
Brian Aldiss has died - sohkamyung
https://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/news/announcement-of-the-death-of-brian-aldiss-obe
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eponeponepon
Sad to hear this - last of a magnificent cohort of SF writers, for my money.
The genre's moved on for sure, but there's a certain style and mode to that
era that appeals to me enormously.

When I was a kid I used to think of an ABC of truly great SF - Asimov,
Bradbury, Clarke - but I never really entirely felt sure that A was for
Asimov, and not for Aldiss. Perhaps there was a second team - Aldiss,
Ballard... Chilton, maybe?

~~~
SeanDav
> _" Sad to hear this - last of a magnificent cohort of SF writers, for my
> money."_

This prompted me to look at how many of my favourite SF authors are still
alive - and the vast majority are dead. I honestly think that the era of true
Science Fiction is over (as opposed to Science Fantasy which is still going
strong).

~~~
tgb
On the contrary, I have been getting into modern science fiction after being
raised on my dad's collection of Asimov/Clarke/Heinlein/etc. and the modern
stuff is great. Check out Vernor Vinge, Greg Egan, Kim Stanley Robinson. None
of that is science fantasy. If anything, I'd say that science fantasy is
_less_ popular now than it was two or three decades ago. Look at the
popularity of modern TV and movies: Arrival, The Martian, Gravity, The
Expanse, Interstellar. Three of those are complete hard science fiction and
the others are more in the vein of 2001: A Space Odyssey and Contact than Star
Wars.

~~~
autarch
Interstellar is solidly science fantasy. Arrival is arguably science fantasy
since it's central conceit isn't very sciencey (amazing movie though).

The Expanse is borderline since there's basically a magic substance (the proto
molecule), though everything _except_ that is very hard sci fi.

~~~
Osmium
> Arrival is arguably science fantasy since it's central conceit isn't very
> sciencey

Read the original short story: the actual premise is actually _very_
science-y, and completely "true sci-fi." Don't want to spoil it here though.

> though everything _except_ that is very hard sci fi.

Yeah, personally I think sci-fi (rather than sci-fantasy) is allowed to break
a single physical law and still be considered sci-fi, as long as it's done
consistently and the consequences properly explored.

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noisy_boy
His first work that I remember reading was the short story "But who can
replace a Man?" in the Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories (AFAIK) along
with Ursula Le Guin and other authors. I was very impressed by the simplicity
of his narrative, ability to paint a detailed picture and raw story-telling
ability. A grave loss to the sci-fi world.

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Isamu
Brian Aldiss speaks of his admiration for and troubles with Stanley Kubrick:

[http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-
entertainment/films/featur...](http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-
entertainment/films/features/brian-aldiss-kubrick-spielberg-and-
me-9245178.html)

More:

[https://www.frc.ri.cmu.edu/~hpm/project.archive/clippings.an...](https://www.frc.ri.cmu.edu/~hpm/project.archive/clippings.and.notes/97.Baxter.Kubrick.html)

[https://www.webofstories.com/play/brian.aldiss/67;jsessionid...](https://www.webofstories.com/play/brian.aldiss/67;jsessionid=2507FB47113B3FE6D61111D2E5C0B706)

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daviddavis
Never read Aldiss. Any recommendations on which book(s) to start with?

~~~
justin66
Avoid the Helliconia books, they're a grim, hard slog. Sorry I can't give a
positive recommendation, I avoided his novels after trying to make it through
those. Always enjoyed his short stories that appeared in the popular
anthologies, though, and he's got some story collections that are probably
good.

~~~
cabalamat
> Avoid the Helliconia books, they're a grim, hard slog.

Another data point: I enjoyed them.

~~~
jhbadger
So did I. They are grim, but that's kind of the point -- it's a reflection on
the tragedy of history and how people end up making the same mistakes over and
over again.

~~~
justin66
When I said "grim, hard slog" I was referring to the experience of reading
them, not the nature of their content. The experience of reading anything that
monotonous would be pretty grim, even with a brighter theme and a happy
ending. Of course, ymmv, etc.

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danidiaz
I distinctly remember some of his stories, in particular "Heresies of the Huge
God"
[https://archive.org/details/Galaxy_v24n06_1966-08](https://archive.org/details/Galaxy_v24n06_1966-08)
and "Confluence", which is structured as a glossary for an alien culture.

"Hothouse" is quite a fun read as well.

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keithpeter
_Report on Probability A_ was a novel I never finished as a teenager. Might
track a copy down again - it is a formalist experiment as far as I can find
out.

Getting your head around it could be seen as a challenge.

~~~
clort
The only book I put aside without finishing (Downbelow Station by C.J.Cherryh)
was recommended to me again years later and when I did pick it up I found it
_gripping_.

I really recommend you try Report on Probability A again, it was one of the
best books I ever read!

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adamc
He wrote "The Malacia Tapestry", a book I really liked. The Helliconia trilogy
was not so compelling, though.

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erikb
Please edit the topic to summarize what he did, or what kind of topic he's
relevant to. I never heard this name and therefore guess many others didn't
either.

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fundabulousrIII
Was never a big fan. Don't remember that I read anything other than a short
story. More Jack Vance & Gene Wolfe. For fun Moorcock & Ellison.

RIP.

