John Brunner’s Followers (478)

John Brunner

Born

in Preston Crowmarsh, Oxfordshire, England, The United Kingdom

September 24, 1934

Died

August 26, 1995

Genre

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Influences

Marshall McLuhan, Norbert Wiener, Anthony Burgess, Philip K. Dick ...more

edit data

John Brunner was born in Preston Crowmarsh, near Wallingford in Oxfordshire, and went to school at St Andrew's Prep School, Pangbourne, then to Cheltenham College. He wrote his first novel, Galactic Storm, at 17, and published it under the pen-name Gill Hunt, but he did not start writing full-time until 1958. He served as an officer in the Royal Air Force from 1953 to 1955, and married Marjorie Rosamond Sauer on 12 July 1958

At the beginning of his writing career Brunner wrote conventional space opera pulp science fiction. Brunner later began to experiment with the novel form. His 1968 novel "Stand on Zanzibar" exploits the fragmented organizational style John Dos Passos invented for his USA trilogy, but updates it in terms of the theory of John Brunner was born in Preston Crowmarsh, near Wallingford in Oxfordshire, and went to school at St Andrew's Prep School, Pangbourne, then to Cheltenham College. He wrote his first novel, Galactic Storm, at 17, and published it under the pen-name Gill Hunt, but he did not start writing full-time until 1958. He served as an officer in the Royal Air Force from 1953 to 1955, and married Marjorie Rosamond Sauer on 12 July 1958

At the beginning of his writing career Brunner wrote conventional space opera pulp science fiction. Brunner later began to experiment with the novel form. His 1968 novel "Stand on Zanzibar" exploits the fragmented organizational style John Dos Passos invented for his USA trilogy, but updates it in terms of the theory of media popularised by Marshall McLuhan.

"The Jagged Orbit" (1969) is set in a United States dominated by weapons proliferation and interracial violence, and has 100 numbered chapters varying in length from a single syllable to several pages in length. "The Sheep Look Up" (1972) depicts ecological catastrophe in America. Brunner is credited with coining the term "worm" and predicting the emergence of computer viruses in his 1975 novel "The Shockwave Rider", in which he used the term to describe software which reproduces itself across a computer network. Together with "Stand on Zanzibar", these novels have been called the "Club of Rome Quartet", named after the Club of Rome whose 1972 report The Limits to Growth warned of the dire effects of overpopulation.

Brunner's pen names include K. H. Brunner, Gill Hunt, John Loxmith, Trevor Staines, Ellis Quick, Henry Crosstrees Jr., and Keith Woodcott.
In addition to his fiction, Brunner wrote poetry and many unpaid articles in a variety of publications, particularly fanzines, but also 13 letters to the New Scientist and an article about the educational relevance of science fiction in Physics Education. Brunner was an active member of the organisation Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and wrote the words to "The H-Bomb's Thunder", which was sung on the Aldermaston Marches.

Brunner had an uneasy relationship with British new wave writers, who often considered him too American in his settings and themes. He attempted to shift to a more mainstream readership in the early 1980s, without success. Before his death, most of his books had fallen out of print. Brunner accused publishers of a conspiracy against him, although he was difficult to deal with (his wife had handled his publishing relations before she died).[2]

Brunner's health began to decline in the 1980s and worsened with the death of his wife in 1986. He remarried, to Li Yi Tan, on 27 September 1991. He died of a heart attack in Glasgow on 25 August 1995, while attending the World Science Fiction Convention there

aka
K H Brunner, Henry Crosstrees Jr, Gill Hunt (with Dennis Hughes and E C Tubb), John Loxmith, Trevor Staines, Keith Woodcott

Winner of the ESFS Awards in 1980 as "Best Author" and 1n 1984 as "Novelist".. ...more

Combine Editions
John Brunner’s books

Average rating: 3.83 · 59,762 ratings · 4,470 reviews · 575 distinct works • Similar authors

