Science Fiction author, 1923-1958.
If you ever thought to yourself, "How could any writer be better than Philip K. Dick?", this could have been the one. If only.
Kornbluth has been described as "The greatest storyteller known to the genre of science fiction." He was one of the people that made the "Golden Age of Science Fiction" a golden age. Sadly, he died of a heart attack at age 35.
Cyril Kornbluth began hanging out with Frederik Pohl and some other New York kids in the mid-1930s. They decided to form their own fan club, called "The Futurians". Cyril and his friends began getting their stories published in 1939 and 1940, but his career was interrupted by World War II. From his job as a machinist repairing artillery he was selected for an officer-training program for especially bright soldiers, called "ASVP". This was canceleld and he was sent to the front lines during the Battle of the Bulge.
When Kornbluth came back from the war, he completed his degree with the help of the G. I. Bill, and got a job as a wire service reporter. From 1950 onwards, he wrote the stories and novels we remember him for today.
Unfortunately, Kornbluth's experience in the Battle of the Bulge had weakened his heart, and he began to have problems with high blood pressure in the early 1950s. Ignoring his doctor's advice, he continued to smoke and eat spicy foods. Eventually, it all caught up with him: He collapsed on a train platform on March 12, 1958 and died.
Kornbluth's best-known works are his collaborative novels with Frederik Pohl, such as The Space Merchants. Working with Judy Merril, he produced Marschild and Gunner Cade.
His short science fiction is listed in another node, but includes:
Biographical information shamelessly lifted from Frederik Pohl's foreword to His Share of Glory: The Complete Short Science Fiction of C.M. Kornbluth.