Comments on: Oh no!

Oh no!

Kattullus — Fri, 06 May 2005 11:08:05 -0800

Robert Sheckley, the science fiction author, has been taken ill in a hospital in Kiev. Here is an interview, an appreciation by James Sallis of the Boston Globe and a few short stories from the SciFiction archives: The Prize of Peril, Protection, Cordle to Onion to Carrot, Bad Medicine and A Wind Is Rising.

By: Divine_Wino

Divine_Wino — Fri, 06 May 2005 11:30:50 -0800

Shit, I love that dude. Doesn't look good for him. Shit.

By: edgeways

edgeways — Fri, 06 May 2005 12:01:23 -0800

damn damn damn, not surprising I guess, but still... damn. He is one of the best short story writers I have encountered

By: pointilist

pointilist — Fri, 06 May 2005 12:33:00 -0800

I still carry images from reading his stories 35 years ago. I still have the feeling his stories gave me. Good luck to him in his future endeavors.

By: mojohand

mojohand — Fri, 06 May 2005 13:37:55 -0800

I, too, read Sheckley's wonderful fiction in my teens and it innoculated me with a life-long taste for science fiction. Please read the short stories Katullus links to.

By: jokeefe

jokeefe — Fri, 06 May 2005 13:41:30 -0800

Ditto. I read Mindswap when I was in Grade 8 and I've never been quite the same... I can still remember passages verbatim. I too wish him the best.

By: TheophileEscargot

TheophileEscargot — Fri, 06 May 2005 13:51:58 -0800

Damn. Good luck to him: one of the best and funniest writers ever.

By: languagehat

languagehat — Fri, 06 May 2005 13:56:04 -0800

Ditto what everybody else said. I love his writing and hope he pulls through.

By: RavinDave

RavinDave — Fri, 06 May 2005 21:51:44 -0800

I'm currently in my OTR phase; obsessed with listening to "Old Time Radio" shows I find online. It started with SIRIUS, but I got tired of it futzing out and loosing antenna lock at the precise moment Nero Wolfe was gonna unmask the villain -- so I started collecting mp3 files. Sheckley's stuff is prominent; particularly on shows like "X-Minus One". And it holds up well.

By: insulglass

insulglass — Sat, 07 May 2005 05:23:35 -0800

Well, crap. Sheckly is one of the best of all time in the genre - the thinking man's author. "Cordle to Onion to Carrot" has been a guiding philosophy in my life for some time now.

By: Carmody'sPrize

Carmody'sPrize — Sat, 07 May 2005 09:56:34 -0800

Wouldn't you know that this would be my first post. "Options" inspired my screen name. My favorite is Dimensions of Miracles. I believe that Doug Adams liked it as much as I do, seeing as "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" is clearly a homage. He's a one my all time favorites.

By: majick

majick — Sat, 07 May 2005 14:36:26 -0800

My only real claim to fame is that my mom used to work for Bob Sheckley back in the 80s. I'm glad to have met the dude and I've always enjoyed his work. It sucks that his health is failing, he's a really decent guy.

By: Toecutter

Toecutter — Sat, 07 May 2005 17:30:56 -0800

Man, as a kid I read a lot, LOT of Sheckley -- Notions: Unlimited; Untouched By Human Hands, etc. etc. -- I could nerd out for like a week talking about Life Boat Mutiny alone. My father was a fan too and found a mother load of pristine Sheckly pulp books at that famous big used bookstore in Seattle or Portland -- he bought 'em all and presented them to me in a big Tupperware bin.