Fantastic Tales of Ray Bradbury

by Ray Bradbury

Read by the author

Contents: Introduction (00:45) -- The lake (13:49) -- The smile (11:53) -- The foghorn (19:18) -- The veldt (28:00) -- The crowd (20:51) -- John Huff's leavetaking (from Dandelion wine) (19:43) -- Illuminations (16:30) -- The illustrated man (28:31) -- Marionettes, Inc. (15:50) -- The pedestrian (10:35) -- The dwarf (27:20) -- There will come soft rains (20:17) -- The sound of thunder (28:59) -- Fever dream (14:32)

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction, Audiobook, Horror, Anthologies, Science Fiction Fantasy

Audio Cassette

First published January 1, 1979

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

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like listening to a good audiobook on the ride to work. Some really good stories in here, even if they do often cover well-traveled sci-fi ground (ie-- the one story he introduces by explaining, "I wrote this story because every sci-fi writer worth his salt needs to write a dinosaur story.") Oh, and he introduces every story with a little background info and a description of the creative process. Often, it goes something like this-- "I saw this thing that was strange, very strange, and I always remembered that, how I felt when I saw it. And i decided to write a story about it. 4 hours later, i was done."

Still, good entertainment value, which is all I ask.

[Brandon O'Neill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this set of Ray Bradbury reading 14 of his own short stories. Not only did he read them, but he talked about how the ideas came about. Many were excellent - The Lake about a boy returning to his childhood hometown and a girl who had drowned years earlier, The Smile - a futuristic tale when ugliness is the norm and anything beautiful is destroyrd and The Crowd about that crowd that just magically seems to appear, gawking after an accident takes place. Did they just happen to be around, or are they sent there?

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the audio version, and the commentary by Ray Bradbury between stories was an excellent enhancement.

[Astha Prakash · Rating 4 out of 5]

How come I'd never ready any Bradbury before? Love the stories. Some way more than the others.

[Rob Lamb · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring drivel from a man obsessed with rockets. Interesting to Freud, perhaps.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

it's always good to go back to Bradbury

[Sher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great collection of Ray Bradbury stories. They are all just a little bit off the wall, which is why so many people are fascinated by them, myself included. At the beginning of each story, Bradbury tells how he came to write that particular story. These insights made the stories all the more interesting. I was glad to learn that his writing goes through a process and doesn't just jump from his brain fully formed. I also learned that he wrote 1000 pages a day from the time he was about 12 years old until he finally had his first work published many years later. I recommend these stories to everybody who is not squeamish, as some of them are a little gross.

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure if this is the one I read, but it was three short stories including, "The Veldt," the "Spring Witch."
I love this guy, love his work.
I remember being very young and they would broadcast these over a radio program. It began with a creaking door and we would sit outside on top of a car with the radio going and listen. We all loved them as kids.
He is just an amazing writer and man.

[Lynda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do not generally have the patience to read any book more than once. I have read through this collection of short stories three times now, and have enjoyed them more each time. I look forward to reading them again, and sharing them with my daughter someday.
One of the few other books I have read multiple times is Ray Bradbury's 'Martian Chronicles'. I guess that makes him my favorite author. :)

[Joe Osborne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I generally like to steer away from author readings of their own works but a number of authors do it well, Harlan Ellison, Neil Gaiman come to mind, so I was apprehensive bout this. Fortunately Ray Bradbury did an excellent job of reading a very good selection of some of his best and most memorable short stories. Highly recommended.

[Bettie · Rating 5 out of 5]

mp3

How about that story The Illustrated Man - wow! Apparently there is a film made of this story that I will have a scout round for. Anyone here seen the film?

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leí este libro después de leer otro de historias cortas de Roald Dahl. Se queda corto a comparación. Me entretuve... pero pues... no creo que ninguna historia trascienda. Acabo de terminar el libro y ya lo he empezado a olvidar.

[Cait · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ray Bradbury writes some really awful short stories, there are killer babies... It's a rough one

[SheriC · Rating 5 out of 5]

My thoughts about this book are on Booklikes at: http://sheric.booklikes.com/post/7634...-.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Shelley of science fiction, the master of imagination at his best. If you aren't delighted with and enthralled by these stories, you're legally dead.

[John-paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read by the author, Ray Bradbury. Gives creative insights into how he wrote some of his most famous and interesting short stories. A real treat.

[Adam James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently discovered "The Veldt" and I'm super nerdily excited to share it with my students.
"The Other Shoe" and "The April Witch"...not so much.

[Viviana Marín Otálvaro · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5