Ray Bradbury: The Small Assassin. Summary and analysis

Ray Bradbury: The Small Assassin. Summary and analysis

The Small Assassin, a short story by Ray Bradbury published in 1946, is a disturbing psychological horror story that explores fear and paranoia in motherhood. Alice Leiber, after a complicated delivery, develops an irrational rejection of her baby, convinced that there is something strange about him. Her husband, David, tries to help her, while Dr. Jeffers attributes her fear to an emotional disorder. However, as unexplained events occur, the sense of threat grows, and what seems like a simple obsession becomes terrifyingly real.

Ray Bradbury: All Summer in a Day. Summary and analysis

Ray Bradbury: All Summer in a Day. Summary and analysis

All Summer in a Day is a science fiction story written by Ray Bradbury and published in 1954 in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. The story is set in a future in which humanity has colonized Venus, a planet where it rains incessantly and the sun only rises for one hour every seven years. In this gloomy world, a group of children eagerly await the moment they see the sunlight. Among them is Margot, a girl who clearly remembers the warmth and brightness of the sun because she lived on Earth, which makes her the object of envy and rejection by the other children.

Stephen King: Jerusalem’s Lot. Summary and analysis

Stephen King: Jerusalem's Lot. Summary and analysis

Jerusalem’s Lot, a short story by Stephen King published in the collection Night Shift (1978), is a gothic horror story set in 1850. We follow Charles Boone, a man who inherits the Chapelwaite mansion on a remote cliff in Maine, through letters and diaries. Accompanied by his servant, Calvin McCann, Charles discovers that the house and the nearby abandoned village, Jerusalem’s Lot, hide a dark past linked to his family. As they explore the history of the place, they become embroiled in an increasingly disturbing mystery, where ancient superstitions and strange manifestations threaten to reveal a terrifying truth.

Philip K. Dick: We Can Remember It for You Wholesale. Summary and analysis

Philip K. Dick: We Can Remember It for You Wholesale. Summary and analysis

We Can Remember It for You Wholesale, written by Philip K. Dick and published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in April 1966, is a science fiction story that explores the manipulation of memory. Douglas Quail is an ordinary man with a monotonous life who dreams of traveling to Mars. Unable to do so, he turns to Rekal Incorporated, a company that implants false memories to make its clients believe they have had extraordinary experiences. However, during the procedure, details suggest that Quail’s life is not what he thinks it to be. As he tries to understand the truth, he finds himself caught up in a web of intrigue and mysterious secrets.

Arthur C. Clarke: The Nine Billion Names of God. Summary and analysis

Arthur C. Clarke: The Nine Billion Names of God. Summary and analysis

The Nine Billion Names of God, written by Arthur C. Clarke and published in 1953, is a science fiction story that explores the intersection between faith and technology. In the story, a group of Tibetan monks hires a company to install an advanced computer in their monastery. They aim to speed up an ancient project: the transcription of all the possible combinations of the names of God, a task that, if done manually, would take thousands of years. Two engineers are sent to supervise the operation of the machine, and although they consider the monks’ beliefs absurd, they do their job. As the computer nears completion of its task, the story is immersed in an atmosphere of mystery and growing tension.

Ray Bradbury: There Will Come Soft Rains. Summary and analysis

Ray Bradbury: There Will Come Soft Rains. Summary and analysis

There Will Come Soft Rains, written by Ray Bradbury and published in 1950, is a story that transports us to a post-apocalyptic future in which technology continues to function despite the absence of humans. In an automated house in Allendale, California, the devices go about their daily routine: they prepare breakfast, clean the rooms, and read poetry, unaware there is no one there to receive their services. Outside, the world has changed dramatically, and the house is a silent testament to what it once was. As the day progresses, the story draws us into a reflection on the relationship between human beings, technology, and nature, showing how the world continues its course utterly indifferent to the existence or disappearance of humanity.