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Ray Bradbury
1920-2012
Nordling here.
My first Ray Bradbury book was SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES. It was not the last. There are too many great works to single out - DANDELION WINE, FAHRENHEIT 451, THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES, the Arkham collection DARK CARNIVAL, and so many short stories like "The Veldt," "Mars Is Heaven," "The Jar,"or "I Sing The Body Electric!" Easily the greatest genre writer to have ever lived, Ray Bradbury stands next to Edgar Allan Poe and Harlan Ellison as a true Master.
I'm without words at the moment. Harry, who's had many great experiences with Mr. Bradbury over the years, is a better man to write about this than I. For now, I mourn the loss of one of America's greatest writers, and a man whose work has changed so many lives. Godspeed, Mr. Bradbury.
Readers Talkback
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so so sad
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A true loss.
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has just dropped. Mr. Badbury will be missed.
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June 6, 2012, 10:59 a.m. CST
Loved Ray Bradbury's books! Thank you for the dreams and Nightmares Ray.
by v3d
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June 6, 2012, 10:59 a.m. CST
First Maurice Sendak and now this. My childhood heroes are falling too quickly!
by Kevin Abeyta
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Thanks for all the great stories!!!
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Agreed. Well said.
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Well fuck me. Ray Bradbury? Crazy.
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What's left is hacks churning out Star Trek pastiches.
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I vividly remember him as being a very funny man.
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My god, all the grand old men of Sci-Fi are gone. Asimov was perhaps the greatest of them all, but Bradbury was SO influential and had such an impact on generations of writers. I know we all pass, but this one hurts.
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June 6, 2012, 11:17 a.m. CST
No disrespect, but I assumed he had already died years ago.
by KoolerThanJesus
Shows that assumption is the mother of all fuckups.
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Truly a legend of 20th century prose.
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"Something Wicked This Way Comes" was my first experience with Bradbury too, my father gave it to me when I was about 15.
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Look at what he did - look at the rich legacy he left us, the stories, the movies. Mr Bradbury was literally the bridge between Jules Verne, HG Wells and us. I believe he had even MET HG Wells. What an incredible life, and an incredible creative flow from that incredible mind. All of us, who write or read within the genre today owe Mr Bradbury a debt of thanks just for being Ray, an inspiration to us all. My hat is off, my head bowed in respect. God speed, sir.
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RIP. Thank you for all the inspiration.
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June 6, 2012, 11:28 a.m. CST
Yes, it's sad, and he was undeniably one of the greats, but...
by King_Knut
...not to recognise the best of the current and ageing crop of sci-fi/fantasy writers as potentially just as influential is short-sighted at best, and at worst nostalgic and doing those who are still with us a terrible disservice, such as Terry Pratchett, Ursula Le Guin, Harlan Ellison, Iain M Banks, etc. etc. etc. The decades have not yet raised these authors to the heights of exultation that surrounds other writers (although Pratchett and Ellison are pretty damn close), but be sure that once they pass away, we'll hear the same wailing and lamenting the "passing of a generation". Art must change to stay relevant. It must move forwards and upwards. Today's unknowns will be tomorrow's greats. So of course celebrate Ray Bradbury's life, but more importantly for the future of science fiction and art in general: find new artists and champion them. Shout and yell, and give their careers wings. Or we might not have any more Bradburys, or Ballards, Asimovs, Wellses or Vernes.
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June 6, 2012, 11:29 a.m. CST
"We are raised to honor all the wrong explorers and discoverers - thieves planting flags, murderers carrying crosses. Let us at last praise the colonizers of dreams."
by Nocturnaloner
Dream long and deep, Ray.
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Oh my God. That is the second saddest thing I have heard today.
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First Bradbury I've read in about 2 years. What an odd coincidence.
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June 6, 2012, 11:33 a.m. CST
My thoughts go out to his family, and in particular, his close friend, Ray Harryhausen.
by openthepodbaydoorshal
Their friendship was legendary. Ray's work will live on forever.
