Happy birthday Ray Bradbury!

This Sunday is Ray Bradbury's 90th birthday, which is quite a landmark! Bradbury is one of my all-time favorite authors and I was very pleased to have caught his panel at San Diego in 2009. I was so impressed by his optimism, his belief in mankind's future in space travel and his bold declaration that when he dies, he will be buried on Mars!

Although Bradbury is primarily known as a science fiction author, his work has included various kinds of horror stories, slice-of-life tales and humourous episodes. It's also interesting how his tone can vary from story to story - often his optimism shines through, as in tales like "the Toynbee Convector," but he's also written stories as bleak as "the October Game." He praised nostalgia in Dandelion Wine, but rejected it in "Season of Disbelief!"

All the best to you, Mr. Bradbury!