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December 13, 2005

Robert Sheckley

Sad news, one of my favourite authors has died.

Robert Sheckley helped form my science fiction views at a young age. His novel "Immortality Inc" made me think about death and religion in a new way, and his short fiction was always funny and inventive.

Some of his work was clearly influenced by drugs, but even these rambling stories showed me that a book doesn't always have to make sense, sometimes the journey can be enjoyable even if the destination is never reached (I'm talking mostly about a 'Options' here, and some of the weirder short stories)

His work is rarely found in bookshops now, though I always check. Freejack was a movie made from "Immortality Inc", but it didn't really work that well and concentrated on the action/chase theme rather than the more tricky philosophical one I remember. You might be able to still find the novel under that name. Having a big star (Mick Jagger) killed the film's credibility in the same way Sylvester Stallone damaged the Judge Dredd one.

Of course, I read nearly everything he wrote before I was 15 years old, and some of it hasn't aged as well as it might, but only last year I reread a couple of his short story collections and they held up pretty well.

Here is a list of his books that I have at home - if anyone has any others, I'd be very interested.

Immortality Inc.
The Robot Who Looked Like Me
Dimension Of Miracles
Store Of Infinity
Notions:Unlimited
Options
The People Trap
The Status Civilization
Can You Feel Anything When I Do This
Journey Of Joenes
The Alchemical Marriage Of Alistair Crompton
Hunter/Victim
Mindswap
Dramocles

Posted by se71 at December 13, 2005 10:36 AM

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