- Paperback: 352 pages
- Publisher: Del Rey Books; Reprint edition (Oct 1996)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0345407857
- ISBN-13: 978-0345407856
- Product Dimensions: 13.8 x 1.8 x 20.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,228,069 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Ray Bradbury's seminal work, The October Country, is one of the most important collections of horror stories of the 20th century. Published in 1955 and composed of 19 stories written for pulp magazines at the very start of his career, these unforgettable, timeless stories have influenced a generation of contemporary writers of fear. This classic collection is actually a revamped version of the author's very first book, Dark Carnival (a much sought-after collector's item--Bradbury withdrew several stories from the original 1947 collection that even he thought too grisly). October Country contains such haunting tales as "The Lake", in which a boy faces death for the first time after losing a playmate who has drowned, and "The Small Assassin", in which a man realizes his baby is literally a born killer. "The Crowd" chillingly explains why the same people always seem to gather at automobile accidents. Although he went on to build a worldwide reputation as a master of fantasy and science fiction, if Bradbury had continued to write weird tales like this, he might instead have become one of the world's greatest horror writers. --Stanley Wiater
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
THE OCTOBER COUNTRY is Ray Bradbury's own netherworld of the soul, inhabited by the horrors and demons that lurk within all of us. This classic collection of short stories includes:
THE EMISSARY: The faithful dog was the sick boy's only connection with the world outside--and beyond. . .
THE SMALL ASSASSIN: A fine, healthy baby boy was the new mother's dream come true--or her worst nightmare. . .
THE SCYTHE: Just when his luck had run out, Drew Erickson inherited a farm from a stranger! And with the bequest came deadly responsibilities. . .
THE JAR: A chilling story that combines love, death . . . and a matter of identity in a bottle of fear!
THE WONDERFUL DEATH OF DUDLEY STONE: A most remarkable case of murder--the deceased was delighted!
Plus nineteen more terrifying tales!
Renowned for his five-million copy bestseller, Fahrenheit 451, and hailed as the finest living writer of fantastic fiction, Ray Bradbury shows with each of these nineteen stories his brilliant knack for extracting the chilling essence of a world's insanities, disorders, and hang-ups. Once again he proves himself to be America's master of the short story.
"An author whose fanciful imagination, poetic prose, and mature understanding of human character have won him an international reputation."
--The New York Times
THE EMISSARY: The faithful dog was the sick boy's only connection with the world outside--and beyond. . .
THE SMALL ASSASSIN: A fine, healthy baby boy was the new mother's dream come true--or her worst nightmare. . .
THE SCYTHE: Just when his luck had run out, Drew Erickson inherited a farm from a stranger! And with the bequest came deadly responsibilities. . .
THE JAR: A chilling story that combines love, death . . . and a matter of identity in a bottle of fear!
THE WONDERFUL DEATH OF DUDLEY STONE: A most remarkable case of murder--the deceased was delighted!
Plus nineteen more terrifying tales!
Renowned for his five-million copy bestseller, Fahrenheit 451, and hailed as the finest living writer of fantastic fiction, Ray Bradbury shows with each of these nineteen stories his brilliant knack for extracting the chilling essence of a world's insanities, disorders, and hang-ups. Once again he proves himself to be America's master of the short story.
"An author whose fanciful imagination, poetic prose, and mature understanding of human character have won him an international reputation."
--The New York Times
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First Sentence
Aimee watched the sky, quietly. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Aimee watched the sky, quietly. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
'The October Country' is a partial reprint of Bradbury's first and probably greatest book, 'Dark Carnival'. This was a collection of the best of the young author's early pulp stories, which appeared in the forties, featuring a Bradbury largely pre-sentiment, pre-nostalgia, all-chiller! Bradbury has said that he was 'naive to the point of distraction' about most things, but that he did understand his fears about the world. These stories bring those fears to life in an unforgettable manner. Such tales as 'The Small Assassin', 'The Crowd', 'The Wind' and 'The Scythe' are surely among the greatest of twentieth century horror, written in a remarkably original and literate fashion, depicting our own familiar world from a shadowy and skewed vantage point. An argument could be made (in fact I'm making it right now) that all of the author's later work is dilute when compare with these intense early tales. This is Ray without the kid gloves.
Not that this collection is without humour or sentiment - Bradbury's early 'Family' stories appear here, later to inspire the Addams Family series. 'Uncle Einar' and so forth bring some balance to the pure horror that swiftly disappeared once Bradbury discovered Mars and Green Town, Illinois.
Since Dark Carnival is effectively unavailable, although a 2000 reissue is floating about, 'The October Country' is the only way to acquire these essential stories, and as such it represents, in my humble opinion, Bradbury's greatest work.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This collection reeks of autumn; of mist and twilight and shadows. A skeleton obsessed doctor, the unidentified but hypnotic thing in the jar, a dog with a coat full of moist night earth and a gentle uncle with wings - these are the citizens of The October Country. Beguiling and magical, this collection is of a quality that few other writers seem capable of achieving. But Bradbury makes it look easy. He always does. Soulful magic from a magical soul.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If you don't read books, then this is sure to open up a new path for you. If you think watching films are the easier option in life... you'll be right in most cases but really not in this one. The bizarre stories in this book will actually do a good job in freaking you out, not in the ghostly sense, but it manipulates your imagination by letting you conclude the tales for yourself. Nice front cover too!
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