The world lost one of its greatest voices in science fiction when Ray Bradbury passed away at age 91. He was a true pioneer in speculative fiction, writing about colonizing Mars, strange towns with odd inhabitants, and nefarious circuses that come to town. His story “I Sing the Body Electric” is one of the more memorable episodes of The Twilight Zone, and to one-up Rod Serling, Bradbury wrote six seasons of his own anthology series, The Ray Bradbury Theater. His most famous novel, Fahrenheit 451 is still relevant today in a world where censorship is rampant, governments try to control freedom of speech, and American citizens willingly participate in book burnings; it’s odd that there has only been one film version of that book, Francois Truffaut‘s first English-language movie. Bradbury’s stories were not about violence or technology like so much of science fiction, but about humanity and how people deal with the strange situations that befall them. His prose was a bit strange and tended to be playful and quirky, which is what made his writing so unique. He was an inspiration to countless writers, filmmakers, and fans. If you have never read anything by Ray Bradbury, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of The Martian Chronicles or Dandelion Wine or Something Wicked This Way Comes or any of his other marvelous imaginative works. You could probably even find Farenheit 451 on Kindle. Perhaps it’s fitting that he died on the day that Venus was in transit.
copyright © 2012 FilmVerse
FilmVerse 
Very nice tribute, Jamie.
I had the great pleasure of obtaining Mr. Bradbury’s autograph (though sadly not in person) back in high school (let’s just say it was in the 1980s and leave it at that). The faculty advisor of the school’s annual literary magazine knew Mr. Bradbury, and managed to get him to write an introduction and original poem for the magazine. As if this was not enough, he also autographed a copy of the magazine for every student who contributed, and I still have that magazine today. He was a class act all the way.
Thanks. It must’ve been cool to have Bradbury write something for your school publication. You copy of that magazine is a rarity!
Hear, hear. Fine tribute to one of the greats in literature.
I was actually a bit late in reading Bradbury, but was on a kick a couple of years ago and poured through a number of his novels. There are still many to go…