Ludvík Souček
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Ludvík Souček (17 May 1926 - 26 December 1978 in Prague) was probably the best-known author of science fiction in Czechoslovakia.
He was educated at the medical school of Charles University in Prague as a dentist. After graduation, he joined the Czechoslovak Army and spent two years in Korea during the Korean War. Then he worked in the Czech Department of Defence, Czech state television and publishing house Albatros.
He was a life-time member of CPC (Communist Party of Czechoslovakia), and it definitely left an imprint on his literary works. In spite of that, he remained the most popular author of Czech sci-fi not only during his life, but also after his death.
[edit] Speculations about medical experiments on POWs
According to an article in Czech by Ross Hedvicek [1] Ludvík Souček's death is still shrouded in mystery, as it became known shortly before that during his military service in Korean War (on the communist side, of course) he may have been involved in medical experiments on American POWs. The official reason of his death is cited as a heart attack.
[edit] Some of Ludvík Souček works
- 1951 Hrajeme maňáskové divadlo (about puppet theater)
- 1962 Hrátky kolem křižovatky (for children)
- 1963 Jak se světlo naučilo kreslit (about photography)
- 1964 Cesta slepých ptáků (SF, further ed. 1976, 1989 and 1999)
- 1965 Krotitelé ďáblů (adventure)
- 1965 Co oko nevidí (about photography)
- 1966 Cesta k moderní fotografii (about photography)
- 1967 Cesta slepých ptáků II. Runa rider (SF, further ed. 1976 and 1999)
- 1968 Cesta slepých ptáků III. Sluneční jezero (SF, further ed. 1976 and 1999)
- 1968 Případ ztraceného suchoplavce (ft. Martin Anděl, detective)
- 1969 Bratři Černé planety (SF short stories)
- 1970 Operace "Kili" (SF short stories; part of the distribution banned)
- 1970 Záhada S M (a thater play)
- 1970 Případ Jantarové komnaty (SF, ft. Martin Anděl, detective, further ed. 1990)
- 1971 Fotografujeme na cestách (about photographyí)
- 1972 Případ baskervillského psa (SF, ft. Martin Anděl, detective)
- 1972 Pevnost bílých mravenců (SF)
- 1973 Zájem Galaxie (SF short stories)
- 1974 Blázniví vynálezci (about "crazy inventors")
- 1974 Tušení souvislosti
- 1975 Co zavinil Gutenberg (about book printing)
- 1976 Rakve útočí (about the armored ships Virginia (Merrimac) and Monitor in the North vs. South war)
- 1978 Tušení stínu
- 1980 Blázni z Hepteridy (SF, further ed. in 1986 and 2000)
- 1983 Bohové Atlantidy (SF, further ed. v roce 2000)
- 1985 Hippokratův slib (SF short stories, further ed. 1997)
[edit] References
- Ondřej Neff: Literární sopka Ludvíka Součka, in Něco je jinak, Albatros, Praha 1981, s. 285 - 305.
- František Novotný: Tlustý muž, který se smál, in: Ludvík Souček: Po stopách bludiček, AF 167, Brno 1992, s. 11 - 63.
- ^ Ross Hedvicek "Suspicion of doctor Souček" ("Tušení doktora Součka"), written in 2002 and republished on another one of Hedvicek's bloggs in 2007: [1], where he thanks "P. P. for original information and col. L. C. ret. for courage to confirm" ("P. P. za původní informací a plk. L. C. v. v. za odvahu to všechno potvrdit"), with some links given there as sources, further sources named over there:
- Jan Sejna: We will bury you, 1982
- Jan Sejna: Decision-Making in Communist Countries : An Inside View
- Joseph D. Douglass: Red Cocaine: The Drugging of America and the West, New York: Edward Harle Limited, 1999 edition
