Award-winning SF author Poul Anderson, the prolific author of more than 100 books, died July 31 of prostate cancer at his home in Orinda, Calif., according to his publisher, Tor Books. He was 74. With a career spanning more than 50 years, Anderson was considered one of the best writers in the genre, having penned hundreds of short stories and dozens of novels; more than 100 of his novels and short-story collections have been published.
Anderson--born in Pennsylvania of Scandinavian parents, a culture that informed his writing--was just 20 years old when he published his first short story in 1947, according to the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. In 1948, he earned a degree in physics from the University of Minnesota. Among his early novels are the SF Brain Wave and the fantasy Three Hearts and Three Lions. Anderson also wrote under the pseudonyms Michael Karageorge and Winston P. Sanders. With SF author Gordon R. Dickson, Anderson also wrote stories about Hokas, a species of furry aliens.
His later books can be grouped by sequence, including the Technic History series, centered on Nicholas van Rijn and Dominic Flandry; the Time Patrol stories, which began with Guardians of Time; the Psychotechnic League stories; and the History of Rustum sequence. Notable singletons include the fantasy A Midsummer Tempest and the SF Tau Zero, and his recent work included the four-book sequence beginning with 1993's Harvest of Stars. In an interview in Locus in 1997, Anderson said that he would like to be remembered for Tau Zero, Midsummer Tempest, The Boat of a Million Years, Three Hearts and Three Lions, The Enemy Stars and Brain Wave.
On July 6, Anderson's 2000 novel Genesis won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for the best science fiction novel of the year, the latest in a long string of honors that included three Nebula Awards and seven Hugo Awards, according to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Anderson was a former president of the SFWA and guest of honor at the World Science Fiction Convention. In 1997 he received SFWA's Grandmaster Award, and in 2000 he was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.
Anderson is survived by his wife and writing partner, Karen; his daughter, Astrid; brother, John; two grandchildren; two nieces; and SF writer Greg Bear, his son-in-law.
Anderson--born in Pennsylvania of Scandinavian parents, a culture that informed his writing--was just 20 years old when he published his first short story in 1947, according to the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. In 1948, he earned a degree in physics from the University of Minnesota. Among his early novels are the SF Brain Wave and the fantasy Three Hearts and Three Lions. Anderson also wrote under the pseudonyms Michael Karageorge and Winston P. Sanders. With SF author Gordon R. Dickson, Anderson also wrote stories about Hokas, a species of furry aliens.
His later books can be grouped by sequence, including the Technic History series, centered on Nicholas van Rijn and Dominic Flandry; the Time Patrol stories, which began with Guardians of Time; the Psychotechnic League stories; and the History of Rustum sequence. Notable singletons include the fantasy A Midsummer Tempest and the SF Tau Zero, and his recent work included the four-book sequence beginning with 1993's Harvest of Stars. In an interview in Locus in 1997, Anderson said that he would like to be remembered for Tau Zero, Midsummer Tempest, The Boat of a Million Years, Three Hearts and Three Lions, The Enemy Stars and Brain Wave.
On July 6, Anderson's 2000 novel Genesis won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for the best science fiction novel of the year, the latest in a long string of honors that included three Nebula Awards and seven Hugo Awards, according to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Anderson was a former president of the SFWA and guest of honor at the World Science Fiction Convention. In 1997 he received SFWA's Grandmaster Award, and in 2000 he was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.
Anderson is survived by his wife and writing partner, Karen; his daughter, Astrid; brother, John; two grandchildren; two nieces; and SF writer Greg Bear, his son-in-law.
