John Clute said. . . .
Brian Aldiss has been likened to his friend and colleague J. G. Ballard more often than either could probably care to recall. But Ballard writes dense, monomaniac books, attacking the same themes again and again, and his work cuts deep and narrow, while Aldiss has an exuberant, gregarious, far-seeking imagination, rarely repeats himself, and writes a great deal. He is harder, therefore, to pin down. In the end, however, he is almost certainly a more signifcant figure than his dark twin. It is certainly a prolific career and, like anyone who attacks a wide range of topics, Brian Aldiss has written a few clunkers along the way. What is remarkable is that he has also written so many superb and various books. Aldiss is simultaneously fierce, and sad, and happy, and he has said almost everything that can be said in SF.
