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Timeless Stories for Today and Tomorrow
Anthology. Contributor John Cheever; Shirley Jackson; Henry Kuttner
258 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1952
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616 people want to read
About the author
Ray Bradbury
2,561 books25.2k followersRay 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".
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".
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
October 9, 2009
Contains two of PB's All Time Greats :
"In the Penal Colony" by Franz Kafka (1914)
There's a completely eerie foreshadowing of concentration camps in this horrible tale, in which the fanatical commandant pedantically explains his unique "execution machine" at great, exhausting length. It's a many-bladed device that contrives to write upon the body of the condemned man the name of the crime he committed. The commandant is distraught that reformers are trying to stop him using it. I should read more Kafka, but then again, maybe I shouldn't.
"The Sound Machine" by Roald Dahl (1949)
In which a guy invents a machine which enables you to hear sounds on frequencies otherwise outside human range and finds out to his and our horror that plants, shrubs, bushes and trees all scream horrendously when they're pulled up, clipped, pruned, chopped and topiaried. The idea gave me the heebyjeebies - imagine that we're surrounded by a vortex of pain and horror which we don't notice at all just because it's on a frequency our ears can't perceive. This story is the ultimate vegan nightmare.
"In the Penal Colony" by Franz Kafka (1914)
There's a completely eerie foreshadowing of concentration camps in this horrible tale, in which the fanatical commandant pedantically explains his unique "execution machine" at great, exhausting length. It's a many-bladed device that contrives to write upon the body of the condemned man the name of the crime he committed. The commandant is distraught that reformers are trying to stop him using it. I should read more Kafka, but then again, maybe I shouldn't.
"The Sound Machine" by Roald Dahl (1949)
In which a guy invents a machine which enables you to hear sounds on frequencies otherwise outside human range and finds out to his and our horror that plants, shrubs, bushes and trees all scream horrendously when they're pulled up, clipped, pruned, chopped and topiaried. The idea gave me the heebyjeebies - imagine that we're surrounded by a vortex of pain and horror which we don't notice at all just because it's on a frequency our ears can't perceive. This story is the ultimate vegan nightmare.
February 2, 2015
Ray Bradbury is an odd duck. Claimed by science fiction on the eternal strength of Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles, his heart was always with another genre entirely: a nameless thing that I can best approximate as 'weird stories' or perhaps 'slipstream.' Bradbury is obsessed with that liminal moment where the mundane becomes the supernatural, where ordinary life touches some transcending strangeness. This anthology is his collection of writers working in that field--primarily mid-century Americans, spiced with major names like Kafka, Steinbeck, E.B. White and Roald Dahl.
As with most anthologies, the quality of the stories is a little uneven, ranging from quite good to trite and forgettable. There's a kind of genteel shabbiness to the book (perhaps amplified by my rather battered nth-hand copy), with the general tone being mordant rather than macabre. One thing that strikes me, based on my other reading, is in some ways the richness of the literary scene. There weird tales come from dozens of sources, with grand old New Yorker leading the charge. To think a 'serious magazine' would publish strange fiction!
As with most anthologies, the quality of the stories is a little uneven, ranging from quite good to trite and forgettable. There's a kind of genteel shabbiness to the book (perhaps amplified by my rather battered nth-hand copy), with the general tone being mordant rather than macabre. One thing that strikes me, based on my other reading, is in some ways the richness of the literary scene. There weird tales come from dozens of sources, with grand old New Yorker leading the charge. To think a 'serious magazine' would publish strange fiction!
July 29, 2023
This anthology of short stories was curated by Ray Bradbury 72 years ago, in the early 1950s. The stories are older than that, almost all written and published by others than Bradbury himself. Many are of the same fantasy/horror/science-fictional nature of his own stories.
The stories were collected by Bradbury when he himself was a young man (born 1920), and most date from a time before he found fame. It seems reasonable to think that these works were among the ones which influenced him. I tried to think what it was that in these stories that attracted him. It does not seem to be pithy speculative concepts or social messaging since those are absent from some of them, but rather unexpected or novel imagery. Having read a lot of Bradbury myself, that emphasis seems consistent with his own work.
I review for speculative content, whether scientific or magical, and so any stories that are totally mundane have received a low rating from me. This is not necessarily a judgement on the quality of the writing, but on my interest in reading them. For me, as much as anything, these stories served as a viewport into the social milieu of a time 80 or 90 years ago in the US when they were written.
My favorites were “The Hour After Westerly”, “The Sound Machine”, and “In the Penal Colony”. Here are my comments on each story:
“The Hour After Westerly” by Robert M. Coates. Reprinted from The New Yorker of Nov. 1, 1947. A man’s drive home from Providence to New London takes a mysterious turn, and he tries to unravel what happened to that missing hour. It opens the anthology with a very Bradburyesque tone, just under the line of conscious awareness, and the navigates the influences that turn us back from mystery. (5/5)
“Housing Problem” by Henry Kuttner. Reprinted from Charm Magazine of October 1944. A couple cannot resist opening the shrouded birdcage of their boarder, when he is traveling out of town. What they find is a miniature house with a mysterious inhabitant. (3/5)
“The Portable Phonograph” by Walter Van Tillburg Clark. Reprinted from his collection The Watchful Gods And Other Stories, 1941. In a post-apocalyptic setting, Dr. Jenkins doles out precious experiences of a few preserved artifacts of lot human culture. More of a tone piece than a story. (2/5)
“None Before Me” by Sidney Carroll. Reprinted from Cosmopolitan of July 1949. A rich connoisseur collects the finest of everything, and develops an obsession with a dollhouse. His comeuppance is epic. (4/5)
“Putzi” by Ludwig Bemelmans. Reprinted from his collection Small Beer, 1939. The Austrian author of the Madeline books for children gives us a story of a Viennese Konzertmeister who is unable to accurately predict whether the weekly concert will be rained out. A magical, but painful, solution is eventually found. (3/5)
“The Demon Lover” by Shirley Jackson. Reprinted from her collection The Lottery and Other Stories, 1949. A mundane story about a young woman who is seeking her missing “fiancé.” She is a sad character, but not particularly realistic. No speculative content whatsoever. (1/5)
“Miss Winters and the Wind” by Christine Noble Govan. Reprinted from Tomorrow Magazine, 1946. An aging spinster is driven to madness by the wind. An interesting personality portrayal, but no speculative content whatsoever. Selected, no doubt, by Bradbury because of his own interest in writing about anthropomorphized winds. (1/5)
“Mr. Death and the Redheaded Woman” by Helen Eustis. Reprinted from the Saturday Evening Post of February 11, 1950. Young Maude Applegate takes her Daddy’s pinto pony and rides to Mr. Death to convince him not take the life of her undeserving true love Billy. (3/5)
“Jeremy in the Wind” by Nigel Kneale. Reprinted from his collection Tomato Cain : and Other Stories, 1950. Jeremy is a broken-down scarecrow, and the best companion a man might have. (3/5)
“The Glass Eye” by John Keir Cross. Reprinted from his collection The Other Passenger, 1946. Julia is an odd character who falls for Max Collodi, Gentleman Ventriloquist. Some of the narrative is in implied relationship to early 20th century social taboos that I do not know well. However, the vaguely “Eastern” story within the story, about a man with a glass eye, is very sharply pointed. (3/5)
“Saint Katy the Virgin” by John Steinbeck. Reprinted from his collection The Long Valley, 1938. A bad pig owned by a bad man is converted to Christianity. Hilarious spoof. (4/5)
“Night Flight” by Josephine W. Johnson. Reprinted from Harper’s Magazine of February 1944. A wistful story of men flying home from their military assignments to their wives in the nighttime. Personal fantasy told as if it were really happening. (2/5)
“The Cocoon” by John B. L. Goodwin. Reprinted from Story Magazine, 1946. A horror story about the special find of an eleven-year-old butterfly collector. (3/5)
“The Hand” by Wessel Hyatt Smitter. Reprinted from Story Magazine, 1937. A manufacturing robot goes awry. Probably, this seemed like automation run amuck when written, but now, any reader will easily and instantly blame the human who is responsible for the robot’s actions. (1/5)
“The Sound Machine” by Roald Dahl. Reprinted from The New Yorker of September 17, 1949. An inventor builds a machine that allows him to hear the screams and pained sounds of plants as they are cut or harvested. He and his doctor friend contemplate how that will impact humanity. Full-fledged science fiction! Hurray! (5/5)
“The Laocoön Complex” by J. C. Furnas. Reprinted from Esquire of April 1937. One day, John Howard Simms inexplicably finds a snake in his bath. Bizarre, but he gets on with his life – only to find it a recurring event, defined by his state of mind rather than reality. (4/5)
“I Am Waiting” by Christopher Isherwood. Reprinted from The New Yorker of April 21, 1939. Beginning on his 67th birthday, a retiree experiences casual events which could only occur in the future. To know whether that is true, he must wait for time. (2/5)
“The Witnesses” by William Sansom. Reprinted from his collection Fireman Flower and Other Stories, 1944. An accidental death among firefighters may not actually be accidental, but it is impossible to know for sure. No speculative content whatsoever. (1/5)
“The Enormous Radio” by John Cheever. Reprinted from The New Yorker of May 17, 1947. A man brings home a fantastic radio to his wife. It receives the spoken voices of nearby families, leading to her depression in coming to understand the extent of problems among their neighbors. (4/5)
“Heartburn” by Hortense Calisher. Reprinted from her collection In the Absence of Angels: Stories, 1951. A man believes his chest is host to a parasitic animal. Is it madness or real? (2/5)
“The Supremacy of Uruguay” by E. B. White. Reprinted from The New Yorker of November 25, 1933. In the aftermath of World War 1, a man invents an implausible weapon that allows Uruguay to dominate the world for the next generation. Apparently, E. B. White hated the crooner songs of the era. (1/5)
“The Pedestrian” by Ray Bradbury. Reprinted from The Reporter of August 7, 1951. This is the only one of Bradbury’s own stories to be included. Leonard Mead is the last man walking the empty streets of a city in evening, as everyone has been captured by the television screens in their homes. Conceptually, this seems a precursor to Fahrenheit 451. (3/5)
“A Note for the Milkman” by Sidney Carrol. Reprinted from Today’s Woman of April 1950. A man has devised a method of poisoning his wife, and getting away with it. The idea depends on a kind of poison that is highly concentrated and cannot be sanitized away. (2/5)
“The Eight Mistresses” by Jean Hrolda. Reprinted from Esquire of 1937. A man interested in money and mistresses thinks he can make a bargain with the Devil, and outwit him. (3/5)
“In the Penal Colony” by Franz Kafka. First published in 1919. Translated from German by Wilia and Edwin Muir. This appallingly brilliant story describes a torture device to be demonstrated by the “officer” for an “explorer”. The officer tries to subvert the explorer into support for the preservation of the device. The read is made to feel certain the tables will be turned from the prisoner onto the explorer himself, right up to the decisive moment. (5/5)
“Inflexible Logic” by Russell Maloney. Reprinted from The New Yorker of February 8, 1940. A man decides to test the proposition that six chimpanzees could type the complete works of the British Museum. But things take a Chekhovian turn. (2/5)
The stories were collected by Bradbury when he himself was a young man (born 1920), and most date from a time before he found fame. It seems reasonable to think that these works were among the ones which influenced him. I tried to think what it was that in these stories that attracted him. It does not seem to be pithy speculative concepts or social messaging since those are absent from some of them, but rather unexpected or novel imagery. Having read a lot of Bradbury myself, that emphasis seems consistent with his own work.
I review for speculative content, whether scientific or magical, and so any stories that are totally mundane have received a low rating from me. This is not necessarily a judgement on the quality of the writing, but on my interest in reading them. For me, as much as anything, these stories served as a viewport into the social milieu of a time 80 or 90 years ago in the US when they were written.
