Ray Bradbury, giant of American fiction, dead at 91

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Ray Bradbury, a giant of American literature who helped popularize science fiction with works such as "The Martian Chronicles," died on Tuesday at age 91, his publisher said on Wednesday.

Bradbury published more than 500 works including "Fahrenheit 451," a classic novel about book censorship in a future society, and other favorites such as "The Illustrated Man" and "Something Wicked This Way Comes."

"Mr. Bradbury died peacefully, last night, in Los Angeles, after a long illness," said a spokesman for his publisher, HarperCollins.

(Reporting by Christine Kearney; Editing by Daniel Trotta)