Quicker Than the Eye (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "The incredible event occurred during my third visit to Gustav Von Seyfertitz, my foreign psychoanalyst..." (more)
Key Phrases: happy marriage day, free dirt, Sir Robert, Von Seyfertitz, Clarence Travers (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

From the sentimental to the spooky, this grab bag of 21 recent tales from the seemingly ageless imagination of Bradbury whimsically explores themes of love, nostalgia, magic, literature and mortality. In his first collection since The Toynbee Connector (1988), Bradbury, who's 76, displays a particular fascination with evading the strictures of time through science, history, literature, the supernatural or simple reminiscence. The realistic "The Other Highway" describes a family's drive down an old, unused highway to an almost forgotten world. "At the End of the Ninth Year" develops the idea that the human body fully remakes itself at the molecular level every nine years. In "Last Rites," an inventor uses his time machine to reassure his literary heroes?Melville, Poe, Wilde?on their deathbeds that they will be cherished by future generations. Ghost stories like "That Woman on the Lawn," "Another Fine Mess" and "The Witch Door" transport characters across lifetimes or centuries, while "Dorian in Excelsus," a creepy homage to Wilde, blends the supernatural with the fitness craze. Some of these pieces wax maudlin, but Bradbury stirs in a healthy measure of wit with his wide-eyed wonder. Fans won't be disappointed with this hopeful, introspective, addition to his oeuvre.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The venerable author of such classic fantasy novels as Something Wicked This Way Comes (1963) offers a new collection of short stories that is slated for a 50,000-copy first printing.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 261 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; 1st edition (December 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380973804
• ISBN-13: 978-0380973804
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,955,971 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The old master still at it....., January 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Quicker than the Eye (Mass Market Paperback)

This compilation of stories is outstanding by normal standards and so-so by Bradbury's. There are some highlights, inculding "The Finnegan," "Once More, Legato" and "Exchange," but "Quicker than the Eye" does not quite measure up to previous Bradbury works such as "The October Country." One cannot help but notice the recurring theme of death in this book. Nary a story is written without Grim Reaperish-like sentiment. Nevertheless, Bradbury remains a foremost romantic in the world of fiction. You could do worse than picking up "Quicker than the Eye" and reading it. One gets an enriched view of life, especailly after reading the Afterword.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bradbury returns in strong form, December 16, 1996

By A Customer

Typical of Bradbury's collections, this one can not be categorized as horror, sci-fi, fantasy or reality...but as a melting pot of all of them. With nine original stories in this collection, it should definitely find its way onto the bookshelf of any Bradbury fan. While not every story is a standout, he's got enough here to satisfy anyone who enjoys the short story format. Highlights include "The Finnegan", one of the few out-and-out horror stories; the title piece, which packs a punch while remaining firmly grounded in reality, and "The Very Gentle Murders" a completely twisted and funny tale about an elderly couple competing to do each other in. With stories ranging from the gentle ("Last Rites") to the brutal ("Electrocution") it ultimately satisfies in a number of genres. Hopefully, it won't be another decade before his next collection

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Bradbury's newest is nice but not his best, November 26, 1996

By A Customer

After nearly a decade since his last short story collection (and about FIVE since his first), it's very nice to see the master back on the new book shelves. Longtime fans will recognize familiar themes such as time travel of one sort or another to make amends ("That Woman On the Lawn," "Last Rites,"), fairly old fashioned horror tales ("The Finnegan," "The Witch Door," "Free Dirt"), the never-forgotten carnival characters ("The Electrocution"), and the elegiac yearning for the old and familiar amid the shock and speed of the new ("The Other Highway," which seems to pick up where "Yes, We'll Gather at the River" in _I Sing The Body Electric_ left off). But there are no mind-blowing stories in this bunch, nothing on the order of "A Sound of Thunder," "The Utterly Perfect Murder" or "I Sing the Body Electric" -- pick your own favorites. It's just lovely to see the master still at it after all these years