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The Illustrated Man

by Ray Bradbury, Jim Burns (Illustrator)

4.09 of 5 stars 4.09 · rating details · 25,969 ratings · 1,078 reviews

The tattooed man moves, and in the arcane designs scrawled upon his skin swirled tales beyond imagining: tales of love and laughter darkness and death, of mankind’s glowing, golden past and its dim, haunted future. Here are eighteen incomparable stories that blend magic and truth in a kaleidoscope tapestry of wonder–woven by the matchless imagination of Ray Bradbury.

Mass Market Paperback, 186 pages

Published November 1st 1983 by Spectra (first published 1951)

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Dec 30, 2011 Scott rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: short-story-and-novella-collections, bradbury, 2011, autumnal-chill

Bradbury can really do no wrong in my mind. Ever since I read The October Country in 2003 or so I’ve known that I could pick up a book by good old Ray and be entertained. So why has it taken me so long to really dig into his oeuvre? This is as mysterious to me as the shifting premonitions that cover the illustrated man’s skin.

Bradbury can write. You may be thinking “No shit Sherlock. He’s not a household name for nothing.” But I mean he can write. There’s always that one person or work that open...more Bradbury can really do no wrong in my mind. Ever since I read The October Country in 2003 or so I’ve known that I could pick up a book by good old Ray and be entertained. So why has it taken me so long to really dig into his oeuvre? This is as mysterious to me as the shifting premonitions that cover the illustrated man’s skin.

Bradbury can write. You may be thinking “No shit Sherlock. He’s not a household name for nothing.” But I mean he can write. There’s always that one person or work that opens up a genre for me that I may otherwise have ignorantly avoided. Bradbury is that ambassador of science fiction to me. But therein lies another problem; the dubbing of Bradbury’s output as science fiction. Bradbury is as deserving as anyone to have his name “esque”d. I fear that many dismiss Bradbury as being laughable, as many of his foresights have missed the mark significantly. But considering the time in which these stories were written, many of his prophecies, even if they weren’t intended as such, are eerie in their accuracy. One must suspend belief and just dive into the philosophical and nostalgic territory of which Bradbury is the master.

The stories float by you like the astronauts in Kaleidoscope, and at you like a near-death experience. Forget that you’re reading fiction, because you’re not. You’re trying to remain sane and ignore the lions at your heels and the Martians in the yard even though you’re protecting your throat. You’re hurtling towards death with phenomenological thoughts, or lamenting a life not lived. You’re on the run in time, which has become a place, in a time and place where there is nowhere to run. You’re being enlightened to the folly of sin and racism by abandoning your narrow human perspective. You’re running from your life, but it’s got your number. Even the city wants revenge. You’re killing what you love or being killed by it. The world will end, is ending, has ended.

But don’t worry. Because you’re only reading fiction. Right?
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Jun 14, 2012 Emily rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, classics

I love short stories. To be able to pack such a punch in just a handful of pages, each word has to be meaningful, each metaphor perfect, each phrase exquisitely crafted and The Illustrated Man is chock-full of stories with staying power.

As Bradbury mentions in his introduction, these stories are possible answers to "What if?" questions. Some are humorous, some downright frightening, some thought-provoking. He starts out with a bang: the short story "The Veldt." Those two children are straight ou...more

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Sep 14, 2010 Kat Hooper rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

The Illustrated Man is a collection of Ray Bradbury’s stories which are sandwiched between the account of the titular man whose tattoos come alive at night and set the scenes for the 18 tales in this collection. All of these stories are classic Ray Bradbury — full of spacemen, Earth-Mars conflict, psychiatrists, spoiled children, bad marriages, book burning, domestic work-saving technologies, and nervous breakdowns. They deal with the fear of atomic war, l...more ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

The Illustrated Man is a collection of Ray Bradbury’s stories which are sandwiched between the account of the titular man whose tattoos come alive at night and set the scenes for the 18 tales in this collection. All of these stories are classic Ray Bradbury — full of spacemen, Earth-Mars conflict, psychiatrists, spoiled children, bad marriages, book burning, domestic work-saving technologies, and nervous breakdowns. They deal with the fear of atomic war, loneliness, prejudice, madness, and the dangers of automobiles, junk food, and media entertainment (but smoking is okay).

All of the tales are written in Bradbury’s incomparable prose and most of them are emotionally touching. But, not surprisingly, they’re almost all grim, making The Illustrated Man a book that you probably won’t want to read all at once unless you want to have your own book-burning nervous breakdown.

