I loved his Minnesota Supernatural books, his novelization of The Prisoner, and The Genocides. And The Brave Little Toaster. 
Thomas M. Disch, author of The Brave Little Toaster, committed suicide yesterday.
Somehow, I think that’s the only story of his I’ve read, although I believe I have a copy of Camp Concentration around here somewhere.
Band Name! No really, I have a friend who is (was?) in a band by that name. It is the reason I opened this thread, and yes, it was chosen in reference to the book. Reminds me I need to look him up.
Regardless of what was done with the franchise, “brave little toaster” is one of my personal favorite sarcastic ripostes.
I am thinking of the right (original) story, yes? Where a toaster and an electric blanket and a desk chair set off on a heroic quest to find their owner?
That’s sad. I dug Camp Concentration.
I actually met him at some kind of convention when I was in high school, and I remember him being wry and discouraging. I asked him what were the odds of a book like 1984 being published then (1982 or so) and he said “zero.”
That’s really sad news; he was one of my favourite authors, although I must admit I’ve not read or re-read any of his work for a while. He wrote some some great short stories so I guess I’ll go read some of those tonight - or maybe 334, that was excellent, and I was looking at it only a week or two ago, wondering whether or not to re-read it…
And I really liked Brave Little Toaster, too!
Camp Concentration blew me away – I may have to dig out my 30-year-old copy and reread it in his honor. Guess it’s a generational thing – though I’ve heard of Brave Little Toaster, I had no idea he had anything to do with it.
Sad news - great writer. 334 and camp concentration are exceptional. Sounds like he was in a bad place in recent years.
Disch had a LiveJournal. Here’s a poem from June 21:
To D-Con, with love:
He went down the chute just now,
a paper towel for his shroud
and a big Premium cracker box
for a coffin. He had taken care
to come out from behind the oven
and die in plain sight. But
(a good feminist may ask) why
do I suppose he was a boy-mouse?
Might not the corpse as likely have been
a girl’s? Well, I checked his genetalia
and he had the cutest little pecker
that ever incited a mouse to acts of love.
I read “The Brave Little Toaster” in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction back, I guess, in the late '70s or early '80s. Were there sequels or something?
Guess I’ve always had him in the back of my mind as one of the late '60s New Wave sf writers, but I also remember On Wings of Song from, I think, 1979.
And I had a text-based PC game he wrote called “Amnesia”. I mean he wrote the descriptions and dialogue. I never finished that game, and lost the 5 inch floppy years ago. I wonder if it’s available anywhere? Nowadays I could download the whole thing in a minute.
It’s out there. Google “amnesia” + “abandonware.”