J G Ballard – 15th November 1930 to 19th April 2009
As you’ve probably already heard elsewhere, legendary New Wave sf author J G Ballard died yesterday after a long battle with cancer. There’s a decent obituary at the Daily Telegraph, and Jeff VanderMeer has posted an appreciation of the man at the Amazon Omnivoracious blog. [image courtesy Wikimedia Commons]
Regular readers may have noticed that I very rarely mark the passing of famous writers here at Futurismic, principally because I feel it would be crass to do so when I don’t really have much to say about them; I’m poorly read in the classics of the genre, and such things are better left to those closer to a writer’s oeuvre.
Ballard, however, is one of the giants of the scene with whose work I am fairly familiar, and whose work also played a large part in shaping the way I see things – in science fiction, and in reality as well. Comments and blog posts describing him as a sort of prophet are appearing in great number, and allowing for the hyperbole that such occasions tend to provoke, I think that’s a fair comment. Alongside Philip K Dick, whose style and approach was admittedly very different, Ballard was writing the world we now live in… half a century ago.
A very smart man, and – as VanderMeer puts it – a truly fearless writer. My world feels a little smaller for his absence.
April 20th, 2009 at 10:59 am
“Fearless” is indeed the word for him. Not always the easiest or most pleasant read, but really an essential writer.
April 22nd, 2009 at 2:48 pm
J.G.B. was at School with me ( but in a different Camp ). He was shown to be bright then. I found his name in old School mags as a prizewinner, reported on Speech Days,on several occasions.