(M.J.E. / Book Listings)

Science Fiction, Horror, Thrillers

Go to letter of the alphabet -

In author index:

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In author listings:

[ A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z ]

Go to authors (entries in bold are on a page of their own - others are in the general listing) - or to series (links for series only when the series has its own listing, not for series listings within author listings):

A
[ Edwin A. Abbott - Mark Adlard ]
B
[ Thomas H. Block ]
C
[ Eleanor Cameron - Robin Cook ]
D
[ J. R. Davis ]
E
[ Michael Elder ]
F
[ (Flatland) ]
G
[ ]
H
[ ]
I
[ ]
J
[ Mendal W. Johnson ]
K
[ ]
L
[ Charles Logan ]
M
[ Douglas R. Mason - David I. Masson ]
N
[ ]
O
[ ]
P
[ ]
Q
[ - ]
R
[ John Rankine - John Robert Russell ]
S
[ ]
T
[ ]
U
[ - ]
V
[ ]
W
[ ]
X
[ - ]
Y
[ ]
Z
[ ]



Edwin A(bbott) ABBOTT (U.K., 1839 - 1926) - see (Flatland)

Mark ADLARD (Peter Marcus Adlard) (U.K., 1932 - ; mostly science-fiction) (Complete author listing)
  Tcity trilogy
    Interface  1971
    Volteface  1972
    Multiface  1975
  [Projected trilogy] (not science-fiction)
    The Greenlander  1978 [a]
  About the author
    "The Many Faces of Adlard", by Andy Darlington in Arena 7, March, 1978

Notes
[a] The Greenlander: Further volumes of the projected trilogy have not appeared so far.



Thomas H(arris) BLOCK (U.S.A., 1945 - ; aviation thrillers) [a] (Probably complete author listing)
  Mayday          1979
    [revised]     1997  (Credited (revised edition only) to Nelson DeMille and Thomas Block) [b]
  Orbit           1982
  Forced Landing  1983
  Airship Nine    1984
  Skyfall         1987
  Open Skies      1990

Further links
http://www.twbookmark.com/authors/58/751/
Article about Block on Time Warner Bookmark web site.
http://www.avweb.com/sponsors/flying/writers.html#block
Brief biography on Block on a web page for Flying magazine, to which he is a contributing editor
(It's about halfway down the page - I have linked to the exact position on the page, but this does not always seem to work.)

Notes
[a] Thomas H. Block: My information about this author is quite meagre: my only sources are my own copies of the books, The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, second edition, by John Clute and Peter Nicholls (p. 139), and the two web pages mentioned above.
I cannot in fact be totally sure the above listing is complete, but I believe it is. I saw each book in the bookshops as it came out, with the exception of Open Skies, which I acquired only in February, 2002. The Clute/Nicholls volume is usually complete in its listings: that is, complete for science-fiction or fantasy, or work at least slightly related, as it omits titles which are not even remotely related to science-fiction or fantasy; yet it inexplicably omits two titles in its entry for Block, and they are no less (or no more) science-fiction than the titles it does list. (Any titles by Block, however, are marginal science-fiction at the most, and would be better classified as aviation thrillers.)
The author appears to have fallen silent, except for the revision in 1997 of his first novel, Mayday (for which, see note [b]); I am not aware of anything written by him since 1990. If anyone knows of further titles by Block, I would appreciate them contacting me at m j e (no dots or spaces) at remove-spam-block foxall dot com dot au and giving me a listing of titles and years of publication. (Please remove the spam block from the "To:" line.)
[b] Mayday 1979 - [revised] 1997: In the light of a newer edition of this book from 1997 which I have just seen, the precise authorship of this novel is suddenly thrown into doubt. The original edition of the novel is simply attributed to Thomas H. Block, but this newer edition is attributed jointly to Nelson DeMille and Thomas Block (who has evidently dropped his middle initial from his writing name).
In a note at the front of the book by "Mel Parker, Publisher, Warner Paperbacks", it is stated that the authors updated some of the technology and politics to bring it into the 1990s. From the wording given, "Working with me at Warner Books, Tom and Nelson updated some of the technology and politics...", it even appears possible that Mel Parker may have had some input into the revision too, although this may well be only in the ordinary capacity of an editor.
But the important point here is that it is not just the revision that is attributed to both authors jointly; the original novel is also so attributed (in this new edition, that is), and this introductory note makes it clear that the two writers got together in the very beginning and did the original novel together. Indeed, the fact that Nelson DeMille's name appears first on the front cover and on the title page, and the fact that the copyright of the novel is attributed solely to DeMille in this new edition makes me wonder if he was the principal writer of the novel.