My favorites were “The Hour After Westerly”, “The Sound Machine”, and “In the Penal Colony”. Here are my comments on each story:
“The Hour After Westerly” by Robert M. Coates. Reprinted from The New Yorker of Nov. 1, 1947. A man’s drive home from Providence to New London takes a mysterious turn, and he tries to unravel what happened to that missing hour. It opens the anthology with a very Bradburyesque tone, just under the line of conscious awareness, and the navigates the influences that turn us back from mystery. (5/5)
“Housing Problem” by Henry Kuttner. Reprinted from Charm Magazine of October 1944. A couple cannot resist opening the shrouded birdcage of their boarder, when he is traveling out of town. What they find is a miniature house with a mysterious inhabitant. (3/5)
“The Portable Phonograph” by Walter Van Tillburg Clark. Reprinted from his collection The Watchful Gods And Other Stories, 1941. In a post-apocalyptic setting, Dr. Jenkins doles out precious experiences of a few preserved artifacts of lot human culture. More of a tone piece than a story. (2/5)
“None Before Me” by Sidney Carroll. Reprinted from Cosmopolitan of July 1949. A rich connoisseur collects the finest of everything, and develops an obsession with a dollhouse. His comeuppance is epic. (4/5)
“Putzi” by Ludwig Bemelmans. Reprinted from his collection Small Beer, 1939. The Austrian author of the Madeline books for children gives us a story of a Viennese Konzertmeister who is unable to accurately predict whether the weekly concert will be rained out. A magical, but painful, solution is eventually found. (3/5)
“The Demon Lover” by Shirley Jackson. Reprinted from her collection The Lottery and Other Stories, 1949. A mundane story about a young woman who is seeking her missing “fiancé.” She is a sad character, but not particularly realistic. No speculative content whatsoever. (1/5)
“Miss Winters and the Wind” by Christine Noble Govan. Reprinted from Tomorrow Magazine, 1946. An aging spinster is driven to madness by the wind. An interesting personality portrayal, but no speculative content whatsoever. Selected, no doubt, by Bradbury because of his own interest in writing about anthropomorphized winds. (1/5)
“Mr. Death and the Redheaded Woman” by Helen Eustis. Reprinted from the Saturday Evening Post of February 11, 1950. Young Maude Applegate takes her Daddy’s pinto pony and rides to Mr. Death to convince him not take the life of her undeserving true love Billy. (3/5)
“Jeremy in the Wind” by Nigel Kneale. Reprinted from his collection Tomato Cain : and Other Stories, 1950. Jeremy is a broken-down scarecrow, and the best companion a man might have. (3/5)
“The Glass Eye” by John Keir Cross. Reprinted from his collection The Other Passenger, 1946. Julia is an odd character who falls for Max Collodi, Gentleman Ventriloquist. Some of the narrative is in implied relationship to early 20th century social taboos that I do not know well. However, the vaguely “Eastern” story within the story, about a man with a glass eye, is very sharply pointed. (3/5)
“Saint Katy the Virgin” by John Steinbeck. Reprinted from his collection The Long Valley, 1938. A bad pig owned by a bad man is converted to Christianity. Hilarious spoof. (4/5)
“Night Flight” by Josephine W. Johnson. Reprinted from Harper’s Magazine of February 1944. A wistful story of men flying home from their military assignments to their wives in the nighttime. Personal fantasy told as if it were really happening. (2/5)
“The Cocoon” by John B. L. Goodwin. Reprinted from Story Magazine, 1946. A horror story about the special find of an eleven-year-old butterfly collector. (3/5)
“The Hand” by Wessel Hyatt Smitter. Reprinted from Story Magazine, 1937. A manufacturing robot goes awry. Probably, this seemed like automation run amuck when written, but now, any reader will easily and instantly blame the human who is responsible for the robot’s actions. (1/5)
“The Sound Machine” by Roald Dahl. Reprinted from The New Yorker of September 17, 1949. An inventor builds a machine that allows him to hear the screams and pained sounds of plants as they are cut or harvested. He and his doctor friend contemplate how that will impact humanity. Full-fledged science fiction! Hurray! (5/5)
“The Laocoön Complex” by J. C. Furnas. Reprinted from Esquire of April 1937. One day, John Howard Simms inexplicably finds a snake in his bath. Bizarre, but he gets on with his life – only to find it a recurring event, defined by his state of mind rather than reality. (4/5)
“I Am Waiting” by Christopher Isherwood. Reprinted from The New Yorker of April 21, 1939. Beginning on his 67th birthday, a retiree experiences casual events which could only occur in the future. To know whether that is true, he must wait for time. (2/5)
“The Witnesses” by William Sansom. Reprinted from his collection Fireman Flower and Other Stories, 1944. An accidental death among firefighters may not actually be accidental, but it is impossible to know for sure. No speculative content whatsoever. (1/5)
“The Enormous Radio” by John Cheever. Reprinted from The New Yorker of May 17, 1947. A man brings home a fantastic radio to his wife. It receives the spoken voices of nearby families, leading to her depression in coming to understand the extent of problems among their neighbors. (4/5)
“Heartburn” by Hortense Calisher. Reprinted from her collection In the Absence of Angels: Stories, 1951. A man believes his chest is host to a parasitic animal. Is it madness or real? (2/5)
“The Supremacy of Uruguay” by E. B. White. Reprinted from The New Yorker of November 25, 1933. In the aftermath of World War 1, a man invents an implausible weapon that allows Uruguay to dominate the world for the next generation. Apparently, E. B. White hated the crooner songs of the era. (1/5)
“The Pedestrian” by Ray Bradbury. Reprinted from The Reporter of August 7, 1951. This is the only one of Bradbury’s own stories to be included. Leonard Mead is the last man walking the empty streets of a city in evening, as everyone has been captured by the television screens in their homes. Conceptually, this seems a precursor to Fahrenheit 451. (3/5)
“A Note for the Milkman” by Sidney Carrol. Reprinted from Today’s Woman of April 1950. A man has devised a method of poisoning his wife, and getting away with it. The idea depends on a kind of poison that is highly concentrated and cannot be sanitized away. (2/5)
“The Eight Mistresses” by Jean Hrolda. Reprinted from Esquire of 1937. A man interested in money and mistresses thinks he can make a bargain with the Devil, and outwit him. (3/5)
“In the Penal Colony” by Franz Kafka. First published in 1919. Translated from German by Wilia and Edwin Muir. This appallingly brilliant story describes a torture device to be demonstrated by the “officer” for an “explorer”. The officer tries to subvert the explorer into support for the preservation of the device. The read is made to feel certain the tables will be turned from the prisoner onto the explorer himself, right up to the decisive moment. (5/5)
“Inflexible Logic” by Russell Maloney. Reprinted from The New Yorker of February 8, 1940. A man decides to test the proposition that six chimpanzees could type the complete works of the British Museum. But things take a Chekhovian turn. (2/5)
February 17, 2022
A fine collection of tales. 4/5.
Worth revisiting:
Housing Problem - Henry Kuttner
None Before Me - Sidney Carroll
Putzi - Ludwig Bemelmans
The Demon Lover - Shirley Jackson
Miss Winters and the Wind - Christine Noble Govan
Mr. Death and the Redheaded Woman (The Rider on the Pale Horse) - Helen Eustis
Jeremy in the Wind - Nigel Kneale
The Glass Eye - John Kerr Cross
Saint Katy and the Virgin - John Steinbeck
Night Flight - Josephine W. Johnson
The Cocoon - John B. L. Goodwin
The Hand - Wessel Hyatt Smitter
The Sound Machine - Roald Dahl
The Laocoon Complex - J. C. Furnas
I Am Waiting - Christopher Isherwood
The Witnesses - William Sansom
The Enormous Radio - John Cheever
Heartburn - Hortense Calisher
The Supremacy of Uruguay - E. B. White
The Pedestrian - Ray Bradbury
A Note for the Milkman - Sidney Carroll
The Eight Mistresses - Jean Hrolda
In the Penal Colony - Franz Kafka
Inflexible Logic - Russel Maloney
Decent:
The Hour After Westerly - Robert M. Coates
The Portable Phonograph - Walter Van Tilburg Clark
Worth revisiting:
Housing Problem - Henry Kuttner
None Before Me - Sidney Carroll
Putzi - Ludwig Bemelmans
The Demon Lover - Shirley Jackson
Miss Winters and the Wind - Christine Noble Govan
Mr. Death and the Redheaded Woman (The Rider on the Pale Horse) - Helen Eustis
Jeremy in the Wind - Nigel Kneale
The Glass Eye - John Kerr Cross
Saint Katy and the Virgin - John Steinbeck
Night Flight - Josephine W. Johnson
The Cocoon - John B. L. Goodwin
The Hand - Wessel Hyatt Smitter
The Sound Machine - Roald Dahl
The Laocoon Complex - J. C. Furnas
I Am Waiting - Christopher Isherwood
The Witnesses - William Sansom
The Enormous Radio - John Cheever
Heartburn - Hortense Calisher
The Supremacy of Uruguay - E. B. White
The Pedestrian - Ray Bradbury
A Note for the Milkman - Sidney Carroll
The Eight Mistresses - Jean Hrolda
In the Penal Colony - Franz Kafka
Inflexible Logic - Russel Maloney
Decent:
The Hour After Westerly - Robert M. Coates
The Portable Phonograph - Walter Van Tilburg Clark
September 20, 2023
"Timeless Stories for Today and Tomorrow" (compiled and edited by Ray Bradbury and published in 1952) boasts a wide array of speculative fiction – 26 stories in all – from them late 30s, 40s, and the turn of the 1950s. Some big name contributors you'll recognize include Shirley Jackson, John Steinbeck, Roald Dahl, John Cheever, E. B. White, Franz Kafka, and yes, Bradbury includes one of his own tales in this collection.
