Book Review: Marionettes, Inc.

Summary:

In this series of short stories, Bradbury explores the concept of robotics and how they impact our lives. 

Review:

Why I picked it up

Okay, look at that cover. Could you pass that by without giving it a once over? I didn’t think so. And besides, it’s Ray Bradbury. The only other book I’ve read by him is Fahrenheit 451, but that was enough. 

Liked

    Bradbury really covers the spectrum here, with a touching story of love, a few chilling stories about the dangers of robots, and even one with a surprise ending. 

    I especially like the first and longest story, I Sing the Body Electric. The prose was beautiful, poetic, musical. 

    This was a quick read, which I love in short story collections. Often I rush through short story collections in order to get to the next story and get fed up with long “short” stories. Each story is the perfect length, hardly a meal, more like a small treat, leaving you wanting more. 

Didn’t like

    One thing I didn’t get was that two of the stories were the same story. One was told in prose format, one was kind of a script, but not really. It was weird and, I think, unnecessary. There’s also no adventure/action at all, which I don’t mind, but may turn off some readers - especially those that were expecting chase scenes like the one in 451. 

Final Rating:  4/5