First off , this review is written by a Bradbury fanatic and is therefore biased.
Like most , the first book i read by Mr.Bradbury was Fahrenheit 451, i read it as part of a summer reading program and since then have read and re read it often. But i really fell in love with his work when I read the Illustrated Man. Such a range of stories , such amazing twists and suprise endings , such simple yet poetic style!
So when i happened upon a Bradbury book, dark and inviting with ghosts and vampires adorning the cover i read it immeadeatley , it was fifnished that night at 11:30. i had read slightly different versions of some of the stories before , for this book is mereley a collection of loosley related stories sewn toghether by short chapters. I loved it!I grew emotionallt attached to the family , i wanted wings , i wanted to send my mind into anything and everything , i wanted to be awake all and all of my life! sad huh? I especially liked the theme , or one of them if there is one. nameley , the old world of belief in the fanatic and beautiful , bizzare and rococo , is being destroyed by the new religion of science and progress. i've noticed this theme before in his work and can see evidence of it all around me. "On the Orient North" was my favorite , love it! and there are precious few things that I love.Bradbury is a master and he will never die! he will live in his characters and stories forever.
now that im done praising ,
for those of you who think it is disjointed. It is , it's a collection of short stories compiled over 20 some years.conseququently the style may change. also , if you find yourself lost , read again , Bradbury's writing isn't a grocery list or an instruction manual , it is art , and art is sometimes only really understood by the artist. ( )

La familia Eliot ha vivido durante siglos en una casa llena de leyenda y misterio. Como Mil veces Tatarabuela, sus integrantes perduran desde la época de la Esfinge, excepto Timothy, el niño expósito que la familia ha adoptado y que registra los prodigiosos acontecimientos que se viven en la mansión. Ahora toda la familia se prepara para la fiesta de Halloween, la Noche de las Brujas, y esperan ansiosos, la llegada de los invitados.

Essentially a collection of earlier materials, some of which had been published and some not, regarding the Elliot family - a supernatural collection of ghouls and such in an old manse getting up to mischief. I know, that sounds like The Addams Family, and the cover art was drawn by the same man who created Wednesday and Mortitia. But Charles Addams had already created the Addams when he met [[Ray Bradbury]], and they intended on collaborating on a book with the Elliots where Addams would provide the art and Bradbury the text. Sadly, it never happened.

I'm a huge Bradbury fan, and I quite enjoyed the shenanigans here, and the hypnotic voice. But it's not Bradbury's best work, and perhaps it suffers because it didn't get the unified narrative that one expects. Nonetheless, quite enjoyable.

Highly recommended.
4 bones!!!! ( )

What an odd little book! It is really a bunch of his writings put into a novel form. I am glad that I read "Halloween Tree" first, otherwise I think I would have put this one down. It is an interesting idea and interestly coincides with the book I am currently reading "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman. I would sometimes get their story lines mixed up. ( )

Nobody writes like Ray Bradbury wrote. His word choice is sublime, and his sentences are lyrical masterpieces. His stories, especially in this volume, are amusing, and thought-provoking, but above all, they speak directly to your heart.

This is a low-key story of a strange and wonderful family who might be vampires, but they may be something else too. And I think that's one of the things I love about Bradbury...he tells you wonderful stories, but he also leaves a lot of room for the reader to roam around in and make their own discoveries.

In some ways, I found this book to be the spiritual brother to The Martian Chronicles, but with a more horror leaning, instead of a science fiction one.

I adored every line of this book. I wish more authors could write like this. I think the closest we have now is Neil Gaiman, though there's times Charles L. Grant and Clive Barker wandered into Bradbury's sandbox to play as well.

But nobody can do Bradbury like Bradbury. I miss him. ( )