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LONDON (AFP) – JG Ballard, a cult author best known for his book “Empire of the Sun” about his childhood struggle to survive in a Japanese internment camp, has died after a long illness, his agent said. He was 78.

Margaret Hanbury announced his death from cancer on Sunday with “great sadness”, saying he had been ill “for several years”.

Hanbury, who had been Ballard’s agent for more than 25 years, described
his “acute and visionary” observation of the world, which led him to
produce disquieting novels and won him a cult following.

Despite regularly being referred to as a science fiction writer, Ballard said what he was really doing was “picturing the psychology of the future”.

Although he began writing relatively conventional science fiction short
stories, he moved to a more adventurous, “new wave” style, which
focused less on the world beyond the stars and more on the society
around him.

Ballard honed his experimental writing in stories published in the
ground-breaking magazine “New Worlds” over more than a decade.

— Writer JG Ballard dies age 78

Aw, I just finally got to see the movie adaptation of Empire Of The Sun, it was very good.

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