FRED SABERHAGEN: ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF HIS DEATH
I never knew he passed away last year on June 29 at the age of 77. My family and I were busy mourning the death of our mother and so I was out of touch with the wide world of the internet for many weeks. When I found out that this very fine science fiction author, also a Catholic, passed away, I decided to wait for his anniversary to remember him.
In many ways, Fred Saberhagen was a young man's writer. His greatest series called BERSERKER spanned many years, many short stories and novels, and dealt with intelligent machines bent on destroying the human race. Sounds familiar doesn't it? Yet it was years before Arnold Schwarzennegger made THE TERMINATOR a household word. Mr. Saberhagen gave us the template for much of modern sci-fi. His themes about what is really human and what the pitfalls of technology might be were warnings that still ring clear to us. He appealed to the boy in me, with heroes who knew right from wrong and helped the helpless. He wrote to entertain, but there was always a message. Isaac Asimov wrote similarly, but face it, he was never as enjoyable. Battles, heroes, and plots that recalled the great epics and medieval quests--Mr. Saberhagen's stories enchanted the young, made them long to touch the stars.
Long ago, I sensed the Catholic themes of respect for life, especially human life and, of course, he wrote of a value system that was once recognizable to everyone but now seems sadly absent from much of science fiction writing. He shared the Catholic theological focus of an optimistic world view, even in the face of chaos, where human beings, while capable of great evil, were essentially good and noble, and worthy of redemption.
His other writings--the famous SWORDS series and his VAMPIRE CHRONICLES veered intriguingly into the world of fantasy with a dash of science fiction, but his themes remained the same all the while recovering a sense of wonder in old tales and epics. One could wax eloquent over what he meant in this novel or that, or the greater meaning of his writings, but I believe Mr. Saberhagen wrote for the sheer enjoyment of writing and entertaining, albeit with a message. I recall fondly the many hours I have spent reading his works through the years.
If you are interested in his works, check out his website: Fred Saberhagen. If you have never read him, try him out--most enjoyable and thought provoking.
God bless you, Fred Saberhagen and your family. You are in our prayers. May you walk forever in eternity. And thank you for helping this reader walk amidst the stars--at least in my own imagination and dreams.
Comments