The Illustrated Man (original 1951; edition 2012)

by Ray Bradbury (Author)

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Fantasy. Fiction. Science Fiction. Short Stories. HTML: You could hear the voices murmuring,small and muted, from the crowds thatinhabited his body. A peerless American storyteller, RayBradbury brings wonders alive. TheIllustrated Man is classic Bradbury--eighteen startling visions ofhumankind's destiny, unfolding across acanvas of decorated skin. In this phantasmagoricsideshow, living cities take theirvengeance, technology awakens the mostprimal natural instincts, Martian invasionsare foiled by the good life and the gladhand, and dreams are carried aloft in junkyardrockets. Provocative and powerful,Ray Bradbury's The Illustrated Man is akaleidoscopic blending of magic, imagination,and truth--as exhilarating as interplanetarytravel, as maddening as a walkin a million-year rain, and as comforting assimple, familiar rituals on the last night ofthe world. .… (more)

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Member:	mellylaughs
Title:	The Illustrated Man
Authors:	Ray Bradbury (Author)
Info:	Simon & Schuster (2012), Edition: Reprint, 304 pages
Collections:	Your library
Rating:
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The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury (Author) (1951)

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Bradbury is known as a science fiction writer for good reason, but man this collection is a reminder of how dark and horrifying a lot of his stories can be. More often he's using his familiar realm of rockets and martians as a backdrop for psychological horror that would fit right alongside Shirley Jackson or Stephen King. Actually, any time that someone uses "Black Mirror/Twilight Zone" as a comp I would add this collection to that list. The Illustrated Man is a great dive into the mind of a brilliant storyteller and an example of why Ray Bradbury is one of my favorite authors. (

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Reading_Vicariously | Jan 2, 2025 |

I wanted to read this series of short stories after I heard that the television series "The Whispers" was based on one of the short stories. While some are truly fantastic like "The Veldt" there are a lot of very similar Martians vs. Humans, Humans in Space, "Twilight Zone" type stories with twist endings. It's a great tribute to the space race, but instead of just the same theme, they felt the same. The first couple of stories draw a reader in, and then the monotony sets in. After that, it takes awhile to get to the final story and the Epilogue that try to redeem the middle. (

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AngelZR | Dec 27, 2024 |

The Illustrated Man is a collection of imaginative and masterfully written short stories that explore the human condition, psychology, the dangers of technology, and more. It contains some of Bradbury's most memorable and emotionally potent stories, each of which develops the core themes of the collection and presents the reader with thought-provoking characters and settings. The Illustrated Man is easy to recommend to anyone who enjoys Bradbury's vivid writing style or fantasy and science fiction books in general. (

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AlaanaM | Nov 30, 2024 |

a fun mix of sci-fi stories. Although I was surprised that I thought many of the stories had a moral or a hint of an idea of questioning if God existed and whether we lead a good life.

I did wish there had been more pulls into the illustrated man between the stories - I did enjoy the pre-story and the ending to pull it all together. Short stories can be a nice break if you're reading multiple long books. (

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Trisha_Thomas | Nov 13, 2024 |

Definitely more fantasy than SF. Venus is still wet, ferpeetsake, in 1950. Not as lame as the Martian Chronicles but still.

Otoh, Bradbury is a poet and psychologist (at heart) and so the language and themes of the stories are marvelous. Better than I remembered.

Fans of Neil Gaiman (weird worlds and beautiful writing) and Terry Pratchett (knife-sharp observations of humans, and of gods, and of other aliens...) are missing a treat unless they go back and read the original master. Now, it doesn't have to be this collection. You could choose October Country, or Dandelion Wine, or a 'Best of' collection. But do read something (in addition to Fahrenheit 451) by him. (

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Cheryl_in_CC_NV | Oct 18, 2024 |

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Belongs to Publisher Series

Born SF (67)

Ciencia Ficción (Minotauro-Clarín)

Corgi SF Collector's Library

detebe (127)

The Folio Society

Gallimard, Folio SF (218)

