num_pages: 204
description: That The Illustrated Man has remained in print since being published in 1951 is fair testimony to the universal appeal of Ray Bradbury's work. Only his second collection (the first was Dark Carnival, later reworked into The October Country), it is a marvelous, if mostly dark, quilt of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. In an ingenious framework to open and close the book, Bradbury presents himself as a nameless narrator who meets the Illustrated Man--a wanderer whose entire body is a living canvas of exotic tattoos. What's even more remarkable, and increasingly disturbing, is that the illustrations are themselves magically alive, and each proceeds to unfold its own story, such as "The Veldt," wherein rowdy children take a game of virtual reality way over the edge. Or "Kaleidoscope," a heartbreaking portrait of stranded astronauts about to reenter our atmosphere--without the benefit of a spaceship. Or "Zero Hour," in which invading aliens have discovered a most logical ally--our own children. Even though most were written in the 1940s and 1950s, these 18 classic stories will be just as chillingly effective 50 years from now.Cover Illustration: Peter Goodfellow
language: English
title: The Illustrated Man
titlecomplete: The Illustrated Man
genres: Fiction, Science Fiction, Short Stories, Anthologies, Horror, Literature, Science Fiction Fantasy, Classics, Fantasy, Audiobook
ratings_count: 95352
awards: awardedAt: -568051200000
name: International Fantasy Award
category: Fiction, awardedAt: -568051200000
name: Analog Award
category: All-Time Best Book, awardedAt: -568051200000
name: awards	International Fantasy Award
category: Fiction
publisher: Panther Books