R.I.P. J.G. Ballard Has Left This Bicycle Race

Sad news arrived last week in the form of J.G. Ballard’s death. Best known for his novels Empire of the Sun and Crash (both turned into movies), Ballard was a science fiction writer that transcended genres. For those who don’t know the writer, it should be noted that he was well-known enough to merit a dictionary entry: “Ballardian,” according to The Collins English Dictionary, establishes for all time a view of Ballard’s mature work, work characterized by “dystopian modernity, bleak man-made landscapes and the psychological effects of technological, social or environmental developments.” I first read him in college and admit, he helped me understand that a study of science would serve me better than anything else as a writer and, later, a marketer. He will be sadly missed.

Here’s links to a couple of online obits at The New York Times,  The Telegraph, The Wall Street Journal