By the pricking of my thumbs, Ray Bradbury this way comes....

Did you ever read The Illustrated Man?

here's a link to the real work:

https://archive.org/details/illustratedman0000brad

There was the universal, quiet conceit and easiness of men accustomed to peace."

"Zero Hour"

“Long before you knew what death was you were wishing it on someone else.”

The Illustrated Man

Or, did you ever read The Martian Chronicles?

(please ignore the unfortunate TV series starring Rock Hudson, or the fact that Bradbury COMPLETELY ignored Mars' poisonous atmosphere.  To be fair, the precise composition of Martian air was definitively discovered in the early 70s.  But, really, one could have properly assumed that, yes?).

If you'd like the real thingie, i.e. the book:  

https://archive.org/details/bwb_O8-CZL-512

Additionally, I'll include one of the scariest stories from the first work, entitled "The Veldt":

https://www.juhsd.net/cms/lib/CA01902464/Centricity/Domain/256/2016_The%20Veldt.pdf

"The Men of Earth came to Mars. They came because they were afraid or unafraid, because they were happy or unhappy, because they felt like Pilgrims or did not feel like Pilgrims. There was a reason for each man. They were leaving bad wives or bad towns; they were coming to find something or leave something or get something, to dig up something or bury something or leave something alone. They were coming with small dreams or large dreams or none at all...it was not unusual that the first men were few. The numbers grew steadily in proportion to the census of Earth Men already on Mars. There was comfort in numbers. But the first Lonely Ones had to stand by themselves...”
---Ray Bradbury, The Martian Chronicles

“She didn’t watch the dead, ancient bone-chess cities slide under, or the old canals filled with emptiness and dreams. Past dry rivers and dry lakes they flew, like a shadow of the moon, like a torch burning.”

― Ray Bradbury, The Martian Chronicles


“Science ran too far ahead of us too quickly, and the people got lost in a mechanical wilderness, like children making over pretty things, gadgets, helicopters, rockets; emphasizing the wrong items, emphasizing machines instead of how to run the machines.”

― Ray Bradbury, The Martian Chronicles


“...We lost our faith and went around wondering what life was for. If art was no more than a frustrated out-flinging of desire, if religion was no more than self-delusion, what good was life? Faith had always given us answers to all things. But it all went down the drain with Freud and Darwin. We were and still are a lost people.”

― Ray Bradbury, The Martian Chronicles



These were undoubtedly among Bradbury's greatest works. However, my favorite was the collection of short stories called The Illustrated Man. The first story called "The Veldt" was truly horrifying to this fifteen year old gal, and is still horrifying today. I think that's the real test of a great author. You know, Dear Reader, I remember reading part of that story to my mom as she was preparing dinner one night. She too was spellbound by the story, and waited till the end of it while cooking. She shuddered at the end--I'll never forget that....So, if you've never heard of Bradbury, let me tell you about one my favorite authors.

He was born in 1920, and spent (by all reports) an idyllic childhood in Waukegan, Illinois--just like Mark Twain. He moved, eventually, to Los Angeles, where he shaped his writing style (he'd been writing since he was 12). In addition to the works listed above, he is also famous for Fahrenheit 451 (1953), Dandelion Wine (1957), and Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962), but ultimately, he wrote continuously from an early age, over the course of his long life. That equals a lot of short stories (400) and books (49+ books). One of the more important influences of his youth, were serials like "Flash Gordon" and/or "Buck Rogers."

This guy, NOT

this guy (but it was a bitchin'ly funny remake of the 30s serial).

And, most definitely not this show:

 

Totally my favorite show, when I was fourteen.

In addition to the campy serials, Bradbury was also heavily influenced by authors Jules Verne and H.G. Wells.  But, that is entirely logical, n'est-ce pas?  While he didn't go to college, Bradbury later said that he spent a decade in the local library, and this served as a kind of school.  I would hazard a guess, that this education served him quite well.

As an adult, with this aspiring author struggling to get published, he belonged to a now infamous group of science fiction writers known as "the Los Angeles Science Fiction League." There were some pretty cool authors who joined this group: Henry Kuttner, Edmond Hamilton, Robert Heinlein, and Leigh Brackett, These guys would meet once a week, exchanging and criticizing one another's work.

Bradbury wrote in a number of genres, not just science fiction, and published most of his short stories in books--not just pulp rags, like Planet Stories and Thrilling Wonder Stories. However, he also wrote in the snobbier magazines like Collier's and The New Yorker (not an easy feat, believe me). Finally, in 2007, Bradbury was awarded a Pulitzer.

It's interesting to me, that Southern California was home to many authors, including Raymond Chandler (but I've already told you about him, Dear Reader. LA in the 50s and 60s must've been an interesting city for a writer to live in, and some left one hell of a legacy.

Note:

Don't think that the famed "Bradbury Building,"  located in LA was named after him--it wasn't.  That's just an old urban legend.  I find it interesting how Hollywood was overly fond of this building, considering the number of movies filmed there (probably the most famous of which was Blade Runner with Harrison Ford.

Do you want to see the building? I sure you'll recognize it:

Pretty, yes?

He married Maggie McClure in 1948, and they had four daughters.  In 1953, he published Fahrenheit 451, which was at least partially inspired by the raging madness promulgated by Sen. Joe McCarthy--I'm sure you remember that debacle.  Other authors, like Arthur Miller also wrote works inspired by the hysteria--remember "The Crucible"? After publishing Fahrenheit... Bradbury became relatively well known, and popular, but I'm not certain that anyone foresaw the length and breadth of his work.  One thing I can tell you, is that Bradbury's stories and books influenced many American writers, such as Stephen King.

He wrote well into his 80s, and died peacefully in LA at the age of 91.  A great guy, and a great author.  Try him out, Dear Reader! Try reading "The Veldt" and see what you think (I gave you the link above).

Yeah, this week's entry is short--but open one of Bradbury's works, and enjoy!