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Harper Perennial Modern Classics

Heyne Science Fiction & Fantasy (3057)

Heyne-Buch (3057)

Lanterne (L 74)

Panther Books

Présence du futur (3)

Science Fiction Book Club (1951)

Voyager Classics

İthaki Bilimkurgu Klasikleri (27)

ハヤカワ・SF・シリーズ (3024)

ハヤカワ・ファンタジイ (3024)

ハヤカワ文庫 NV (111)

Is contained in

Fahrenheit 451 - The Illustrated Man - Dandelion Wine - The Golden Apples of the Sun & the Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

The October Country / Dandelion Wine / The Martian Chronicles / The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury

The Best of Bradbury: Five Major Works by the Master of Science Fiction (Boxed Set): Dandelion Wine, Fahrenheit 451, Lon by Ray Bradbury

The Martian Chronicles / The Illustrated Man / The Golden Apples of the Sun by Ray Bradbury

Space Opera: Der illustrierte Mann. Die Mars-Chroniken. Fahrenheit 451: 3 Bde. by Ray Bradbury

Kroniki marsjanskie Czlowiek ilustrowany Zlociste jablka slonca (Polish Edition) by Ray Bradbury

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Ray Bradbury: The Illustrated Man, The October Country & Other Stories (LOA #360) (The Library of America, 360) by Ray Bradbury

Contains

Has the adaptation

The Illustrated Man [1969 film] by Jack Smight

Has as a student's study guide

Summary & Study Guide The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury by BookRags.com

▾Awards and Honors

Awards

International Fantasy Award (Nominee – Fiction – 1952)

Distinctions

Astounding/Analog Science Fiction and Fact 1952 All-Time Poll

Notable Lists

1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (Swedish)

AbeBooks: 50 Essential Science Fiction Books

Astounding/Analog Science Fiction and Fact 1956 All-Time Poll

Classics of Science Fiction

Debbie Clark List of Favorite Books of All Time

Illinois Reads (Bradbury – A Tribute to Ray Bradbury, An Author from Waukegan, Illinois – 2019)

NPR's Top 100 Science-Fiction, Fantasy Books

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▾Common Knowledge

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Canonical title

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

1951-02 (Collection)

1950 (The City)

1949 (The Concrete Mixer)

1949 (The Exiles)

1951 (The Fire Ballons)

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People/Characters

Important places

Mars

Venus

Important events

Related movies

The Illustrated Man (1969 | IMDb)

The Whispers (2015 | IMDb)

Epigraph

Dedication

This book is for Father, Mother, and Skip, with love.

First words

It was a warm afternoon in early September when I first met the Illustrated Man.

Quotations

They walked down the hall of their soundproofed, Happylife Home, which had cost them thirty thousand dollars installed, this house which clothed and fed and rocked them to sleep and played and sang and was good to them. Their approach sensitized a switch somewhere and the nursery light flicked on when they came within ten feet of it. Similarly, behind them, in the halls, lights went on and off as they left them behind, with a soft automaticity.

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Blurbers

Original language

English

Canonical DDC/MDS

813.54

Canonical LCC

PS3503.R167

▾References

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English

None

▾Book descriptions

Fantasy. Fiction. Science Fiction. Short Stories. HTML:

You could hear the voices murmuring,small and muted, from the crowds thatinhabited his body.

A peerless American storyteller, RayBradbury brings wonders alive. TheIllustrated Man is classic Bradbury--eighteen startling visions ofhumankind's destiny, unfolding across acanvas of decorated skin. In this phantasmagoricsideshow, living cities take theirvengeance, technology awakens the mostprimal natural instincts, Martian invasionsare foiled by the good life and the gladhand, and dreams are carried aloft in junkyardrockets. Provocative and powerful,Ray Bradbury's The Illustrated Man is akaleidoscopic blending of magic, imagination,and truth--as exhilarating as interplanetarytravel, as maddening as a walkin a million-year rain, and as comforting assimple, familiar rituals on the last night ofthe world.

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