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June 6, 2012, 11:36 a.m. CST
As your president, I would demand a science-fiction library
by Nice Marmot
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June 6, 2012, 11:41 a.m. CST
The Veldt was my favorite, it's been ripped off er paid homage to I mean a lot.
by kravmaguffin
We will miss you Mr. Bradbury. RIP
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I remember quite vividly the afternoon that I went to one of the nicer bookstores with my father and we found Bradbury's collection "Dinosaur Tales." He read "A Sound of Thunder" to me as the afternoon waned. My 7-year-old mind was blown. Still ranks as one of my favorite stories 30 years later.
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June 6, 2012, 11:49 a.m. CST
Fahrenheit 451 gets more important with each passing year
by Sean Houlihan
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To quote my favorite band, dredg: Art is dying. Is art dead? Art is dying. Is it dead? Believe it, we need it to move on.
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Ray Bradbury is a god. He will never die.
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June 6, 2012, 11:55 a.m. CST
The World's poorer for his passing, greater for his having been here
by fathergeek
One of ol' fathergeek's favorite people in the world died today... the spectacular, whimsical, sometimes terrifying, always brilliant RAY BRADBURY has passed on to that writer's Valhalla... Met with him may times over the past 40 years, never disappointed in the conversations, always learned something new... “If you stuff yourself full of poems, essays, plays, stories, novels, films, comic strips, magazines, music, you automatically explode every morning like Old Faithful. I have never had a dry spell in my life, mainly because I feed myself well, to the point of bursting. I wake early and hear my morning voices leaping around in my head like jumping beans. I get out of bed to trap them before they escape.” ― Ray Bradbury in Weird Tales magazine... I won't miss you Ray, I've volumes of your words to keep me company, however, those conversations I will miss greatly, they were invigorating and irreplaceable! RIP Ray Bradbury
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June 6, 2012, 11:58 a.m. CST
I'll always remember as a kid that copy of DINOSAUR TALES I would check out from my local bookmobile
by MooseMalloy
THE HALLOWEEN TREE is my other favorite Bradbury work.
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I absolutely LOVE that quote from Weird Tales.
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theseeker7 ... http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/70bf2e4f05/fuck-me-ray-bradbury
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June 6, 2012, 12:17 p.m. CST
It really is a sad day. Ray Bradbury was a science fiction Icon! Thank you Ray for all those wonderful tales! You will be greatly missed.
by Mark Williams
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...will always be my favorite novel. I used it in three different University essays last year. It is a perfect thing, frozen in time. Thank you, Uncle Ray, for the words and thoughts.
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They dedicated a cool tree in Frontierland to Mr. Bradbury sometime back to honor his story and every Halloween season they decorate it up nicely. It'll be bittersweet to see it this year.
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Always my favorite...brilliant, brilliant. So genius. But that was only the proverbial tip of the iceberg from this giant. RIP, Mr. Bradbury. Toast to a long, well-lived life.
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June 6, 2012, 12:24 p.m. CST
Nostalgia be danmed, I think DANDELION WINE is still my favorite...
by FlickaPoo
The Lonely One lives!
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June 6, 2012, 12:36 p.m. CST
My first taste of Bradbury was reading The Halloween Tree as a kid.
by Grammaton Cleric Binks
It was deep stuff for kids now that I think about it because these kids each give up a year for their dying friend. My kids and I have a deal. They can read a book of their choice for school, then we alternate with a title of my choosing. That's how I fight the fluff that is the current condition of children's literature. I need to make sure they get to The Halloween Tree.
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June 6, 2012, 12:38 p.m. CST
Now that I've paid my respects, please do a Richard Dawson obit.
by Grammaton Cleric Binks
I've already e-mailed one to Quint, complete with You Tube snippets. Just copy, paste, and get it done.
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That is all.
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June 6, 2012, 12:42 p.m. CST
In High School, I always hade one of his books tucked under my arm along with my stack of schoolbooks - of course, some of my fellow students would mock me for my passion for Bradbury - THE KING IS DEAD - LONG LIVE THE KING
by Michael Lunney
of course, some of my fellow students would mock me for my passion for Bradbury - THE KING IS DEAD - LONG LIVE THE KING his work was timeless genius, sheer poetry from the soul, storytelling that left one breathless for how it was told
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Irreplaceable.