The volume is a mixed bag even though many of the entries are reprinted from such flagship periodicals like The New Yorker, Cosmopolitan, Harper's, and The Saturday Evening Post. Speculative is the right descriptor for most of the stories, the majority with varying elements of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. Some pieces are naturally dated, a few are quite good, but most are simply mediocre.
Here they are. I'll rate them on a scale of 1 to 5 with a short commentary/review
1) The Hour After Westerly by Robert M. Coates (1.5/5) – An odd tale of lost time and suburban ennui. I really didn't get it and wondered why such a weak story opened this collection.
2) Housing Problem by Henry Kuttner (4/5) – Cute human/pixie encounter about daily decisions and the hard learned lessons of sloppy luck. One of my favorites.
3) The Portable Phonograph by Walter Van Tilburg Clark (3.5/5) – A story about what matters most when culture dies. Well done, but more episode than story.
4) None Before Me by Sidney Carroll (4.5/5) – An advancing horror about a man's obsession and a god's vengeance. One of the strongest stories in the collection.
5) Putzi by Ludwig Bemelmans (2/5) – A very weird and disturbing tale about a couple's miscarried baby in a glass jar divining the weather? Um, no thanks.
6) The Demon Lover by Shirley Jackson (2.5/5) Metaphorical story about a foolish woman looking for love. Not very satisfying and with a weak ending.
7) Miss Winters and the Wind by Christine Noble Govan (2.5/5) – A simple premise (man v nature) with a twisty kind of ending, but mostly meh overall.
8) Mr. Death and the Redheaded Woman by Helen Eustis (4/5) – Enjoyable old west tall tale (or fable) of discovered love. I'm partial to stories with an actual plot.
9) Jeremy in the Wind by Nigel Kneale (4/5) – A very short and solid, creepy and effective horror story. Scarecrows can be scary. Flash fiction as it should be written.
10) The Glass Eye by John Keir Cross (1/5) – I skimmed this longish tale; the last two pages were enough for this simple trope (ventriloquist and his dummy).
11) Saint Katy the Virgin by John Steinbeck (3.5/5) – A very odd piece, thought provoking. There's a message in there somewhere but not sure what it is. Satire?
12) Night Flight by Josephine W. Johnson (3.5/5) – Creative speculative tale about soldiers dreaming of (and traveling) home during war. Contemporary fantasy done well.
13) The Cocoon by John B. L. Goodwin (3.5/5) – Tragic horror involving a brat of a boy, his butterfly collection, and the consequences of his bizarre obsession.
14) The Hand by Wessel Hyatt Smitter (3/5) – A rivalry at a machine shop ends tragically, but who's to blame – man or machine? A bit predictable but entertaining.
15) The Sound Machine by Roald Dahl (4/5) – At what frequency can one hear nature scream, and what does that mean for us? Good story with a thought-provoking message.
16) The Laocoon Complex by J. C. Furnas (3/5) – When a man's imaginings are made manifest, a psychiatrist exults in his professional observation but the patient suffers.
17) I Am Waiting by Christopher Isherwood (2.5/5) – A man perceives flashes from the future and is ready for wherever the next trip takes him. Kind of boring.
18) The Witness by William Samson (1/5) – Experimental first person psychological drama where the witnesses are the eyes themselves. Didn't work for me.
19) The Enormous Radio by John Cheever (4/5) – Tuning in to the conversations of everyone around you simply proves you're about as bad off as everyone else – and just as average. Solid story.
20) Heartburn by Hortense Calisher (3.75/5) – Psychological horror about the shedding of the 'animal' in your chest by any means necessary. Metaphorical but well-told.
21) The Supremacy of Uruguay by E. B. White (2.5/5) – A message-heavy anti-war flash piece. Not so much speculative as absurdist and silly. Fell flat, in my opinion.
22) The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury (3/5) – Subtle social commentary on the gradual demise and expunging of conservative values by a 'progressive' society. Prescient.
23) A Note for the Milkman by Sidney Carroll (4/5) – A serial killer crime story that felt fresh from Alfred Hitchcock's magazine but was reprinted from Today's Woman! (Kinda shocking for 1950.)
24) The Eight Mistresses by Jean Hrolda (4/5) – A clever man outwits the devil in this engaging and whimsical story that doesn't take itself too seriously. Cute.
25) In the Penal Colony by Franz Kafka (4/5) – Written in 1914 and first published in 1919, eventually translated into English and published in 1948. A foreshadowing cautionary tale about the impending despotic terror of Stalinism as symbolized by the execution apparatus. Plenty of layers to this novelet and since this was my first reading of this classic story, I'll have to continue to think about it.
26) Inflexible Logic by Russell Maloney (3/5) – A bit absurdist, playing off the 'room full of monkeys typing out books' cliché. Even the human equation cannot undo a true scientific experiment. Not the strongest story to end the collection with, imo.
So there you have it. I'd give the whole collection about 3 stars. Interesting at times, but nothing to compel me to keep this volume on my shelf for future perusal.
The volume is a mixed bag even though many of the entries are reprinted from such flagship periodicals like The New Yorker, Cosmopolitan, Harper's, and The Saturday Evening Post. Speculative is the right descriptor for most of the stories, the majority with varying elements of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. Some pieces are naturally dated, a few are quite good, but most are simply mediocre.
Here they are. I'll rate them on a scale of 1 to 5 with a short commentary/review
1) The Hour After Westerly by Robert M. Coates (1.5/5) – An odd tale of lost time and suburban ennui. I really didn't get it and wondered why such a weak story opened this collection.
2) Housing Problem by Henry Kuttner (4/5) – Cute human/pixie encounter about daily decisions and the hard learned lessons of sloppy luck. One of my favorites.
