Jack Williamson has died

[miriam_e]

One of the greatest names in science fiction, Jack Williamson, died yesterday in his study, surrounded by friends and family. Born in 1908, his first story was published when he was just 20 and his most recent novel was published last year, in 2005. He gave us the terms "terraforming" and "genetic engineering". Over his 98 years he published 43 novels and countless short stories.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Williamson
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/w/jack-williamson/

Comments

[greylock.livejournal.com]

Strange, I've only read one of his kiddie books (Trapped in Space, 1968), which I found in a bookshop earlier this - and I had completely forgot about despite fondly remembering it a (in retrospect) a perfect, big dumb space opera.

Sad.

[miriam-e.livejournal.com]

I don't think I've read any of his novels, though I have some of them. Mostly I've been a consumer of short stories, and I've read plenty of his.

Jack Williamson

[(Anonymous)]

He wrote "The Legion of Time" a 1938 novel I read a few years ago when I was exploring early-SF.

It is a magnificent work, awesome in an A.E. Van Vogt kind-of-way, about the agents of two alternative futures fighting a war to alter history and ensure their future is the one that happens!

Wonder if it is available on Project Gutenberg - though it is good enough that I'd pay real $$$ for a dead tree copy!

Cheers, MFG.

Re: Jack Williamson

[miriam-e.livejournal.com]

I seem to recall reading that Van Vogt was an influence on him... or was that Phillip K. Dick?

I must try to find "The Legion of Time". The only novels by him that I have at the moment are "After World's End" (which my brother loved) and "The Humanoids".

[sharpblonde.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure I haven't read any of his novels which is odd as my Dad has a few on his bookshelf and I've read something by most authors he has... However, if he invented the word terraforming he's shaped parts of the thinking of many authors whose work I've enjoyed including Anne McCaffrey and Julie E. Czerneda (whose fairly new and a remarkable author, you should check her out if you haven't read anything by her yet) and that's a proud legacy for any author.

[miriam-e.livejournal.com]

I just found out he also came up with the term "genetic engineering". I might add that up at the top in my original post.

I haven't heard of Julie E. Czerneda. Cool! I'm always on the lookout for more good stories. Thanks.