Ahmed And The Oblivion Machines: A Fable [Hardcover]

In this fable, a young Arab boy, lost in the desert, receives the gift of flight from the ancient god Gonn-Ben-Allah, Keeper of the Ghosts of Lost Names.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Twelve-year-old Ahmed, dazzled by the stars, falls off his camel into the desert sands and is sure he will now die. But he unearths a bronze face, weeps upon it--and it comes to life, expanding into a godlike giant named Gonn-ben-Allah. Instead of dying, Ahmed is soon flying--with Gonn, by himself, and vicariously in various historic contraptions, starting with the wings of Icarus, that Gonn shows him in visions. The point of this ostensible fable is that a person should aspire ever upward, because that is what being human is all about. But why are all the flying devices dubbed oblivion machines? What is the significance of Gonn's full name--after all, doesn't ben-Allah mean son of God? This is thin gruel, lacking any stylistic or conceptual depth and not helped by artist Chris Lane's drawings, which look as though Disney's Aladdin is his favorite movie. Only the cachet of the Bradbury name gives it any allure. Ray Olson

From Bradbury (for adults, Quicker Than the Eye, 1996, etc.), a fantasy with moments of brilliance swamped by mystical befuddlement. Ahmed, a young boy, gets lost in a sand storm while trekking across the desert with his father's caravan. He stumbles on a gigantic buried statue, which his tears awaken. The statue is an ancient god, Gonn-Ben-Allah, Keeper of the Ghost of Lost Names. Gonn-Ben-Allah takes Ahmed through space and time, tracing the history of human efforts to fly (an analogy for the ability to imagine and invent). Bradbury is at his best when he describes past flyers who tried and failed; pterosaurs are called ``boney kites'' and a balloon is described ``as ripe as a peach.'' There's also an aviator, a collector of butterflies who sewed up ``a thousand small bright wings''a captivating imagethat attempts flight. Ahmed takes in all that Gonn-Ben-Allah shows him, and when the god ``dies,'' Ahmed follows in the deity's footsteps, becoming a flyer himself. The exotic setting is exhilarating, although Gonn's ornate speech comes across as puffed-up posturing, often stalling the plot and sidelining the story's purpose. Clearly labeled a fable, the tale has instruction built into most passages, but those passages are occasionally breathtaking. (b&w illustrations) (Fiction. 10-13) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

"Bradbury is an authentic original." -- ---Time

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.

The recipient of a National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters and a National Medal of Arts, Ray Bradbury is one of the most celebrated fi ction writers of our time. Among his best-known works are Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man, Dandelion Wine, and Something Wicked This Way Comes. Mr. Bradbury lives in Los Angeles.