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We need more people like him.
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June 6, 2012, 12:47 p.m. CST
A serious blow to science fiction, fantasy, and just great storytelling. RIP Mr. Bradbury, a legend of words and tales of wonder
by lv_426
A sad day for us mortals, but a good day for the shelves of all the Borders stores in the big mall in the sky.
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Although I'm sure he always felt like a young man, he always came across as the kindly grandfather of scifi to me. On to bigger and better things I'll bet. "Now cracks a noble heart. Good-night, sweet prince; And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest."
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Many thanks for all the superb work.
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June 6, 2012, 1 p.m. CST
The Martian Chronicles (on TV) completely had me as a kid..
by LeonardsBellbottoms
..and it opened me to the man's great work, as I read through my teen years at school. Never quite had the nerve to re-watch the miniseries, as I hear/read that it hasn't aged well, and the transfer was rubbish..so thanks for that and the other memories, Sir!..and maybe this was something to do with the transit of Venus today??
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June 6, 2012, 1:07 p.m. CST
Thanks again, Nordling, for not going the horrendous "RIP" route
by MisterManReturns
Brilliant man deserves the professional posting that you gave him.
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Heinlein, Asimov, Clarke, and now Bradbury. These are the writers I grew up reading; yeah, I'm an old geezer, born the year before Bradbury published Martian Chronicles. These authors were my heroes, and to this day I still go back and reread them. Their stories are timeless. Ave, Atque, Vale, Mr. Bradbury. Flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.
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a great short story -- i will never forget in 5th grade it was in our English reader with some great illustrations of wispy Martians with golden eyes. --Mr Bradbury thank you for implanting one of the best sci fi short stories in my brain all these years.
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June 6, 2012, 1:22 p.m. CST
This is a decisive moment in the history of Nerd Culture.
by Orionsangels
RIP Mr. Bradbury.
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Though he's getting up there too. And F-451 is one of the greatest novels ever written, period. Rest in peace knowing you made this world a better place with every word you wrote.
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Other than, Thank you Ray!
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Who would have thought that would be a fun game, but nothing was more suspenseful then when you would type in "use lighter" and hope..when the computer was loading the next scene...that the person you lit the lighter for would was not an enemy. Then of course there were the metallic dogs that appeared out of nowhere. The 5 1/4 floppy drive starts running.....the screen starts to load....and those damn dogs with the glowing red eyes would scare the hell out of me. "Mr. Foster went to Gloucester" Rest in Peace Ray....thanks for great literature...and thanks to whoever made that game. I wasted many a summer evening playing it. -- End of Line --
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Sad day. He was a true giant. There will probably never be another one like him. The opening paragraph to Something Wicked This Way Comes has stayed with me for nearly 30 years.
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You truly fired my imagination Mr. Bradbury! Reading what you wrote was like watching a conjuror at work, I often read gape-mouthed at the brilliance of your prose. There will, very sadly, never be another like you. Thankyou and goodbye.
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This great man has left a body of work behind which compares with anybody. He's inspired countless modern authors. His writing and his evocation of atmosphere is something that I'll never forget. Even the titles of his stories were lyrical and promising of great things... "Dark they were and golden eyed"...jeez if I could I could write 6 words that could compare with titles like that I'd be a happy man. God speed Mr Bradbury and thanks for touching my life with your sheer brilliance.
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June 6, 2012, 1:53 p.m. CST
WTF? I've now had TWO different posts of mine deleted after the fact on this page
by TheSeeker7
and not that the content of either was anything rather profound, but that's never happened to me before once.
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Ray Bradbury ( along with Sci-Fi legends Arthur C. Clarke & Issac Asimov ) was most responsible for my addiction to imaginative fiction, which is now in its fifth decade. I was privileged to meet him once at a book signing, where he had been scheduled to read from his novella The Halloween Tree. But there was something different in store for those of us who had gathered there. The event was only a few days after Gene Roddenberry had passed away, and RB chose to recount a number of memories and anecdotes pertaining to his friend and fellow futurist. He honored Roddenberry in the course of enlightening and entertaining us, and his humble wit and charm made for an unforgettable ( if all-too-brief ) experience. It's unnerving to lose the oldest and greatest literary influence on my life, even though I've known this day would come. Still, life goes on and so do we, and it is a certainty that no author could leave a legacy more inspiring, enduring or American than that of Ray Douglas Bradbury.
