“Thanks to Fahrenheit 451, now required reading for every American middle-schooler, Bradbury is generally thought of as a writer of novels, but his talents–particularly his mastery of the diabolical premise and the brain-exploding revelation–are best suited to the short form.” As the writer’s 90th birthday approaches this August, Slate‘s Nathaniel Rich pens an appreciation of sci-fi standby Ray Bradbury. “Bradbury is an optimist at heart, but his head knows that hope may not be enough. He’s seen the future, and it’s not all grand pink-stoned chess cities on Mars and houses that tidy up after you…It’s only on reflection, after the stories take up residence in your head and crawl deep into the dark cracks and corners, that the wonder mutates into something closer to dread.“