William F. Nolan (1) (1928–2021)

Ray Bradbury’s first published work appeared in 1941, and this collection of 22 stories was produced to acknowledge his half-century of developing his unique blend of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and coming-of-age nostalgia.

The contributors range from Isaac Asimov, who penned “An Appreciation” as an introduction to the collection, to then-relative newcomers Orson Scott Card and Christopher Beaumont. Many are direct sequels to Bradbury tales, others pick up characters he created, many years after their first appearances, and a couple are good-hearted parodies of themes he visited often. But the real treasures here are those few tales that manage to re-create the magic, putting new flesh on the bones and new images in the mind’s eye.

For this reviewer, "A Lake of Summer" is the standout of the collection. It touches on themes Bradbury often visited – that time in a young boy’s life when the magic of childhood is first sullied by the harsh reality of the world. A reader picking up this story without looking at the byline would willingly swear it came from The Master’s typewriter, yet it’s marked by author Chad Oliver’s own incandescent talent.

Completely different in tone is "Salome", by veteran Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, who re-visits a grown-up member of Uncle Einar’s family, but looks at him with a very different set of eyes. A lighter touch is provided by Norman Corwin’s short and sassy "The Muse", in which a Greek goddess kvetches about the difficult of inspiring a writer who has plenty of ideas of his own.

No Bradbury tribute would be complete without a sample of the slowly-building horror Bradbury was capable of creating. Author R. Paul Wilson ratchets up the gooseflesh in ‘The November Game’ by picking up a nasty character from [The October Country] and dealing out a punishment-fits-the-crime revenge chiller.

Fans of Bradbury and students of late 20th century fantasy/horror/science fiction will want to put this volume firmly on the Keeper shelf.… (more)