The 84 year old amazing writer of 14 darkly comic novels died Tuesday in Manhattan. He had suffered severe brain injuries as a result of a fall several weeks ago, and has finally left our earthly realm.

His novels were classics in the ‘60s and '70s for many a fine young reader, and several were adapted into films such as George Roy Hill's Slaughterhouse-Five, Alan Rudolph's Breakfast for Champions and Slapstick (of Another Kind), although the latter two were much less successful. (But no less Vonnegut!)

The man had an interesting life, as he was a prisoner of war in Dresden, Germany where he witnessed the firebombing by Allied forces. Many think this brutal event left a lasting influence on his work and Slaughterhouse-Five (published in 1969 during the Vietnam War) was based on his WWII experiences. The man had issues and knew how to give them a voice.

His last novel was published in 1997, Timequake, where he revisits his alter-ego character of Kilgore Trout (first introduced in Slaughterhouse-Five) who also appeared in Breakfast of Champions. Great author, interesting man. R.I.P.