My favorites are:

* “The Veldt” — a father and mother are concerned about the reality of their kids’ virtual games.
* “Kaleidoscope” — a man reflects on his life as he spins toward Earth after his rocket blows up.
* “The Other Foot” — black people living on Mars prepare for a visit from white men.
* “The Man” — spacemen land on a new planet and wonder what important event could have overshadowed their arrival.
* “The Rocket Man” — a boy and his mom receive a rare visit from his Rocket Man father.
* “Marionettes, Inc.” — a dissatisfied husband purchases a clone so he can escape to Rio for a month without his wife knowing.
* “The Rocket” — about the best father in the world.

This is a great collection (by Tantor Audio) for Bradbury fans who’d like to listen to his stories. Scott Brick’s pleasant and enthusiastic voice is deft enough to realistically portray an old black woman named Hattie, a gum-smacking blonde California bimbo, and an entire Italian family. I recommend this version!(less)

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Jul 26, 2007 Jessi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of Bradbury's short stories

Shelves: science-fiction

This is a powerful collection of short stories. The two that are my favorites are "The Veldt" and "The Fire Balloons." The first time I read this book, I wasn't sure what to expect. Little did I know that it contains "The Veldt," which I has seen on film in my 6th grade Creative Writing class. Even way back then, this struck me as a unique and haunting story, and I am forever grateful to my teacher and good friend Rhonda Selph for introducing me to it. (She passed away during my freshman year in...more

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Jul 24, 2010 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, science-fiction

As a newly-minted high school reading teacher, my introductory book to spoon-feed to the young'ns was Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451. It was a really good one to start with, as it had a fairly simple and uncomplicated storyline, a small cast of characters, and fairly well-defined themes and literary techniques. Therefore, teaching it to students who weren't native speakers (but whose English was really good nonetheless) was a good experience.

I hadn't read a whole lot of Bradbury prior to that, an...more

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Sep 14, 2007 Samantha Cira rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi

It's been a while since I read this book. I think the last time was the late 90's.

This is a collection of short stories, so it's one of the easier Bradbury reads. Good before-bed book since you can stop after one of the stories has ended.

It's dark, sad and a lot of people die in space. You know, you gotta love Bradbury. He has such high hopes for humanity. =) That being said, it's a wonderful book, 5 stars.

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Sep 16, 2012 Apatt rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sf-f

"... he was a riot of rockets and fountains and people, in such intricate detail and color that you could hear the voices murmuring small and muted, from the crowds that inhabited his body. When his flesh twitched, the tiny mouths flickered, the tiny green-and-gold eyes winked, the tiny pink hands gestured. There were yellow meadows and blue rivers and mountains and stars and suns and planets spread in a Milky Way across his chest. The people themselves were in twenty or more odd groups upon hi

...more

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Nov 09, 2007 Grace Wilson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Sci-fi lovers

The illustrated man is covered in tattoos that a witch gave him while he was laid up in bed. They come to life and if you watch them long enough they start to move and tell stories. They can even tell the future. The book is told as stories come alive one night as an unsuspecting man watches.

The stories are all excellent. They were written in the late 1940s & early 50s. It's interesting to see how some of the "future" dates have come and gone already. The themes of some of the stories were b...more

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Nov 16, 2007 Kate rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone

"The Veldt" is a must-read from this selection. In this story set in the not-too-distant future, the automated appliances and children's toys suck the life (literally and figuratively) out of a traditional family. It makes you wonder if we haven't already begun sliding down that slippery slope.

This short story among others are compiled and tied together through a man's magical tattoos. His body is covered in tattoos, and they animate to tell each story. Once again, Bradbury's language makes his...more

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Apr 16, 2013 Stephen Beecroft rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Bradbury uses a heavily tattooed man and his search for revenge as a framing device for the real purpose: Each tattoo tells a space-related story. A predictable story-telling device, as old as Scheherazade, but still effective. And the stories?

In a word: Disappointing. I guess my fond memories of Bradbury made me expect better. I did not realize as a child just how light on basic science Bradbury was, "space" being a large room above us, accessible by people jumping into rockets to go visit, whe...more

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Apr 01, 2013 James Kane rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"... there was always a minority afraid of something, and a great majority afraid of the dark, afraid of the future, afraid of the past, afraid of the present, afraid of themselves and shadows of themselves." ('Usher II', p. 124)

Last year the world lost an exceptional writer. The Illustrated Man (1952) is the only book by Ray Bradbury that I've read in full, but I feel like I don't need to read any of his other works (though I will) to get a proper sense of his talent. The short stories he prese...more "... there was always a minority afraid of something, and a great majority afraid of the dark, afraid of the future, afraid of the past, afraid of the present, afraid of themselves and shadows of themselves." ('Usher II', p. 124)

