RIP Christopher Priest

[droodzilla]

Very sorry to hear, this morning, of Christopher Priest's death.

He's best known as the author of The Prestige (wonderful novel!) that was adapted for film by Christopher Nolan, but he wrote many thought-provoking and mind-bending novels, including Inverted World, The Glamour, and The Affirmation. His stories are often puzzling but never difficult for the sake of it and always compelling to read.

He's known as a science fiction writer but, like Ballard and other members of the British new wave of SF (Moorcock, Harrison...) was respected outside the genre. Interestingly, he was writing a biography of Ballard when he died. His blog is a fun read. He comes across as cantankerous, opinionated and passionate about his work, and he's not averse to taking pot-shots at literary lovies such as Julian Barnes.

I'm sad to see him go.

 

[droodzilla]

The Telegraph's the only paper to have published an obituary so far, so here it is:

The Prestige author Christopher Priest dies aged 80

Internationally acclaimed novelist died from cancer on Friday after being diagnosed with small-cell carcinoma last summer

www.telegraph.co.uk

 

[tiggers]

Inverted World is one of the best books I ever read.. RIP Christopher Priest.

 

[Big Tabs]

R.i.P. Mr. Priest.

I read The Prestige ages ago. Good book.

 

[droodzilla]

Inverted World is one of the best books I ever read.. RIP Christopher Priest.

That was my introduction to Priest. A brilliant and haunting work.

 

[mikechadwick]

Not read anything of his for ages - I'll always associate him with new wave of British Sci-fi writers alongside Moorcock, M John Harrison etc. RIP.

 

[K235]

r.i.p.

 

[droodzilla]

An excellent obituary in The Guardian:

Christopher Priest obituary

Acclaimed novelist best known for The Prestige whose large body of work never fitted into any particular literary mould

www.theguardian.com

There are some nice comments below the line too, some of which address the Last Dangerous Visions controversy.

 

[Wolfmancatsup]

Big fan of his wotk. I’ve spoken to him quite a few times over the years at book signings and other promotion events. Always charming and affable.
RIP

 

[garyi]

I will take this opportunity to read some what would be r commended for a novice?

 

[droodzilla]

I will take this opportunity to read some what would be r commended for a novice?

I've only read half a dozen of his works, but I intend to read more. Of the ones I've read...

Inverted World is most recognisable as sci-fi and imagines a strange world in meticulous detail - a fascinating book.

The Prestige is my favourite. It's almost unclassifiable but it's a terrific story, especially if, like me, you have an interest in stage magic.

The Glamour and The Affirmation are the most representative of his works that I've read. Baffling, not in the sense of being hard to read (he's a great prose stylist) but in a "What the hell is going on?!" kind of way.

The next books of his I'd like to read are Fugue for a Darkening Island, A Dream of Wessex, and The Separation, but I expect I'll read them all in the end.

 

[Cdb3]

This is sad news and I'm glad that it was posted here because I had missed it and the Guardian obituary. I read a few of his novels back in the past when I was reading the likes of Aldiss, Moorcock and Ballard, and of course P K Dick, who was the American writer closest to their sensibilities. I will certainly follow up now with some of the other novels mentioned in the obituary.