	Stand on Zanzibar 3.94 avg rating — 17,272 ratings — published 1968 — 80 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Sheep Look Up by John Brunner, James John Bell (Afterword), David Brin (Goodreads Author) (Introduction) 3.91 avg rating — 5,657 ratings — published 1972 — 65 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Shockwave Rider 3.91 avg rating — 4,300 ratings — published 1975 — 51 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Crucible of Time 3.72 avg rating — 1,199 ratings — published 1983 — 26 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Jagged Orbit 3.73 avg rating — 953 ratings — published 1969 — 46 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Compleat Traveller in Black by John Brunner, Martin Springett 3.85 avg rating — 778 ratings — published 1971 — 29 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Squares of the City by John Brunner, Charles Moll (Illustrator) 3.41 avg rating — 685 ratings — published 1965 — 45 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Whole Man 3.64 avg rating — 575 ratings — published 1964 — 41 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Total Eclipse 3.45 avg rating — 529 ratings — published 1974 — 35 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Polymath (Zarathustra Refugee Planets, #2) 3.58 avg rating — 351 ratings — published 1963 — 20 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by John Brunner…

Series by John Brunner

Club of Rome Quartet (4 books)
by

John Brunner

3.92 avg rating — 28,178 ratings

Zarathustra Refugee Planets (3 books)
by

John Brunner

3.51 avg rating — 581 ratings

Le Troupeau aveugle (2 books)
by

John Brunner,

Guy Abadia (Traduction)

4.23 avg rating — 13 ratings

Tous à Zanzibar (2 books)
by

John Brunner,

Didier Pemerle (Traduction)

it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings

Quotes by John Brunner (?)

“It's supposed to be automatic, but actually you have to push this button. ”
― John Brunner, Stand on Zanzibar

tags: humour, sociology, technology

182 likes

“There are two kinds of fools. One says, "This is old, and therefore good." And one says, " This is new, and therefore better.”
― John Brunner, The Shockwave Rider

tags: fool, foolish, wisdom

91 likes

“I'm myself, not a label.”
― John Brunner, The Shockwave Rider

tags: independence, individuality, wit

45 likes

See all John Brunner's quotes »

Polls

April 2025: Re-Reads Poll #2
Vote for the one of the two books you want to re-read in April. Each member has two votes, one in each poll. Don't vote for the same book in both polls!

The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer by Neal Stephenson

10 votes, 22.2%

The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle

8 votes, 17.8%

The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold

6 votes, 13.3%

Among Others by Jo Walton

5 votes, 11.1%

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

4 votes, 8.9%

The Einstein Intersection by Samuel R. Delany

4 votes, 8.9%

Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty

4 votes, 8.9%

The Sheep Look Up by John Brunner

3 votes, 6.7%

The Love We Share Without Knowing by Christopher Barzak

1 vote, 2.2%

45 total votes

comments and details

More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Beyond Reality: 2009-05 EARTH ABIDES, George Stewart: Other post-apocalypse novels?	38	248	Oct 29, 2009 06:16AM
Hard SF: Booklist for BotM Poll for March 2010	2	44	Mar 05, 2010 06:04AM
Hard SF: Booklist for BotM Poll for May 2010	9	50	Apr 18, 2010 04:35AM
Hard SF: Booklist for BotM Poll for June 2010	2	49	May 16, 2010 04:45AM
Hard SF: Booklist for BotM Poll for July 2010	1	48	Jun 19, 2010 03:45PM
The Sword and Laser: Good Summer Sci-Fi Reads	12	120	Jun 20, 2010 01:05PM
Hard SF: Megalist for BotM Poll for August 2010	3	71	Jul 25, 2010 02:05AM
Wild Things: YA G...: Books about dreams or secret-keeping	9	90	Sep 30, 2010 07:44PM
SciFi and Fantasy...: Master Science Fiction Book List	121	2192	May 04, 2011 01:30PM
Beyond Reality: Nominations for August 2011!	21	64	May 21, 2011 06:00AM

More…

John Brunner’s Followers (478)

John Brunner

Combine EditionsJohn Brunner’s books

Series by John Brunner

Polls

Topics Mentioning This Author

Combine Editions
John Brunner’s books