3) The Portable Phonograph by Walter Van Tilburg Clark (3.5/5) – A story about what matters most when culture dies. Well done, but more episode than story.
4) None Before Me by Sidney Carroll (4.5/5) – An advancing horror about a man's obsession and a god's vengeance. One of the strongest stories in the collection.
5) Putzi by Ludwig Bemelmans (2/5) – A very weird and disturbing tale about a couple's miscarried baby in a glass jar divining the weather? Um, no thanks.
6) The Demon Lover by Shirley Jackson (2.5/5) Metaphorical story about a foolish woman looking for love. Not very satisfying and with a weak ending.
7) Miss Winters and the Wind by Christine Noble Govan (2.5/5) – A simple premise (man v nature) with a twisty kind of ending, but mostly meh overall.
8) Mr. Death and the Redheaded Woman by Helen Eustis (4/5) – Enjoyable old west tall tale (or fable) of discovered love. I'm partial to stories with an actual plot.
9) Jeremy in the Wind by Nigel Kneale (4/5) – A very short and solid, creepy and effective horror story. Scarecrows can be scary. Flash fiction as it should be written.
10) The Glass Eye by John Keir Cross (1/5) – I skimmed this longish tale; the last two pages were enough for this simple trope (ventriloquist and his dummy).
11) Saint Katy the Virgin by John Steinbeck (3.5/5) – A very odd piece, thought provoking. There's a message in there somewhere but not sure what it is. Satire?
12) Night Flight by Josephine W. Johnson (3.5/5) – Creative speculative tale about soldiers dreaming of (and traveling) home during war. Contemporary fantasy done well.
13) The Cocoon by John B. L. Goodwin (3.5/5) – Tragic horror involving a brat of a boy, his butterfly collection, and the consequences of his bizarre obsession.
14) The Hand by Wessel Hyatt Smitter (3/5) – A rivalry at a machine shop ends tragically, but who's to blame – man or machine? A bit predictable but entertaining.
15) The Sound Machine by Roald Dahl (4/5) – At what frequency can one hear nature scream, and what does that mean for us? Good story with a thought-provoking message.
16) The Laocoon Complex by J. C. Furnas (3/5) – When a man's imaginings are made manifest, a psychiatrist exults in his professional observation but the patient suffers.
17) I Am Waiting by Christopher Isherwood (2.5/5) – A man perceives flashes from the future and is ready for wherever the next trip takes him. Kind of boring.
18) The Witness by William Samson (1/5) – Experimental first person psychological drama where the witnesses are the eyes themselves. Didn't work for me.
19) The Enormous Radio by John Cheever (4/5) – Tuning in to the conversations of everyone around you simply proves you're about as bad off as everyone else – and just as average. Solid story.
20) Heartburn by Hortense Calisher (3.75/5) – Psychological horror about the shedding of the 'animal' in your chest by any means necessary. Metaphorical but well-told.
21) The Supremacy of Uruguay by E. B. White (2.5/5) – A message-heavy anti-war flash piece. Not so much speculative as absurdist and silly. Fell flat, in my opinion.
22) The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury (3/5) – Subtle social commentary on the gradual demise and expunging of conservative values by a 'progressive' society. Prescient.
23) A Note for the Milkman by Sidney Carroll (4/5) – A serial killer crime story that felt fresh from Alfred Hitchcock's magazine but was reprinted from Today's Woman! (Kinda shocking for 1950.)
24) The Eight Mistresses by Jean Hrolda (4/5) – A clever man outwits the devil in this engaging and whimsical story that doesn't take itself too seriously. Cute.
25) In the Penal Colony by Franz Kafka (4/5) – Written in 1914 and first published in 1919, eventually translated into English and published in 1948. A foreshadowing cautionary tale about the impending despotic terror of Stalinism as symbolized by the execution apparatus. Plenty of layers to this novelet and since this was my first reading of this classic story, I'll have to continue to think about it.
26) Inflexible Logic by Russell Maloney (3/5) – A bit absurdist, playing off the 'room full of monkeys typing out books' cliché. Even the human equation cannot undo a true scientific experiment. Not the strongest story to end the collection with, imo.
So there you have it. I'd give the whole collection about 3 stars. Interesting at times, but nothing to compel me to keep this volume on my shelf for future perusal.
November 26, 2008
Ancient paperback. Writers I have never read or don't remember much except for the big fish. Pleasantly nihilistic and sad and haunting. Enjoy the one about the ventriloquial figure and the false eye. Liked the Robert M. Coates offering too. Very consistent throughout. Bradbury makes a fine editor, which I do not know is a compliment or not.
December 13, 2022
Nothing offensive. Just second string stories. Fine.
May 20, 2023
Highlights:
The Portable Phonograph by Walter Van Tilburg Clark
None Before Me by Sidney Carroll
Saint Katy the Virgin by John Steinbeck
The Cocoon by John B.L. Goodwin
The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury
In The Penal Colony by Franz Kafka
The Portable Phonograph by Walter Van Tilburg Clark
None Before Me by Sidney Carroll
Saint Katy the Virgin by John Steinbeck
The Cocoon by John B.L. Goodwin
The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury
In The Penal Colony by Franz Kafka
September 27, 2019
I admit, I only read this book because it was included in a pack of Ray Bradbury books I purchased at a used-book sale. Still, I was willing to give it a shot. Bradbury is one of my favorite authors of all time, and though he only contributed one story to this anthology, he DID select what stories would go in it, and I trusted his judgment. And there's certainly a variety of stories to be found here... but while they were interesting stories, I'd argue the "timeless" nature of them declared by the title, and only a handful were truly memorable.
Bradbury states in the foreword that he tried to select stories written by people who normally didn't write fantasy and science fiction. So instead of big-name fantasy and sci-fi writers of the day, we get stories by such luminaries as Franz Kafka, Shirley Jackson, John Cheever, John Steinbeck, and even authors better known for their children's stories today (such as E. B. White and Roald Dahl). And most of these stories, while having some element of the fantastic to them, remain firmly grounded in the reality of the day, which makes them good stepping-stones for people just starting to dip their toe into the fantasy and sci-fi genres.
Most of these stories are quite well-written, though a few DO come across as stilted (most notably White's and Kafka's, though the latter could be because it's a translation). Many of them haven't aged very well, however, and one has to keep in mind the era they were written in while reading (mostly the '40s and very early '50s). So expect some subdued but noticeable racism, sexism, and other cringeworthy bits.
The most notable stories in this collection would have to be Henry Kuttner's "Housing Problem," an amusing story about fairy folk; Walter Van Tilburg Clark's "The Portable Phonograph," an early post-apocalyptic story; Shirley Jackson's "The Demon Lover" about a woman's obsession with a ventriloquist; Helen Eusis' "Mr. Death and the Redheaded Woman," a whimsical Wild-West fairy tale; J. C. Furnas' "The Laocoon Complex," about a man and a mysterious snake in his bathtub; and Bradbury's own "The Pedestrian," about the then-new phenomenon of the television and how it could have altered society forever.