Eleanor (Butler) CAMERON [a] (Canada / U.S.A., 1912 - ?; children's science-fiction and fantasy)
          (Probably incomplete author listing; science fiction and fantasy may be complete)
  Mushroom Planet series
    The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet  1954
    Stowaway to the Mushroom Planet              1956
    Mr. Bass's Planetoid                         1958
    A Mystery for Mr. Bass                       1960
    Time and Mr. Bass                            1967
  [Unnamed series] (fantasy)
    The Court of the Stone Children  1973
    To the Green Mountains           1975
  The Terrible Churnadryne         1959
  The Mysterious Christmas Shell   1961
  The Beast with the Magical Horn  1963
  A Spell Is Cast                  1964
  Beyond Silence                   1980

Notes
[a] Eleanor Cameron: The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, second edition, by John Clute and Peter Nicholls, is my main source of information about this author and her work (p. 185). It does not indicate that the author has died, but I feel sure I read on the Internet that she had; however, I cannot remember what year was mentioned, or where on the Internet I read this. I would assume that she died after 1993, the date of the Clute/Nicholls volume.



Robin Cook - see separate page



J. R. DAVIS [a] (probably U.S.A., ? - ?; medical thriller) (Completeness status unknown)
  The Right to Die  1976 - see review

Notes
[a] J. R. Davis: I have no information whatever about this author: I cannot establish whether he or she is male or female, or whether there are any other books by the author.



Michael (Aiken) ELDER (Scotland, 1931 - ; science-fiction) (Possibly complete science-fiction)
  Paradise Is Not Enough  1970  (first science-fiction novel)
  The Alien Earth         1971
  The Everlasting Man     1972
  A Different World       1974
  Centaurian Quest        1975
  Double Time             1976
  Barclay series
    Nowhere On Earth               1972
    The Perfumed Planet            1973
      as Flight to Terror, U.S.A.  1973
    Down to Earth                  1973
    The Seeds of Frenzy            1974
    The Island of the Dead         1975
  Mind series
    Mindslip              1976
    Mindquest             1978
  Oil series
    Oil-Seeker            1977
    Oil-Planet            1978
  [novels in 1950s, dealing with theatrical themes]


(FLATLAND) (fantasies based on extrapolations of a 2-dimensional universe, some semi-documentary)
          (Completeness of listing for Flatland works unknown)
  Edwin A(bbott) Abbott: (U.K., 1839 - 1926)
    Flatland                                    1884
  Charles Hinton: (U.S.A., ? - ?)
    An Episode of Flatland                      1907
  Dionys Burger: (Netherlands, ? - ?)
    Sphereland                                  1957? 1965? [a]
  A(lexander) K(eewatin) Dewdney: ( )
    Two-Dimensional Science and Technology [b]  1979  (small monograph)
      [revised edition]                         1980
    A Symposium on Two-Dimensional
              Science and Technology            1981  (anth., ed. Dewdney)
    The Planiverse: Computer Contact
              with a Two-Dimensional World      c1983, p1984 (mixture of fiction and quasi-documentary) [c]
  Martin Gardner: (U.S.A., 1914 - )
    [Article in Scientific American]            July 1980 [d] (non-fiction)
  Ian Stewart: ( )
    Flatterland: Like Flatland, Only More So    2001

Notes
[a] Year of publication of Sphereland: I've seen the two years given here in different sources. I've never seen the book, so I can't resolve this at present.
[b] Two-Dimensional Science and Technology: It is not clear whether Dewdney published this in the regular fashion, or had it privately printed, then handed out copies to people himself. In any case, according to the "Acknowledgments" at the end of his The Planiverse, he says that interest in the volume was stimulated by Martin Gardner's Scientific American article (listed, and mentioned in note [d]), and that, as a result, his entire stock was exhausted, and the volume has not been reprinted since (as of 1983, at least, when this was discussed in The Planiverse).
[c] "mixture of fiction and quasi-documentary": The book is based on extrapolations of a computer simulation of a 2-dimensional universe set by Dewdney as an assignment for his Computer Science students, an exercise which was inspired by Edwin Abbott's original Flatland. As well as the usual fictional elements of story-line, characters, and the like, much of the book is a quite scientific examination of the science, technology, way of life, and culture of the 2-dimensional planet. Its level of detail is quite impressive and plausible, given the impossible premise of a 2-dimensional universe.
[d] [Article in Scientific American]: I don't know the title of the article, but it should be easier to find out, and even to obtain a copy of, than to obtain some of the other works listed here. It is something I will perhaps do at some time.



