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5 reviews
Ballard was a science fiction writer whose science fiction spent less time visualizing amazing futures with uncanny aliens and human-like robots. His science fiction was dark, grim, and depressing. In each of the stories presented here, we find common threads, usually involving death or dying, and also usually involving the sea.

While some episodes seemed like something you might see on Twilight Zone (or similar shows), the stories themselves are more than just 30-minutes of setting with a surprise ending. Many of the stories here are just as poignant today as they were back in the 60s.

If you are a fan of strange speculative fiction, then you might just find yourself enjoying J. G. Ballard. Otherwise, his stuff might be a bit too real show more for a topic a bit too speculative. show less
This book is a series of short stories. The stories are enigmatic and generally have cataclysmic endings. The theme of Ballard's stories appears to be a dismal ending to people and generally to the human race. Some of the stories appear meaningless but are in general creative. The author appears to have some scientific training, which is put into the stories. I hesitantly recommend the book to those who are looking for something different.
Ack. I got through it, but, as the other reviewers have implied, it's *L*iterary and depressing. Imo, stories, esp. SF stories, should have at least a little fun, adventure, or joy. Maybe fans of the Horror genre would like this better, but I'm not sure. My one star rating may seem harsh, but GR says one star means did not like it" and that is true."
Ik las dit toen ik 16 jaar was; heb er eigenlijk geen herinnering meer aan. Vond het in elk geval maar matig
Indeholder "The Voices of Time", "The Drowned Giant", "The Terminal Beach", "Manhole 69", "Storm-Bird, Storm-Dreamer", "The Sound-Sweep", "Billenium", "Chronopolis", "Build-Up", "The Garden of Time", "End-Game", "The Watch-Towers", "Now Wakes the Sea", "Zone of Terror", "The Cage of Sand", "Deep End".

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291+ Works 37,616 Members
J. G. Ballard was born to British parents in Shanghai, China on November 15, 1930. While a child during World War II, he spent four years in a Japanese POW camp. This experience was the basis for the emotionally moving novel Empire of the Sun, which he adapted into a successful movie, directed by Steven Spielberg. Before becoming a full-time show more writer, he studied medicine at Cambridge University and served as a pilot in the British Royal Air Force. Ballard is best known for his science fiction writings. His early works were heavily influenced by surrealism. Most of his novels deal with death and destruction of the human spirit. Novels such as Crash, Concrete Island, and High Rise portray a society that is devolving into barbaric chaos. Crash was made into a movie by David Cronenberg in 1996. The Drowned World describes an apocalyptic society, with a hero that ushers in the destruction of the world. His novel Empire of the Sun was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and awarded the Guardian Fiction Prize and James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction. Empire of the Sun was filmed by Steven Spielberg in 1987, starring a young Christian Bale as Jim (Ballard). Ballard moved away from science fiction, but he is still considered one of the leading authors of the genre. He died on April 19, 2009 at the age of 78. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

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Eisermann, Wolfgang (Translator)

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Fiction and Literature, Science Fiction
DDC/MDS
813Literature & rhetoricAmerican literature in EnglishAmerican fiction in English
LCC
PZ4Language and LiteratureFiction and juvenile belles lettresFiction and juvenile belles lettresFiction in English
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263
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Reviews
5
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(3.88)
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Dutch, English, Italian, Japanese
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Paper
ISBNs
5
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2