Sci-fi author Robert Sheckley dead

Prolific science fiction author Robert Sheckley has died in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., at age 77.

The cause was complications of a brain aneurysm, according to The New York Times.

Sheckly was considered one of science fiction's seminal humorists.

Sheckley wrote more than 15 novels and around 400 short stories. The count may actually be higher, however, since he often wrote stories under pseudonyms. His work has been translated into 10 languages and is extremely popular in Eastern Europe.

Four of his stories were made into films. The best known was 1965's "The Tenth Victim" starring Marcello Mastroianni and Ursula Andress.

Sheckley's fiction has been translated into German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Finnish and Lithuanian. His work is especially popular in Russia and Eastern Europe, UPI reports.

V.Y.