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June 6, 2012, 2:06 p.m. CST
I am holding out for Harry's "I grew up on Ray Bradbury" obit
by DadTimesTwo
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But it's a greater pleasure to read. Read a book. Celebrate Ray Bradbury. As long as people read his words he will never die.
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June 6, 2012, 2:30 p.m. CST
And he never got to see a proper FAHRENHEIT 451 film adaption!
by The_Genteel_Gentile
Mel Gibson owns the property and for many years after Braveheart intended to direct with Tom Cruise in the lead, but finally conceded to allow Frank Darabont to write and direct while Gibson pushed forward on his Christ picture. Though Darabont has been supposedly aching to do it for some time, he apparently can't find a studio to finance it - which seems suspect. Bradbury meanwhile, being very enthused with the prospects, seemed to think it wasn't enough that Gibson conceded the directorial reins but that becasue he still owns the rights to the property, Gibson should also personally fund the producion out of his own pocket, as though Gibson's Icon production company is also a movie studio? Yeah, Gibson did gamble and finance his own personal passion projects for himself to helm, but it shouldn't be expected for him to do the same for another filmmaker, particularly when a renowned work such as Fahrenheit 451 should be able to find financing within the studio system. I find it hard to believe no studio would greenlight a serious Fahrenheit 451 adaptation written and directed by Frank Darabont. And now Big Ray is gone and will never see it's fruition. Curiouser and curiouser.
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Just got home and found this post. I´d spent the whole morning out, job-hunting and failing miserably at it. At some point, no more than two hours ago- maybe not even that much- I started idly thinking (doubtlessly fueled by my increasingly gloomy mood) that if the time came in my life, when I no longer found either refuge or pleasure from any of the things that have kept me alive this far (music, books, comics, movies)- that have kept my soul alive-, a point in life in which I completely and wholeheartedly embraced a stone-cold cynicism, then I no longer wanted to live on. Then, as a specific example, came to my mind Bradbury´s Halloween Tree. I didn´t want to keep on living life as a man who didn´t- or, worse yet, wouldn´t- view life through the eyes of those Bradbury kids, or those from Something Wicked or Dandelion Wine. He was a master storyteller but beyond his obvious capacity to grab- clutch, really, when his writing was at its white-hot best- onto us and pull us into flight to see all the secret wonders, mysteries, and scares suffusing the world we live in and those surrounding it, there lived a truly primal and essential belief that life is worth living and that we can be truly and essentialy honest and worthwhile... if we manage to keep on flying once he lets go. Reading Ray Bradbury makes me feel I'm a better human being. I believe it makes me, indeed, one. Now, not to stir up any pointless controversy but, he´s been labeled, among other things, a sci-fi author by some, a fantasist by others. I feel his writing easily transcended the constraints that any given genre might have encumbered it with, and I simply think of him as an imaginarian, damned the word if it doesn´t exist. It does now. Reading has become much of a luxury as time has passed- at least for me; I hope you have it easier- but if you really want to be blown away, make the time to read: THE OCTOBER COUNTRY. The Arkham edition of Dark Carnival- Stephen King fondly reminisced about it in Danse Macabre, explaining that it remains a highly sought-after item among serious collectors- contains most of the stories but you don´t need a fancy presentation to go to the places you´d probably thought of at some point but never in the amazing, unforgettable way Bradbury lays it down for just about anyone who can get their hands on a simple paperback (the currently available Ballantine Books-Del Rey edition is genuinely beautiful). A collection of weird, suspenseful, scary short stories. I have a real soft spot for Stephen King´s Night Shift collection but this one has got to be the best ever; A MEMORY OF MURDER. Again, a genre collection, this time deeply and beautifully entrenched in 40´s and 50´s noir sensibility. The short story Small Assassin overlaps in this and OCTOBER but that´s one that can overlap in every single book I ever read, as far as I´m concerned. Finally, I feel I have to explain that Stephen King remains my all-time favorite writer so far, but the simple fact is that there would be no King without Bradbury. However,as long as there are lots of different good writers taking lots of different, personal shots at stories and archetypes old and new, it will always remain unimportant who´s best. As long as they touch us. And today came the passing of one of the most important to me. I bet he´s thrilled at this brand-new story unfolding before him. I bet he wished he could write to us about it. Be with God and may you rest in peace.
