(Added November 2019)
The reasons given in this review for Ford’s work being out of print are wrong. I apologize for the error.
The actual reason can be found here.
If I had been more on the ball, I’d have had this review ready in timefor 25 September, the ninth anniversary of John M. Ford’s death. Fordwas an author’s author, beloved by the literati, someone who didn’t condescend to the reader by making his textseasy to read. That, and a habit of drifting from genre to genre, lefthim more obscure than he deserves. Although no more obscure than lazyreaders deserve.
Tomake matters worse, although he had long been in ill-health (in theUS, no less), Ford never got around to choosing a literary executor. Due to barbaric laws that grant no inheritance rights tosignificant others to whom one is not legally married, the rights tohis books are held by his blood kin. They didn’t approve of hiscareer and have not, the last I heard, allowed any outof-print-material to be reprinted.
Iseriously considered reviewing John M. Ford’s 1993 juvenile GrowingUp Weightlessto get the taste of Luna:New Moonout of my mouth … but I was already in a bad mood. Thinking aboutwhy GrowingUp Weightlessis out of print would have just made it worse. So I decided to reviewhis 1997 collection, FromThe End of the Twentieth Century,one of three works by Ford that I believe are still in print. (Seethe end of this review for a list.)
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