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SF Writer Brian Aldiss, Passed on at 92

SF Writer Brian Aldiss, 1925-2017.

British science-fiction author Brian Aldiss has died at his home in Oxford last Saturday. He had only just turned 92 the day before. His death was announced by his literary agents Curtis Brown, who called him an “author of science fiction classics” as well as “an entertaining memoirist”.

Alongside J.G. Ballard, Aldiss pioneered a new wave of science fiction writing in the 1960’s that took the genre into uncharted territory. He wrote a staggering 86 books, both fiction and nonfiction, and served as editor on dozens of other works. Born in Norfolk in 1925, Aldiss was greatly influenced by H.G. Wells and corresponded with both C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Made an OBE in 2005 for his services to literature, Aldiss was a drinking companion of Kingsley Amis and a founding member of London’s famous Groucho Club.

Aldiss’s short story Supertoys Last All Summer Long was the basis for the 2001 film AI Artificial Intelligence. Originally developed as a property by Stanley Kubrick, the tale of a boy-like robot was eventually directed by Steven Spielberg. Aldiss’s other works are numerable, and include Greybeard, Hothouse and the Helliconia Trilogy, a trio of novels set on a planet where seasons last for centuries.

Graham Coxon, founding member of the rock band Blur, and science fiction and fantasy writer Neil Gaiman are among those to have paid tribute on social media.

According to his publisher, the author – who turned 92 on Friday – died in the early hours of Saturday morning.

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