Short Story Review: "The Fog Horn" by Ray Bradbury

"The Fog Horn" by Ray Bradbury is quite short, even for a short story, but it combines several themes that result in a story that is both unusual and thought provoking. Anyone with a heightened interest in classic literature has come across the lighthouse keeper stories, sea serpent stories, man against wild stories and sad tales of a beast that is the last of its kind, but, to my knowledge, there is no other that brings together all of these elements.

It takes only a page for Bradbury to hint at something strange and perhaps one or two more to bring it right to the reader. There is no real interaction with the antagonist of the story. The narrator and his companion can only watch and experience the strangeness of an ancient beast and how a fog horn breaks its heart.

There are two reasons you should give "The Fog Horn" a chance. Firstly, this is Ray Bradbury. If he has ever had a miss, I have not yet seen it. Secondly, it is so short that you have barely any time to lose.

Shelly Barclay