Ian Millsted looks at the work of Christopher Priest, the British novelist and science fiction writer, whose novel The Prestige was filmed by Christopher Nolan in 2006

Hugh Jackman and Andy Serkis in The Prestige (2006)

At the beginning of 2024, we lost one of Britain’s most thoughtful and thought-provoking writers of science fiction (and much else besides). Christopher Priest may not be known to all Infinity readers, but he should be. One of his novels was adapted for the screen by Christopher Nolan. He was named in the first of those (in)famous ‘Best Young British Novelists’ lists alongside the likes of Martin Amis and Ian McEwan. He wrote for television. Readers of the Guardian may have become familiar with his obituaries of other sf/f writers. Sadly, he has now become a subject of an obituary himself.

I came to the works of Christopher Priest relatively late, when I picked up a second-hand paperback copy of Inverted World mainly because a friend of mine had done the illustrations. However, I was quickly drawn into the narrative and setting which was unlike much else I had read.

I started to look for more, which was timely as this was at a point when Priest had changed publishers and many of his books were being re-released.

Christopher Priest made the point himself that there was nothing in his background that made his becoming a successful novelist a certain, or even likely, outcome. He did not go to university. No-one in his family had been involved in the publishing trade. He had not experienced a troubled childhood which required the catharsis of fictionalising his experiences. He was not wealthy enough to be able to write just because he wanted to. In other words, his success was down to ability and hard work, which is as it should be. He took some classes in creative writing led by the poet and playright, Maureen Duffy.