451 is quite a dumb, derivative book. Not sure why popular.
Not sure what's derivative about it, but I found it straight and to the point, and a good read for an afternoon. Not sure why...
The writing is dumb. The idea isn't all that. The characters are shallow and the females ones aren't even that. The conclusion is nothing. The plot doesn't happen. It's only a book in that a book is two covers with word-covered paper in the middle.
It's 1984 if Orwell was shit. '84 is the best of these dystopians, actually- it's significantly better than Brave New World, which is definitely okayish.
I'm not in the mood to get into a long debate about it, but I'll say this.
- I find the characters to be strong enough on their own. The female roles, sadly, are held by a majority of the supporting roles to show what a pleasure only seeking world would be like.
- The conclusion is idots using a fake war to keep people in check, and that causes a real war. So the survivors get to start over. Death of free-tought is self-destruction is the "moral".
- Protagonist is indoctrinated. Protagonist reads, rebels, is in conflict with society, hides, is passive-aggressive, gets lucky as society self-destructs. That's called a plot.
There is so much poorly written garbage in the world, and I am shocked at how many times Bradbury gets lumped in with it. He writes about simple ideas, sure, but his characters have motivation, conflict, resolution, and his text is legible. That hardly qualifies as shit.
I hate, hate, HATE Lord of the Flies, but I wouldn't call it shit. I'd call it a waste of my personal time, but its plot, intent, and writing is clear, so I can't call it shit. Will, won't I suppose.