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View Full Version : R.I.P. Ray Bradbury -- August 22, 1920 – June 5, 2012



AcesandEights
06-Jun-2012, 07:50 PM
Well, damn...

Who hasn't read some Bradbury at some point?


Ray Bradbury, whose books took readers on imaginary journeys to the outermost edges of the galaxy without leaving their own back yards, has died at age 91, according to published reports. The author of classic books such as "Fahrenheit 451" and "The Martian Chronicles" was born in Waukegan, Ill, on Aug. 22, 1920, the son of a utility lineman. He was living in Los Angeles at the time of his death, his home for the past several decades.

Bradbury's daughter confirmed his death to the Associated Press on Wednesday morning. She said her father died Tuesday night in Southern California.

Author of more than 27 novels and story collections 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.

“The only figure comparable to mention would be [Robert A.] Heinlein and then later [Arthur C.] Clarke,” said Gregory Benford, a UC Irvine physics professor and Nebula Award-winning science fiction writer. “But Bradbury, in the ‘40s and ‘50s, became the name brand.”

Much of Bradbury's accessibility and ultimate popularity had to do with his gift as a stylist — his ability to write lyrically and evocatively of lands an imagination away, worlds he anchored in the here and now with a sense of visual clarity and small-town familiarity.

Bradbury frequently attempted to shrug out of the narrow “sci-fi” designation, not because he was put off by it, but rather because he believed it was imprecise.

“I'm not a science fiction writer,” he was frequently quoted as saying. “I've written only one book of science fiction [“Fahrenheit 451”]. All the others are fantasy. Fantasies are things that can't happen, and science fiction is about things that can happen.”

Ray Douglas Bradbury was born Aug. 22, 1920, in Waukegan, Ill., to Leonard Spaulding Bradbury and the former Esther Marie Moberg. As a child he soaked up the ambiance of small-town life — wraparound porches, fireflies and the soft, golden light of late afternoon — that would later become a hallmark of much of his fiction.

“When I was born in 1920,” he told the New York Times Magazine in 2000, “the auto was only 20 years old. Radio didn't exist. TV didn't exist. I was born at just the right time to write about all of these things.”

LouCipherr
06-Jun-2012, 08:30 PM
*insert extremely sad faced smiley here*

Danny
06-Jun-2012, 09:18 PM
i aint gonna lie, i loved ray bradbury theatre more than the twilight zone. haters, commence hatin as they say.

Cant say 91 is too young though i suppose, hell of a run.

MoonSylver
06-Jun-2012, 11:19 PM
Yep I was sad to hear. One of the great American writers of the 20th century. We'll never look upon his like again for sure. RIP :(

JDFP
07-Jun-2012, 01:13 AM
Along with John Cheever and Raymond Carver - Mr. Bradbury was one of the finest of American writers of all time. His name will be spoken for hundreds of years to come. For me, "The Martian Chronicles" still remains one of the finest examples of literature in short stories. The man was a master of the fantastic - spanning both science fiction and fantasy for the dreamers of this world.

Ray - I'll never forget you and your wonderful work. We've lost another great icon with his passing. Personally I pray we have children who live the dream he's presented in his work - God knows we need them in this day and age.

j.p.

Mike70
07-Jun-2012, 04:44 PM
sad, sad news. not all of bradbury's work was to my liking but the man's genius for storytelling was self-evident.

Neil
19-Jul-2012, 12:47 PM
Frank Darabont says goodbye - http://www.aintitcool.com/node/57112