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June 6, 2012, 2:43 p.m. CST
Love Bradburys's anecdote about his outgoing phone calls on the night of the Moon landing in '69!
by The_Genteel_Gentile
Apparently some years earlier Bradbury had been all but rediculed by muliple guest at a party for insisting that Mankind's next great conquest of exploration would be the Moon and that it was destined to happen in the very near future. As they scoffed, Bradbury made sure to get his detractors contract information before leaving - assuring them that they would here from him again. On the night of the Moon landing each recieved a phone call with this simple proclamation before being hung-up on; "This is Ray Bradbury, you stupid son of a bitch!". How awesome is that?!
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*spelling*
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Wow, eighteen years old, and I attended a writer's conference. Having submitted a piece I had written, before the conference was over I had a sit down with the chair of the forum, Ray Bradbury. He said what I had written needed some revision, and where I am today, looking back, I do not take that in a negative way, but that he "loved the turn I had taken" and that the "simple poetry" of my writing style "could be addictive if worked at". Having read several of his works over the years, and in particular "Fahrenheit 451", a dystopian work of utter genius everyone should be able to say they have read, and of which the author was known to have said it was not written about censorship but about "how television destroys interest in reading literature, which leads to a perception of knowledge as being composed of factoids, partial information devoid of context," and "The Martian Chronicles", which to me has always stood as an amalgamation of what can be considered a collection of short stories and a novel in so few pages which can yet be read as an epic piece both fascinating in its telling as well as critical of reckless colonization. Ray Bradbury, 1920 – 2012. Rest well, my dear friend.
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He was the first great writer who ever encouraged me to believe in myself. Met him several times--he guested on my radio show, and at a symposium I taught at U.C.L.A. Was never anything but a gentleman and an inspiration. The last time I saw him I was asked to give a tribute for (I think) his 85th birthday at Universal Sheraton. I spoke of his kindness in reading two of my stories and responding with encouragement, of sitting at dinner with him and Larry Niven, of him believing that I had my best writing days ahead of me. I cried. He was in his wheelchair, suffering from stroke, and we hugged. He wrote me one last time, thanking me for my tribute, saying: "some of your tears are my own." What a great man. I loved him.
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June 6, 2012, 3:59 p.m. CST
Science Fiction lterature will always live on through your brilliant work
by Christian Sylvain
Rest in peace, Mr. Bradbury. You will be dearly missed.
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June 6, 2012, 4:08 p.m. CST
"The World's poorer for his passing, greater for his having been here"
by Jaka
That basically says it all right there. <p> Its sad when pretty much anybody dies, but Mr. Bradbury lived a long full life and left behind an incredible legacy. One that will outlive all of us speaking kind words about him in this talkback. <p> RIP
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Ray Bradbury, you stupid son of a bitch!". lol. Harlan Ellison has a similar story where he marched into some newspaper in '69 where someone (a reporter, I think) had said many years before that mankind would NEVER reach the moon. He was ready for a fight, to cuss the guy out, to tell him how wrong he was, and generally make a huge scene... But when he couldn't find the man, Harlan was told the guy died several years before. lol So I think Harlan wrote a piece about how dumb the guy was, even in death, in claiming mankind would never make it to the moon.
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That story called "The Smile" and the one, can't remember the name, with the Picasso drawing on the beach were both awesome. Just the tiniest tip of the iceberg. A truly amazing body of work. Plus without him, the Fuck Me Ray Bradbury video wouldn't exist. http://youtu.be/e1IxOS4VzKM I guess when Harlan Ellison goes, the greats will all be gone.
