RIP: Ray Bradbury

The_Roadie

Original poster
Lifetime VIP Donor
Member
Nov 19, 2011
9,957
Portland, OR
Science Fiction helped shape who I am and how I live, and Ray was the first author I read who made me say "huh?" and think much deeper instead of just following a narrative story where the timeline is clear. Robert Heinlein was the first author whose name I remember (started reading SF around age 8, Heinlein's Red Planet was a huge favorite.) But then I discovered Martian Chronicles when I was about 9 and began a lifelong habit of rereading it every 3-5 years or so and getting something more each and every time.

SF got me hooked on space, space got me hooked on science and engineering, and I owe a lot to the titans like Ray Bradbury who fueled my imagination. He'll be sorely missed.

Notable works include Fahrenheit 451, The Illustrated Man, The Golden Apples of the Sun, Something Wicked This Way Comes, and the iconic Martian Chronicles. Last night's transit of Venus also brings to mind the wonder and poignancy of his short story "All Summer in a Day" about a classroom of bullies who lock a little girl in a closet on Venus (before the true nature of its surface temperature was known), who then misses the only two hours of sunshine they receive in SEVEN YEARS.
 

Lima Tango

Member
Dec 4, 2011
242
Well said. He was one of the first authors whose work I loved after maturing from Goosebumps and such things around the age of 8 or 9. Sad day.
 

HARDTRAILZ

Moderator
Nov 18, 2011
49,665
I too have read some of his work. Good Stuff!
 

ScarabEpic22

Member
Nov 20, 2011
728
What a bummer, Ive read Farenheit 451 at least a few times and seen it performed on stage at least once plus watched the movie. He changed the perceptions of a lot of people, innovative and outside-the-box thinkers are few and far between.:frown:
 

Regulator

Member
Nov 20, 2011
2,496
I am ashamed to say that the first thing I thought of when reading this post was the Rachel Bloom song.

He was a tremendous author and I have enjoyed reading his work.
 

christo829

Member
Dec 7, 2011
497
Fairfax, Virginia
I've got an entire shelf dedicated to his writings, and I periodically re-read them all. As Bill said,
I always find something else that suddenly makes sense, or I see it in a different light.

RIP,Mr. Bradbury, and thank you for giving me so much to think about.
 

Wyle

Member
Dec 4, 2011
200
It seems that Farenheit 451 isn't required reading in high school anymore. The book came up in conversation with my son (HS senior) recently when it came time for the classroom test his solar oven project made of cardboard and pine strips. You can see where this is going.
He told me the measured temperature in the oven was 430°F. I educated him about the author, the book, the significance of the title (paper/books combust at 451°F) and the similarity between paper and cardboard and lightweight pine. His reply, "Bet thats why it started smoking so much". It no longer exists. Later that day, the billowing smoke prompted the math teacher to drag it outside and take a fire extinguisher to it.

His second oven got to 570°. It was made of flame resistent dry wall. He starts engineering classes in the fall. He now has a copy of Farenheit 451 .

RIP Ray Bradbury. :tiphat:
 

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