An interesting mix of stories, especially notable since many of these writers didn't explicitly write fantasy or sci-fi at the time. I'd recommend this for someone who enjoys literature of this era and/or is looking to casually explore the fantastic genres for the first time.
Bradbury states in the foreword that he tried to select stories written by people who normally didn't write fantasy and science fiction. So instead of big-name fantasy and sci-fi writers of the day, we get stories by such luminaries as Franz Kafka, Shirley Jackson, John Cheever, John Steinbeck, and even authors better known for their children's stories today (such as E. B. White and Roald Dahl). And most of these stories, while having some element of the fantastic to them, remain firmly grounded in the reality of the day, which makes them good stepping-stones for people just starting to dip their toe into the fantasy and sci-fi genres.
Most of these stories are quite well-written, though a few DO come across as stilted (most notably White's and Kafka's, though the latter could be because it's a translation). Many of them haven't aged very well, however, and one has to keep in mind the era they were written in while reading (mostly the '40s and very early '50s). So expect some subdued but noticeable racism, sexism, and other cringeworthy bits.
The most notable stories in this collection would have to be Henry Kuttner's "Housing Problem," an amusing story about fairy folk; Walter Van Tilburg Clark's "The Portable Phonograph," an early post-apocalyptic story; Shirley Jackson's "The Demon Lover" about a woman's obsession with a ventriloquist; Helen Eusis' "Mr. Death and the Redheaded Woman," a whimsical Wild-West fairy tale; J. C. Furnas' "The Laocoon Complex," about a man and a mysterious snake in his bathtub; and Bradbury's own "The Pedestrian," about the then-new phenomenon of the television and how it could have altered society forever.
An interesting mix of stories, especially notable since many of these writers didn't explicitly write fantasy or sci-fi at the time. I'd recommend this for someone who enjoys literature of this era and/or is looking to casually explore the fantastic genres for the first time.
July 28, 2010
Contains a bunch of stories, mostly by known authors although not the biggest names. Many of these are not standard SF but have SF elements. Authors include
Robert Coates
Henry Kuttner
Walter Van Tilburg Clark
Sidney Carroll
Ludwig Bemelmans
Shirley Jackson
Crhistine Govan
Helen Eustis
John Cross
John Steinbeck
Josephine Johnson
John Goodwin
Wessel Smitter
Roald Dahl
J. C. Furnas
Christopher Isherwood
William Sansom
John Cheever
Hortense Calisher
E. B. White,
Bradbury
Sidney Carol
John Hrolda
Franz Kafka
Russell Maloney
Robert Coates
Henry Kuttner
Walter Van Tilburg Clark
Sidney Carroll
Ludwig Bemelmans
Shirley Jackson
Crhistine Govan
Helen Eustis
John Cross
John Steinbeck
Josephine Johnson
John Goodwin
Wessel Smitter
Roald Dahl
J. C. Furnas
Christopher Isherwood
William Sansom
John Cheever
Hortense Calisher
E. B. White,
Bradbury
Sidney Carol
John Hrolda
Franz Kafka
Russell Maloney
June 24, 2009
The most interesting storie s in the collection are by sidney Carroll better known as a screenwriter (the Hustler). He is the father of Jonathan Carroll. The one about he poisoner is particularly effective. He wrote an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents "Don't Interrupt" that has always been one ofmy favorites. Most of his scripts were adaptations ( don't interrupt is an original) so it was interesting to read some stories that reflected his own sensibility.
July 18, 2020
3.5 stars
Honestly I didn't even realize Bradbury didn't write these stories until I actually picked up the book to begin reading. But I would have read this book regardless for his introduction alone. Not many introductions blow me away but then again, not many introductions are written by Ray Bradbury. There is something in his words that I just find so comfortable, not to mention, eloquent. So I decided to keep reading. I figured if I'm not going to read a story written by Bradbury, I want to read a story deemed fantastic by Bradbury.
None of these stories really screamed fantasy in the way I always assumed was "fantasy;" which is probably for the best as I never have been a fan of the high fantasy genre. Instead, these stories have hints of darkness, of the horrors of everyday life, peppered with a few well placed fantastic events and situations. As Bradbury mentions in his introduction, he really sought out stories to prove there is fantasy in our everyday life.
Like most short story collections, there were stories I loved, stories I enjoyed, and stories that just missed the mark for me. A few stand outs include: The Portable Phonograph by Walter van Tilburg Clark, a melancholy post apocalyptic story about finding joy. None Before Me by Sidney Carroll, a story about obsession in the most ultimate terms. The Demon Lover by Shirley Jackson, this one was a slow burn and really didn't do much for me until I really thought about it. It went in a completely different direction than I was anticipating. The Laocoön Complex by J.C. Furnas, a strange story about a man and a snake; a concept I had never thought of before! And finally, The Pedestrian by the name himself, Ray Bradbury. This story felt very reminiscent of Fahrenheit 451 and that alternate future that might not be all that far off.
All in all, they were fun, enjoyable stories. I just wish Bradbury had written them! Haha
Honestly I didn't even realize Bradbury didn't write these stories until I actually picked up the book to begin reading. But I would have read this book regardless for his introduction alone. Not many introductions blow me away but then again, not many introductions are written by Ray Bradbury. There is something in his words that I just find so comfortable, not to mention, eloquent. So I decided to keep reading. I figured if I'm not going to read a story written by Bradbury, I want to read a story deemed fantastic by Bradbury.
None of these stories really screamed fantasy in the way I always assumed was "fantasy;" which is probably for the best as I never have been a fan of the high fantasy genre. Instead, these stories have hints of darkness, of the horrors of everyday life, peppered with a few well placed fantastic events and situations. As Bradbury mentions in his introduction, he really sought out stories to prove there is fantasy in our everyday life.
Like most short story collections, there were stories I loved, stories I enjoyed, and stories that just missed the mark for me. A few stand outs include: The Portable Phonograph by Walter van Tilburg Clark, a melancholy post apocalyptic story about finding joy. None Before Me by Sidney Carroll, a story about obsession in the most ultimate terms. The Demon Lover by Shirley Jackson, this one was a slow burn and really didn't do much for me until I really thought about it. It went in a completely different direction than I was anticipating. The Laocoön Complex by J.C. Furnas, a strange story about a man and a snake; a concept I had never thought of before! And finally, The Pedestrian by the name himself, Ray Bradbury. This story felt very reminiscent of Fahrenheit 451 and that alternate future that might not be all that far off.
All in all, they were fun, enjoyable stories. I just wish Bradbury had written them! Haha
August 17, 2024
I found this book in my dad's mancave after he passed away. Some of these stories sound familiar. I think other authors use the older story ideas to create their own stories. These stories are from long ago, some from far back as the early 1900s.