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And thank you so much for all the great Art you brought to the world. Very well done! :]
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Im guessing many of the people who read this are planning to read some Bradbury tonight. Im all for that. I am going to listen to an audiobook of his stories read by the man himself. A fitting tribute and one he would appreciate. After all, thats why he wrote. There is one other thing you could do that Ray Bradbury would feel was an even better tribute: write something of your own. Ray wrote 1000 words a day for ten years before he was ever published. 1000 words adds up to just 4 pages. Tonight, after youve read a bit of the masters work why not try it yourself? Try it even if, or maybe especially if, you dont consider yourself a writer. Im going to write 1000 words tonight in honor of Ray Bradbury. Im sure a tear or two will fall on my keyboard.
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It's a very sad day. I've known Bradbury since I was 4 years old, fave memory is of having lunch with him at Sundance back in 1997... or the Panel I did with him at the 1998 Dragon-Con... Or him taking me to see GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD... or... every time with Bradbury was golden. My thoughts are with him - and Ray Harryhausen, the last of the 3 great friends... Bradbury and Ackerman have gone. Harryhausen is the last one standing. Sigh. Bradbury is awesome and I'm taping something special about him in the Basement in the morning - with some vintage footage of us too.
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June 6, 2012, 5:32 p.m. CST
Fangoria has a wonderful obit for Ray Bradbury tinyurl.com/6vbqotf
by Orionsangels
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Another old master has passed. Let's get used to it, but it's never easy. RIP Ray, breaking the mold isn't easy, but people will remember and reiterate this work for ages to come. B
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Rest in peace, Ray Bradbury.
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It's my favorite, but not original. Take Fahrenheit 451, add 1984. Throw in a splash of Brave New World, and there you go. It's not original, but it sure is badass.
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June 6, 2012, 6:24 p.m. CST
As your president, I would demand a science-fiction library, featuring an ABC of the genre. Asimov, Bester, Clarke...
by Billyeveryteen
"What about Ray Bradbury?" "I'm aware of his work..." As am I...
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Ray Bradbury's importance in his own words: He was individual. He was an important man. I’ve never gotten over his death. Often I think what wonderful carvings never came to birth because he died. How many jokes are missing from the world, and how many homing pigeons untouched by his hands. He shaped the world. He did things to the world. The world was bankrupted of ten million fine actions the night he passed on. -Granger F. 451
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Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl is one of my favorite stories by Bradbury. I love his short story volumes. Not to mention the television show. I got every episode for less than $15 when I was broke as hell and couldn't afford cable...I have memorized most episodes. Harry's show reminds me of the intro to Ray Bradbury Theater...I didn't realize how close they were and now see the homage. What a prolific and lyrical talent. Nice one billeveryteen...great Simpson's quote.
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He said that he had gone back and re-read Something Wicked This Way Comes and burst into tears when he realized that the Dad in the story was, in fact, his own father. He never realized when he was writing it that he was writing about his Dad. I thought that was very touching.
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And lived a full life, but it is always a shame when someone of such influence passes. He was the last of the Grand Masrers of SF and he will be missed.
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He was the first famous person I ever corresponded with, in 1976, when my Jr High class had to write someone for their thoughts about the Bicentennial. He wrote back quickly, with a nice letter I've got around here somewhere. Why I still can remember his address on Cheviot Drive is a complete mystery to me.
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The only time I've ever seen comic adaptations worthy of the original work. Bradbury himself liked them enough to only ask for a pittance in payment. After he caught them stealing a couple stories for an unauthorized adaptation, he authorized legit adaptations. Beautiful adaptations by Feldstein and Craig, using a lot of Bradburys' text, with the greatest art to ever grace comics. Highly recommend "The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl" for the best depiction ever in comics of a descent into madness...
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Bradbury, Ackerman, Schwartz, Weisinger - are all the 1930's fans now dead except Harryhausen?
