This is a collection of nineteen short stories written mainly in the 1940s-1950s as far as I'm aware by the master of lyrical fantasy/supernatural/science fiction. Some are not in that vein at all, their disturbing nature coming from the cruelty of human beings as in the opening story, 'The Dwarf', or in the sadness of lost love and bonds left behind in childhood ('The Lake'). A couple of others evoke an Addams Family type mood with non-human beings that still struggle to hang on in an increasingly mechanised world - 'Uncle Einar' and 'The Homecoming'.

Some are grotesques as in the story about a woman obsessing about her baby being a monster - but is she right? And 'The Jar' and 'The Skeleton'. I liked the disquieting ones such as 'The Crowd', an idea I remember being anthologised in an old TV series and 'The Emissary' which I remembered reading from many years ago but which has stuck in my memory unlike so many other things I've read. 'The Scythe' is quite a chilling tale with a novel explanation for the evils of the 20th century and, by implication, ours. A few didn't quite engage me such as the odd story about the poker chip and the one about the wind which for me was too predictable. But overall I am awarding this four stars. ( )

One of my faves!! I reread this almost every October! Bradbury is a Titan in this genre!! ( )

I can understand why some readers love these stories. I can see how some readers would rate this book so highly. I am not saying those folks are wrong, but Bradbury just does not resonate with me. His stories chafe and bore me. I get restless and disinterested in reading his work. I am vaguely glad I read this collection, though. These are stories that, if pressed, I will think of like Friends titles, i.e. The One with the Sugar Skulls, The One with the Dog, The One with the Skeleton, etc.

Writers who want to write in the horror/speculative fiction genre need to read through these stories carefully and decide what works and what does not. The general reader may or may not like this collection, I have no idea, since my opinion on this one seems vastly divergent. ( )

Fantastic ( )

Maybe it's because it's early Bradbury, but these stories just didn't do anything for me. The dialogue feels like it was written by someone who learned how people speak from watching 1940s Hollywood movies. The ideas were sometimes interesting, but the writing style (and some of its content) seemed mired in the age in which it was written. ( )