This eclectic collection of short stories from one of America's most beloved authors. Ray Bradbury takes on one of America's most beloved subjects: dinosaurs! The stories are a perfect cocktail of funny, weird and wonderful, with just a twist of the tragic, which is one of Bradbury's hallmarks. The book is also interspersed with poems, odes to the terrible lizards, which feature Bradbury's characteristic beautiful and visual prose, which exude insight and humor.
Besides A Dinosaur, Whatta Ya Wanna Be When You Grow Up: is the tale of a lonely boy whose life ambition is not to be a fireman or policeman, or even an engineer, with their striped caps who drive trains (though that's up there), but a Tyrannosaurus Rex! And it seems that young Benjamin, who's being raised by his grandfather, takes this goal seriously... perhaps just a little *too* seriously.
The second story, A Sound of Thunder, tells the tale of intrepid hunters who travel millions of years back in time to hunt a T-Rex, but with some unintended consequences. Because, the slightest change may result in the world of the future being vastly different, great care is taken to avoid interaction with the primordial past... but it seems that this is an impossible undertaking. Even in hunting only those animals which are about to die a natural death it seems that change is inevitable, which has some profound consequences for the future. The Butterfly Effect in full force.
The Fog Horn tells the story of two men stationed at a newly-constructed lighthouse, the first of which has a sea story to tell: it seems that for the last three years, the sound of the fog horn has summoned a great creature from the depths, drawn by its lonely cry, which the monster returns. All is not what it seems, however, when the monster seems to think that it's being challenged by this mysterious other voice, and the men barely escape with their lives.
The last story, Tyrannosaurus Rex, features the famed monster as a stop-motion character in a motion picture, although the conflict arises not from the creature itself, but from its creators.
This wasn't exactly what I was expecting, as it's definitely shorter than the author's other works I've read, but it was a fun read. As usual, the prose is highly visual and evocative, almost poetic in its own right. The illustrations are likewise beautiful and mysterious, matching perfectly the pictures Bradbury capably paints with words. Highly recommended for fans of his work, even if it's something of a departure from his usual fare.
Besides A Dinosaur, Whatta Ya Wanna Be When You Grow Up: is the tale of a lonely boy whose life ambition is not to be a fireman or policeman, or even an engineer, with their striped caps who drive trains (though that's up there), but a Tyrannosaurus Rex! And it seems that young Benjamin, who's being raised by his grandfather, takes this goal seriously... perhaps just a little *too* seriously.
The second story, A Sound of Thunder, tells the tale of intrepid hunters who travel millions of years back in time to hunt a T-Rex, but with some unintended consequences. Because, the slightest change may result in the world of the future being vastly different, great care is taken to avoid interaction with the primordial past... but it seems that this is an impossible undertaking. Even in hunting only those animals which are about to die a natural death it seems that change is inevitable, which has some profound consequences for the future. The Butterfly Effect in full force.
The Fog Horn tells the story of two men stationed at a newly-constructed lighthouse, the first of which has a sea story to tell: it seems that for the last three years, the sound of the fog horn has summoned a great creature from the depths, drawn by its lonely cry, which the monster returns. All is not what it seems, however, when the monster seems to think that it's being challenged by this mysterious other voice, and the men barely escape with their lives.
The last story, Tyrannosaurus Rex, features the famed monster as a stop-motion character in a motion picture, although the conflict arises not from the creature itself, but from its creators.
This wasn't exactly what I was expecting, as it's definitely shorter than the author's other works I've read, but it was a fun read. As usual, the prose is highly visual and evocative, almost poetic in its own right. The illustrations are likewise beautiful and mysterious, matching perfectly the pictures Bradbury capably paints with words. Highly recommended for fans of his work, even if it's something of a departure from his usual fare.
