vivir” en el que Bradbury cuenta su proceso creativo con cada uno de los cuentos. Entrar durante dos paginas en una cabeza tan genial te da ganas de sentarte a escribir y de releer todo Ray Bradbury una vez más.

[Jelena · Rating 2 out of 5]

Each of these stories has a creative and unique premise but the way the stories are written just didn't sit well with me. The sentences are short and there are a lot of raised voices throughout each of the stories which creates this overwhelming sense of urgency. It just made me nervous and on edge.

[Barry Cross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ray Bradbury dedicated a second tale to his childhood heroes Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, is entitled Another Fine Mess, and appears in one of his short story collections, Quicker Than The Eye.
The story title is of course taken from the phrase that Oliver Hardy famously used, about his long term comedy friend and partner Stan Laurel, in their frequent on screen exchanges.
It's funny how the mind in particular the memory can play tricks on one especially at my age, after reading the story some time ago I had kept a particular memory of it, that I was convinced was completely accurate. This was that it was linked to the Ray Bradbury short story, The Laurel and Hardy Love Affair. I was convinced that it related to the same couple later in their lives, after they had split up.
I have now re-read the story and now realise that I was mistaken in this assertion, that it does not in any way relate to the other Ray Bradbury story at all.
However I was not entirely mistaken rather I had miss-remembered aspects of the storyline, Another Fine Mess is indeed set in the same location as I had remembered, and resolves around the same premise.
But I am digressing from a story review, Laurel and Hardy made many short films in the film studios of a famous purveyor of silent films Hal Roach. For the famous film director Max Sennett, they used to walk around the streets surrounding the studios for possible sites for films. This makes perfect sense if they could find somewhere suitable on the doorstep so to speak, they simply need to bring a small camera crew and film directly on the spot. In one such excursion they came upon a site that is now famous for Stan and Ollie fans such as myself, because it's the setting used in one of their most famous short films The Music Box.
I heartily recommend that readers of this review actually watch this film, firstly because it's very funny for anyone blessed with a funny bone, secondly it's a classic Stan and Ollie film, thirdly you can then fully appreciate this review.
I'll start with the briefest synopsis of The Music Box, Stan and Ollie are delivering a piano in a wooden crate to a customers house. Who tells them where he lives and they, believe that the only means of access is via the front door.
I am afraid that I don't know the name of the precise street location, but I understand that it's not far from the film studios.
The films location is a side street with a set of steps leading upwards from the pavement, with sets of apartments running off either sides of the steps, the apartments can be accessed via a door at each step level.
As the delivery men Stan and Ollie have to take the piano to the customers apartment, and they believe that the only way in is via the steps.
Back to the story Another Fine Mess, it's set in the same apartment that Stan and Ollie have to deliver the piano to. A couple Stan and Bella Winters live in the apartment, and Bella is a huge fan of Laurel and Hardy. Bella hears strange noises emanating from the bottom of the steps, and she has natural curiosity as to the sounds origins. This leads to her seeking to investigate things thoroughly, but she is stunned by what she thinks is the cause of the strange noises. Desperately seeking at the very least someone to confide in and who won't consider her to be barking mad, this is her friend and long term Stan and Ollie fan Zelda.
Bella urges Zelda to come pay a visit to their family apartment, while there she pumps Zelda for information of Laurel and Hardy filming locations. As an avid fan Zelda has an extensive knowledge of everything related to her comedy heroes, amongst this is a copious understanding of where not only their movies were set, but also those of all of there contemporaries.
Bella and Zelda are thus reunited in to say the least a most unusual and frankly bizarre manner, after Bella has described what she has encountered, Zelda just has to see and hear for herself, as seeing is supposedly believing.
They hear strange sounds of what appears to be goings on at the base of the steps, straining their senses they can scarcely believe, that they even saw figures arguing and tussling with each other. This they realised was strange enough in itself, but when they actually came to compare what they heard, this was totally unbelievable. First they ruminated over the words that the pair uttered, these were extremely well known to both of the Stan and Ollie aficionados. As both Bella and Zelda had learnt and could recite them at will, they had after all heard them uttered on innumerable occasions, while they were happily ensconced in many a parochial movie house.
All this was utterly incomprehensible but the sounds of the voices, really caused them feelings of well uncertainty really didn't come even remotely close, to describing their actual emotions.
If any of their thoughts and feelings could be remotely relied on, how could any of it be conceivably plausible let alone possible, neither Bella nor Zelda could possibly hope to fathom? They had both listened spellbound transfixed desperate to actually meet the phantoms personally, but could they really risk it mightn't that conceivably cause them, to depart possibly never to return?