I just read “There Will Come Soft Rains” yesterday for the first time in years, based on a a thread discussion here. I first encountered it in early middle school in an anthology, and it was the very first time I had actually *enjoyed *anything out of a school lit book. I was hooked, and went on to read everything I could get my hands on.
Great great man. Powerful imagination. Powerful talent. Powerful voice against censorship and against apathy.
Very sad day today.
I actually met him several times, and have his autograph on my copy of
“Twice 22” which is a collection of his short stories. He was a nice man and a helluva writer, especially of short stories.
He wrote countless stories that I have enjoyed, and they have already been mentioned in this thread.
My introduction to him was the short story “All Summer in a Day” when I was 12 or 13. After that I grabbed everything I could find by him, and never regretted a single moment I spent buried in his books.
He wasn’t really a science fiction writer as much as he was a story teller of imagination and fantasy. And he said as much himself.
Story teller. There was Aesop… a bunch of stuff… and then there was Bradbury.
“The Sound of Summer Running” will always be a vessel that captures the essence of me as a young boy, in the Summer, with all the possibilities of life ahead of me.
I was going to post this. Here’s the link. Explicit lyrics warning. FMRB was nominated for a 2011 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form.
“The Foghorn” was the first science fiction I ever read. He’s got a lot to answer for as I have been addicted every since. Sniff…
And Michael Moore’s a thief! An impolite thief!
And mine.
I, too, discovered Ray Bradbury when I was around 12 or 13. He gave me a lot to dream about. RIP, super-distant-cousin Ray.
I love his work so much. He is one of the few writers who was able to capture the ineffable.
My favorite, oddly enough, is The Wonderful Ice-Cream Suit.
I’ve always been a reader, but didn’t start devouring books until I discovered Bradbury, Asimov, Ellison, et al. Bradbury’s writing was so well-thought out and elegantly written, that you could almost believe it was true (or at least plausible).
One of the immortals of my youth. Used to haunt the local library waiting for his next book to come out. Once I was working I began a collection of my own. Great companionship on a quiet night.
Oh, wow! 
Still, 91 is a good long life. I think I have most of his books, read numerous times. RIP, sir, and thanks so much.
My favorite book was The Martian Chronicles (‘we are the Martians’). My favorite story was The October Game (…‘and then some idiot turned on the light’). And he wrote about a very peculiar family…dare I say they were Addams-esque? Proved to be so some years ago, when From The Dust Returned came out, about this family, and the cover illustration by his friend from the 60’s, Charles Addams. Finally, I remember the first pictures of the surface of Mars on the evening news, and an interview with Ray Bradbury. RIP, sir.
Not much to say here. He was the original creative SF author to me. It wasn’t just science, he wove stories from many types of thread.
I recently read an interview he gave. He seemed quite happy and content with his life.
RIP .
He was one of a dying breed: masters of the short story.
The earliest I remember encountering him would have been when I was around 11 or 12 and Scholastic book club published a SF/horror/fantasy-themed magazine called “Weird Worlds” (edited by Bob Stine, later to be known as R. L. Stine of Goosebumps fame) that reprinted several Bradbury stories, including “All Summer in a Day” and “The Emissary.”
I was lucky enough to talk to him via Skype after the Gene Siskel Film Center’s screening of Fahrenheit 451. Kind of a silly-looking movie, and no matter what insane stuff Mel Gibson says in his personal life, I’m sure he could have produced an excellent version of that story. As it is, the best production of a Bradbury story is Jack Clayton’s excellent Something Wicked This Way Comes.
So long, Ray.
He was also life long friends with Ray Harryhausen, also 91 and still kickin’.
What is it with Rays and brilliant works of creative fiction? Maybe Harryhausen can reanimate him.
Ah, yes, the Elliotts: From the Dust Returned - Wikipedia
And another one here. I was mostly a fan of his short stories as opposed to his novels, but Something Wicked This Way Comes was wonderfully spooky when I was a lad.
RIP Mr. Bradbury.