Last year the world lost an exceptional writer. The Illustrated Man (1952) is the only book by Ray Bradbury that I've read in full, but I feel like I don't need to read any of his other works (though I will) to get a proper sense of his talent. The short stories he presents in this volume, linked by the premise that they are being viewed on the densely tattooed body of a mysterious outcast whom the main narrator meets one "warm afternoon in early September", are deft, poignant, chilling, and occasionally beautiful - often all at once. More than sixty years after the book was first published, Bradbury's visions of the future may seem a little outdated against the broader context of modern speculative fiction, at least to some readers, but he writes so vividly and with such fluency that it's impossible not just to be swept up in the story. Generic tropes count for little or nothing when the writing is this good. As the quote above suggests, one of the underlying themes of the work is humanity and the fears that fester at its heart. Bradbury exposes these fears with all the forensic efficiency of a scientist and the artistry of a poet, weaving together a series of vignettes which resonate with something very primal at the same time as they project forward into the eternal unknown of the future.

I first came across some of the stories from The Illustrated Man in my final year of school, and though I liked them even then, I'd forgotten all about the book until I came across a cheap (though brand new) copy a couple of months ago. Not that the price-tag means anything - I would happily pay the full £8.00 for this. A story a night has been my bedtime routine for the past few weeks now - and despite the frequently unnerving twists, some of which might even have made Roald Dahl shiver, I've slept pretty soundly most nights during that time. It's difficult to give a proper review of a collection of short stories without giving too much away about specific plots, so all I'll say is that I fully recommend this book to anyone with even half an imagination.

R.I.P., Mr Bradbury...and thank you for giving me some of the most entertaining weeks of pre-sleep reading I've had for a long time.(less)

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Mar 14, 2013 Olivia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The illustrated man is a story within a story. It starts out with the description of a traveler, who meets a man with an illustrated body. The body is covered in tattoos that move and shift. The two men rest together under a tree until the illustrated man falls asleep, and the traveler watches as the tattoos begin to change.
The book then moves from story to story, sometimes with brief interludes of the traveler describing the illustrated man turning in his sleep, allowing for more tattoos to sho...more The illustrated man is a story within a story. It starts out with the description of a traveler, who meets a man with an illustrated body. The body is covered in tattoos that move and shift. The two men rest together under a tree until the illustrated man falls asleep, and the traveler watches as the tattoos begin to change.
The book then moves from story to story, sometimes with brief interludes of the traveler describing the illustrated man turning in his sleep, allowing for more tattoos to show. The reader is carried between worlds of rockets and space travel. Ray Bradbury describes what seems like hundreds of different lives all captured in the same universe of science fiction. I felt like I was going to run into a character from one story in another.
Ray Bradbury was an excellent writer, and this book was no exception. It was written in 1951, and many of the stories written in it were adapted for longer versions, radio shows, or even a film. The main theme that reoccurs within all of the stories is the heart of man, who searches for where he has come from and looks to where he can head. Many of the stories also deal with psychological issues.
My favorite story is titled, "The Rocket Man." (Spoiler alert) It's a story about an astronaut in the future who leaves his wife and son for three months at a time, only to return for three days before leaving again. The father tries to explain to the son that when he's in space, he craves home, and when he's home, he's helplessly drawn to space. "Don't ever be a rocket man," he says. To me, it's such a heartbreaking story. The father promises his family that this is his last time going, only to die in a collision with the sun when he ships out. The mother and boy go into mourning, and they can't stand to look at the sun, they become nocturnal.
Eerie, I know, but it's good. I would recommend this book because a few of the stories have a lot of great emotions behind them. After while they might all sound the same, because each one has either space, rockets, or new planets in the storyline. I would not recommend this book to anyone who hates science fiction.
Unfortunately Ray Bradbury has recently passed away. I would encourage anyone who has the time to look him up and hear him speak. He's worth it. (less)

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Feb 22, 2013 Derek Davis rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This isn't the best Bradbury short story collection, though it includes three of his iconic stories: "The Veldt," "Marionettes, Inc." and "Zero Hour." He sets the tales off initially as a series of moving tattoos on a disgruntled hobo but soon drops the transitions. Mid-point, it's almost as though he were cleaning out his writing desk, dropping in a couple true dogs, like the sophomoric attempt at humor in "Concrete Mixer" or the goofy verbal soup of "The Exiles." Less would have been more.

As a...more

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Jan 29, 2013 Alex Telander rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-read-in-2012

The recent passing of Ray Bradbury was a very sad loss for the writing world, as we lost not just one of the foremost science fiction writers of our time, but one of our greatest storytellers and writers period. But even with his loss, Ray Bradbury will continue to be read and enjoyed by many fans, as well as be discovered by new readers for the first time. The Illustrated Man is an excellent example for those looking to give Ray Bradbury a try and find out just how good he is.

