Tuesday, December 04, 2012

Book Review - Shadow Show

I'm not sure how best to review this collection of short stories. I thought about commenting on each story in turn but with more than 2 dozen stories, that surely would have gotten a little unwieldy. Instead I'll just make a few comments about the book, the intent and the content.

This wonderful compilation of stories was envisioned and put into work by a pair of huge Bradbury enthusiasts as a tribute to his amazing work. The editors petitioned a number of modern day writers and asked them to each submit a story that is evocative of the way Ray Bradbury has influenced their own lives and works. In an interesting turn of events, Ray Bradbury passed away just shortly before the release of the book. I truly hope that Mr. Bradbury had the opportunity to read these pieces before his death and to be reminded anew just how much he has influenced literature and even the world as a whole.

The stories in this anthology range from the eerie and strange to the frightening and creepy to the magic of the mundane. Each of the stories was uniquely different and yet all shared the common theme and tone that tied them back to Bradbury. Each author also included a short commentary after their submitted story in which they commented on the motivations of the story or Bradbury's influence in their life.

In reading this collection, I was reminded just how little I've actually read of all of Bradbury's works. He truly was prolific and I look forward to reading some of the works alluded to in these stories. I also plan to seek out works written by some of the authors showcased here. This is a great collection of talent and imagination and was a good fun read.




4 out of 5 stars


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1 comment:

Brian Miller said...

oo now this sounds like a treat...pulling up amazon now...i do enjoy some bradbury...