Dan Simmons, if you are out there, I’d love to interview you

unfortunately he spiraled into far right nutjobbery a while ago… just take a look at the synopsis of flashback quoted here:
https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/dan-simmons-goes-off-the-deeper-end.196191/

1984 wowed me by turning dictatorial politics into existential horror. It influenced how I think about surveillance and propaganda in particular.