Shadow Show

Starred review from June 25, 2012
Ray Bradbury’s recent death renders this loving tribute anthology—a “homecoming” of “fantastic brethren from all over the world,” as Bradbury writes in the introduction—all the more poignant. The nameless narrator of Neil Gaiman’s “The Man Who Forgot Ray Bradbury” has forgotten Bradbury’s name, but not his stories. The heroine of Alice Hoffman’s “Conjure” has her destiny and her closest friendship changed by Something Wicked This Way Comes. Bonnie Jo Campbell tells the origin story of an illustrated man in “The Tattoo,” and Bayo Ojikutu’s “Reservation” describes a dystopia that is a near cousin to that of Fahrenheit 451. Some of the best stories pay tribute in their evocation of Bradburyian themes: the vast possibilities and indescribable melancholy of childhood in Joe Hill’s “By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain,” the profundity of loss in John McNally’s “The Phone Call,” and the renewing power of storytelling in Robert McCammon’s “Children of the Bedtime Machine.” Bradbury biographer Weller and horror doyen Castle have produced a fine remembrance of a great writer, a deeply moving testament to his enduring appeal.

Starred review from May 15, 2012
It's important to know the credentials of the editors of this wondrous anthology of short stories. Weller is the author of the authorized biography of Ray Bradbury, The Bradbury Chronicles: The Life of Ray Bradbury (2005), and Castle is a veteran short story writer and editor of On Writing Horror (2006), a helpful guide to publishing horror novels and short stories. Editorial interest and experience converge here to produce an exciting book. Twenty-six writers celebrate Bradbury through never-before-published short stories, and their offerings bear the acknowledgment that the inspiration for incident, tone, or effect derives from their respect and admiration for the ever-popular sf and fantasy writerproducts of Bradbury's looming shadow, as Weller says in his introduction. In the cases of these enticing short works, then, Bradbury was each writer's master. What is amazing is the range of authors. The roster includes distinguished writers both expected and not, among the latter, Alice Hoffman, Margaret Atwood, and Bonnie Jo Campbell. What is also amazing is the potential audience for this treasury, which would include lovers of short fiction regardless of any previous attraction to sf or fantasy. Public libraries should acquire the book and cross reference it between sf and general fiction collections.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)