There are 26 short stories written by different authors, some whom I recognize and others I don't.
In less than 6 words I give you an idea of what each one is about without giving away the story:
The Hour After Westerly by Robert M. Coates-- Boring!
Housing Problem by Henry Kuttner--Interesting!
The Portable Phonograph by Walter Van Tilburg Clark--Why?
None Before Me by Sidney Carroll--Intriguing!
Putzi by Ludwig Bemelmans--Weird!
The Demon Lover by Shirley Jackson--Disappointing!
Miss Winters and the Wind by Christine Noble Govan--Crazy!!
Mr. Death and the Redheaded Woman (The Rider on the Pale Horse) by Helen Eustis--Romantic!
Jeremy in the Wind by Nigel Kneale--Stephen King-ish!
The Glass Eye by John Keir Cross--Just Ok!!
Saint Katy the Virgin by John Steinbeck--Demonic Pig Turned Christian!!
Night Flight by Josephine W. Johnson--Boring!!
The Cocoon by John B.L. Goodwin--Ewwww!!!
The Hand by Wessel Hyatt Smitter--Murder!!
The Sound Machine by Roald Dahl--Revenge!!
The Laocoon Complex by J.C. Furnas--Snakes!!!
I Am Waiting by Christopher Isherwood--Time Travel!!
The Witnesses by William Sansom--Imagination?
The Enormous Radio by John Cheever--Secrets!!
Heartburn by Hortense Calisher---Predictable!!
The Supremacy of Uruguay by E.B. White--Politically dated and very boring!!!
The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury--Twisted!
A Note for the Milkman by Sidney Carroll--Sneaky, Sick, Bastard!!
The Eight Mistresses by Jean Hrolda--Selling your soul to the devil!!
In the Penal Colony by Franz Kafka--Execution Apparatus!
Inflexible Logic by Russell Maloney---Too good to be true!
There are 26 short stories written by different authors, some whom I recognize and others I don't.
In less than 6 words I give you an idea of what each one is about without giving away the story:
The Hour After Westerly by Robert M. Coates-- Boring!
Housing Problem by Henry Kuttner--Interesting!
The Portable Phonograph by Walter Van Tilburg Clark--Why?
None Before Me by Sidney Carroll--Intriguing!
Putzi by Ludwig Bemelmans--Weird!
The Demon Lover by Shirley Jackson--Disappointing!
Miss Winters and the Wind by Christine Noble Govan--Crazy!!
Mr. Death and the Redheaded Woman (The Rider on the Pale Horse) by Helen Eustis--Romantic!
Jeremy in the Wind by Nigel Kneale--Stephen King-ish!
The Glass Eye by John Keir Cross--Just Ok!!
Saint Katy the Virgin by John Steinbeck--Demonic Pig Turned Christian!!
Night Flight by Josephine W. Johnson--Boring!!
The Cocoon by John B.L. Goodwin--Ewwww!!!
The Hand by Wessel Hyatt Smitter--Murder!!
The Sound Machine by Roald Dahl--Revenge!!
The Laocoon Complex by J.C. Furnas--Snakes!!!
I Am Waiting by Christopher Isherwood--Time Travel!!
The Witnesses by William Sansom--Imagination?
The Enormous Radio by John Cheever--Secrets!!
Heartburn by Hortense Calisher---Predictable!!
The Supremacy of Uruguay by E.B. White--Politically dated and very boring!!!
The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury--Twisted!
A Note for the Milkman by Sidney Carroll--Sneaky, Sick, Bastard!!
The Eight Mistresses by Jean Hrolda--Selling your soul to the devil!!
In the Penal Colony by Franz Kafka--Execution Apparatus!
Inflexible Logic by Russell Maloney---Too good to be true!
May 27, 2020
CONTENTS *
◾Introduction - Ray Bradbury
◾Fiction:
▪️"The Hour After Westerly" - Robert M. Coates
▪️"Housing Problem" - Henry Kuttner
▪️"The Portable Phonograph" - Walter Van Tilburg Clark
▪️"None Before Me" - Sidney Carroll
▪️"Putzi" - Ludwig Bemelmans
▪️"The Daemon Lover" - Shirley Jackson
▪️"Miss Winters and the Wind" - Christine N. Govan
▪️"Mr. Death and the Redheaded Woman" -
Helen Eustis
▪️"Jeremy in the Wind" - Nigel Kneale
▪️"The Glass Eye" - John Keir Cross
▪️"Saint Katy the Virgin" - John Steinbeck
▪️"Night Flight" - Josephine Johnson
▪️"The Cocoon" - John B. L. Goodwin
▪️"The Hand" - Wessel H. Smitter
▪️"The Sound Machine" - Roald Dahl
▪️"The Laocoön Complex" - J. C. Furnas
▪️"I Am Waiting" - Christopher Isherwood
▪️"The Witnesses" - William Sansom
▪️"The Enormous Radio" - John Cheever
▪️"Heartburn" - Hortense Calisher
▪️"The Supremacy of Uruguay" - E. B. White
▪️"The Pedestrian" - Ray Bradbury
▪️"A Note for the Milkman" - Sidney Carroll
▪️"The Eight Mistresses" - Jean Hrolda
▪️"In the Penal Colony" - Franz Kafka
▪️"Inflexible Logic" - Russell Maloney
I haven't read this in many years but I remember much of it surprisingly well. "In the Penal Colony" is unquestionably brilliant. "The Portable Phonograph," "The Daemon Lover," and "The Enormous Radio" are others that I particularly recall.
*I copied the Contents information from Wikipedia.
◾Introduction - Ray Bradbury
◾Fiction:
▪️"The Hour After Westerly" - Robert M. Coates
▪️"Housing Problem" - Henry Kuttner
▪️"The Portable Phonograph" - Walter Van Tilburg Clark
▪️"None Before Me" - Sidney Carroll
▪️"Putzi" - Ludwig Bemelmans
▪️"The Daemon Lover" - Shirley Jackson
▪️"Miss Winters and the Wind" - Christine N. Govan
▪️"Mr. Death and the Redheaded Woman" -
Helen Eustis
▪️"Jeremy in the Wind" - Nigel Kneale
▪️"The Glass Eye" - John Keir Cross
▪️"Saint Katy the Virgin" - John Steinbeck
▪️"Night Flight" - Josephine Johnson
▪️"The Cocoon" - John B. L. Goodwin
▪️"The Hand" - Wessel H. Smitter
▪️"The Sound Machine" - Roald Dahl
▪️"The Laocoön Complex" - J. C. Furnas
▪️"I Am Waiting" - Christopher Isherwood
▪️"The Witnesses" - William Sansom
▪️"The Enormous Radio" - John Cheever
▪️"Heartburn" - Hortense Calisher
▪️"The Supremacy of Uruguay" - E. B. White
▪️"The Pedestrian" - Ray Bradbury
▪️"A Note for the Milkman" - Sidney Carroll
▪️"The Eight Mistresses" - Jean Hrolda
▪️"In the Penal Colony" - Franz Kafka
▪️"Inflexible Logic" - Russell Maloney
I haven't read this in many years but I remember much of it surprisingly well. "In the Penal Colony" is unquestionably brilliant. "The Portable Phonograph," "The Daemon Lover," and "The Enormous Radio" are others that I particularly recall.
