Sladek, who died in 2000, produced the best parodies in sf (try "Solar Shoe-Salesman," which sends up Philip K. Wolfe and Le Guin's work typically exhibits a cool, almost classical perfection, but John Sladek could hardly restrain his restless and kaleidoscopic genius. Editor David Streitfeld, compiler of many of the best volumes in this "Last Interview" series, opens and closes the book, with a superb introduction and its very final, intimate conversation. Le Guin, who discusses books, writing, life and much else in "The Last Interview and Other Conversations" (Melville House). Among Wolfe's many admirers was the late Ursula K. His four-part masterpiece, "The Book of the New Sun," sometimes looks like fantasy, sometimes like science fiction, but there's no uncertainty about its magnificence - it is a work that repeatedly takes your breath away. Gene Wolfe, who died on April 14 at age 87, was one of the greatest American writers of his generation, period.
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