Happy Birthday John Brunner

HIPCRIME: You committed one when you opened this book. Keep it up. It’s our only hope.
~ The Hipcrime Vocab by Chad Mulligan

If you recognise the above quote, then chances are you’re one of the enlightened souls who’ve read  Stand on Zanzibar, John Brunner‘s brilliantly fractured 1968 novel, which won the Hugo Award and the BSFA Award. The creation of Stand on Zanzibar alone would be enough to ensure John Brunner entry into the pantheon of SF greats, but he produced many other fine and worthy works (which, coincidentally, you can find via his author page on the SF Gateway) such as The Shockwave Rider, in which he predicted the computer virus.

COINCIDENCE: You weren’t paying attention to the other half of what was happening.
~ The Hipcrime Vocab by Chad Mulligan

Sadly, John Brunner passed away during the 1995 Glasgow Worldcon. Had he not, he would have been celebrating his 79th birthday today. Having read and enjoyed Stand on Zanzibar – albeit many moons ago – we can’t help but winder what he would make of the world we’ve inherited. . . ?

PATRIOTISM: A great British writer once said that if he had to choose between betraying his country and betraying a friend he hoped he would have the decency to betray his country.
(Amen, brothers and sisters! Amen!)
~ The Hipcrime Vocab by Chad Mulligan