Fahrenheit 451

This is one of my all-time favorite novels, and one of my favorite science fiction novels as well.

Ray Bradbury is required reading not only for SF lovers but for book lovers as well. Fahrenheit 451 is perhaps is greatest novel. It is the tale of a fireman whose job it is to start fires, not put them out. Specifically, these firemen, in true Orwellian fashion, go around burning books. But one day the fireman discovers a cache of books in a lady's home and his curiosity gets the better of him. He decides to keep the books, and before he knows it, he finds himself falling in love with books. His efforts to save more books lead him on an adventure that takes him interesting places...I won't reveal any more for fear of spoiling it.

If you love books, this book goes right to your heart, as it did for me. It connects to that primal feeling, perhaps ingrained in you when you started reading as a very little kid, of the wonder of reading- that sense of discovery, freedom of imagination, unexplored territory, and everything that a book can be. Because science fiction is the genre that embodies these possibilites of what books can do, Fahrenheit 451 is the perfect blend of great literature and SF. (And I'd be remiss not to add a personal thank you to Mr. Bradbury, who just passed, for giving us a wonderful collection of novels and stories- you lived a great life and gave the world so much, you will be dearly missed but greatly appreciated forever.)