Are Bradburys novels really novels?
This question arises out of the fact that most of Bradbury’s novel-length books are actually stitched together from previously published short stories. This practice is/was not uncommon in the days of genre pulp publishing; the science fiction writer A.E. Van Vogt coined the term “fix-up” to describe such a novel. Bradbury’s first novel The Martian Chronicles is an example of a fix-up, in this case suggested to Ray by the publisher Walter I. Bradbury (no relation). It is possible that in later years Ray consciously wrote some of his novels piecemeal, publishing fragments as short stories and ultimately issuing the complete work as a novel. Exceptions to the fix-up rule include Something Wicked This Way Comes (although this began life as a short story and a film treatment), Death is a Lonely Business, A Graveyard for Lunatics, Let’s All Kill Constance.
