Customer Reviews

The Ray Bradbury Collection: The Veldt

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I read this story as a young adult (in 6th grade) and I am now in my 30's and the impact and storyline has never left me. The Veldt combines sci-fi with the imagination and fleeting, yet intense, emotional responses of children. Ray delves into a child's mind and shows how aware children really are, and why they should be given more credit by adults. While the story can be considered a smidge disturbing a times, it's inherant brillance and poetic timing has made it a story to pass on to all generations. As with all Ray Bradbury material, this one is a must read, must keep, must share!
-Jaime

What would the collection be without, "The Veldt"; the first separate publication of this story which was collected earlier in "THE ILLUSTRATED MAN." Please do not read this story out loud if there your cats are present.

Now that virtual reality is perfected Parents can have the room be the nanny. The kids have many environments to choose from; their favorite seems to be the veldt where the virtual lions seem to be munching on something DEAD. Unfortunately there may be an unhealthy side effect. The parents check out the room while the kids are away and see the lions and hear SCREAMS and munching; they decide the kids need to lay off the room for a while. The Kids act strange when deprived of the room and the unhealthy side effect may affect the parents.

Society has evolved to a place where a home can babysit and raise your kids for you, with a nursery that will bring to life anything your child imagines. George and Lydia Hadley were happy to purchase their Happylife Home so affordably, where lights turn on as you walk in a room and the house clothed and fed and rocked their kids to sleep. But something is awry in the nursery. The room is stuck on an African Veldt land with lions feeding and vultures looming- and this imaginary world feels all too real.

When George asks the kids about their African playground, the kids deny that's where they've been and when Wendy, his daughter, quickly runs ahead of George and changes the scenery, he knows they are hiding something.

Realizing that giving the kids everything they've ever wanted probably wasn't such a good idea, he begins to shut things down- including the nursery. But too little- too late, and at the end of the tale, George and Lydia finally realize why the screams coming from the nursery every night sounded so familiar.

Bradbury never fails to strike me with his descriptive wording- even in a short short story such as this:

"The hot straw smell of liongrass, the cool green smell of the hidden water hole, the great rusty smell of animals, the smell of dust like a red paprika in the hot air."

"Like a red paprika..." Hunh. Love that.

I'm also sensing, Bradbury really didn't like modern entertainment and the direction it's heading. He must have felt that eventually it would atrophy the brain and spoil the kiddos.

He was right.

I loved this wonderful book by thee Ray BradBurry Science Fiction Master. It was a delightful novel and so interstring. I really want to read more of BradBury's works. He really is a Sci-Fi master of books. BradBury is my favorite author of all time!!!!!!!! He might be yours to if you give him a chance. Don't just read Dandalion Whine read all of his books to get enlightened.

when i read this story i thought it was amazing how much ray brdabury could think of that are around today. tjis bookleaves you filled with some many questions that the is no one right answer and that is what make this an extrodanary story

The book was very good it was not a book that you had to think about. I liked it a lot.