Although his best known works, for both adults and children, were in the science fiction field — most notably the Tripods trilogy, and disaster novels like The Death of Grass, The World in Winter and Wrinkle in the Skin — Youd wrote in a wide variety of genres, including horror (The Possessors as Christopher), crime (as Peter Graaf), thrillers (as Christopher), Gothic romance (as Hilary Ford), as well as Kitchen Sink novels under his own name and mainstream novels under the pen-name Stanley Winchester.
Obituaries: The Guardian (7 February).
Further information: Science Fiction Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
Thanks for alerting me to this - no obit in the Telegrtaph so I would have remained in ignorance otherwise.
ReplyDeleteSadly, I had only at the start of this year decided to re-aquaint myself with John Christopher's work, which I hadn't read since I was a schoolboy, many many years ago. And I have to say: it still holds up remarkably well. I shall continue to hunt out back editions of this sadly neglected paragon of the British SF scene.