Now And Forever by Ray Bradbury
Voyager (paperback), 2007
233 Pages
BLURB FROM THE COVER
Two bewitching new novellas from an incomparable talent.
In Somewhere a Band is Playing newsman James Cardiff is lured through poetry and his fascination with a beautiful and enigmatic young woman to Summerton, Arizona, where no children play and the residents never seem to age. He sets out to uncover the town’s mysteries before the inevitable arrival of a ruthless destruction.
Leviathan ’99 reimagines Melville’s classic Moby Dick as an interstellar adventure transforming the great whale into a worlds-devouring comet. When astronaut Ishmael Jones joins the crew aboard the Cetus 7 he places his fate in the hands of a relentless madman. In the merciless void the crew will face a divine judgment and an “enemy” wielding the most fearsome weapon of all… Time.
More than half a century into his career, Ray Bradbury continues to delight and astound with his grand visions, lyrical prose and provocative thought.
EXTRACT
There was a desert prairie filled with wind and sun and sagebrush and a silence that grew sweetly up in wildflowers. There was a rail track laid across this silence and now the rail track shuddered (SOMEWHERE A BAND IS PLAYING)
REVIEW
GENERAL IMPRESSION:
I really enjoyed Now And Forever. I thought both novellas were excellent. I did wonder why Bradbury chose to group them together and publish them under the title Now And Forever. Both novellas are very different so it seemed odd to release them in one volume. Just a thought.
SOMEWHERE A BAND IS PLAYING:
I thought this novella was great. It reminded me a little of two of my favorite stories by Stephen King, Rock and Roll Heaven and Rainy Season. If you’ve read both stories you’ll know why Somewhere A Band Is Playing makes me think of them. Somewhere A Band Is Playing is the perfect mystery story set in an unusual town in the middle of nowhere. I liked the fact not many questions are answered before the residents up and disappear at the end. This was a great story.
LEVIATHAN ’99:
I’ve never read Moby Dick so I’ve no idea how Bradbury’s sci-fi version, Leviathan ’99 compares. I thought this novella was great as well. I’m very fussy about what sci-fi I enjoy reading so wasn’t sure what to expect with Leviathan ’99. I thought it was great. Leviathan ’99 is about a mad man in charge of a spaceship, forcing his hapless crew to confront a deadly comet in order to avenge an accident that cost his sight. What’s not to love? This was also a great story.
RATING
