Dystopias is something that has always fascinated me about science fiction authors. I was captivated by the approaches of George Orwell or Huxley. But the trilogy of the best dystopian authors cannot be closed without addressing the work of the great Ray Bradbury.
The third of the great dystopian authors already had the willows of his two great predecessors (in addition to many others such as even his contemporary and colossal Isaac Asimov, who also had his forays into this type of approach), but for that reason Bradbury did not take for granted and dedicated himself to exploiting the formula of dystopia or the dire future that could await human civilization. Not at least as could be expected from what has already been written.
And so we can enjoy another new version of the future that awaits us with his book Fahrenheit 451, a work that perfectly closes that triangle of literary dystopia.
Sometimes we find a really curious edition. This fusion of Bradbury with Dick plus T-shirt, has its charm:
3 Recommended Novels By Ray Bradbury
Fahrenheit 451
No vestige of what we were can remain. Beyond some stubborn memory, books can never illuminate the minds of a world that needs to be controlled for its own survival. And the most disturbing thing is the parallelism of this story with our present day. Citizens who move through the city with their headphones inserted in their ears, listening..., well, what they need to hear...
Summary: the temperature at which the paper ignites and burns. Guy Montag is a firefighter and a firefighter's job is to burn books, which are forbidden because they cause discord and suffering. The Fire Department Mechanic Hound, armed with a lethal hypodermic injection, escorted by helicopters, is prepared to track down dissidents who still keep and read books.
Like George Orwell's 1984, like Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, Fahrenheit 451 describes a Western civilization enslaved by the media, tranquilizers and conformity. Bradbury's vision is astonishingly prescient: wall-hung TV screens displaying interactive brochures; avenues where cars run at 150 kilometers per hour chasing pedestrians; a population that listens to nothing but an insipid stream of music and news transmitted through tiny headphones inserted into their ears.
The illustrated man
Bradbury chose the intensity of the story on many occasions to expose his science fiction or fantasy theories. One of the best examples is this.
Summary: In this collection of intertwined stories, the anonymous narrator meets El Hombre Ilustrado, a curious character with his body completely covered in tattoos. However, what is most remarkable and disturbing is that the illustrations are magically alive and each one of them begins to develop its own story, as in The meadow where some children get a virtual reality game beyond their limits.
Or in "Kaleidoscope", the overwhelming story of an astronaut who is preparing to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere without the protection of a spacecraft. Or in Zero hour, in which the alien invaders have found some surprising and logical allies: human children.
Martian Chronicles
I had been tempted to choose another book with which to close this podium, but this work is as recognized, and justly valued as a future colonizer of humanity (in the back link there is a recent book on the subject) ... Summary: This collection of stories brings together the chronicle of the colonization of Mars by Humanity, which leaves Earth in successive waves of silver rockets and dreams of reproducing on the red planet a civilization of hot dogs, comfortable sofas and lemonade on the front porch. sunset.
But the colonists also carry with them the diseases that will decimate the Martians and show little respect for a planetary culture, mysterious and fascinating, that they will try to protect from the rapacity of Earthlings. Basic and special editions here:
Other recommended books by Ray Bradbury
Let's all kill Constance
Over time this short novel is going from being rarity to exceptional. A plot between the fantastic, suspense and a touch of pulp for a captivating setting linked to cinema and that of the actors in front of the mirror of their characters...
One stormy night in California, a writer receives an unexpected visit from an old acquaintance, the actress Constance Rattigan, who, frightened, brings with her a macabre anonymous gift: a telephone book from the year 1900 and her old agenda with a series of names marked. in red with a cross. Constance is convinced that Death is after those targeted and herself.
As enigmatically as she arrived, the artist disappears into the night, leaving the lists to the writer. He will begin an investigation in order to find her and solve the mystery, for which he will seek the help of her friend Crumley. Both will embark on a hectic journey until they discover a truth as amazing as it is disturbing...
long after midnight
The exclusive of the night and the cold dawn does not close to Edgar Allan Poe and his fantasies as crazy as they are fascinating. Now it's time to reply to a Bradury with his own CiFi version lyricism, innovative and always current
Twenty-two stories to read long after midnight. Bradbury took seven years to write this collection of short stories, a conjuration about the past, present and future that will delight its millions of readers.
Time passes, returns, and terribly rushes forward in stories that show once again Bradbury's extraordinary gift, capable of making us see a scene with all our senses. Each story is a miniature and a jewel… A line is enough to reveal a mood… Strange creatures rise in the night in a vertiginous poetic way… Tales for a rainy night.