The book is told w...more

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Jan 22, 2013 Russell rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"That last. He chewed tastelessly on the meat that the table had cut for him. Death thoughts. They were awfully young, Wendy and Peter, for death thoughts. Or, no, you were never too young, really. Long before you knew what death was you were wishing it on someone else. When you were two years old you were shooting people with cap pistols."

I wish I could have given this 4.5 instead of 4.

Out of the 18 short stories in this book, here are my thoughts: In general, every story is based off of a ver...more "That last. He chewed tastelessly on the meat that the table had cut for him. Death thoughts. They were awfully young, Wendy and Peter, for death thoughts. Or, no, you were never too young, really. Long before you knew what death was you were wishing it on someone else. When you were two years old you were shooting people with cap pistols."

I wish I could have given this 4.5 instead of 4.

Out of the 18 short stories in this book, here are my thoughts: In general, every story is based off of a very unique and creative idea. The large majority of them are what one would consider to be sci-fi; however, they are definitely not written or seem like traditional sci-fi stories.

There were a few I disliked. The plot and characters of these stories didn't seem to be fleshed out well enough, and for this reason, they never really drew me in. There were another few that I thought were alright. These could have been really good, but again, the plot and characters kind of held me back from totally connecting to the story. Even though I didn't care for these as much as the others, I still had great respect for the originality of the ideas behind them. About 10 of the stories I really liked. These were pretty cool ones. While reading these, I often thought about how interesting and different the plots were. The final couple were amazing. I think a really good short story should have the same effect on you that I good novel has, and even though these stories were no more than 15 pages, I felt as though I had put forth the same emotional and intellectual commitment that a 300 page book would require. I don't know what else to say, except that they were awesome.

Even though the stories themselves were very unique and interesting, just like every Bradbury book I have read, it was his writing that really got me hooked. I LOVE his writing style. Even in the few stories that I didn't like, I still found great appreciation for his ability. His style is vague and descriptive all at once, and it perfectly complements the ideas of the plot.

One of my favorite lines from this book goes like this."'Nevertheless,' Simms pointed out, 'the inhabitants of the future resent you two for hiding on a tropical isle, as it were, while they drop off the cliff into hell. Death loves death, not life. Dying people love to know that others die with them. It is a comfort to learn you are not alone in the kiln, in the grave.'"
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Jan 08, 2013 Dave marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: calibre, fiction

EDITORIAL REVIEW: *He was a riot of rockets and fountains and people, in such intricate detail and color that you could bear the voiced murmuring, small and muted, from the crowds that inhabited his body.* **The Illustrated Man** Ray Bradbury brings wonders alive. A peerless American storyteller, his oeuvre has been celebrated for decades--from *The Martian Chronicles* and *Fahrenheit 451* to *Dandelion Wine* and *Something Wicked This Way Comes. * The Illustrated Man is classic Bradbury --a col...more EDITORIAL REVIEW: *He was a riot of rockets and fountains and people, in such intricate detail and color that you could bear the voiced murmuring, small and muted, from the crowds that inhabited his body.* **The Illustrated Man** Ray Bradbury brings wonders alive. A peerless American storyteller, his oeuvre has been celebrated for decades--from *The Martian Chronicles* and *Fahrenheit 451* to *Dandelion Wine* and *Something Wicked This Way Comes. * The Illustrated Man is classic Bradbury --a collection of tales that breathe and move, animated by sharp, intaken breath and flexing muscle. Here are eighteen startling visions of humankind's destiny, unfolding across a canvas of decorated skin--visions as keen as the tattooist's needle and as colorful as the inks that indelibly stain the body. The images, ideas, sounds and scents that abound in this phantasmagoric sideshow are provocative and powerful: the mournful cries of celestial travelers cast out cruelly into a vast, empty space of stars and blackness ... the sight of gray dust settling over a forgotten outpost on a road that leads nowhere ... the pungent odor of Jupiter on a returning father's clothing. Here living cities take their vengeance, technology awakens the most primal natural instincts, Martian invasions are foiled by the good life and the glad hand, and dreams are carried aloft in junkyard rockets. Ray Bradbury's *The Illustrated Man* is a kaleidoscopic blending of magic, imagination, and truth, widely believed to be one of the Grandmaster's premier accomplishments: as exhilarating as interplanetary travel, as maddening as a walk in a million-year rain, and as comforting as simple, familiar rituals on the last night of the world. He was a riot of rockets and fountains and people, in such intricate detail and color that you could hear the voices murmuring, small and muted, from the crowds that inhabited his body. Ray Bradbury brings wonders alive. A peerless American storyteller, his oeuvre has been celebrated for decades--from *The Martian Chronicles* and *Fahrenheit 451* to *Dandelion Wine* and *Something Wicked This Way Comes*. THE ILLUSTRATED MAN is classic Bradbury--a collection of tales that breathe and move, animated by sharp, intaken breath and flexing muscle. Here are eighteen startling visions of humankind's destiny, unfolding across a canvas of decorated skin--visions as keen as the tattooist's needle and as colorful as the inks that indelibly stain the body. The images, ideas, sounds and scents that abound in this phantasmagoric sideshow are provocative and powerful: the mournful cries of celestial travelers cast out cruelly into a vast, empty space of stars and blackness...the sight of gray dust settling over a forgotten outpost on a road that leads nowhere...the pungent odor of Jupiter on a returning father's clothing. Here living cities take their vengeance, technology awakens the most primal natural instincts, Martian invasions are foiled by the good life and the glad hand, and dreams are carried aloft in junkyard rockets. Ray Bradbury's THE ILLUSTRATEDMAN is a kaleidoscopic blending of magic, imagination, and truth, widely believed to be one of the Grandmaster's premier accomplishments: as exhilarating as interplanetary travel, as maddening as a walk in a million-year rain, and as comforting as simple, familiar rituals on the last night of the world.(less)

