The last of the legends.
RIP. A wonderful writer. My favourite novel from him is “Something Wicked This Way Comes” which paints an atmosphere with words.
Oh, wow. Bradbury was one of my favorites growing up. I’ve always loved the charm and humanity of his work.
Though I am old with wandering
Through hollow lands and hilly lands,
I will find out where she has gone
And kiss her lips and take her hands;
And walk among long dappled grass,
And pluck till time and times are done
The silver apples of the moon,
The golden apples of the sun.
I know it’s Yeats, but Ray seemed to like it as well.
From my FB status:
My first introduction to Ray Bradbury wasn’t Fahrenheit 451. It wasn’t The Martian Chronicles.
It was Dandelion Wine. Not a summer goes by in my life when I don’t think about the prose of that book, and how it specifically captured what it felt like to be a young boy in America. It’s my opinion that all of the heartfelt prose that Stephen King writes about small town living and the lives and thoughts of children were derived from from this work.
“It was a quiet morning, the town covered over with darkness and at ease in bed. Summer gathered in the weather, the wind had the proper touch, the breathing of the world was long and warm and slow. You had only to rise, lean from your window, and know that this indeed was the first real time of freedom and living, this was the first morning of summer.”
“Feel those shoes, Mr. Sanderson, feel how fast they’d take me? All those springs inside? Feel all the running inside? Feel how they kind of grab hold and can’t let you alone and don’t like you just standing there?”
Good night, Mr. Bradbury. 91 years is a good run.
RIP, indeed. As to the “last of the legends”, Ellison is still around, and I think Larry Niven is as well.
Bradbury was the poet laureate of the golden age. Reading him as a child made me feel nostalgic for an age that I never experienced and probably never really existed.
He also was one hell of a horror writer. I remember coming across The October Country when I was waaaaaaay too young to have read it, and that story about the dude who’s convinced his skeleton is out to get him fucked me up something fierce.
RIP Bradbury. They really don’t make 'em like that anymore.
I just met Niven last month, but he’s pretty tender in his old age. On the panels he gave, he was present, but every time he spoke, folks politely waited patiently while he found his thoughts.
RIP.
The first Bradbury I read was The Illustrated Man and my favourite is definitely Dandelion Wine.
He and Vonnegut were by far the best, most touching authors I have ever had the pleasure of reading.
Yep, after I read that, just throwing up a “RIP Mr. Bradbury” from me seemed pretty lame.
It has been years since I read any Bradbury. I think I need to remedy that. I JUST this past weekend recommended him to my 11 year old daughter who seems to be liking the creepy stuff. I need to see specifically which books would work for her. My memory is foggy on them.
Getting little goosebumps of nostalgia thinking about him.
RIP. :(
Farenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles will always be on my bookshelves.
Someone linked this elsewhere. Fuck the virgins, have this : http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/70bf2e4f05/fuck-me-ray-bradbury
OMG no kidding. It was incredible. RIP, Mr. Bradbury.
What a sad moment - a treasure to mankind has been lost, but thankfully he left quite a bit behind for the rest of us to enjoy and reminisce over.
The October Country collection of short stories was awesome. I read a few stories sitting out on the front porch after smoking some pot back in my late teens. Those stories were perfect for that, in particular Skeleton, The Small Assassin, and Jack-in-the-Box.
A lot of his writing was a bit too wannabe poetic for my taste, but he had a pretty good range so I think most people would be able to get into something he wrote.
I just read that last year. It was my first book by him and it was really, really good. Sad to hear he’s gone.
Rocket Summer.
I have a signed copy of Fahrenheit 451. He will certainly be missed but not forgotten.
I preferred Bradbury, who was more about the story, then those that inundate you with meticulous minutia. The last of the greats who were writing during my youth - Heinlein, Asimov, Clarke. Alas, but at the same time he leaves a part of himself to enjoy! Rest in peace.
L.A. Time obit:
Not to mention Jack Vance. But Ray Bradbury’s writing power is undeniable. I once heard him lecture; he had the energy and drive of any three ordinary people.
Loved reading both their works in the 70’s-80’s. I don’t think I have read much of them lately, although every now and then for some reason I read Vonnegut’s Player Piano.