Shadow Show

All-New Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury

By: Sam Weller - editor, Mort Castle - editor

Narrated by: George Takei, Edward Herrmann, Kate Mulgrew, F. Murray Abraham, Neil Gaiman, Peter Appel, James Urbaniak

What do you imagine when you hear the name...Bradbury?

You might see rockets to Mars. Or bizarre circuses where otherworldly acts whirl in the center ring. Perhaps you travel to a dystopian future, where books are set ablaze...or to an out-of-the-way sideshow, where animated illustrations crawl across human skin. Or maybe, suddenly, you're returned to a simpler time in small-town America, where summer perfumes the air and life is almost perfect...almost.

Ray Bradbury - peerless storyteller, poet of the impossible, and one of America's most beloved authors - is a literary giant whose remarkable career spanned seven decades. Now 26 of today's most diverse and celebrated authors offer new short works in honor of the master; stories of heart, intelligence, and dark wonder from a remarkable range of creative artists.

©2012 Sam Weller and Mort Castle (P)2012 HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd.

The Heirs to Ray Bradbury

Unfortunately, Bradbury passed away right around the time Shadow Show came out, but for those of us still mourning his passing, this is an excellent way for us to remember him, hopefully shouting, “LIVE FOREVER!” all the way through.

This collection kicks off with an introduction from the late, great Ray Bradbury himself, exclaiming his surprise and delight at the stories written by the authors in this collection, claiming them as his literary children, and he - their Papa.

All the stuff we love about Bradbury is on display here: carnivals and tattoos, coming of age and loss of innocence, the turning points of youthful friendships, rocket ships, monsters, and the importance of storytelling.

The first story is Neil Gaiman’s “The Man Who Forgot Ray Bradbury,” read by the author, and due to Bradbury’s passing, it’s particularly poignant. It’s the story of an older man struggling with a Bradbury-sized hole in his memories. It might be the most meta stories in this collection, but Gaiman’s reading is unsurprisingly inspired, and I would not be at all surprised if this particular story was nominated for loads of awards in 2013.

Joe Hill’s “By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain” is probably my favorite story in the collection, if not my favorite story of the entire year. It’s an homage to a classic Bradbury tale, but it’s so much more than that – a coming of age story where imagination and reality collide when an imaginative girl and a boy who discover something unbelievable on the shoreline. Hill’s story manages to be that wonderful Bradburian trick – a haunting, heartbreaking, coming of age tale that manages to be both whimsical and melancholy at the same time. I mentioned that I wouldn’t be surprised if Gaiman’s story was nominated for awards. I sincerely hope this story is. (I will most likely nominate both myself.)

Bradbury didn’t write female protagonists very often, so one of the pleasant surprises here is how quite a few of the authors dipped into Bradbury’s tradition of childhood stories and memories, but gave us memorable female characters. Alice Hoffman’s “Conjure” is one of these – a story about two best friends who come across an odd man living in a field (perhaps otherworldly), who piques both girls’ interest. Hoffman does an excellent job of dangling one fantastic element in front of us, but like a magician, whose revealing trick leaves you breathless with delight and surprise (in this case, something of a dark one). This is my first experience with Hoffman’s writing, and I’ll definitely be seeking out more of her work.

I’ve never heard Kate Mulgrew read before, but her narrations for both the Hill and Hoffman stories absolutely floored me. They were both excellent stories already, but Mulgrew’s readings are like a force of nature – she tells them absolutely perfectly, and raised them to a newer level.

George Takei read two stories as well – Margaret Atwood’s “Headlife,” which is maybe reminscient of “Marionettes, Inc.” and “Punishment without a Crime.” It’s a good story about a man wanting to escape his life, and fulfill all his secret desires, but Takei’s performance makes it ridiculously fun. Ditto Charle Yu’s short, but fun, “Earth (A Gift Shop)” – a story which might’ve been fun depending on the mood you read it in. But with Takei’s reading, it’s laugh out loud. How is it that Takei’s generally only read abridged versions of Star Trek novels? Get this guy a captain’s chair and a dozen more audiobooks STAT!

Dan Chaon’s “Little America” follows a boy and his kidnapper driving through a dystopian nation, and the tension in this sparse, disturbing tale continues to ratchet up from the very first minute. I don’t think I’ve read anything by Chaon before, but I’m already on the lookout for more. I thought I knew who these characters were and where this story was at the beginning, but the destination they ended at instead was much more surprising and satisfying.

Kelly Link’s “Two Houses” questions the nature and necessity of stories, and particularly ghost stories, following a crew of astronauts travelling between planets. Like most of Link’s stories, there are many layers beneath the surface, and it’s a story that I could listen to over and over again.

Sam Weller’s “The Girl in the Funeral Parlor,” Jacqueline Mitchard identifies her story “Two of a Kind,”and Dave Eggers “Who Knocks?” are all also pretty top-notch.

There are also several Hollywood Tales, a genre and city Bradbury enjoyed playing in. Mort Castle’s “Light” is the third story he’s written (to date) that focuses on Marilyn Monroe, giving us a disturbing take on her life and death, but most importantly, how she became the sensation she is. Jay Bonansinga’s “Heavy” is a slightly more lighthearted tale of mortality and friendship.

