From the TBR Shelf #37: The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

The Martian Chronicles (1950) by Ray Bradbury

I've had quite the interesting experience with Ray Bradbury's writings. Of course, the first book of his I picked up was Fahrenheit 451, and I did that just 6 or 7 years ago (I know, I don't know how I went so long before reading it). Maybe I'd feel differently now, but at the time, I was underwhelmed by the story. The writing was nothing special, and the plot was only mildly interesting, though this might have been because I've been spoiled on Star Trek and SG-1 since I was a teenager.

Jump to about 5 years ago, and I was reading a wonderful anthology of sci-fi stories, when I came across Bradbury's piece, "Mars is Heaven!" Instantly, I reevaluated what I thought about him. "Mars is Heaven!" is bizarre and utterly fascinating- the kind of story that I'm always looking for and hoping some day in some universe to write.

From the TBR Shelf #9: The October Country by Ray Bradbury

The October Country (1955) by Ray Bradbury

There's bizarre, and then there's BIZARRE.

This collection of Bradbury's dark-fantasy stories includes 15 originally published in Dark Carnival (1947) and 4 other previously-published tales. Despite the wide variety of characters and scenarios, these stories nonetheless cohere because of Bradbury's unique voice and love of the macabre.

Now, of Bradbury's works I've only read Fahrenheit 451 (many years ago) and a short story called "Mars is Heaven!" I remember feeling underwhelmed by the former but enjoying the latter. The October Country, however, is fascinating because Bradbury manages to write about skulls, vampires, skeleton-stealers, and weird amoeba-like squishy things in jars (among other weirdnesses)- all in what I can only call a positively buoyant voice. Seriously! Dude is clearly enjoying himself here, and it's contagious.