We are saddened to learn that novelist JG Ballard died today. Ballard's work focused on the effects of technology on our heads, hearts, and gonads, and cars figured prominently in much of it.

His 1973 novel, Crash, should be considered a must-read for Jalopnik regulars (the film version is worth watching, but it's no substitute for the 200-proof original), and Concrete Island should be on-deck after that. It's seriously dystopic stuff, and it will colonize your brain in true virus fashion, but you'll love- and fear- cars all the more for it.

[BoingBoing, JGBallard.ca, Wikipedia]

Send an email to Murilee Martin, the author of this post, at murilee@jalopnik.com.