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Nov 13, 2012 Maddi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The purpose of The Illustrated Man (written by Ray Bradbury) was to warn us about the future. Even though this book was written in the 1950’s it is still relevant today. He describes possible future events through many stories. He tells us that the technology could potentially lead us down the wrong path. For example, Bradbury tells a story about a couple who have traveled in a time machine to escape their future. They were supposed to be making atomic bombs for a colossal war in 2115 A.D. If ti...more The purpose of The Illustrated Man (written by Ray Bradbury) was to warn us about the future. Even though this book was written in the 1950’s it is still relevant today. He describes possible future events through many stories. He tells us that the technology could potentially lead us down the wrong path. For example, Bradbury tells a story about a couple who have traveled in a time machine to escape their future. They were supposed to be making atomic bombs for a colossal war in 2115 A.D. If time machines and other advanced technology had not been invented, then they would’ve ended up miserable (but together) rather than dead.

The theme of this novel is the affects of technology on our nation. This is the theme because he repeatedly talks about the consequences of advancing technology. In many of his stories they lead to psychological torture and even death. For example, he tells the story of an astronaut who loves his family but also loves the wonders of space. He has to spend many months in his rocket ship conducting research. In the end, he dies in an accident right before retiring and returning to his family. This mishap could’ve been avoided if he didn’t have the technology to go into space.

The style of writing that this book was written in is a description. It’s a description because the novel makes the reader feel like they’re experiencing it first hand. An example of this style of writing is “In the flashes of powdery illumination they could see armies of raindrops, suspended as in a vast motionless amber, for an instant, hesitating as if shocked by the explosion, fifteen billion droplets, fifteen billion tears, fifteen billion ornaments, jewels standing out against a white velvet viewing board. And then, with the light gone, the drops which had waited to have their pictures taken, which had suspended their downward rush, fell upon them, stinging, in an insect cloud of coldness and pain.” This style of writing is effective because when you feel like you’re experiencing something first hand it becomes more realistic.

I enjoyed this science fiction novel because it made me think about what our future could become (the good and bad). The short stories kept me entertained and eager to read the next one. I enjoyed how Bradbury had so many short stories with an overall topic. This novel does not remind me of any other book because of all the stories it has. The only thing I would change about The Illustrated Man is the ending because it didn’t feel complete and left you with many questions.
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Nov 03, 2012 Debbie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I remember reading this in my teens and thinking it phenomenal, but my tastes have changed and I found it a little disappointing this time through.

The illustrated man of the title is covered in tattoos that come to life at night and reveal the stories herein. But the illustrated man is just a device to string together a collection of Bradbury’s (mostly) previously published short stories. Most of the stories are set on Mars or other space venues, or are in the future (including two ‘end of the w...more

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Sep 30, 2012 Justin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a great collection of short stories. I thought I had read them before, but quickly discovered that I hadn't and kept going because they were so enjoyable. The set up with the illustrated man wandering from town to town is great. They are all period pieces, with atomic war being the main concern throughout and pretty primitive technology for interplanetary space travel as the backdrop for nearly each story.