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THE ILLUSTRATED FAN You never knew me. No, let me rephrase that, you absolutely knew me, you just never met me. But I met you. I know you. I knew you. You were the writer, the creator, the man who filled pages, books, worlds, with his thoughts, his dreams, his nightmares, wondering if anybody would read them, and if they did, would understand them. I am the reader, the fellow dreamer, the patient audience, not only reading and understanding, but hungry for your words, consuming, devouring, begging for more. Every one of your books I regarded as a box of candy, every story a shining, tasty treat waiting to be unwrapped, consumed with delight, enjoyed to its fullest, and best followed by another. I grew fat on your imagination. I met you. I met you across a thousand Martian deserts, in dank, mushroom-infested leaky basements, in attics full of poisoned honey, behind a noisy projector in an old movie theater, just inside the shadow of a jack o’lantern lit tree faced away from the sun, deep inside an alien well, on the wrong side of a strawberry window and in many, many, many other obscure places unrecorded in the common daylight world of people not like us. I am your creation. I am a fire balloon, a white whale, a girl trapped in a closet forever, a crushed butterfly, a mechanical nanny, a maniac with a knife and a million tattoos that come to life as I sleep. You know me. You knew me, even though you never met me. I was the one you were writing for, the one you were writing to the one you were writing about. I never shook your hand. I never talked to you about carnival rides, kewpie dolls or strangely-filled jars. We never exchanged phone numbers, wrote letters or sent each other Christmas cards. Yet we spent long weekends in forgotten summer hotels, attended picnics for a thousand years together, sat opposite each other in burning libraries and circumnavigated a sea of stars in a backyard silver rocket. We are unmatched reflections, lopsided yin and yang, chocolate and vanilla ice cream suited gentlemen. I know you. I knew you. The world knew you, and was better for it. And you knew me. You just never met me. You just never knew my name. But I knew yours. And now that you are gone, I hope the Martians, the butterflies, the jack o’lanters, and the world of other people who knew and loved you will know and love me too. Rest in peace. Let the soft rains come. -In memory of the World’s Greatest Living Science Fiction Writer, Ray Bradbury
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First real book I ever read as a kid was Martian Chronicles, still have a copy of it on my desk, RIP Ray.
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May your stories always be read from generation to generation.
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June 7, 2012, 1:34 a.m. CST
There's some great articles at the L.A. Times site on Bradbury
by MooseMalloy
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I'm just so sorry for the loss. For everyone who knew him and loved him. His family, his friends, his fans. As well as for everyone who appreciated what I think is the first and only truly poetic science fiction author. He brought a beauty of language to his work. There will be no replacing him. I hope somewhere out there in an alternate universe, time travelers plucked him from the past and made him immortal, just as his words will be. R.I.P. :(
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June 7, 2012, 3:12 a.m. CST
And reading over even my own words I can't stop being critical
by gotilk
.. there are just no proper words. The loss is huge. And he's not JUST a science fiction author.. this is true. However, it's not an insult or a lesser thing to be called. He was not above it, he was beyond it.
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To whoever removed the nastiness I posted earlier. My anger was inappropriate here. I'm truly sorry. Deeply and genuinely. I just kind of lost it, as I'm sure a lot of people are today. I just shouldn't have reacted at all. Thank you as well for giving us a place to let it all out and grieve. He was a big part of my childhood. Alan Dean Foster may have been my gateway drug, but Bradbury was my opium.
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That quote took me over the top earlier.... and I just lost it. I post that not to make you feel bad, but to let you know that you helped me grieve and appreciate him even more. So thank you.
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That was really, truly beautiful. Thank you. I had to pause for a while and come back this evening after I'd calmed down. And because of tributes like yours, I'm so glad I did return.
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June 7, 2012, 4:23 a.m. CST
An innings very well played. What's the best film adaption of his stuff currently any1?
by even9
I thought the Disney adaption of 'something wicked this way comes' was pretty well done & abit of a wee mini-classic. Actually, why isn't that in my movie collection now i think about it, really enjoyed that one & very re-watchable.
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you are welcome. nobody in my household understands how i feel, and in fact my two teenage children had to read Fahrenheit 451 in school and said they both hated it. I loved Bradbury so much i am taking the day off today. I am just glad there are other people out there like you who do understand and appreciate all Mr. Bradbury had done for us.
