Jo Clayton

Jo Clayton (1939-1998) was born on this day, January 15.

In a post earlier this  year, I asked what writers should be remembered. One of the suggestions was Jo Clayton.

I’ve never read her work, although based on some of the covers, they look like a lot of pulpy fun. The Diadem series was publiished  back in the days when DAW was still being run by Donald A. Wolheim. And old Don, he did love him some pulp.

I have most of this series in a box (or boxes) somewhere that I haven’t unpacked yet. I picked most of them up at the Friends of the Library sale on the cheap.

They are on my radar and have been for q while. I just haven’t worked them in. I’ll be unpacking boxes when I get the new bookcases next week, and I’ll keep an eye out for them.

This isn’t the only series Clayton wrote, but it is the one I’ve seen most associated with her. I’m not familiar with her other work.

DAW covers back in the 1970s really made the books look like fun. Those yellow spines were an eye-catching thing in a bookstore when the books were shelved spine out.

If any of you have read Clayton, what do you think of her work in general and this series specifically?

 

2 thoughts on “Jo Clayton

  1. marlie graves

    Just finished re-reading the Skeen trilogy for perhaps the 5th or 6th time – Jo Clayton may be my favorite SF writer of all, and the Skeen character the most sympatico I’ve encoucnterd in SF or F – and I’ve been reading SF for over 70 years. Clayton’s worlds and creatures are of unending variety, composed of not only strange appearances, but unique arts, music and poetry, technologies, philosophies, and religions. And she tosses off the deepest insights and speculations so lightly it’s easy to miss them in the midst of whatever hijinks are going on. I truly urge you to read some more Jo Clayton ASAP – I’m sure you won’t regret it.

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