The story I enjoyed most was The Man because it held strongly developed relevant m...more

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Jul 24, 2012 Rhys rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I first read this when Bradbury was my favourite writer back in my teenage years. I remember thinking that ‘Kaleidoscope’ was a perfect story, symmetrical, ironic and quirky. I also remember enjoying ‘The Long Rain’, about men trapped on the surface of a Venus where the weather is like the weather of Ireland or Wales but even worse. ‘Usher II’ was another favourite and I regarded it as the ultimate revenge story (I was also a big fan of Edgar Allan Poe, so I got all the references). My other fav...more

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Jul 19, 2012 Doreen Fritz rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have always loved the short stories of Ray Bradbury. From *Something Wicked This Way Comes* to *Martian Chronicles*, his stories combine vivid descriptions of life-as-we-know-it with realistic portrayals of space exploration. And beneath those "flights of fancy" is a shared conviction between Bradbury and his readers that no matter where humans go or to what extent we advance our technologies, we will carry with us our human failings and faults. Which will bring about our downfall.

By telling t...more I have always loved the short stories of Ray Bradbury. From *Something Wicked This Way Comes* to *Martian Chronicles*, his stories combine vivid descriptions of life-as-we-know-it with realistic portrayals of space exploration. And beneath those "flights of fancy" is a shared conviction between Bradbury and his readers that no matter where humans go or to what extent we advance our technologies, we will carry with us our human failings and faults. Which will bring about our downfall.

By telling the stories of individual characters, he communicates his opinions about issues of the day, such as racism and civil rights, technology, class systems, the importance of creativity and freedom, and the importance of the arts. In many of his stories, it is evident that he believes that science, big government, and "progress" are trying to quell creativity, fantasy, and fun.

But I like his books mostly because he doesn't make any grand pronouncements. His themes don't blast the reader too strongly. Instead, we get drawn into the lives of his characters. Like the astronauts flying through space in "Kaleidoscope" -- without the benefit of a rocket, after theirs has blown up and thrown them out into space. They are flying in different directions at hundreds of miles per hour - some destined to re-enter Earth's atmosphere in a trail of fire -- others to collide with meteors or to continue moving toward other planets. Their communications technology allows them to continue to talk to each other as they fly along, and in a few short sentences we have a clearly-painted image of their personalities and what they've gone through to get to this point. And what a title -- doesn't the word Kaleidoscope immediately conjure up an image of little dits and dots twirling against a background? To think of those random images in a black sea of space as being humans creates a quirky (humorous and yet horrific) mental image.

Another story, "Zero Hour," raises memories of the long days of childhood summers spent outside playing with friends. And the mother inside doing her chores or attending to the kids when they run in and out looking for something, getting a drink, or telling her about their games. They are playing 'invasion," which sounds very creative and imaginary -- but we soon come to realize that the kids are more in touch with reality than the adults. Martians really ARE planning to invade -- tonight. The kids are prepared to help them take over the Earth -- and that is unbelievable, horrible, and yet fits into every kid's childhood fantasy.

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Jun 26, 2012 Russell rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Aside from being a brilliant novelist, Bradbury was also the consummate short story author. His speculative fiction remains engaging and engrossing.

"The Illustrated Man" is one such collection of short stories, what amazed me was the depth and breadth of the stories. A bit of sci-fi, a shot of horror, a mix of existentialism philosophy, a quick sprint through the valley of death and shadow, a sharp poke at hidden desires, and even blend of nostalgia, shaken, stirred, pickled, diced fresh, sent...more

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Jun 14, 2012 Gian Piero rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I like Bradbury even better when he's holding a little back on the lyrical style of his prose, as in this collection. Eighteen thought-provoking stories; the only thing that seems out of place is the narrative frame of the Illustrated Man himself, which felt superfluous to me. I guess he wanted to unite the stories under a larger umbrella and convey a sense of a greater whole. That and he liked the concept so much he later reused it in Something wicked this way comes.

'Veldt' is about responsibil...more

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Jun 14, 2012 Monty rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

With the passing of Ray Bradbury last week, we lost the last surviving member of the BIG FOUR grandfathers of American Science Fiction literature: Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert A. Heinlein and Ray Bradbury. Ray, strictly speaking, did not really consider himself an SF writer, as he also clearly dabbled in the Fantasy and Mystery genres. He preferred not to be classified and catagorized...and he couldn't be. He was a master of the Short Story as much as the novel, and he was also a gifte...more

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Jun 12, 2012 Cornerofmadness rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. On the whole I’m not a huge short story fan but I do occasionally read them. One collection has always stood out in my mind, Ray Bradbury’s The Illustrated Man. With his recent passing, I wanted to reread some of his works and the library had a copy of this collection. I don’t remember realizing when I read this the first time, that the titular character was basically just a frame to hang the collection of shorts on, but that was over thirty years ago that I read it and it’s entirely possible th...more On the whole I’m not a huge short story fan but I do occasionally read them. One collection has always stood out in my mind, Ray Bradbury’s The Illustrated Man. With his recent passing, I wanted to reread some of his works and the library had a copy of this collection. I don’t remember realizing when I read this the first time, that the titular character was basically just a frame to hang the collection of shorts on, but that was over thirty years ago that I read it and it’s entirely possible that old edition didn’t have the stories credited.

