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grumpwizard's review against another edition
4.0
For anyone who loved reading Fahrenheit 451 multiple times over the years, this comes strongly recommended. It is a priceless glimpse into the hands and mind of creation.
Through these stories, all of which are engaging and pleasant on their own, we see as Bradbury begins to circle like a shark, coming in for the kill, about the main topics and themes, emotions and figures, of his great story. As you make your way through them you can tell the direction that he is going until finally, with "After Midnight," he makes the plunge and Montag is given a name.
The final two stories, (before the amazing 'bonus' stories) novellas in all forms of the word, are Bradbury's first attempts at 451. We can see the major scenes and vision come together as he is writing. It's pretty amazing. You can watch as his mind spills them onto the page and then you see, in the following incarnations, his attempt to sow the earlier parts of the story with these major things so it is not so obviously a spontaneous explosion of idea.
I would suggest this collection not only to fans of 451, but as well to anyone intrigued with the base components of creation - to watch as a master step-by-step comes to know what will, when finished, be a masterpiece of modern literature.
I am a better person for having read it.
Through these stories, all of which are engaging and pleasant on their own, we see as Bradbury begins to circle like a shark, coming in for the kill, about the main topics and themes, emotions and figures, of his great story. As you make your way through them you can tell the direction that he is going until finally, with "After Midnight," he makes the plunge and Montag is given a name.
The final two stories, (before the amazing 'bonus' stories) novellas in all forms of the word, are Bradbury's first attempts at 451. We can see the major scenes and vision come together as he is writing. It's pretty amazing. You can watch as his mind spills them onto the page and then you see, in the following incarnations, his attempt to sow the earlier parts of the story with these major things so it is not so obviously a spontaneous explosion of idea.
I would suggest this collection not only to fans of 451, but as well to anyone intrigued with the base components of creation - to watch as a master step-by-step comes to know what will, when finished, be a masterpiece of modern literature.
I am a better person for having read it.
badcushion's review against another edition
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The stories in this collection are multiple explorations of the themes of Bradbury’s classic Fahrenheit 451, including two short-story versions of the core of that novel. As such, this book is really aimed at folks who are deep into Bradbury completism, not just the casual reader - which really is what I am. I love Bradbury, mostly The Halloween Tree and Something Wicked This Way Comes (nobody does autumnal darkness like him). I probably didn’t need to read this collection (and…I may not quite have read the whole thing in great detail), but it’s good and my rating is mainly designed to lure the completists. For the rest of us…you can probably skip any story that feels like you already just read a version of it. Because you did. But it was good when you did!
anteus7's review against another edition
4.0
Pretty awesome to see where some of the bits that ended up in F451 came from.
vylotte's review against another edition
3.0
This is a set of Bradbury's short stories that swirl around the events in Fahrenheit 451, either taking place in or near the same dystopia where books are illegal and all things that generate excitement or fear are sanitized. It also includes the stories that were the direct material for 451.
It's fascinating to see the evolution of his ideas into what can be argued as his most influential work. It was obviously heavy on his mind what censorship and catering to the lowest common denominator might eventually come to.
It's fascinating to see the evolution of his ideas into what can be argued as his most influential work. It was obviously heavy on his mind what censorship and catering to the lowest common denominator might eventually come to.
rgombert's review against another edition
2.0
It was interesting to read some of these stories.
Pieces of which went in to create Fahrenheit 451.
The stories "Long After Midnight" and "The Fireman" were tedious. Both are seem to be earlier drafts of section of Fahrenheit 451 (Last third). Neither are as good as Fahrenheit 451.
Pieces of which went in to create Fahrenheit 451.
