Be Excellent To Each Other

J.G Ballard's dead.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8007331.stm

Not unexpected, and I'm glad he got his completely awesome and critically lauded autobiography out before he did, but sad all the same. Still, 78, good innings.

He was also one of my favourite authors and to my mind the most important British science fiction writer since H.G Wells. While others predicted the technology of the future, he predicted the psychology - and got it chillingly right in many respects. He was at the forefront of the celebrated 'new wave' of sci-fi, one of the many young British turks who rejuvenated a genre that had become increasingly stale with space operas. If you've never read him before, but want to start somewhere, I suggest picking up a volume of his excellent short stories. There's a big chunky white one that's awesome - especially the one about time halving. Either that or read The Crystal World - mainly set in the Congo and about the jungle turning into crystal. Beautiful and haunting. Any of the 'World' books are excellent in fact.

And Empire of the Sun remains probably my fave Spielberg film.

So, God rest you J G Ballard. You were mighty, you were new wave.

Some fitting Beex eulogising, there, chum (and a tasty pun ). The fact that his writing often got more interesting with his aging makes this a sorer loss for me than with most passing sci-fi authors.

RIP

PS - I caught tail end of the BBC aptation of Home the other day, too. If this wasn't entirely coincidental, I'll be renting out a box set of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps and jamming it on 'repeat' until everybody involved in its creation looks like Tetsuo at the end of Akira.