Book Review: “Shadow Show” all new stories in celebration of Ray Bradbury

Shadow Show is a collection of short stories from noted authors such as: Margaret Atwood, Dave Eggers, Neil Gaiman, Joe Hill, Jacquelyn Mitchard, Audrey Niffenegger, and more. Each story was chosen to celebrate Ray Bradbury, and these fantastic authors did just that.

Book Description

“What do you imagine when you hear the name . . . Bradbury?

You might see rockets to Mars. Or bizarre circuses where otherworldly acts whirl in the center ring. Perhaps you travel to a dystopian future, where books are set ablaze . . . or to an out-of-the-way sideshow, where animated illustrations crawl across human skin. Or maybe, suddenly, you're returned to a simpler time in small-town America, where summer perfumes the air and life is almost perfect . . .almost.

Ray Bradbury—peerless storyteller, poet of the impossible, and one of America's most beloved authors—is a literary giant whose remarkable career has spanned seven decades. Now twenty-six of today's most diverse and celebrated authors offer new short works in honor of the master; stories of heart, intelligence, and dark wonder from a remarkable range of creative artists.” – Shadow Show

My Thoughts

Shadow Show is a tribute to Ray Bradbury, so not all of the stories are in his style, but they are instead inspired by him. The authors of these short stories did an excellent job with them, and I found them to all be memorable and worthy of their place in this anthology.

I don’t have a favorite story in this book, but instead found many that I enjoyed reading very much. Some of these include: “Headlife” by Margaret Atwood, “The Man Who Forgot Ray Bradbury” by Neil Gaiman, “Earth (a Gift Shop)” by Charles Yu, and “By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain” by Joe Hill.

The editors for this book, Sam Weller and Mort Castle did an excellent job in deciding on each short story to include in the collection, and also how they arranged it. I think that this is an excellent book for fans of this genre to read, and would make a great gift for those who enjoy these stories as well.

* Thank you to the publisher of Shadow Show, William Morrow, for providing me with a copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed are my own.