London ? Author J.G. Ballard, a survivor of a Japanese prison camp whose vision was so dark and distinctive it was labeled “Ballardian” and who reached a wide audience with the autobiographical “Empire Of The Sun,” died Sunday, his agent said. He was 78.

Ballard was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2006. He had been ill “for several years” and died in London at the home of his long-term partner, his agent Margaret Hanbury said. She did not give the cause of death.

“His acute and visionary observation of contemporary life was distilled into a number of brilliant, powerful novels which have been published all over the world and saw Ballard gain cult status,” Hanbury said.

Ballard was born in Shanghai, China, and was interned there in a prison camp by Japanese troops in 1941 — an experience he drew upon in the 1984 novel “Empire of The Sun,” adapted as a film by Steven Spielberg, an early effort by the director of “Jaws” and “E.T.” to take on more serious material.

Known for his dystopian narratives, Ballard was also admired by such rock bands as Radiohead and Joy Division and by songwriter-producer Trevor Horn, who claim that Ballard’s short story “The Sound-Sweep” inspired “Video Killed the Radio Star,” performed by the Buggles and the first song ever aired on MTV.

The writer moved to Britain in 1946, where he lived until his death.