Ray Bradbury R.I.P

One of the most celebrated authors of his time, the author of science fiction novels such as ‘The martian chronicles’, ‘The illustrated man’ and Fahrenheit 451 has died. He was 91. Bradbury was born in Waukegan, Illinois to Swedish immigrant parents.

His grandson recently told io9.com: "He influenced so many artists, writers, teachers, scientists, and it's always really touching and comforting to hear their stories."

Bradbury was also a voracious reader and in The New Yorker last week said this; ‘I memorized all of John Carter and Tarzan, and sat on my grandparents' front lawn repeating the stories to anyone who would sit and listen. I would go out to that lawn on summer nights and reach up to the red light of Mars and say, 'Take me home!'

I remember reading Fahrenheit 451 as a 17 year-old student and being grasped by this great mans ability to tell a story. He also influenced me to write for myself and remember watching a talk he gave to a university crowd in which he stated for them to do nothing else but write if they wished to become an aspiring writer, which of course is what anyone will tell you, however his passion for the art is like no one else’s.

His life made the world a more imaginative and interesting place for me. One of the greats of science fiction, he will be sadly missed.