The stories "Long After Midnight" and "The Fireman" were tedious. Both are seem to be earlier drafts of section of Fahrenheit 451 (Last third). Neither are as good as Fahrenheit 451.
northeastbookworm's review against another edition
5.0
This is a collection of stories that use and develop the themes found in "Fahrenheit 451" and the "Martian Chronicles". In it you get a sense of Bradbury working and developing the ideas of his later best selling novels. What left me deeply shaken was his spot on reading of the the decline of American civilization and culture. Ideas written 50/60 years ago are now headlines. Finishing the book one is left with the question of what will happen to this country in the next 25 to 75 years. Given the decline in reading, the almost 1984ish mindset regarding war, & the level of greed I am not hopeful. The only problem with the book is the lack of annotation regarding the date and development of the stories. It would have been interesting to have Mr. Bradbury's comments and thoughts on these stories and about how they aided him in the development of the novel we know today.
contracat25's review against another edition
5.0
While I debated between 4 and 5 stars, it does get a tad repetitive with the two early versions of Fahrenheit, the short stories themselves are amazing. While each one built on the previous, and gave back-story to Fahrenheit, they all mostly stood out on their own. I have fallen totally in love with Bradbury's work and this was just one highlight after another. Incredible world building, characterization and the ability to tell concise solid stories. His work is also just brimming with ideals and intelligence. This set specifically with its focus on the direction that our world is taking, on censorship, fear and anger. I just loved each of the short stories so much and any fan of Bradbury, Fahrenheit, short stories, and the importance of literature should read this fantastic collection.
mizmoffatt's review against another edition
3.0
Full review posted on Across the Litoverse
Step aside, kids—the Grand Master of October Country and Dystopian Worlds has arrived. In A Pleasure to Burn, readers are walked through Ray Bradbury's creative process and introduced to sixteen shorter works that prefigure the landmark Fahrenheit 451. Immediate favourites include: "Bright Phoenix", where a Chief Censor marvels over the absence of witnesses at his book burning; "The Garbage Collector", where one man's life changes in a single day after learning the gristly details of his job should a nuclear war erupt; and "The Smile", where a young boy joins the men of his town to desecrate an iconic portrait from the past.
Bradbury's cold, sterile, lifeless worlds are punctuated by one colour only—the orange-yellow rage of fire. He burns through the past, through remarkable art, and through the written word with great fury, and he manages to sneak in a few rocket ships and a trip to Mars for all the sci fi kids in the crowd. However, I found the quality of the stories was not consistent—most of these works were originally published in journals, and were therefore refined under the eyes of an editor. But, in some cases, these stories were rough works not intended to reach publication per se. Also, the collection includes two novellas ("Long After Midnight" and "The Fireman") that are actual rough drafts of Fahrenheit 451—the average reader might turn down the collection at this point for its repetitiveness and for the painful, un-Bradbury prose of his rough work. Regardless, I will still champion the man and partake of the pleasure to burn.
Ideal for: Creative writing students who ought to learn from the masters; Editorial students eager to read the rough drafts of Fahrenheit 451; Readers with a mega-crush on all things Bradbury; Kids waiting in line for the official Hunger Games film release.
Step aside, kids—the Grand Master of October Country and Dystopian Worlds has arrived. In A Pleasure to Burn, readers are walked through Ray Bradbury's creative process and introduced to sixteen shorter works that prefigure the landmark Fahrenheit 451. Immediate favourites include: "Bright Phoenix", where a Chief Censor marvels over the absence of witnesses at his book burning; "The Garbage Collector", where one man's life changes in a single day after learning the gristly details of his job should a nuclear war erupt; and "The Smile", where a young boy joins the men of his town to desecrate an iconic portrait from the past.
Bradbury's cold, sterile, lifeless worlds are punctuated by one colour only—the orange-yellow rage of fire. He burns through the past, through remarkable art, and through the written word with great fury, and he manages to sneak in a few rocket ships and a trip to Mars for all the sci fi kids in the crowd. However, I found the quality of the stories was not consistent—most of these works were originally published in journals, and were therefore refined under the eyes of an editor. But, in some cases, these stories were rough works not intended to reach publication per se. Also, the collection includes two novellas ("Long After Midnight" and "The Fireman") that are actual rough drafts of Fahrenheit 451—the average reader might turn down the collection at this point for its repetitiveness and for the painful, un-Bradbury prose of his rough work. Regardless, I will still champion the man and partake of the pleasure to burn.
Ideal for: Creative writing students who ought to learn from the masters; Editorial students eager to read the rough drafts of Fahrenheit 451; Readers with a mega-crush on all things Bradbury; Kids waiting in line for the official Hunger Games film release.