Mendal W(illiam) JOHNSON (U.S.A., 1928 - 1976; the single completed novel is horror) [a]
          (Complete author listing)
  Let's Go Play at the Adams'  1974  See review and Johnson links
            (In listing and notes, abbreviated to LGPATA.)
  Unfinished at writer's death
    Walking Out
    Myth
    Net Full of Stars
  Related Work by Others
    Barry W. Schneebeli (U.S.A., ? - )
      Game's End [b]  See review of Game's End
                Sequel to LGPATA - unpublished, but available from the author.
    Pat Powers (U.S.A.?, ? - )
      Let's Go Play at the Adams' - Rev. 1.1 [c]
                Prologue and sequel to LGPATA - current availability uncertain.

Notes
[a] Mendal Johnson: Thanks to Ray Girvan and Barry Schneebeli for much of this information.
[b] Game's End: Although a sequel to LGPATA, it can be read on its own as a self-contained novel with its own plot - but it will make more sense if you have read the earlier book first, and all sorts of interconnections and references will be more meaningful. It does give away crucial elements from the ending of the earlier book, though, so you should read that first if you don't want plot elements to be given away by the sequel. Also, Game's End assumes a different outcome to LGPATA, and, indeed, would only be possible with that different outcome - so it is almost like an alternate history of the events in LGPATA.
[c] LGPATA - Rev. 1.1: This revision and conclusion of LGPATA is variously called "Rev. 1.1" and "Bug Patch "1.01"; its current availability is uncertain.
I was sent a copy by e-mail from the author, Pat Powers; it was sent to me as a favour, and I am not authorized to make it available to others; I've been told that it may be made available again at some future time, and I will update my information on this here as soon as I can find out about this.
Unlike Game's End, this is not a self-contained work, according to its author, and should be read only after LGPATA, whose story line it continues from. Like Game's End, it changes the outcome of LGPATA, which, unaltered, is not especially amenable to a sequel. (I can't explain why without giving the conclusion away. Go here if you want to know more about this - with the warning that this link is a complete spoiler: it gives away the conclusion of LGPATA in the course of discussing the reason why this conclusion has such a devastating effect on so many readers.)
That two different sequels to the novel should change the ending of the original attests to the profoundly disturbing effect of Johnson's novel. One of the alternative titles, "Bug Patch", is presumably explainable in terms of Powers' intention to correct the supposed flaws in the plot at the end of LGPATA. This perception that the story could have (perhaps even should have) ended differently seems to be rather common, and both the sequels mentioned here appear to have been written in response to that feeling. But, for all that, it seems to me that much of the power of LGPATA derives precisely from the fact of ending the way it does.



Charles LOGAN (U.K., 1930 - ; science-fiction) (Complete author listing)
  Shipwreck  1975  See review
  [A couple of unpublished short stories] [a]

Notes
[a] [Couple of short stories]: This is according to personal correspondence from the author to myself.
It seems to me a matter of considerable regret that this powerful writer only ever wrote the one novel, and in fact does not think of himself as a regular writer at all. He was a nurse for the mentally handicapped (I suppose he is retired now), and this choice of occupation might have been inspired by a deep empathy with his fellow human beings, and/or might have induced him to develop such empathy even more. I have little doubt that this empathy and humanity is part of the reason his single novel is so emotionally powerful and deeply moving. I hope, even now, he might one day find another novel in him, or maybe some short stories.



Douglas R(ankine) MASON (U.K., 1918 - ) - see John Rankine

Richard (Milton) McKENNA (U.S.A., 1913 - 1964; science-fiction) (Probably complete author listing)
  "The Fishdollar Affair"        1958  in Worlds of If (first-written story)
  The Sand Pebbles               1962 (not science-fiction, based on author's naval experiences; filmed in 1966)
  Casey Agonistes and Other SF
            and Fantasy Stories  1973  (coll.)
    -- Introduction - by Damon Knight
    Casey Agonistes    1958 (first-published story)
    Hunter, Come Home  1963
    The Secret Place   1966
    Mine Own Ways      1960
    Fiddler's Green    1967
  "Bramble Bush"                 w1960? [a] in Orbit 3 1968 anth., ed. Damon Knight

"Journey with a Little Man" essay reprinted in Turning Points ed. Damon Knight anth. of sf criticism 1977 - relates McKenna's efforts to revise CA according to his editor's demands. Notes
[a] "Bramble Bush": This story was found amongst McKenna's papers after his death and published posthumously in the Orbit 3 anthology. The editor, Damon Knight, found that the story had a mass of trivial confusions either inadvertently or deliberately introduced by the author, and, for this anthology, and with the author's widow's permission, made a number of "minor changes", mainly concerning the names of characters. In the original manuscript, a number of characters had names that sounded or looked alike.
This is the only publication of this story that I know of.



David I(rvine) MASSON (Scotland / England, 1915 - ; science-fiction) (Probably complete author listing)
  The Caltraps of Time                   1968 p1976  (coll.)
    -- Introduction - by Harry Harrison  1976 (in later edition)
    Lost Ground
    Not so Certain          1967
    Mouth of Hell
    A Two-Timer             1966
    The Transfinite Choice
    Psychosmosis
    Traveller's Rest        1965
  "The Show Must Go On"     1970 in The Disappearing Future: A Symposium of Speculation 1970 anth., ed. George Hay
  "Doctor Fausta"           1974 in Stopwatch 1974 anth., ed. George Hay
  [Frequent science-fiction reviews in Foundation in 1970s]

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John Robert RUSSELL (U.S.A. ? - ; science-fiction) (Probably complete author listing)
  Cabu  1974 [a]
  Sar   1974
  Ta    1975

Notes
[a] Cabu: The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction by John Clute and Peter Nicholls states this to be Russell's first novel. There is very little information to be found out about this author: the only web references I can find are the odd copies of his books for sale second-hand.



John RANKINE (Douglas Rankine Mason) [a] (U.K., 1918 - ; science-fiction) (Probably complete novel listing)
  "Two's Company"            1964  (in John Carnell's New Writings in SF 1)
  From Carthage Then I Came  1966 U.S.A.; as Eight Against Utopia 1967 [DRM]
  Matrix                     1970 U.S.A. [DRM]
  Dag Fletcher series (see two novels further down which share the same galactic environment)
    The Blockage of Sinitron: Four
              Adventures of Dag Fletcher  1966  (coll. linked stories) (first book)
    Interstellar Two-Five                 1966
    One Is One                            1968
    The Plantos Affair                    1971
    The Ring of Garamas                   1972
    The Bromius Phenomenon                1973 U.S.A.
  Space Corporation series
    Never the Same Door     1968
    Moons of Triopus        1968
  Landfall Is a State of Mind       1968        [DRM]
  Ring of Violence                  1968        [DRM]
  The Tower of Rizwan               1968        [DRM]
  Binary Z                          1969
  The Weisman Experiment            1969
  The Janus Syndrome                1969        [DRM]
  Dilation Effect                   1971 U.S.A. [DRM]
  Horizon Alpha                     1971 U.S.A. [DRM]
  Satellite 54-Zero                 1971 U.S.A. [DRM]
  The Resurrection of Roger Diment  1972 U.S.A. [DRM]
  Operation Umanaq                  1973 U.S.A.
  The Fingalnan Conspiracy          1973 (set in same galactic environment as Dag Fletcher series)
  The End Bringers                  1973 U.S.A. [DRM]
  The Phaeton Condition             1973 U.S.A. [DRM]
  Novelizations of episodes from T.V. series Space 1999
     2. Moon Odyssey        1975
     6. Astral Quest        1975
     8. Android Planet      1976
    10. Phoenix of Megaron  1976 U.S.A.
  Pitman's Progress             1976 [DRM]
  The Omega Worm                1976 [DRM]
  The Thorburn Enterprise       1977 (set in same galactic environment as Dag Fletcher series)
  Euphor Unfree                 1977 [DRM]
  The Vort Programme            1978
  Mission to Pactolus R         1978 [DRM]
  The Star of Hesiock           1980
  Last Shuttle to Planet Earth  1980
  The Typhon Intervention       1981 [DRM]

Notes
[a] John RANKINE / Douglas Rankine Mason: This writer writes both under his real name of Douglas R. Mason, and under the pseudonym John Rankine. I have chosen to use the pseudonym for listing his work under on the grounds that my impression is that it is slightly better known than his real name. At least, browsing the second-hand book-shops, I feel I have more often seen books under the name "Rankine" than under "Mason".
Books in the above listing are as by John Rankine, unless marked "[DRM]", signifying that they appeared under Mason's real name.

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This page created on Saturday, 24 November, 2001;
last modified on Saturday, 12 July, 2003.