Customer Reviews

The Illustrated Man

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4 star:		(72)
3 star:		(31)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

Conceptually, The Illustrated Man is brilliant from the get-go, including its novel premise of 18 stories as told through the moving tattoos on a man's body; in addition to weaving intricate webs, the Illustrated Man's body art predicts the future.

And, oh, what stories are told. As a science fiction writer, it is no surprise that the majority of Bradbury's stories have to do with space and the future (heck, all of space was in the future when these stories were written in the early 50s). Additionally, the majority of the tales are pretty bleak, dealing with dark themes of revenge, futile searches for paradise, and Armageddon. However, save for their near-universal excellence, thought-provocation, and prescience, the similarities end there.

Among them: Mars is colonized by black people who have left Earth's prejudices, and await with apprehension the arrival of a white-piloted rocket ship from their former homeland; another planet's soldiers attack Earth and are surprised at the warm welcome they receive, only to learn that they can be conquered by Earth's lousy diet, sedentary ways, and shallow culture as easily as by the planet's military; an assembly of priests travels to Mars to learn about Martian sins, so as to spread God's word and earn converts of the Red plant; an entire city is built with the concept of vengeance in mind, by its citizens who were to perish before being able to exact that revenge themselves; the authors of classic tales of horror, whose works are banned on Earth, are themselves exiled to Mars and only kept alive by the few remaining copies not burned for censorship.

There are a couple of lame ducks herein, but even those are salvaged by the beauty of Bradbury's writing. His metaphors and descriptive devices flow from the pages and grant a macabre beauty to even the most desolate of landscapes.

Sometimes it's hard to remember that Ray Bradbury approaches the art of the short story in a very unconventional way. His collections of short stories are often tied together by common sub-themes or settings, although each story could also stand on its own. Such is the case here, though the running theme to the Illustrated Man collection is mostly an abstraction. Apparently the stories here are told by a man's haunted tattoos, but don't worry about that too much. The true theme holding this group of stories together is examinations of human nature and mankind's place in the universe. Bradbury's frequent use of Mars (and occasionally other planets) as a setting, with the obligatory spaceships and technology, is merely his method of creating alternate realities to bring human nature into bold relief.

Bradbury's classic examinations of the dark and melancholy side of humanity are well represented here as always, with his trademark poetic writing style and underlying sense of creeping dread. The classic virtual reality tale "The Veldt" is found here, with the typical misuse-of-technology theme presented in an unexpectedly haunting fashion. More evidence that the stock sci-fi themes are merely a thin backdrop can be seen in "The Other Foot," a chilling examination of race relations; or "The Rocket," which deals with the yearning of regular people to reach beyond the confines of Earth. Other winning stories include "Kaleidoscope" and "The Long Rain" which are haunting tales of how human nature can still undermine the greatest achievements of cold technology. So don't concern yourself with the typical sci-fi backdrop, and get in tune with what Ray Bradbury is really talking about.

This is one of those "must own" books that you always hear about, in a hundred years this and a handful of other Bradbury books will be considering classics of American literature. Basically a collection of about a guy who has all this illustrations on his body that shows the stories to an unnamed observer. Personally I have no idea why he bothered with the Illustrated Man concept, the stories stand on their own just fine, though it does give him the opportunity to give a great sucker punch ending. And the concept is basically ignored after the second story but hey when the stuff is this good who am I to complain? The stories themselves, like I said are all excellent, some more than others but it's mostly the distinction between "real good" and "really really really good". The highlights are the opening "The Veldt" which is classic Bradbury and some story about some guys on Venus who are going crazy from getting rained on and a few others. Most of his stories are science-fictional, often revolving in one way or another around rockets but Bradbury deals less with actual science and more about fantasy and dreams, leading to some real good touching moments, above all his stories are about people, they just happened to be set in the future on Mars. Some are sentimental, some are creepy, some are funny but all are good. And it's quick reading, so you have no excuse. Get it today

I have read The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury many times. I will continue to read this wonderful little book. Like most of Bradbury's work, one can never get bored reading his stories. His stories are at times terrible, dark and they are beautiful, fascinating and in many ways a portal to the future. They are also a wonderful escape from the now.

The Illustrated Man is more a short story collection woven together by a central theme. The theme is The Illustrated Man. I agree with many other persons that it is important to realize he is illustrated, not tattooed. And how did he get the illustrations? A witch did the illustrations. He has been on the road searching for her ever since she put them on every inch of his flesh. When he finds her, he plans to kill her. Why? The illustrations are magical and move on his body. They are magic. If you look at theme for a period, they will tell you a story.

