Brian Aldiss, one of the most prolific and influential science fiction writers of the 20th century, has died aged 92.
Literary agency Curtis Brown said Aldiss died early Saturday at his home in Oxford, England. Born in 1925, Aldiss served in India and Burma with the British Army during World War II and later became a bookseller, publishing his first stories in a trade magazine.
Aldiss’ 1969 short story Supertoys Last All Summer Long was an unrealized dream project for the late Stanley Kubrick and formed the basis for Steven Spielberg’s 2001 film A.I. Son Tim Aldiss tweeted that his father was “a drinking companion of Kingsley Amis & correspondent with C.S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkien,” and younger writers hailed him as a major influence and encouraging mentor. On Twitter, Sandman author Neil Gaiman called him “a larger than life wise writer.”