Ray Bradbury
When you think of adult fantasy, the first name that comes to mind is probably not Ray Bradbury. However, Bradbury pioneered a particularly elegant style of fantasy, rendered as science fiction for adults. His collections of short stories, such as The Martian Chronicles (1950), and the novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953) are perhaps his best known works. In Bradbury’s worlds, you may find yourself in an unfamiliar place, but faced with the real issues of our day such as the uses of technology, censorship, and war. You may also find yourself in a very familiar setting, only to experience strange and bizarre events you never imagined. Ray Bradbury was born in 1920 in Illinois. He began writing in the 1940s, initially for pulp fiction magazines such as Weird Tales. His big break came with the publication of Dark Carnival (1947) published by Arkham House, and thereafter he wrote fantasy and science fiction full-time. He also penned a semi-autobiographical work set in the mid-west, Dandelion Wine (1957), and hosted a television program – the Ray Bradbury Theater. Fittingly, Ray Bradbury has an asteroid named after him (9766 Bradbury), as well as a crater on the moon called Dandelion Crater.
