Dinosaur Tales | ||||||||
Ray Bradbury | ||||||||
ibooks, 144 pages | ||||||||
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A review by Steven H Silver
In "Besides a Dinosaur, Whatta Ya Wanna Be When You Grow Up?" Bradbury
gets to the very heart of the attraction dinosaurs have for so many and the
ability to imagine greater strength or power that the dreamer currently
has. In this case, Benjamin's dreams are nurtured by his grandpa, who
doesn't quite realize the strength of Benjamin's desire until it is
almost too late. At the same time, the story examines the growth of
children and their capricious natures.
The most famous story included in the collection is undoubtedly "A Sound
of Thunder," in which a group of hunters travel back in time to hunt
Tyrannosaurus rex. Although the idea has been used since, most notably
in L. Sprague de Camp's Rivers of Time stories, Bradbury's tale looks at
the consequences of the most minor action of which a person may not even
be aware. Although much of the story's power comes from the force of the
ending, it still stands up to multiple readings.
"The Fog Horn" is written with an almost Lovecraftian intensity of mood
in which Bradbury's description of solitude and fog become practically
palpable. Despite the mood, the story misses becoming a story in the
Lovecraft milieu because Bradbury elects not to provide an ending in the
same mode, instead of horror, he provides a bitter sweet farewell to the
dinosaur who has survived the aeons.
Just as dinosaurs represent dreams of so many, it can also represent
fears. In "Tyrannosaurus Rex," Bradbury depicts a Tyrannosaurus Rex as
the fear of what others might see when they look at us. In this case,
the tyrannical film producer Joe Clarence is shown how others see him
and discovers he doesn't like what he sees. However, Bradbury does not
take the easy way out by having Clarence reform his own actions, but
rather reform his understanding of other people's views.
"Lo, the Dead, Daft Dinosaurs!" is a poem about the ultimate fate of the
dinosaurs and the dreams they inspire. With a cadence reminiscent of
Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven," the poem's meter sticks in the reader's
head as do the images of cavorting dinosaurs. "What If I Said: The
Dinosaur's Not Dead?" is the other poem included in the collection and
is not quite as memorable in meter, but does very graphically capture
the manner in which dinosaur's have grabbed the popular imagination.
Dinosaur Tales is copiously illustrated by artists ranging from Moebius
to Gahan Wilson, providing a broad range of styles, all of which present
depictions of the dinosaurs Bradbury so lovingly describes, each adding
to the flavor of the story they accompany and presented an image of the
different thoughts dinosaurs inspire.
Steven H Silver is a four-time Hugo Nominee for Best Fan Writer and the editor of the anthologies Wondrous Beginnings, Magical Beginnings, and Horrible Beginnings (DAW Books, January, February and March, 2003). In addition to maintaining several bibliographies and the Harry Turtledove website, Steven is heavily involved in convention running and publishes the fanzine Argentus. |
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