The October Country (1955)

3.5 stars. Some of the stories were very good, but a few weren't interesting at all. ( )

Started reading late summer, early autumn as I like to read whatever matches the season. Recall reading some of these short stories many years ago, particularly "The Emissary" [those final 3 chilling words - "Martin had company"] and also "The Scythe" which cuts the strange wheat which only ripens in patches and rots when cut.

Other stories I do not recall and a couple did not connect with me, namely "Touched with Fire" and "Skeleton".

I particularly enjoyed "The Wind" which hunts down the explorer who has discovered its secret source.

The cover describes this book as "A dark feast of wonder and horror" but I would place the emphasis on the former rather than the latter.

The collection finishes with "The wonderful death of Dudley Stone", a life-affirming tale of an author who decided to live life to the full - New England boiled dinners with plenty of ale and stout (I would like to be invited to that feast!) ( )

At the time of its publication in 1955, The October Country was "all that Mr. Bradbury wishes to preserve from the long-out-of-print limited edition of DARK CARNIVAL, plus five new and equally brilliant selections..." (from the cover blurb of the paperback edition). It is early Bradbury, which is to say stories written from the beginnings of the flood of stories he would write over the next five decades, vintage Bradbury, which is to say short gems of poetic evocations of everyday humans living in the "October Country" that was Bradbury's mind. Mythic and archetypal and thoroughly captivating. ( )

A collection of dark, eerie, hauntingly twisted short stories. Forget the candy, this assortment of Bradbury's best is the perfect Halloween treat for your favorite reader. Or a great gift for someone you'd like to see lose a little sleep. ( )

Every story captures a dark atmosphere where the characters are sometimes sympathetic and sometimes brutal but always oddly normal and dull (in the best way possible). Stand outs include "The Scythe", "The Emissary" and "Jack-in-the-Box".