Comments on: the shattered worlds of john christopher

By: Tim Scammell

Tim Scammell — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 14:10:28 +0000

John Christopher was the one person who turned me into a fan of Science Fiction after reading the Tripods trilogy on a whim when I was young.
One day several years ago I sent him a letter via publisher and was floored when he replied back with not only his standard form reply letter but also a hand written personal note telling how happy he was reading it.
What an amazing man.

By: Jen

Jen — Mon, 10 May 2010 14:18:12 +0000

So pleased to stumble across your article…. I read Empty World at school and it started a strange love of post-apocalyptic storylines. I had no idea that Youd had published so many books, however. I’ll be filling my Amazon basket straight after I make this post.

Do you happen to know whether Empty World was on school reading lists in the 80s? It seems such a spooky choice for a schoolbook - but a great one.

By: Robert Mammone

Robert Mammone — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 12:13:28 +0000

Wonderful to read his article again after so many years. I’ve done my best to track down Christopher’s works, but it seems I still have a ways to go. Fortunately, I have a copy of The Guardians and Wrinkle in Time to tide me over!

By: N V PARFITT

N V PARFITT — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:11:29 +0000

Thanks for your appraisal of ‘John Christopher’. I thought he’d been forgotten by everyone except me.

I always cite ‘The Death of Grass’ as a favourite SF novel because it’s simple powerful central idea has stuck with me since I first read it in the ’60s. It’s the kind of SF I love to read and wish I could write.
I greatly enjoyed ‘Wrinkle in the Skin’ when that came out ; the sea-bed imagery has also burnt it’s way into my imagination.These two novels have been a yardstick that much other SF has failed to equal.

Unfortunately when it came out I thought ‘The Little People’ was silly ; my love affair with the author ended and I’ve not read any of his fiction since.

Your article makes me think I should track more ‘John Christopher’ down.

Thanks again.