Robert Shekli

Robert Sheckley (July 16, 1928 – December 9, 2005) was an outstanding American science fiction writer. One of the founding fathers of Western science fiction. The most widely read science fiction writer in the post-Soviet space. He visited Moscow and Kyiv. During his 77 years of life, he left behind about twenty published novels, as well as countless philosophical and satirical short stories.

Black humor and the ability to find, sometimes taking the described situation to the point of absurdity, another, completely unexpected angle on ordinary things, events, and phenomena — this is what chiefly distinguishes Robert Sheckley from his “tribe,” his fellow writers. His works are not so much science fiction as they are the drama and comedy of the 20th century. Instead of endless flights of engineering imagination, a feature generally characteristic of the genre, Sheckley devoted his books to the study of social phenomena and the depths of human consciousness.

Biographical details:

1928 – born in New York City. Graduated from a technical college. During his service in the U.S. Army, he showed himself to be a journalist, editing his regiment’s weekly newspaper.

1951 – graduated from New York University. Went to work at a metallurgical plant. A year later, he began publishing his first works.

1954 – received the prestigious “Best Debut” award. The most famous magazines gladly began publishing his stories.

1991 – Daniel Galan Prize for contributions to the development of world science fiction.

1998 – received the “Strannik” award for contributions to the development of satire in science fiction.

1999 – the beginning of his friendship with the Italian writer Robert Quaglia. Incidentally, it is thanks to this man that an extraordinary interview-conversation with Sheckley has been preserved.

2005 (spring) – trip to Ukraine for the literary convention “Portal.” During the visit, the writer’s health sharply deteriorated, and he was hospitalized. During his treatment in a private Kyiv clinic, Sheck