Ahmed and the Oblivion Machines: A Fable
by Ray Bradbury, Chris Lake
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Book Summary Information
Author: Chris Lake, Ray BradburyEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1998-12-01
ISBN: 0380977044
Number of pages: 64
Publisher: William Morrow
Book Reviews of Ahmed and the Oblivion Machines: A Fable
Book Review: pompous piece of junk
Summary: 1 Stars
First of all, you should understand that this is nothing more than a short-story; it's not a novel or even a novella. The print was made real big and the margins generous so that it could be released as a stand-alone. It will probably take you 25 minutes to read from start to finish.
I have a problem with Bradbury: I used to worship everything he wrote when I was 12-14 years old. But now that I'm older and my tastes in literature are more sophisticated, I am unable to tell if Bradbury has gotten worse, or if I've just gotten more sophisticated, and therefore more difficult to please. I suppose we all have a critical blind spot for the stuff we grew up with.
Well, anyhow, I hated this book.
It took me a couple of readings just to understand what was going on. I've read it three times now, and it certainly hasn't repaid the effort. Bradbury seems unable to focus on (or even come up with) one good idea; the story seems like a hodge-podge of leftover purple phrases that wouldn't fit into other stories. Seems like Bradbury just saved up a few dozen of these phrases and decided to mash them all together in one story, a story which otherwise lacked any real plot.
The worst problem about this book, though, is just that; really, there's no STORY. Just page after page of high-flown blather. Imaginative verbiage, but without any underlying interest. The dialogue is stiff and overwritten; it just doesn't PLAY.
I'll probably never be able to answer the question whether Bradbury has gotten worse or not, but he's definitely done better than this.
Also be warned that the publisher has seen fit not to number the pages. It's more mythical-poetic that way!
Summary of Ahmed and the Oblivion Machines: A Fable
In the stories of Ray Bradbury, readers have journeyed beyond the boundaries set by their imaginations, and have reveled in fantastic realms created by "one of the world's outstanding storytellers" (Toronto Globe & Mail). Now this prolific writer spins an enchanting fable about a lost boy who makes the acquaintance of a long-forgotten, though very powerful, ancient god.
When Ahmed, the twelve-year-old son of a caravan leader, falls from his camel, he is lost in a vast desert, and his situation looks ominous. Isolated and alone, the young boy begins to cry and his tears awaken the ancient god Gonn-Ben-Allah, Keeper of the Ghosts of the Lost Names, who lies beneath the sand.
Rising to full form for the first time in tens of thousands of years, the majestic Gonn tells his frightened savior that fate has brought them together. To comfort Ahmed, the god bestows the gift of flight upon the boy, and the pair sets off on an evening of spectacular adventures. Traveling through time and space, Gonn shows the fascinated Ahmed the wonders of the world-past and present-and its sorrows. Within each startling revelation, Ahmed finds wisdom-and learns to accept life for all it has to offer.
A wondrous fable for children of all ages, AHMED AND THE OBLIVION MACHINES is yet another glorious testament to the remarkable gifts of master storyteller Ray Bradbury.
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