Ray Bradbury dead at 91

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“Ray Bradbury, the writer whose expansive flights of fantasy and vividly rendered space-scapes have provided the world with one of the most enduring speculative blueprints for the future, has died. He was 91,” Lynell George reports for The Los Angels Times. “Bradbury died Tuesday night, his daughter, Alexandra Bradbury, told the Associated Press. No other details were immediately available.”

“Author of more than 27 novels and story collections—most famously ‘The Martian Chronicles,’ ‘Fahrenheit 451,’ ‘Dandelion Wine‘ and ‘Dandelion Wine‘ — and more than 600 short stories, Bradbury has frequently been credited with elevating the often-maligned reputation of science fiction. Some say he singlehandedly helped to move the genre into the realm of literature,” George reports. “‘The only figure comparable to mention would be [Robert A.] Heinleinand then later [Arthur C.] Clarke,’ said Gregory Benford, a UC Irvine physics professor who is also a Nebula award-winning science fiction writer. ‘But Bradbury, in the ’40s and ’50s, became the name brand.'”

George reports, “As influenced by George Bernard Shaw and William Shakespeare as he was by Jules Verne and Edgar Rice Burroughs, Bradbury was an expert of the taut tale, the last-sentence twist. And he was more celebrated for short fiction than his longer works. ‘It’s telling that we read Bradbury for his short stories,’ said Benford. ‘They are glimpses. The most important thing about writers is how they exist in our memories. Having read Bradbury is like having seen a striking glimpse out of a car window and then being whisked away.'”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Throughout his life, Bradbury liked to recount the story of meeting a carnival magician, Mr. Electrico, in 1932. At the end of his performance Electrico reached out to the twelve-year-old Bradbury, touched the boy with his sword, and commanded, “Live forever!” Bradbury later said, “I decided that was the greatest idea I had ever heard. I started writing every day. I never stopped.” – RayBradbury.com, June 6, 2012

R.I.P., Mr. Bradbury.

24 Comments

    2. Heinlein is overrated, reading “Stranger in an Strange Land” now is difficult, written in 1961 it reads like slang from the 1940’s. I read it again last year and was disappointed.

      The best ever… Frank Herbert. Dune is as good a read now as it ever was, absolutely timeless. The “Duniverse” is complete and compelling it makes LOTR seem like a short story by comparison.

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  11. Will be deeply missed. But what a library he left us. Ironically he was a bit of a Luddite. The wonderful The Murderer should be required reading for any gadget nut.

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  13. I went to a lecture he gave a few decades ago at De Anza College in Cupertino, CA. In the Q&A session (The question I don’t remember) he said he was asked to design a museum to Technology by the Smithsonian. He told them to have the large building filled with nothing but small “garages”. The garages were to highlight innovations that came from humble beginnings like, Hewlett & Packard in Palo Alto, Wozniak and Jobs in Cupertino……… The Smithsonian said the Idea didn’t resonate with them and sent him on his way.

    His lecture was amazing. I went out and read most of his books.
    My favorites;
    Illustrated Man
    Fahrenheit 451
    Something Wicked This Way Comes
    The Martian Chronicles

    I’ll have to revisit a few, RIP Ray

    Reply

  14. I had the privilege of teaching Fahrenheit 451 to a couple of sci-fi classes. He predicted home theaters, personal stereos with earphones, the kind of shitty reality television that abounds these days filled with talking heads shouting and bickering and saying nothing at all. Sadly, he also predicted the loss of civility and thoughtfulness that we are now experiencing in America. Sad about his loss.

    Reply

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