A short afterword is provided with each story by the author, to give some insight into their tale, as well as their connection to Ray Bradbury. It’s incredible to hear how Bradbury took some of these authors under his wing prior to them ever selling a story – like Dan Chaon. As a young adult, Bradbury gave Chaon a tour of his office, and spent an afternoon talking with him about writing. Afterward, he critiqued quite a few of Chaon’s stories (including the story presented here). And it was charming to see writers like Harlan Ellison reminiscence (Ellison’s story is, amusingly, twice as long as his story). Others wax on about how Bradbury influenced them.

This is hands down one of the best collections I can remember experiencing, and a wonderful tribute to Bradbury. Perhaps, thanks to his literary children,” Live Forever” isn’t such an impossible feat for Bradbury after all.

Incredible

Bradbury’s impact stretches beyond space and time. You can hear it in every word of these tributes.

Hits and Misses

Like with any anthology, you have to slog through some bad to find a few gems.

A collection of stories Bradbury would be proud of

What can I say - this is one of the most fantastic collections of short stories I've heard in a few years. Kudos to Mort Castle and Sam Weller for being able to round up this incredible caliber of talent.

While I bought this title mainly because of names I know (Neil Gaiman, Dave Eggers, Harlan Ellison) - what was most pleasantly surprising were the new writers I discovered who I sure hope have their own books out.

There are a couple of duds, but the gems in this collection make up for them. There are stories of unrequited love - because the lover is beyond the grave, time-travelling interstellar ghost stories, Hungarian ghost stories (detect a theme?) oh and stories that just revel in the essential being of youth and passion and humanity and the joy of storytelling.

The narration is also strong throughout, with an eclectic mix of narrators I all found spot-on. Can't recommend this enough, this will spawn many more hours of pleasant listening and discovery of new friends. Bradbury would be proud.

great way to remember a master

Would you listen to Shadow Show again? Why?

Yes! Excellent and entertaining. Not only did I love the stories, but having different artists read each story was so fun! It made the whole experience really neat.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Shadow Show?

A lot made me cry, especially The Companions. Who Knocks? made me laugh out loud literally. The Man Who Forgot Ray Bradbury scared me. All of them made me feel something. I especially loved all of the author explanations...most loved Harlan Ellison's.

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have listened to a few of these narrator's, my favorite being Neil Gaiman. Having the author (my favorite in fact) read his own story is just marvelous.

If you could take any character from Shadow Show out to dinner, who would it be and why?

hmmm.I think I am going to pick the two tattooed characters from The Tattoo just because I would love to see their moving images!

Any additional comments?

This book was a very nice way to remember my pal, Ray Bradbury. I enjoyed it immensely.

Just ok

Most of the stories seem a bit amateurish and not to the level of what Bradbury wrote . I realize it's an homage to him, but they're not that great. Neil Gaiman's was the best.

Did not want this book to ever end

I love Ray Bradbury, and now here is another book of Bradbury-esk stories - well worth the buy!

A good tribute to a legend

OK if you have not read/listened to the work of Bradbury start there. If you still want more this collection is a rather good collection of stories (not as good as Bradbury's classics).

Most of the stories focus more on his sci-fi/fantasy side rather than his nostalgic small town life side (Dandelion Wine). I would almost say that the Joe Hill story is worth the price of admission; One of the best short stories I have heard in recent memory.

Sample tray of authors, narrators, and stories

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I wasn't drawn to this book by any special attachment to Ray Bradbury, but rather because an author whose work I enjoy recommended it. There were some stories and styles I definitely didn't care for, but there were more that I did enjoy. As a sampler tray, I wouldn't change anything. I especially liked hearing each author speak about her/his story immediately after hearing it read.

Would you be willing to try another book from Sam Weller (Editor) and Mort Castle (Editor) ? Why or why not?

I would be very interested in reading another collection of stories, although I think I would prefer different genres sprinkled in too.

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I found all of the narrators to be quite good in this collection. I was familiar with some of the narrators in this book and it was a pleasure to be reacquainted with them. There were far more narrators new to me. I jotted down some of their names to search for their other works when making future audible purchase selections.

Was Shadow Show worth the listening time?

For me, Shadow Show was worth the listening time, not because I am a particular fan of short stories or 'Rad Bradbury-esque' stories, but because it allowed me to sample authors and narrators with whom I was previously unfamiliar.

Quite Entertaining

It seems that, as with most short-story collections, there will predictably be a few tales that are unsatisfying. But Shadow Show truly rises above most collections with several stories that are Crack-Excellent, and a couple that were quite moving. I suspect that people who were inspired by Mr. Bradbury & went on to themselves become highly imaginative writers set higher standards for themselves. That these stories were to serve as a testament to the prodigious imaginings of Ray Bradbury set the watermark quite high, and (with the mentioned few exceptions), the contributors showed themselves quite capable. But there’s another bonus in this collection too: The very nature of these stories gave the several narrators the opportunity to show their art’s élan ... & their ebullience truly added to the stories foray into the outer worlds of human imagination.