Wait 'till the fire turns green (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
the_archfiend) wrote2013-09-03 06:00 pm
the_archfiend) wrote2013-09-03 06:00 pm
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In Memoriam: Frederik Pohl, 1919-2013
“That's really what SF is all about, you know: the big reality that pervades the real world we live in: the reality of change. Science fiction is the very literature of change. In fact, it is the only such literature we have.” - Frederik Pohl
Another depressing loss for the science fiction world, and I'm especially bummed that it had to happen during Worldcon weekend.
Before I start throwing links about Pohl's career at readers of this journal like over-sized electronic frisbees, let me point out that one of the things that kept me sane on many long, boring trips to and from my former job out in Elk Grove Village was, in fact, Pohl's writing. I went through at least five of his books that way (namely, The Space Merchants, The Merchants' War, Gateway, Beyond the Blue Event Horizon and The Best of Frederik Pohl), and the latter was especially important in keeping me sane when a snowstorm caused a 40-minute bus ride to turn into a ridiculous three-hour fiasco. He was just that good a writer, and more's the pity that I couldn't read even more of his work before his passing.
So rest in peace, Fred. Your work was vital (seemingly regardless of when it was written, which is a trick lesser writers might not have pulled off) and highly appreciated. You'll be greatly missed.
Official biography
SFWA memorial page
NY Times obituary
io9 article
Wikipedia page
Another depressing loss for the science fiction world, and I'm especially bummed that it had to happen during Worldcon weekend.
Before I start throwing links about Pohl's career at readers of this journal like over-sized electronic frisbees, let me point out that one of the things that kept me sane on many long, boring trips to and from my former job out in Elk Grove Village was, in fact, Pohl's writing. I went through at least five of his books that way (namely, The Space Merchants, The Merchants' War, Gateway, Beyond the Blue Event Horizon and The Best of Frederik Pohl), and the latter was especially important in keeping me sane when a snowstorm caused a 40-minute bus ride to turn into a ridiculous three-hour fiasco. He was just that good a writer, and more's the pity that I couldn't read even more of his work before his passing.
So rest in peace, Fred. Your work was vital (seemingly regardless of when it was written, which is a trick lesser writers might not have pulled off) and highly appreciated. You'll be greatly missed.
Official biography
SFWA memorial page
NY Times obituary
io9 article
Wikipedia page