Either way, that really is what The Illustrated Man is, a prologue and epilogue to allow for the gathering of a group of short stories published in the late 1940’s and 1950’s. The titular character meets a man who is doing a walking tour of Wisconsin. He complains bitterly about not being able to hold down a job, of how he is always run off because of his tattoos. He goes on to explain that a witch tattooed him and that the tattoos move and tell stories, they can tell the future, especially the one bare patch on his otherwise covered skin. That spot tells the future of anyone who spends time with him. (which was pretty funny since earlier today I was watching a Criminal Minds where the writers made a mistake saying that detail was only in the movie. Um, nope it’s in the book). Naturally the man doesn’t really believe this but he does sit up at night to see if it’s true. Of course, it is.

Including the framework, there are twenty short stories in the collection. It was interesting, seeing all the blog posts about Mr. Bradbury the day he passed, many of them talking about the hope in his stories, even if they were dark. Honestly, in these stories there isn’t much hope, but then again, they are meant to be nightmares. Most of these stories are very dark and it’s a very good insight into the fears of a nation in the 40’s and 50’s. Atomic war. I knew that, of course, from my parents and grandparents but you could really see it here. Many of the stories were about pending atomic war or the aftermaths of it. They feared disease and invasions, understandable as antibiotics were in their infancy and two world wars had happened within the last thirty years. Several stories were about invading (often with use of atomic bombs or disease bombs). Rocket ships and Mars, when these were written we hadn’t gone to the moon yet and the love affair with Mars (and occasionally Venus) where in full bloom. A far number of these stories were about Mars.

You can see the roots of other SF classics in these stories. Bradbury’s own Martian Chronicles, the holodecks of Star Trek (story: The Veldt), or the energy people in an original Trek episode (story: The Fire Balloons) and many others.

The two stories I liked the best actually were the ones with seeds of hope, ‘The Other Foot’ and “The Fire Balloons.” What makes it more unusual that they dealt with topics I don’t general like to read about racism and religious fervor. The former shows a world where in the 1960’s there wasn’t an end to segregation but a much more complete one. All Africans went and colonized Mars. Nearly thirty years later a rocket with a White man in is landing and all the kids are very excited. They’ve never seen a White man but their parents remember what it was like on Earth. They somehow know that the earth has been involved in a world war and now the Whites want to colonize Mars. Willie, the point of view character, starts talking about all the horrible things that happened to Blacks on Earth and how they are going to do all those things to the Whites once they get there. Hattie, his wife, stays busy pointing out that it would be just as wrong to do that to them, that it was the same kind of hate. That doesn’t stop the mob from meeting the ship with noose in hand but then things shift.

The latter deals with two priests, Father Stone and Father Peregrine, who have gone to Mars to spread the word of God. Mars colonies are likened to the Old West Frontier towns, lawless and sinful. Father Stone is more interested in going to the town and getting started ministering to the wicked. Father Peregrine is more interested in the tales of the Old Martians, especially those of the blue balls of light that seem to help lost and endangered travelers. He wants to bring the word of God to them. It’s a very interesting story.

They all are, more or less. It’s a classic for a reason. If you’ve never read it, you should If you have, well I can’t think of a better way to remember Mr. Bradbury that rereading his works.
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Apr 18, 2012 Jinni Pike rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2012

It was so interesting to come back to this book after having read a couple of the stories when I was very young. I still remember the fascination and terror I had when reading The Veld and Zero Hour. God children can be creepy. I'd like to learn more about Ray Bradbury as a person to understand his stories more. He obviously has an obsession, especially in the '50s when this book was published and fascination with space travel was at an all time high, with technological advancement. But I didn't...more

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Mar 04, 2012 Christal rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Another beautiful volume from Bradbury, with a larger tale created through the use of short stories.

