John Christopher 1922-2012

[major_clanger]

It has been reported that Sam Youd, who wrote sf as John Christopher, died last night at the age of 89. The report is via a comment on the Talk page of his Wikipedia entry as is not confirmed elsewhere as yet.

If true, this is not unexpected (he had apparently been ill for some time) but it still a very sad loss. John Christopher was one of the writers who had most impact on me as a young reader and the Tripods trilogy made a deep impression on me. I seem to recall he was one of the early London fandom group; was he the last survivor?

EDIT Via ffutures, now confirmed by David Langford.

Comments

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Crud. Suppose it was inevitable, wonder if this will lead to more interest in his works.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Dave Langford just confirmed it in an email.

[history-monk.livejournal.com]

He certainly was one of the early London fan group, although I don't know if he was the last. Rob Hansen would know.

[http://users.livejournal.com/la_marquise_de_/]

Very sad news.

[desperance.livejournal.com]

Oh, soddit. I was only saying last week how I'd met him one time and how much I'd liked him...