Sad day today for fans of science fiction, with word that Ray Bradbury passed away last night.
I don't mind some of the 'new' science fiction I have read, but I prefer 'classic' science fiction. Heinlein, Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke are often referred to as The Big 3 of Science Fiction's Glory Days, with Bradbury being number 4 on the list...personally, I would put Bradbury ahead of Arthur Clarke, but, I'm fine with them being ranked at 3a and 3b.
I haven't read nearly as high of a percentage of Bradbury's work as I have of Heinlein and Asimov. Many moons ago I read Fahrenheit 451, and really, really liked it. More recently, I found a copy of The Martian Chronicles. It's an interesting read...kind of different, and it takes a while to kind of figure out what's going on, and you can tell it is a collection of short stories, despite of how they try to present it. Of his books, 451 is a Must Read, The Martian Chronicles are something I can recommend.
More so than the books, what I really remember Ray Bradbury from was his TV Show on HBO(and later USA) The Ray Bradbury Theater. My dad was a pretty big Bradbury fan, and he made a point of watching this show, even though he occasionally would pull rank and not let me watch each episode.
Between Fahrenheit 451, and being the excuse my dad used for us ordering HBO, that's a pretty good legacy.
Have you ever read his short story, The Veldt? Super creepy and yet very good.
ReplyDelete"The Martians were there, in the canal."
ReplyDeleteAlways loved that story.
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