Talk:Brian Aldiss

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November 2003[edit]

Not on the main article because I can't remember the details sufficiently: I think he produced a small magazine/fanzine of SF literary criticism in the 1960s; notable particularly for printing a transcript of a discussion about science fiction between Aldiss, James Blish, and C.S. Lewis, all of whom were living around Oxford at that time, but I can't remember the title of the magazine.

And I think he and Harry Harrison edited a John W. Campbell memorial Anthology too, but I could be wrong on that. More later.... Malcolm Farmer

They did. You're not. Lee M 02:29, 12 Nov 2003 (UTC)

March 2004[edit]

There's a lot of detail on individual novels that would probably work better as separate articles. I suppose this could apply to a lot of Wikipedia articles...one big article with lots of subsections, or lots of smaller articles? Lee M 01:45, 31 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Billion Year Spree[edit]

Or, I suppose, Trillion Year Spree. Anyone got a copy? I'd like to put Aldiss's exact words about cosy catastrophes into the cosy catastrophe article. –Hajor 17:05, 28 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Hothouse[edit]

I've read Hothouse in Polish edition and I'm reading it again now. Each time, i find the book a fascinating novel, not so 'science' fiction, but rather a form of fantasy literature written by the great author with an amazing imagination. Is there anybody willing to make a separate article on this book? I have found none articles on it. Greetings, Critto, December 23, 2005

Article written. See here. Gardener of Geda | Message Me.... 22:54, 12 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Fame[edit]

Re OUTSIDE. If there is one short story that Brian W. Aldiss will be remembered for in a hundred years it is certainly this one. Its issues (what is identity, what happens when credibility is lost etc) have also been treated in other SF stories, notably in Philip K. Dick's Impostor, but what makes Ouside absolutely unique is its ending. Nobody who reads these closing lines will ever forget them: "The inhumanity inside will always give you away," he said evenly. "However human you are outside." --BZ(Bruno Zollinger) 13:55, 9 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Nausicaä[edit]

Hothouse made a very strong influence in Hayao Miyazaki to create Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, it should be mentioned in the main article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.53.137.92 (talk) 16:38, 13 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Doctor Who story[edit]

I wasn't quite sure were to put this, but I add an "Other" category to the bibliography to include the Doctor Who short story he's published. We might not be listing every individual short story, but the connection to the major franchise is worth noting. And to any fans racing to their local book dealer, you're welcome. (So much press came out over Michael Moorcock writing a Doctor Who novel, this short story completely passed under the radar, it seems). 68.146.64.9 (talk) 00:30, 4 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Inspiration for Hothouse[edit]

The article says (with no citation) "his encounters with tropical rainforests at that time may have been at least a partial inspiration for Hothouse, as his Army experience inspired the Horatio Stubbs second and third books". Probably can't add this to the article, but at the 2011 Cheltenham Literature Festival he said the inspiration came from a mango plant in some gardens in Calcutta, which grew outwards rather than upwards. 94.174.108.74 (talk) 21:04, 15 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

If his speech was recorded in print or online, that could be used as cited material.Cloptonson (talk) 20:29, 9 November 2014 (UTC)[reply]

An error, either in date or assertion?[edit]

The article currently claims that "Around 1964 he and his long-time collaborator Harry Harrison started the first ever journal of science fiction criticism, Science Fiction Horizons, which during its brief span of two issues published articles and reviews by such authors as James Blish, and featured a discussion among Aldiss, C. S. Lewis, and Kingsley Amis in the first issues, and an interview with William S. Burroughs in the second." C.S. Lewis died in November of 1963, after a period of failing health. Now, I don't know for sure if, in his last few months on Earth, he engaged in some discussion that didn't appear until months later, maybe a year or more, in this brand new journal. But I sort of doubt it. There's no citation for the claim, so I can't fact-check it very easily. And it's possible the only error here is "among" -- that the sentence actually means to say that Aldiss discusses the work of Lewis and Amis or something -- but again, I can't prove that Lewis didn't have some dialogue with Aldiss and Amis that found its way into print after his death. Does anyone know anything about this journal, or this claim? Jwrosenzweig (talk) 07:27, 9 September 2016 (UTC)[reply]

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Date of Death[edit]

When did Aldiss actually die?

According to his family on Twitter and The Telegraph : his birthday on August 18.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/news/author-brian-aldiss-dead-92-neil-gaiman-graham-coxon-pay-tribute

According to Aldiss agent and publisher, The Guardian and BBC News: early hours of August 19.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/aug/21/science-fiction-author-brian-aldiss-dies-aged-92

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-41003085

Who are we supposed to believe? The family or the agent and publisher? Twitter or official announcement? One would think that his own family would know when he died, but his agent and publisher would hardly go out with an official announcement if they didn't know the time of death.

Does anybody out there have any more information that could clarify this mystery?95.195.212.84 (talk) 17:58, 21 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

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Reading Heinlein and Dick as a child[edit]

"As a child, he discovered the pulp magazine Astounding Science Fiction. He eventually read all the novels by H. G. Wells, Robert Heinlein, and Philip K. Dick." Surely the novels of Heinlein and Dick were published later. Jack Upland (talk) 03:52, 31 August 2023 (UTC)[reply]

It's probably a lack of clarity or precision that is the problem. Aldiss began writing after some of the works of Heinlein and Dick were published. It is likely the sentence should read that he read all the novels that had been published at that time (i.e., when he started writing) OR that eventually (i.e., in his lifetime) he read all of their work. As the sentence stands it is unclear. I can't access the NYT through the paywall to check what the source actually says. MarcGarver (talk) 13:47, 31 August 2023 (UTC)[reply]
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