*I copied the Contents information from Wikipedia.
October 28, 2024
I wouldn't call these fantasy short stories, so much as a collection of stories with fantastical elements. Most of them are vaguely unsettling. Some do the thing early short stories do, which is that they don't seem to really conclude. They're more slice of life. I enjoyed Bradbury's introduction, and I liked some of the stories, but I don't think any are real favourites. Interesting and well written though.
November 14, 2018
I'm always down for a collection of short stories, especially ones chosen by one of my favorite authors. Bradbury didn't disappoint. Nice mix of stories.
Of course, not all were at the same standard as the rest, as should be expected. But, like I said, it was a good mix, and I read some authors I had previously not read before.
Of course, not all were at the same standard as the rest, as should be expected. But, like I said, it was a good mix, and I read some authors I had previously not read before.
July 18, 2024
After reading books of Bradbury's stories, I was somewhat disappointed in these (other authors that Bradbury chose). As with many anthologies, they varied widely and I liked a few and did not care for a bunch. Many of these stories are not science fiction, and as they were written in the late 30's to early 50's, several have not aged well.
January 3, 2021
read 72 pages, none of the stories were doing it for me, decided to dnf.
...not a coincidence the last story i read involved a *spoiler* cat getting murdered, and then a woman trying to get revenge by killing the 'wind' um...ok.
...not a coincidence the last story i read involved a *spoiler* cat getting murdered, and then a woman trying to get revenge by killing the 'wind' um...ok.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 17, 2025
Very interesting and intriguing collection of stories.
July 5, 2013
There were two stories in this collection that stood out to me. "The Laocoon Complex" and "The Eight Mistresses" were fun to read, and I thought, very insightful. In "The Laocoon Complex" (written by J. C. Furnas) I found a striking similarity in the plot to another favorite story of mine (the much more modern) "Sphere" (by Michael Crichton). The idea is that someone could manifest life by will. Both stories give an example where it is possible for this to be done, but that our limited knowledge of the living thing limits the reality, creating a new creature that looks familiar, but upon familiar study is actually something un-familiar. The theme of snakes is always very suggestive, and would present a good starting point for an analytical paper on this story.
In Jean Hrolda's "The Eight Mistresses", a favorite plot-line of mine (a deal with the devil) gives our "clever" hero the challenge of figuring out "what makes a woman loyal?" I love the outcome of this story, indeed, this is a good tale of a "battle of wits"...who thinks they could out-smart the devil himself?
I would recommend these stories to anyone who likes short fiction.
In Jean Hrolda's "The Eight Mistresses", a favorite plot-line of mine (a deal with the devil) gives our "clever" hero the challenge of figuring out "what makes a woman loyal?" I love the outcome of this story, indeed, this is a good tale of a "battle of wits"...who thinks they could out-smart the devil himself?
I would recommend these stories to anyone who likes short fiction.
May 12, 2013
Ray Bradbury writes the introduction to Timeless Stories, proposing that the tales within, "by making a fantasy of a fantasy, by showing us the unreality of reality, remind us of and entertain us with our precarious state of equilibrium." No one knows what exactly that means of course, but it sounds like something I'm all for!
My favorite stories of the group include a post-apocalyptic tale of rare surviving books and music (written beautifully. Haunting); a "was he real or wasn't he?" sort of love story; an amusing situation involving the creating of snakes in the bathtub via the power of one's mind (and sadly it turns tragic); a creepy story of one boy's moth/butterfly hobby turned nightmare (I tend to think of this one when I wish I didn't--like in the deep dark of night); and a really rather icky last story about a penal colony that I rather wish I could forget but which surely has some value in that at least it makes me thankful it's just a story (at this point in time, anyway).
My favorite stories of the group include a post-apocalyptic tale of rare surviving books and music (written beautifully. Haunting); a "was he real or wasn't he?" sort of love story; an amusing situation involving the creating of snakes in the bathtub via the power of one's mind (and sadly it turns tragic); a creepy story of one boy's moth/butterfly hobby turned nightmare (I tend to think of this one when I wish I didn't--like in the deep dark of night); and a really rather icky last story about a penal colony that I rather wish I could forget but which surely has some value in that at least it makes me thankful it's just a story (at this point in time, anyway).
July 8, 2016
All enjoyable and a few gems thrown in. I usually do not think of a writer as a reader as well but it makes sense. I often hear that a writer will say "one must write everyday" and upon hearing this just assume that s/he is always writing and never has time to read the works of others. Of course this is silly. Anyway, this collection strikes me as one which Ray could have written himself in that they are stories which resemble his in tone and odd subject matter. Hence I can see why he likes them. I get to the end of such a book and often forget what each story is about. Upon rereading the titles on the Contents page I remember some but not all.
May 28, 2011
Short stories, collected by Ray Bradbury. For the most part, the stories are sci-fi, but many of them push the boundaries of the genre and a few definitely fall outside the normal realm.
Many of the stories are spot on, some of them are near-misses. The batting average is higher than most short story collections I've read, and even the ones that don't work quite so well still have interesting aspects.
Many of the stories are spot on, some of them are near-misses. The batting average is higher than most short story collections I've read, and even the ones that don't work quite so well still have interesting aspects.
Read
April 16, 2012This was an interesting book. Some authors had written timeless classics, others hadn't. Some were spooky and strange. Others were boring and off topic. This book is not for the faint of heart and has most of it's story characters going insane or worse. A few stories, for instance the one by Rhoald Dahl made me think. I had to skip a few because they had very little going on. All in all its a good book, and should be read as more of a group than series or novel.
November 23, 2009
An entertaining collection of 26 fantasy stories, from whimsical to mysterious to horrifying. To woo the unconverted, Bradbury went out of his way to select New Yorker stories and literary authors (Steinbeck, E.B. White, Cheever, Isherwood) who produced something marginally fantastic. Most of these stories still work. And I'm now a fan of Robert M. Coates, whom I'd never heard of.
April 4, 2011
Great collection of short stories with some wicked twists in them. Heavily weighted toward publications from the New Yorker Magazine (do they still publish this brand of macabre short fiction? I rather doubt it.) Altogether brilliant selection by Ray Bradbury.
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October 19, 2009Timeless Stories for Today and Tomorrow by Ray Bradbury (1952)
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August 3, 2010In English language,Inglise keeles,fiction,short stories,science fiction,sci-fi
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January 25, 2012No grade. Short stories.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews