Quicker Than The Eye
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Quicker Than the Eye (ISBN 0-380-97380-4, 1996 Avon Books) is a collection of short stories by Ray Bradbury, representing something of a comeback: a new collection, nearly a decade after his last one.
The contents are:
• "Unterderseaboat Doktor", which features, as a psychiatrist, a former submarine captain in Hitler's undersea fleet, making connections between sub-marine and sub-conscious.
• "Zaharoff/Richter Mark V", a speculation on why so many major cities are in such dangerous locales.
• "Remember Sascha?", a poignant fantasy of parenting.
• "Another Fine Mess", an homage to Laurel and Hardy; a sequel to The Laurel and Hardy Love Affair.
• "The Electrocution", a glimpse into a very Bradburian carnival.
• "Hopscotch", a parable of first love.
• "The Finnegan", a tall tale in a Victorian mood.
• "That Woman On the Lawn, a moving tangential episode in the same "universe" as Something Wicked This Way Comes.
• "The Very Gentle Murders", a fantasy of marital strife.
• "Quicker Than the Eye", which visits another carnival act.
• "Dorian In Excelcus", which pays homage to Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray
• "No News, Or What Killed the Dog?", inspired by a Victrola recording.
• "The Witch Door", a fable of haunting as temporal displacement
• "The Ghost In the Machine, exploring the spirit of invention.
• "At the End Of the Ninth Year", an affecting tale of marriage and communication.
• "Bug", a parable of the transforming power of confidence.
• "Once More, Legato", a whimsical exploration of where ideas come from.
• "Exchange", another moving visit to Green Town, Illinois; a tale of the power of books.
• "Free Dirt", a "what if?" tale.
• "Last Rites", a genuinely original time-travel story, terrifically moving and haunting.
• "The Other Highway", an allegory of the parallel universe of bypassed roads.
And a true treat for Bradbury's fans:
• "Make Haste To Live: An Afterword", in which the author writes of writing and the back-stories of some of the stories in this collection. A brief glimpse at "the man behind the curtain."
