Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Twelve uniquely American sci-fi & fantasy novels and stories

John T. Ottinger of Grasping For The Wind came up with a list of 12 science fiction and fantasy novels and stories that are uniquely American.

One title on the list:
Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes is about two 13-year-old boys, Jim Nightshade and William Halloway, who have a harrowing experience with a nightmarish traveling carnival that comes to their Midwestern town one October. The carnival's leader is the mysterious "Mr. Dark" who bears a tattoo for each person who, lured by the offer to live out his secret fantasies, has become bound in service to the carnival. Mr. Dark's malevolent presence is countered by that of Will's father, Charles Halloway, who harbors his own secret desire to regain his youth." (Wikipedia) Bradbury's work is the quintessential small-town-meets-the-fantastic style novel that so many talespinners have emulated since.
Read about another book on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue