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RIP Frederik Pohl, the man who transformed science fiction
io9 ^ | September 2, 2013 | Annalee Newitz

Posted on 09/02/2013 3:56:30 PM PDT by EveningStar

One of the leading lights of the science fiction world, editor and author Frederik Pohl, passed away this weekend after a career that defined the genre for decades...

Pohl was known for his mind-bending, often satirical novels (many co-authored with longtime collaborator C.M. Kornbluth), his editing acumen, his science fiction criticism, and his witty, fascinating blog, which he was updating right up until his death...

(Excerpt) Read more at io9.com ...


TOPICS: Books/Literature
KEYWORDS: bookreview; cmkornbluth; frederikpohl; obituaries; obituary; pages; pohl; sciencefiction; scifi
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To: LongWayHome
His blog at 90 is not his career.

He's dead.

This is an obit thread for people that knew who he was before clicking on the thread to remember those stories he edited or wrote.

Have a nice day.

/johnny

61 posted on 09/02/2013 8:38:20 PM PDT by JRandomFreeper (Gone Galt)
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To: JRandomFreeper

Lol, next time say it’s a private thread only fit to look at, or read by his fans....then I won’t comment. Of course it’s not, nor was it ever a private thread, you just say it’s so. Just like somehow, at 90, he became a raving leftist hater cause you said it’s so & before that I’m sure he was William F. Buckley. Well, this guy was a card-carrying member of the communist party in his youth when he should have known better. Sorry if I suspect his judgement.


62 posted on 09/02/2013 8:48:06 PM PDT by LongWayHome
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To: LongWayHome
He was in the US Army (Air Corps) in the 40s, so that's a WWII vet you are slamming.

/johnny

63 posted on 09/02/2013 8:53:56 PM PDT by JRandomFreeper (Gone Galt)
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To: LongWayHome
I'm not going to defend his politics, since I don't agree with them. That's not what this thread is about. It's about a craftsman that had a long career and touched many lives.

/johnny

64 posted on 09/02/2013 8:55:30 PM PDT by JRandomFreeper (Gone Galt)
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To: JRandomFreeper
He edited lots of the pulps I read as a kid.

That's what I remember most about him, too. I belonged to the Science Fiction Book Club in the '60s and also picked up a lot of those soft-cover, pulp compilations. Pohl's name was seen a lot.

RIP

65 posted on 09/02/2013 8:56:56 PM PDT by Lancey Howard
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To: SunkenCiv

I got to see Mr. Pohl when he spoke at the University of Central Florida, back around 1979.


66 posted on 09/02/2013 8:59:12 PM PDT by Berosus (I wish I had as much faith in God as liberals have in government.)
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To: JRandomFreeper

He is what he is....his own words speak for the man. He was a member of the Communist party in a time where he should have known better. My dad’s his age....he served in WW2. He had no real book learning or formal education, but he knew better than to get involved with the damn Communist party in the 1930s.


67 posted on 09/02/2013 9:02:20 PM PDT by LongWayHome
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To: Lancey Howard
'Man Plus' was way ahead of the tech when he wrote it. That one stuck with me as a dystopian view of future culture shock. That was right after Brunner's 'Shockwave Rider'.

/johnny

68 posted on 09/02/2013 9:02:42 PM PDT by JRandomFreeper (Gone Galt)
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To: LongWayHome
Ok.

/johnny

69 posted on 09/02/2013 9:03:42 PM PDT by JRandomFreeper (Gone Galt)
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To: JRandomFreeper

It’s not personal. I have no beef with you. The guy’s blog just blew my mind is all. I was not expecting to see some of that stuff. We can agree to disagree on this cause I’m sure there is someone I like that you don’t:)


70 posted on 09/02/2013 9:08:38 PM PDT by LongWayHome
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To: Pete from Shawnee Mission
An old-school gentleman.

/johnny

71 posted on 09/02/2013 9:22:17 PM PDT by JRandomFreeper (Gone Galt)
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To: EveningStar
"Gateway" - great, classic novel which I found amazing as a kid and which still impresses now. Aside from it's literary merits it left me excited about physics and scrambling to learn more about Chandreshekar's Limit, Cerenkov radiation and what was known about black holes back then.

It's sequels weren't up to the same standard but still quality writing and great entertainment - "Beyond the Blue Event Horizon" introduced me to what Pohl called "gosh numbers", a separate, fun topic in itself along with the topic of human personalities running on hardware. Pohl was one of the rare writers - SF or not - who's name of the spine of a book usually ensured that the contents wouldn't be a complete waste of time.
72 posted on 09/02/2013 9:31:36 PM PDT by AnotherUnixGeek
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To: Kip Russell

The Heechee novels are mostly out of print; anyone know where I can get ‘em?


73 posted on 09/02/2013 9:36:25 PM PDT by Jack Hammer (American)
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To: AnotherUnixGeek
I hadn't thought about gosh numbers in ages.

/johnny

74 posted on 09/02/2013 9:37:29 PM PDT by JRandomFreeper (Gone Galt)
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To: Jack Hammer
I've got some of them on a bookshelf or in a box. Don't know where you can buy a copy. Those old books should be re-released as epubs.

/johnny

75 posted on 09/02/2013 9:40:10 PM PDT by JRandomFreeper (Gone Galt)
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To: JRandomFreeper

Read the first one and loved it; searching for the others, I found them unavailable.

Talk about disappointment!


76 posted on 09/02/2013 9:45:50 PM PDT by Jack Hammer (American)
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To: Jack Hammer

Amazon has some of them, used. You can get ‘Beyond the Blue Event Horizon’ in paperback for $3.94 + shipping.


77 posted on 09/02/2013 9:48:24 PM PDT by JRandomFreeper (Gone Galt)
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To: Jack Hammer
The Heechee novels are mostly out of print; anyone know where I can get ‘em?

You could visit a number of used book stores and eventually put together a complete set, but it would be a lot easier to just order them from Amazon. Various sellers of used books have every one of the Heechee books (there are 6 of them) available for anywhere from $0.01 to $4 per book (plus shipping).

78 posted on 09/02/2013 10:15:04 PM PDT by Kip Russell (Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors -- and miss. ---Robert A. Heinlein)
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To: Ransomed

Interesting interview, thanks for linking to it. For two guys in their 90s, i find it amazing how well they speak and can remember things. Was surprised though to hear Vance emphatically state he didn’t have any respect at all for Frank Herbert, since i had read they were good friends.


79 posted on 09/02/2013 10:57:44 PM PDT by Humbug
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To: EveningStar
Interesting.

Pohl's blog: The Way the Future Blogs.

80 posted on 09/03/2013 5:35:15 AM PDT by Lee N. Field ("And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise" Gal 3:29)
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