Book Review: Now and Forever by Ray Bradbury

The first book I read from author Ray Bradbury was The Martian Chronicles. I remember my interest after watching the mini-series and checked out a copy from my school's library. What struck me most was how it was both a novel and a collection of short stories, dealing with the topic of expansion and colonization. (And since this was during school, my mind somehow connected the fictitious events in the book with similar events involving colonization of foreign territories -- think England colonizing the New World, and so on.) Since then, I've read as much of Bradbury's work as I could find and is one of the main reasons why I so love the short story form of writing.

In 2007, his novella collection Now and Forever was released, offering two new tales from the master writer. The first story -- Somewhere A Band Is Playing -- revolves around James Cardiff, an adventurer, if you will, who while sleeping one night hears a strange music when his eyes close. The words of a poem fitting the music etch themselves in his inner vision, and he's drawn to the middle of nowhere in Arizona. There he discovers the town of Summerton, population uncertain, but the residents harbor a great secret, one to which forces James to make a life-changing decision.

The story is an effective fantasy spin on what it means to be a writer. Not simply the process of writing, but how it affects the writer and what writing means to the writer.

The second novella -- Leviathan '99 -- is Bradbury's re-telling of the classic Melville novel Moby Dick. He moves the action from the seas of Earth to the more vast sea of stars and space. Ishmael spins his tale of a ship's captain, determined to find the bright white comet that blinded him, no matter the cost to himself or to his crew.

I can't think of a better writer to transpose the tale into the expanse of outer space. That sense of wonder and adventure remains intact while still managing to have the spirit of Melville attached to it with how the characters speak and act. (It doesn't hurt that he co-wrote the script for the 1958 film version or re-counted his time spent with the writing in his novel Green Shadows, White Whale.)

Now and Forever offers two prime examples of why Bradbury is considered one of the foremost writers. If you've yet to read anything from him, I suggest checking out this one.

Now and Forever
by Ray Bradbury
HarperCollins
ISBN: 978-0-0-113157-8
massmarket paperback, 247 pgs.

purchased book

Image from Lost in a Daydream.