Title: The Four Dimensional Nightmare
Author: J. G. Ballard
Type: Fiction
Page Count: 224
Rating: 4/5
I had high expectations going into this one because I read and enjoyed High Rise not too long ago and it went on to become one of my favourite books of the year. This wasn’t quite as good as that was, but it does have its own charms and it was enough to convince me that Ballard is a new favourite author of mine.
What’s cool about this collection is that it brings together a bunch of short stories, so you can dip in and out and be pretty sure that you’ll be able to find one that you like. Ballard has a lot to offer, and while I do think so far I’ve enjoyed his novels more than his short fiction, I’ve also enjoyed both, because he was just a creative dude with some really cool story concepts.
I’m pretty glad that I read High Rise first but I’m glad that I followed it with this, and I can’t wait to work my way through the rest of his back catalogue. What he’s great at here is taking ideas and then following them through to their logical conclusions. He reminds me of Isaac Asimov in that respect, and that’s impressive.
