Friday Fun Fact
The original novel of First Blood by David Morrell -- the book that gave us the character of John Rambo -- is dedicated to Philip Klass and William Tenn, author of, among other things, "The Liberation of Earth".
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William Tenn (1920-2010)
Among the great American satirical fictioneers of the last hundred years or so -- and Americans often tend to be satirical fictioneers, even when they're not trying to be, because it's hard to write about the vast, paradoxical, beautiful monstrosity that is America without delving, at least momentarily, into satire; but few writers can sustain a varied career as satirists, and few who do are truly great -- there are two whose works I hold close to my heart: Kurt Vonnegut and William Tenn.
The man who wrote under the name "William Tenn" was Philip Klass, and he has died at the age of 89.
I had the great honor of shaking Mr. Klass's hand at the 2004 World Science Fiction Convention in Boston, the only WorldCon I have (so far) attended. He was the Guest of Honor, and I somehow ended up at the Hugo Losers Party, and he was there to hang out with the losers. He seemed quite happy to be in such company.
Shaking his hand was, for me, one of those awkward moments wher…
The man who wrote under the name "William Tenn" was Philip Klass, and he has died at the age of 89.
I had the great honor of shaking Mr. Klass's hand at the 2004 World Science Fiction Convention in Boston, the only WorldCon I have (so far) attended. He was the Guest of Honor, and I somehow ended up at the Hugo Losers Party, and he was there to hang out with the losers. He seemed quite happy to be in such company.
Shaking his hand was, for me, one of those awkward moments wher…