Customer Reviews

Match to Flame: The Fictional Paths to Fahrenheit 451

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There is hardly a literate human alive who has not read Ray Bradbury's landmark novel FAHRENHEIT 451. This is Bradbury's brilliant novel about the repression of ideas and society's docile acceptance of the death of truth. FAHRENHEIT 451 is indisputably one of the most influential books of the 20th century, and there is no doubt that it will remain a subject of study and discussion in the centuries to come. The story centers upon a fireman named Guy Montag, who is experiencing a personal spiritual crisis that centers upon the nature of his job in which he does not extinguish fires. No, Guy Montag starts fires; he burns books, extinguishing ideas. And it's not as though the semi-dystopian near-future society that is the setting of this novel is infuriated, or even upset. The people have something far more alluring to turn their attention toward: Television. They've forgotten all about being individuals and rush in herds toward televised drivel that distracts them from the more mundane events of the reality occurring all around them, like war. The books, and the ideas between the covers, perished nearly unnoticed. MATCH TO FLAME is an important, amazing chronicle of how FAHRENHEIT 451 came to be and how a literary genius crafted one of the most important novels ever published. F-451 did not come about easily. It was an ongoing process that is clearly defined in MATCH TO FLAME, which includes a number of short stories, a novella, fragments, letters, and so much more. The reader will find stories ranging from classic horror ("Pillar of Fire") to science fiction ("The Mad Wizards of Mars") to dark fantasy ("Carnival of Madness"). Mr. Bradbury made deep explorations into the subject of individual freedom of thought years before writing a heart-stopping novella titled "The Fireman", which was eventually expanded into FAHRENHEIT 451. It is quite interesting to note that Mr. Bradbury's novel foresaw flat-panel, wall-mounted color televisions at a time when few Americans even owned a newfangled black and white TV. I am awestruck, in particular with the forward written by Mr. Bradbury's friend, fellow fiction giant and intellectual contemporary, Richard Matheson. Mr. Matheson includes personal letters from and to Mr. Bradbury and, in one prescient letter to Mr. Bradbury, Mr. Matheson considers how to best present the current problems of the world (c. 1951) in fictional form; i.e.: "Race prejudice, chauvinism, blind capitalism, warped Christianity, impossible arrogance." Well. MATCH TO FLAME, like the novel that inspired it, FAHRENHEIT 451, is a book for the ages that should be read, studied, deliberated and argued now and forever, because the subject of personal freedom of expression and the tyranny of censorship will always be with us. How can we keep the jackboots off our necks? By remaining cognizant and vigilant at all times. Here's the perfect tool for keeping the Mind Police at bay: click on the cover and get yourself a copy of MATCH TO FLAME. It's a bit more expensive than the usual volumes I recommend, but this is a signed and limited event, and your investment will be well rewarded with an amazing personal chronicle of a legendary writer working at the very top of his formidable literary powers. With fabulous jacket collage art, whimsical interior art by the author, and an insightful Introduction by William Touponce, Professor of English and Director of the Center for Ray Bradbury Studies at the University of Indianapolis. Bonus: the signed/limited edition includes a never-before-published Ray Bradbury short story, "The Castle". And as for the price, please consider that a Ray Bradbury signature is incredibly collectible and nearly impossible to obtain. This volume is for serious collectors who recognize that the value of their investment is destined to increase enormously over a very short amount of time.

One of the first thing's you'll notice looking at this page is the fact that this book costs...well...$110. Which, you might say, is a little absurd for a newly published book of short stories and essays, no matter how nice. Well, that's probably true, so I wish I could tell you it was really worth every penny. What I can tell you is that it really is a fascinating book for Ray Bradbury fans. Tracing the path to his best-known classic is a very unique literary journey and there are a lot of previously unpublished gems in here. It does not rank up there as some of Bradbury's best work, but again, any devoted fan will be fascinated. Specialty publisher Gauntlet Press knows just how far some fans will go to get this stuff and they certainly do milk every penny from them with their many limited edition titles.

Match to Flame is a great collection of Ray Bradbury stories tracking an interesting evolution that ultimately ends with Fahrenheit 451. I quite enjoyed reading it and I am sure that I will go back to it again. If I had payed $30 for it I would give it 4 or 5 stars, but I cannot separate the quality of the stories from the fact that I payed more than 3 times that amount.

Is there anything about it that would justify a price of $100 or more? The construction and quality of the book itself is the same as any other hardcover and of less quality than many (the somewhat thin covers reminded me a little of the hardcover books I used to get almost 30 years ago from the Science Fiction Book Club). The paper seems to be of high quality but there are no color illustrations or pictures. In addition the book needs to be proofread again. I have come across numerous spelling and other errors, which is shameful in a book that costs as much as this one.

What supposedly justifies the high cover price is the fact that this is a signed limited edition (750 copies only) first edition. As far as the Ray Bradbury signature is concerned Ray has always been extremely generous about signing anything that anyone has asked him to sign. I think this is commendable of him to accommodate his fans this way, but it also means that the Bradbury signature is not exactly rare. I mean no offense by this but I think that soon after Ray passes on if someone puts a small stack of books by his hand they may get signed simply out of natural reflex :-) . So that leaves only that the book is so expensive because only 750 copies were printed, simply the law of supply and demand created by the publisher! Sure - the publisher will say that the book is a good investment and will only appreciate in value. But suppose an avid Bradbury fan doesn't want an investment? Suppose he simply wants to read this collection. I guess he is out of luck. Suppose he simply doesn't have $100 to spend on the book. Again, he is out of luck and will not read these stories.

The publisher could also have made a much less expensive unsigned edition available in a run of a few thousand copies, but he chose not to. Hypothetically suppose I get Ray Bradbury to agree to let me publish some of his unpublished stories in a limited editon hardcover (no different from any other hardcover which would retail for $25) with a print run of 100 copies. Can I sell them for $500 each? Probably. In my opinion all of this goes completely against the way Ray has accumulated the vast majority of the fans that he has. I was introduced to the works of Ray Bradbury in the mid 70's and I think my story is similar to many others. After I was captivated by Dandelion Wine I wanted to read and own everything else the man published. Being 15 years old this meant buying all the paperbacks. What a great time this was - finding these paperbacks (most in used condition), with their wonderfully illustrated covers, and devouring these stories when they meant the most to me. Even now when I'm in a used book store I automatically check out the Bradbury books to nostalgically enjoy the various paperback covers that are out there. After all these years going back to the couple dozen Bradbury paperbacks on my shelf is worth more to me than a shelf full of overpriced first editions.

UPDATE 7/12/08 ONE YEAR LATER: this book has actually gone down in value. You can still buy it new for cheaper than the original published price and, even though only 750 copies were printed, the publisher still has copies for sale.

UPDATE JUNE 2009 - 2 YEARS AFTER PUBLICATION: One reviewer here stated, "This volume is for serious collectors who recognize that the value of their investment is destined to increase enormously over a very short amount of time." Well, 2 years later you can still buy a new copy for less than the original published price. Also I just saw a new copy in a completed auction on ebay for 69 dollars and not one person bid on it. As an investment this had about the same rate of return lately as my 401K.

Extremely fast service on this quality autographed hardcover in which Bradbury's stories which led up to Fahrenheit 451 are published. Very enjoyable ! A must read !