The Illustrated Man moves through 18 stories. "The Veldt" is my favorite story. "The Veldt" is one of the best short stories ever written. I also enjoyed "The Long Rain" (about rain of Venus) and "Marionettes, Inc." (about an artificial intelligence body double being used where a man can go out on the town, but the double ultimately taking the man's place and wife). There are so many great stories ranging from Sci-Fi to mild horror. It is a great book I would recommend for all middle school age and older.

Read and Reviewed by Jimmie A. Kepler.

While the cover of the paperback that I read states that Bradbury is "The World's Greatest Living Science Fiction Writer", I respectfully disagree. Science fiction is so broad a field that there is significant overlap with horror and fantasy. I would without question call Bradbury the best author ever in the field of horrific science fiction. For, while his stories are generally based on a scientific theme, the real power is in the horrific aspects of the events.
When I was young, my favorite short story was "The Veldt", the first one in this collection of Bradbury's best short stories. A modern house contains what we would now call a holodeck, and instead of the children conjuring up delightful images, they are interested only in a scene of the African veldt, where lions pursue and devour their prey. Complete with the smell, sound and heat of the plains, the parents of the children are concerned that it is unhealthy. The parents try to do something to stop it, but they end up being consumed by the lions conjured up by the room.
Most of the other stories deal with the same theme, technology gone wrong. Atomic and biological warfare appears in many of the stories. However, the best part of all the stories is the tension and the unusual endings, often based on the frailties of human psychology. The intertwining of science fiction and horror makes these stories unique and I see a lot of similarities between Bradbury and Stephen King. In this area, he is better than King.

I think overall this book, The Illustrated Man, was one of the best books I ever read. It was funny and very easy to read and understand, which for me is a good thing because I don't really like to read books that are hard to follow. I also liked how it was about a man who has tattoos all over his body and each one tells a story about someone's life. My favorite story out of this book would have to be the Veldt and also Marionettes Inc. They both had a more twisted end to them and were almost unreal but I really enjoyed reading both of them. Over all I liked all of the stories and the ending of the book. I would recommend this book to any of my friends or family, especially if they like these types of books.

I highly recommend this book to any fan of Ray Bradbury's work, or to anyone who wishes to introduce his classic works into their library. He is a passionate visionary that writes not only about sci-fi, but his colorful writing style encapsulates the sometimes ineffable feelings that each and every one of us have had about every possible situation in life, and dare I say, in death. I always feel like a kid again when I read his books, I am taken away to warm, sunny Saturdays when I was still in awe of the newness of life. I can hardly force myself to read the works of others as I am convinced that no one can do with words the magic that Ray Bradbury has done.

Some people I know have had real trouble 'getting' Bradbury's work. The bulk of his best work was written in the 50's and 60's. Some concepts in this book are simply outdated. However, in every story is study of a concept that never has and never will be out-dated, The Human Condition. 'The Man', 'Kaliedascope' and 'The Long Rain' are my personal favorites. Potential readers must also understand that Bradbury is not a science fiction writer. A lot of his stories have science fiction themes and backgrounds, but Fantasy is a better way to describe his work. From hard core fantasy, such as what you will find in this book, to subtle fantasy, such as 'Dandelion Wine' you will find the most important element of Bradbury's work is EMOTION. This man is a true one of a kind Artist. I also recommend: Something Wicked this Way Comes, Dandelion Wine, The October Country, Fahrenheit 451 and any of his other earlier short story collections. Bradbury truly is a GrandMaster. PS- You Kids should keep your opinions to your self. You are only making yourselves look bad.

This book is simply amazing! I needed to read this book as a summer reading project, and as soon as I read the first story, I found out that the book was based on Science Fiction. It's a topic that I really hate it! However, as I read further and further into the book, I decided that I loved it! Each story bases itself around science, like people living on the moon or on Mars. Also, there are some controversial goings-on in this novel. In one short story titled "The Man", it seems as though a traveler would stop by towns and heal people. The man in this story almost sounds as though he is Jesus. Anyway, this book is still amazing. If you love Sci Fi, then buy it now!!

Bradbury, like Jules Verne, uses his fiction as a telescope to look far into the future. Then, to remind us of the human element, his words become a microscope, looking deep into our minds and souls. "The Illustrated Man" combines these tools with chilling effectiveness.

Although Bradbury penned these tales over fifty years ago, they still ring with cautionary truth. The prologue and epilogue work as bookends, holding in eighteen stories of apocalyptic and visionary wisdom. Through the moving and shifting tattoos on the illustrated man's back, we see glimpses of the future, full of technology, greed, strife, and the human propensity for selfishness. Collectively, these tales remind us that our relationships will always supercede our computers and rockets. When these elements lose perspective, danger lurks in every corner.

Although some of the stories seem dated, "The Illustrated Man" educates while it entertains. Bradbury is a master of his craft, and this is a masterpiece of science fiction.