John Brunner; British Science Fiction Novelist

John Brunner, 60, prolific and highly respected British science fiction novelist who wrote about contemporary social issues and first predicted computer viruses in 1975. Brunner, who penned more than 75 novels, wrote “The Shockwave Rider” 20 years ago, featuring a rebellious computer expert who designs a program to overthrow an authoritarian government. The author called the program a “worm,” a term that evolved into real-life computer viruses more than a decade later. Brunner first gained international attention with his 1969 novel, “Stand on Zanzibar,” involving the nightmare of overpopulation. That same year he wrote “The Squares of the City,” about the dehumanizing effect of computers. Brunner’s other books include “The Crucible of Time” in 1983, about the evolution of an alien species in response to environmental pressures, and “A Maze of Stars” in 1991, about colonists from Earth settling distant planets, supervised by a supercomputer. On Aug. 25 in Glasgow, Scotland, of a heart attack.