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loved the part in the Martian Chronicles where all the black people got on rockets and got the F out of dodge to go live on Mars. The literary equivalent of Cartman screeching "Screw you guys, I'm outta here". He's also the man who shaped Future World at his friend, Walt Disney's, EPCOT Center, and came up with the design and the storyline behind Spaceship Earth ... so all of us Dual Sci Fi and Disney World geeks really feel the loss today.
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A true genius and visionary.
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...rearranged my mind as a 12 year old! So many good short stories in this collecttion: The Long Rain, A Sound of Thunder, Golden Apples of the Sun, Here There be Tygers. Another titan has left the world.
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The first book I ever read was "FAHRENHEIT 451" ill never forget how amazing it was to read as a kid. Thank u for the amazing books Ray and hope you are in a better place.
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Harryhausen is still here to animate your stories. R.I.P.
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June 7, 2012, 2:46 p.m. CST
Martians knew Humans were coming to Mars because they began to sing Human Songs
by MGTHEDJ
Not by looking through telescopes, or by satellite tracking, but through a telepathic link. Fahrenheit 451 predicted big screen TVs and Reality Shows. There Will Come Soft Rains is haunting, and a precursor to HAL 9000. Sound of Thunder influenced every time travel story from Doctor Who to Star Trek to Back to the Future. A traveling carnival as a place of dark magic in Something Wicked inspired the HBO show Carnivale. Mr. Bradbury you will not be forgotten. m
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Read it many times and loved it. RIP Mr. Bradbury. You were a shining white light.
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Martian Chronicles was great.
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One of my favorite authors. Best writing like poetry without being actual boring poetry. Had great additional works later on in the 90's and 00's. RIP
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I read "From Dust Returneth" every October..a collection of the Halloween Tree stories. I think I'll read it a bit earlier. I have no shame saying I shed a few tears at his passing. I can only dream of writing with such ease and prose as he did. Truly a master of his craft.
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Damn shame,another Titan falls.Time to read some Bradbury i think,condolences to his family and loved ones.
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the audience at a film class in college many years ago. They addressed him as Mr. Roddenberry. He smiled and said that he's often mistaken for the man who created 'Star Trek' and that he and Mr. Roddenberry indeed get each other's mail and joke about it often. A great man with an intellect's keenness and a sense of humor about himself. What a rarity. 'Something Wicked This Way Comes' was and will always be his masterpiece. The title alone carries more weight and poetry than scores of other would-be artist's whole careers. God Speed Mr. Bradbury.
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...was written as sort of an homage to Mr. Bradbury. I only read Far. 451, but it sounds like I should read some more of his works.
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To say I've been "mourning for days isn't cool" but the truth is that's what I've been doing. I've never felt this way at a writer's death before, and I'm not a young guy anymore. Just damn.
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June 10, 2012, 5:42 p.m. CST
I bet in the Fringe alternate universe he wrote Celsius 233.
by Doctor_Nefario
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June 10, 2012, 11:33 p.m. CST
Martian Chronicles: I must re-read in honor of the great one.
by ennio
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that song from Fame is in my head. Bradbury influenced me more than any other author when I was a child, especially Martian Chronicles, Dandelion Wine and Something Wicked This Way Comes. And so many short stories. I don't think I would have had the mind and imagination I had today without Bradbury's work. Never met you, but you had a huge impact. I salute you, Ray!
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When my dad was nine, he met Ray Bradbury and told him that he wanted to become a sci fi writer like Bradbury. Bradbury gave my dad an autograph which said, "To(my dad's name), keep on writing! Regards, Ray Bradbury." My dad framed that letter. 55 years later he met Bradbury again at a sci fi writer's convention in Tucson and gave Bradbury one of the sci fi novels he had written, and showed Mr Bradbury that autograph from all those decades prior. Kind of a cool story. I met Bradbury at SDCC a few years ago and told him that story. He just patted my hand and said, "Isn't that nice" with a smile. I don't think he knew what town he was in even, but it was nice to share that story with him.
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