The Eve of All Saints' Day

Ray Bradbury 1920—2012 — a great master of the pen, a classic of world literature and a living legend of science fiction. His books have been passionately read by millions of people around the world for over half a century.... Bradbury is much more than a science fiction writer — his works can be classified as 'high', genre-defying literature. His most famous novels, stories, and tales, vivid and sincere, have brought Ray Bradbury fame not only as the creator of astonishing stories but also as a philosopher, thinker, and psychologist. 'Soon I realized that although at twelve, sixteen, eighteen, and even at twenty my dream was to write science fiction, I, thankfully or not, am the illegitimate son of the Phantom of the Opera, Dracula, and the Bat. I emerged from the house of the Ashers; my aunts and uncles trace their lineage back to Poe.' Such a story could only be conceived by Bradbury — a master of creating special worlds and bizarre plots. Halloween is a fun holiday filled with candy and masks, but for Ray Bradbury's characters, there's no time for laughter. On the eve of All Saints' Day, Mr. Savan-de-Sarcophagus takes the boys on a flight lasting ten thousand years. Ancient Egypt, the druids' Britain, medieval Europe in the company of witches, Paris and Mexico on the Day of the Dead — this is what the boys will see. 'What is Halloween? Where did it begin? Where? Why? For what purpose? Witches, cats, dust from mummies, ghosts. All this is in a land from which there is no return.' Are you ready to dive into the black ocean? Are you ready to soar into the dark skies? Are you ready to give a year of your life for a friend?