Ballard Passes

Noted author J. G. Ballard recently died. Quite amazing author; like all originals, he was difficult to classify. He wasn't sci-fi, wan't really fantasy, surrealist probably came closest. His best works, like Crash, required a very minimal suspension of "reality" to make it all seem very plausible. He brought a personal vision and style to even his more conventional works, like Empire of the Sun.

My favorite Ballard story is High Rise, which feels like something that could really happen in a slighty uneasy version of the recent future. It follows one of his favorite themes; man has become so dependent on as in love with technology, it can ony led to a collosal tragedy. The humans living in a "technologically perfect" building watch it's slow breakdown, as they also revert to primoridal ooze. A cautionary tale for our times.

He wrote lots of short stories, which are great pleasures to read. One concerned about a future where there was such population density that people were allocated an extremely small living space, and were subject to arrest if they exceeded their bounds. Unscrupulous landlords started cutting doors slightly downsized. I was working at a dotcom startup at the time, and stacks of blank doors awaiting to be made into work desks were a common sight. One day I noticed the most recent pile of doors were a foot shorter than the others. It was later explained they were to be used for other purposes than desks, but for a minute I felt I was about to live in a Ballard-style nightmare. Yep, he's a powerfuml image maker!

I was introduced to Ballard a dozen years ago my my friend V. Vale, who championed Ballard's writings and brought many titles back in print. Here's Vale's reflections on the death of Ballard. And here are some of Vale's interviews and Ballard titles.

If you aren't familiar with this genius, get yourself a copy of his collected short storries, or something meatier like High Rise. And be prepared to be knocked out.