The Last of the Giants

Ray Bradbury died on Tuesday night. I'm not documenting his death as just another celebrity obituary. This is a real, tangible loss for society as a whole. Bradbury was far more than just a great science fiction writer (he always claimed to have written only one science fiction book). He was the last connection in our time to the golden age of adventure serials, pulp comics, and classic radio dramas.

Bradbury worked alongside towering figures like Lovecraft, Howard, and Clarke who built upon the legacy of Rice Burroughs, Wells, and Verne. More than any of his peers (and not solely due to his longevity), Bradbury shaped contemporary perceptions of genre fiction. Even more, he attained the culture-making status achieved by an elite few writers. Bradbury's fiction affected how our shared conceptions of space exploration, dictatorship, and individuality developed.

Ray Bradbury lived through some of the most definitive moments of American publishing history, including our own time when the industry's future hangs in the balance. Considering the general direction of these changes, it is doubtful that any author in the years to come will enjoy a career as illustrious and visionary as his.