Fair warning, though these are beautifully crafted, this is a very dark and depressing book. All the stories except for maybe the last one have a dark and twisted ending. Many are filled with malice, and nothing is sacred. From murdering children, creating patricide because they aren't allowed to do what they want when they want, to quite a variety of invasion stories, most of in which the earthm...more

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Oct 18, 2011 Miles rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read this book and loved it as a kid, but didn't remember it very well. Upon rereading it, I was surprised to realize that the book was basically just a gimmicky way to sell some of Bradbury's short stories in a paperback format. Still, the stories justified the effort, they are mostly very good. I do have to wonder about the Illustrated Man though, whose body must have been covered with rocket ships, since most of the stories involved space travel, Martian invasions, etc. I particularly enjoy...more

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Sep 07, 2011 Emily rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A man meets another man who has "pictures" all over his body. They look like tattoos, but he relates that he was "cursed by a witch" and that the pictures move. Unfortunately, the moving pictures tell stories so disturbing he doesn't like to go out in public. The first man spends an entire night watching the pictures in the firelight and the collected stories in this book are what he sees. A good description of these tales would be "science fiction nightmares." They go a step beyond even caution...more

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Aug 14, 2011 Daniela rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sf, loved

Good book, good writing. Simplistic, yet very palatable, without any embellishments that would have burdened the stories. Although I like carefully-crafted styles and it gives me pleasure to read beautifully-written descriptions (given that they're not too extensive), I also enjoy simple writings, as long as they manage to perfectly convey their intended meaning. Actually, I suspect that would be the right way to do it, to let the readers use their imagination, but every writer has his or her ow...more

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About Ray Bradbury

American novelist, short story writer, essayist, playwright, screenwriter and poet, was born August 22, 1920 in Waukegan, Illinois. He graduated from a Los Angeles high school in 1938. Although his formal education ended there, he became a "student of life," selling newspapers on L.A. street corners from 1938 to 1942, spending his nights in the public library and his days at the typewriter. He bec...more American novelist, short story writer, essayist, playwright, screenwriter and poet, was born August 22, 1920 in Waukegan, Illinois. He graduated from a Los Angeles high school in 1938. Although his formal education ended there, he became a "student of life," selling newspapers on L.A. street corners from 1938 to 1942, spending his nights in the public library and his days at the typewriter. He became a full-time writer in 1943, and contributed numerous short stories to periodicals before publishing a collection of them, Dark Carnival, in 1947.

His reputation as a writer of courage and vision was established with the publication of The Martian Chronicles in 1950, which describes the first attempts of Earth people to conquer and colonize Mars, and the unintended consequences. Next came The Illustrated Man and then, in 1953, Fahrenheit 451, which many consider to be Bradbury's masterpiece, a scathing indictment of censorship set in a future world where the written word is forbidden. In an attempt to salvage their history and culture, a group of rebels memorize entire works of literature and philosophy as their books are burned by the totalitarian state. Other works include The October Country, Dandelion Wine, A Medicine for Melancholy, Something Wicked This Way Comes, I Sing the Body Electric!, Quicker Than the Eye, and Driving Blind. In all, Bradbury has published more than thirty books, close to 600 short stories, and numerous poems, essays, and plays. His short stories have appeared in more than 1,000 school curriculum "recommended reading" anthologies.

Ray Bradbury's work has been included in four Best American Short Story collections. He has been awarded the O. Henry Memorial Award, the Benjamin Franklin Award, the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement, the Grand Master Award from the Science Fiction Writers of America, the PEN Center USA West Lifetime Achievement Award, among others. In November 2000, the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters was conferred upon Mr. Bradbury at the 2000 National Book Awards Ceremony in New York City.

Ray Bradbury has never confined his vision to the purely literary. He has been nominated for an Academy Award (for his animated film Icarus Montgolfier Wright), and has won an Emmy Award (for his teleplay of The Halloween Tree). He adapted sixty-five of his stories for television's Ray Bradbury Theater. He was the creative consultant on the United States Pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair. In 1982 he created the interior metaphors for the Spaceship Earth display at Epcot Center, Disney World, and later contributed to the conception of the Orbitron space ride at Euro-Disney, France.

Married since 1947, Mr. Bradbury and his wife Maggie lived in Los Angeles with their numerous cats. Together, they raised four daughters and had eight grandchildren. Sadly, Maggie passed away in November of 2003.

On the occasion of his 80th birthday in August 2000, Bradbury said, "The great fun in my life has been getting up every morning and rushing to the typewriter because some new idea has hit me. The feeling I have every day is very much the same as it was when I was twelve. In any event, here I am, eighty years old, feeling no different, full of a great sense of joy, and glad for the long life that has been allowed me. I have good plans for the next ten or twenty years, and I hope you'll come along."(less)

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Quotes from The Illustrated Man

“We're all fools," said Clemens, "all the time. It's just we're a different kind each day. We think, I'm not a fool today. I've learned my lesson. I was a fool yesterday but not this morning. Then tomorrow we find out that, yes, we were a fool today too. I think the only way we can grow and get on in this world is to accept the fact we're not perfect and live accordingly.” — 43 people liked it

“Long before you knew what death was you were wishing it on someone else.” — 11 people liked it

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