Martin Amis has died | Hacker News Reader

Martin Amis has died

theguardian.com

119 pointsrocketbop28 comments

I sure many people will mention his great novels, but I wanted to mention a weird and (somewhat) underrated sci-fi film that he wrote: Saturn 3 (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079285/). It apparently had production problems which impacted the final film, but I think it's worth watching for the interesting ideas about building a killer, as in psychopathic, AI. Also the experience of writing it formed the basis of the novel Money.

The limits of my experience with his work was a tongue in check overview of early 80s arcade games and the players. He painted them as defenders of earth against an alien onslaught.

Must be this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_the_Space_Invaders

That's the one! As a kid back then, I had no idea who he was but later in life would always recognise his name from that book.

The full movie is on youtube for now at least:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2psCSVW85w

His book of essays/articles he wrote over the years is pretty great and includes many memorable turn of phrases. One I can recall almost verbatim from memory goes something like, "You can stir a vat of mollasses with James Wood's Chekhov boner."

His memoir Experience was also a good time if you're into that era and circle of people.

The best thing for a Martin Amis or Harvey Keitel fan is to forget Saturn 3 exists. Its overdubbing pf Keitels voice is distracting to the point of unintentional hilarity.

This is the first movie I ever saw that featured a realistic direct brain interface, in the form of a cable plugged into the back of a head.

A great loss.

I’ve actually been avoiding re-reading “Money” because I was so impressed with it a few decades ago and I’ve worried it might not live up to the memory. Now is probably the time for another ride in the Fiasco, John Self’s memorable Italian sports car.

A movie based on his novel “The Zone of Interest” just premiered at Cannes this week and seems to be getting rave reviews. Hopefully Amis had a chance to see it.

For me it was London Fields.

I first read it in the 90s because Blur referenced it as inspiration for Parklife. At the time I had no idea who Martin Amis was after reading it I knew wanted to read all his other books.

It's still on the shelf with a load of his others.

RIP Marin, you were great.

I re-read this every 5 years or so. It certainly covers a lot of ground on which literary tastes have changed, so it might not hold up for everyone, but what keeps me coming back is how much goddamn fun it is. Even if I thought it hadn't aged well, it'd be easy to forgive because of how utterly hilarious it is. I might have to find myself a hardcover copy. I hope you enjoy the re-read. RIP Martin.

Times Arrow is a good read as well.

Just thinking of that. I keep a copy of Hitch's "Love, Poverty, and War" as a bathroom reader, and although I don't recall the specific section, it was through their friendship that I was introduced to Martin's father's works.

The glue binding my copy of Lucky Jim dissolved in the back windshield of my car one summer, and I remember chasing the pages at the Indian mounds where I'd go after school to read.

I'll have to give Time's Arrow another read.

You probably know this but for others, Lucky Jim was written by his father Kingsley Amis, who was also a popular author in his time. Reading Martin’s memoir about his relationship with his dad is pretty good.

Loved that book. Found it in the sixth form library at school. Most certainly a malign influence upon my young character!

RIP Martin. Just to make this more HN-relevant: even though his book "Money" is popular and regarded as a masterpiece, it is not available on Kindle, or in any ebook format, in the US. It is, however, available on Kindle in the UK. I've always wondered why. Perhaps that'll change now that he's gone.

What a gifted writer. Times Arrow and London Fields are easy to find recommended, and deservedly so. The Information might be one of my favorite books of all, and Night Train was a lot of fun. I haven't caught up on his most recent two.

Peerless stylist of his generation, a serious thinker, and somehow managed to be fun alongside all of that. I haven’t kept up with his novels since Yellow Dog, but could recommend each and every one I’d read for something, even the duds were brimming with verve and original ideas. A major loss.

Amis wasn't primarily an SF author but "The Janitor on Mars" is a really great SF short of his.

I knew of London Fields for a long time before I got around to reading it, but I hadn't known it was an actual place until then. Always thought it was an intriguingly evocative title, and I suppose that was intentional.

Coincidentally, Martin and his father, Kingsley Amis both died at 73.

Looks like cliché won the war

Martin Amis, may you rest in peace. And thank you for giving us your mind.

Wow, is that the same cancer Christopher Hitchens had?

How unfortunate, a sad loss.

They had similar vices ...

Not only that, I believe they were good friends.

Indeed they were. I saw the two of them on a speaking tour at UCLA in the late 1990s, before Christopher became obsessed with Islam. They were kind of acting like bad schoolboys, drinking and smoking on stage IIRC. It would not be surprising if they went to Oxford together, of course Hitchens did.

They were. Coincidentally I was listening to a Hitchens interview this very morning (before this news) in which he mentioned it.

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