Ray Bradbury Books Ranked Novels & Stories

“You’re a bad boy.” “I’m just asking.” “It’shaaaard,” I say in a breathy voice, and he laughs. “I’m hoping Neuromancer will turn up before Christmas so I can get stuck in,” he adds. “I’m thinking maybe we should come up with a list that I can work through. What would be on your list of top twenty sci-fi novels?” I stretch out my legs in the warm evening sun, and smile as I begin the discussion of our favorite books.

He looks impressed, “Your mom tells me that you love reading. What’s your favorite book?” I glance at Mom, her face turning pink while Lacey looks down at her plate and starts eating. “I like E.L. James, Carly Phillips, Harper Sloan, and Nora Roberts. I’d happily curl up with any one of their books.” He frowns, “I’ve heard of Nora Roberts, but haven’t read any of her books, the others I can’t say I’ve ever heard of them.” “Oh you’d have heard of E.L. James, she wrote Fifty Shades Of Grey.” Lacey pipes up, and I watch in amusement as Harrison’s face falls as he realizes exactly what Fifty is all about. “What about you, Mr. Brady, do you read?”

Instead, she spotted a battered cardboard box, which she pulled out by one of its flaps. The box was filled with books similar to the one she found on the floor—tattered and yellowing, adorned with somewhat cheesy cover art. Except for a few classics by authors like Verne and Wells, most of them fell into the sci-fi genre. Cole admitted to losing interest in this type of literature after a few pages of convoluted descriptions. However, she recognized some of the titles because she had been repeatedly told that she should read them: Asimov, Russ, Vonarburg, Bradbury, Heinlein, Bujold, Engh, Le Guin.

Olson Embers: A Collection of Dark Fiction by Kenneth W. Cain Visions of the Mutant Rain Forest, by Bruce Boston and Robert Frazier Tribulations by Richard Thomas Eidolon Avenue: The First Feast by Jonathan Winn Flowers in a Dumpster by Mark Allan Gunnells The Dark at the End of the Tunnel by Taylor Grant Through a Mirror, Darkly by Kevin Lucia Things Slip Through by Kevin Lucia Where You Live by Gary McMahon Tricks, Mischief and Mayhem by Daniel I. Russell

Despite not having read anything since losing my job, it still saddened me to encounter discarded books. This house had thrown out hundreds of books, neatly sorted in cardboard boxes. For the first time since I started scavenging I felt the urge to rescue them (though I wasn’t planning on reading them), so I wanted to get out of there before I succumbed to the temptation. As I rounded the boxes a name jumped out from one of the covers, halting me in my tracks. Ray Bradbury. Above it: The Illustrated Man.

I read the titles out loud. “The Devil in Silver by Victor LaValle. The October Country by Ray Bradbury. Broken Monsters by Lauren Beukes. Last Days by Brian Evenson.” I curl up my lip in disgust. “This is your reading style?” I frown. He glances up. “I like horror.” I widen my eyes. “Boring.” His jaw ticks in annoyance. “What do you like to read?” I purposely bend over, revealing my naked ass. “I like raunch.”