James Ballard died, one of the largest modern writers of Great Britain

After a long illness at the age of 78, one of the largest modern writers of Great Britain, James Ballard, died.

Born in Shanghai in the family of a British diplomat, he gained his first fame for science fiction stories and novels, which have been distinguished by a paradoxical perception of reality. This was largely due to the fact that surrealism had a great influence on the writer's work.

However, genuine glory came to Ballard in 1984 after the publication of the novel "The Empire of the Sun." It is based on the author’s own memoirs about the content in Japanese captivity during the Second World War - Ballard was interned at the age of 12 and spent three years in the camp.

In 1987, the famous American director Stephen Spielberg put the film of the same name along the "Empire of the Sun.".

In 2006, Ballard’s novel Autokatastrophe (Crash; written in 1973) was edited by Playboy.com on the list of 25 most sexy works in the history of mankind and took the fifth line there.

Despite a serious illness - prostate cancer, James Ballard worked on autobiographical works until his last days.