And so following on from the first PS Publishing Ray Bradbury reprint (R is for Rocket), we get S is for Space. In this volume there are less of Bradbury's very well-known tales then in the first. Not to say there is a lessening in quality by any means, these are very much what you would expect from Bradbury.

The collection starts off in fine form – "Chrysalis" is one of the author's finest tales – a rather creepy little tale about a insect-like mutation of a man. This tale incorporates everything I like about Bradbury, the knack he has of writing tales based on traditional science fiction elements yet that read a great deal more like supernatural horror.

This mood is picked up by the third tale, another wonderfully creepy tale called "Zero Hour" - a subtle tale of alien invasion centering on the interaction of the aliens and the children of a village. And it's in the focus of this tale on the psychological manipulations these children have experienced from the aliens that really creeps you out.

But there is more to this book than just creepy little twists on sf staples. Just take "The Million Year Picnic". This tale is a definite sf tale – although one that will require you to relax your knowledge of science and remember the state of knowledge when this tale was written. A family has fled the troubles on Earth to Mars, and are now choosing where to live from the various cities left by the former Martian civilisation. I did tell you that you need to allow for the tale's age. But allowing for this is a quite affecting little tale – quite an emotional little trip, although for those afraid of the mushy stuff, this is far from mushy, more of a sorrowful tale.

Bradbury was and is a great writer. He deserves his place as one of the names of sf-dom. And this is a set of tales that adds weight to this assertion. And it's a wonderfully put together book, there are some wonderfully pulpy illustrations along with the stories – their inclusion serving only to increase the experience.

The stories in this collection are quite different from most of the sf you might read today. These are from the era of The Twilight Zone, the world when these tales first left the typewriter was a more suspicious place. The cold war was at its height, people believed that the world could end at any moment. And there seemed to be two ways to go. This was the height of the musical in cinema - pure escapism on celluloid, showing an idealised world were everything was bright and shiny and everyone knew the dance-steps. It may have been hokum but it lifted people's spirits and gave them a couple of hours worry-free.

Alternatively there were the doom-monger tales, when the all too real threats to life were transposed to more fantastical ones - alien invasion or mutated insects to name but two possible ends. Bradbury write some of the finer tales on the doom-wide side of sf of the age, and this collection showcases this talent. Just as long as you keep in mind the science level of the day, you'll find this is a fine collection from one of the masters of science fiction.

Synopsis
Ray Bradbury is a master storyteller whose tales of science fiction and fantasy have an astonishing range of mood, setting, and subject.

Mr. Bradbury has selected twenty-two of his best known stories for this collection, and whether he's writing about space ships, time machines, a picnic on Mars, a human chrysalis, or the people next door, his stories are exciting, challenging, and hauntingly beautiful.

A spine-chilling account of inter-planetary invasion, the eerie tale of a dead man who walks from his grave, or of giant mushrooms, the sad story of a boy who never grew up - in Mr. Bradbury's own words, you'll find "not only S is for Space, but D is for Dread and T is for Terrifying, or D is for Delight."