RIP Frederik Pohl

We have an author down. 
 
He left us on 9/2 at the age of 93.  I spent many hours reading his books.  It's funny that the one I remember most featured a character who outlived his body as a computer program.

craigb
Well, at least with authors, they usually leave us something to remember them by (as long as they finish that dang eight book trilogy before they kick it!!!).

I'm looking at you George R. R. Martin.

Next you'll tell me that Isaac Asimov, Arthur C Clark and Philip K Dick are all gone, too! There goes half my childhood...or...was it all just a dream/computer simulation?
 
BTW, since anybody responding to this thread is probably a science fiction fan -- anybody else really looking forward to the release of the movie version of Ender's Game this fall? 

I've been looking forward to that movie for years, Bitflipper.  I don't know if it can live up to expectations, but I'm sure hoping it will.

Since we're waxing nostalgic about classic SF, what about Jack Vance who died just a couple of months ago at the age of 90-something?  When I was young, I read Vance (he was probably my favorite SF writer from the "golden age") for the exciting, imaginative stories he told.  Decades later, I reread these books and appreciate what a realy fine wordsmith he was.

What about When Harley Was One by David Gerrold?

Of the things he has written under his own name, most of what he has written falls into one of two groups.
 
First is the recent "To Hell and Back" trilogy about a high functioning autistic actuary who ends up accidentally summoning the devil and fights crime with a demon sidekick.  It's actually a lot more profound than that description sounds, but not at all like Vance.
 
Everything else takes place in a setting referred to as The Archonate.  This is a typical Vancian space opera setting, with the twist that the universe cycles between rationalism and sympathetic association (ie magic) and is on the cusp of the change between the former and the latter. 
 
If you are more interested in the fantasy elements, I would recommend the stories featuring Hengis Hapthorne, a detective who finds himself involved in some of the events leading to the new age.  I started with the Majestrum / The Spiral Labyrinth / Hespira cycle.
 
There are also the stories written around Luff Imbry, a forger/smuggler/art thief.  I've read one or two short stories concerning his adventures, I believe The Meaning of Luff is a compilation of these.  Also The Other.
 
The only book of his that I didn't like was one called Black Brillion.  This book and The Commons tell the same story from the viewpoints of different characters.  If I had known that going in, I would have had a different perspective on the book.