Charles Sheffield

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Charles Sheffield (* 25. June 1935 in Hull , England ; † 2. November 2002 in Silver Spring , Maryland ), was a British-American mathematician , physicist and award-winning science fiction - author . He was president of the American Astronautical Society and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA).

life and work

scientist

Sheffield studied mathematics and physics at Cambridge University . He emigrated to the United States in the mid-1960s . He received his PhD from the American University in Washington, DC on a subject in theoretical physics .

After that, he was also a lecturer at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics , worked as a researcher and consultant for NASA and as an advisor for the Office of Technology Assessment of the Congress and as an expert for the American Congress and the Senate of the United States. He was also an employee and later a board member of Earth Satellite Corporation . He was also a member and temporarily president of the American Astronautical Society , a member of the American Association for Advancement of Science , the British Interplanetary Society and the International Astronomical Union .

Since 1962 he has published nearly a hundred scientific and popular science articles as well as a few non-fiction books, including on topics such as nuclear physics, gravitational field analysis and general relativity .

Science fiction writer

Inspired by reading the novel Ringwelt by Larry Niven , Charles Sheffield began to publish science fiction himself in 1977, starting with the story What Song The Sirens Sang in Galaxy magazine .

Although Charles Sheffield never denied his origins as a scientist and was therefore attributed to technology-oriented hard science fiction , the focus of his works was more on the fall of civilization, the decline in values ​​and nuclear disasters and the human tragedies associated with it. In total he wrote about forty books and more than a hundred stories.

Sheffield published the novel The New Protheus ( Sight of Proteus ) in 1978 , which was followed by three other novels by 1995, the plot of which is set in the same universe. His second novel, A network of thousands of stars ( The Web Between the Worlds ) is from an elevator into space, an idea that in Arthur C. Clarke's novel The Fountains of Paradise ( The Fountains of Paradise ), who a few months before Sheffield's book appeared, had already been treated. Since Sheffield was exposed to allegations of plagiarism, he sent a copy of the manuscript to Clarke, who however did not object to publication and described the similarities of the two novels as an interesting coincidence in an open letter to the SFWA.

Charles Sheffield, President of SFWA between 1984 and 1986, received both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for his short novel Georgia on My Mind in 1994 , after he had received the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for his novel Brother to Dragons in 1992 . The Mote received the Analog Award in NASA's Eye in 1992, and A Handful of Heresies received it in 1996. Also in 1992 he received the Seiun Award for The McAndrew Chronicles .

He had been married to science fiction writer Nancy Kress since 1998 and died of a brain tumor at the age of 67.

bibliography

Cycles and series

The series are arranged according to the year of publication of the first part.

The Proteus trilogy
  • 1 Sight of Proteus (1978)
  • 2 Proteus Unbound (1988)
  • 3 Proteus in the Underworld (1995)
  • Proteus Combined (1994, anthology of 1 and 2)
The McAndrew Chronicles (Short Stories)
  • 1 Killing Vector (1978)
    • German: The death vector. In: Jerry Pournelle (Ed.): Black Holes. Bastei Lübbe Science Fiction Special # 24012, 1980, ISBN 3-404-24012-X . Also called: First Chronicle: Deadly Vector. In: The McAndrew Chronicles. 1989.
  • 2 Moment of Inertia (1980)
    • English: Second Chronicle: Moment of Inertia. In: The McAndrew Chronicles. 1989.
  • 3 All the Colors of the Vacuum (1981)
    • German: Third Chronicle: All the colors of the vacuum. In: The McAndrew Chronicles. 1989.
  • 4 The Manna Hunt (1982)
    • English: Fourth Chronicle: The Manna Hunt. In: The McAndrew Chronicles. 1989.
  • 5 The Hidden Matter of McAndrew (1992, also as Shadow World )
  • 6 The Invariants of Nature (1993)
  • 7 Rogueworld (1983)
    • English: Fifth Chronicle: Drivers World. In: The McAndrew Chronicles. 1989.
  • 8 With McAndrew, Out of Focus (1999)
  • 9 McAndrew and the Fifth Commandment (1999)
  • McAndrew and THE LAW (2004)

Collections:

  • The McAndrew Chronicles (1983, collective edition of 1–5)
  • One Man's Universe: The Continuing Chronicles of Arthur Morton McAndrew (1993, collective edition of 1–7)
  • The Compleat McAndrew (2000, collective edition from 1–9)
Chan Dalton
  • The Nimrod Hunt (1986, originally conceived as a stand-alone novel)
  • 1 The Mind Pool (1993, revised version of The Nimrod Hunt )
  • 2 The Spheres of Heaven (2001)
The heritage cycle
  • 1 Summertide (1990)
  • 2 Divergence (1991)
  • 3 Transcendence (1992)
  • 4 Convergence (1997)
  • 5 Resurgence (2002)
  • Convergent Series (1998, anthology of 1 and 2)
  • Transvergence: From Out of the Depths of Time (1999, anthology of 3 and 4)

The dark universe
Jupiter
  • 1 Higher Education (1995, with Jerry Pournelle )
  • 2 The Billion Dollar Boy (1997)
  • 3 Putting Up Roots (1997)
  • 4 The Cyborg from Earth (1998)
Flood of fire

Individual publications

Novels
  • The Web Between the Worlds (1979)
  • The Selkie (1982, with David Bischoff )
  • My Brother's Keeper (1982)
  • Between the Strokes of Night (1985)
  • Trader's World (1988)
  • Brother to Dragons (1992)
  • Godspeed (1993)
  • Dancing With Myself (1993)
  • The Judas Cross (1994, with David Bischoff )
  • Tomorrow and Tomorrow (1997)
Collections
  • Vectors (1979)
  • Hidden Variables (1981)
  • Erasmus Magister (1982)
  • Dancing with Myself (1993)
  • The Future Quartet: Earth in the Year 2042 (1994, with Ben Bova , Frederik Pohl and Jerry Pournelle )
  • Georgia on My Mind: And Other Places (1995)
  • Space Suits: Being the Selected Legal Papers of Waldo Burmeister and Henry Carver, Attorneys-at-Law, as Transcribed and Edited by Henry Carver, LL.B., and with a Special Introduction by Waldo P. Burmeister, LL.B. (2001)
  • The Lady Vanishes: And Other Oddities of Nature (2002)
  • The Amazing Dr. Darwin (2002)
Short stories

If only the title and year are given as sources for short stories, the complete information can be found under collections .

  • What Song the Sirens Sang (1977)
  • Marconi, Mattin, Maxwell (1977)
    • German: The super thing. In: Walter Spiegl (Ed.): Science-Fiction-Stories 80. Ullstein Science Fiction & Fantasy # 31010, 1980, ISBN 3-548-31010-9 .
  • Legacy (1977)
  • Dinsdale Dissents (1977)
  • Perfectly Safe, Nothing to Worry About (1977)
  • A Certain Place in History (1977)
  • The Long Chance (1977)
  • We Hold These Truths to Be Self-Evident (1977)
  • From Natural Causes (1978)
  • Power Failure (1978)
  • Fixed Price War (1978)
  • Sight of Proteus (1978)
  • The Deimos Plague (1978)
  • Bounded in a Nutshell (1978)
  • The Treasure of Odirex (1978)
    • English: The treasure of Odirex. In: The miraculous Dr. Darwin. 2004.
  • Murder in Triplicate (1978)
  • The Dalmatian of Faust (1978)
    • German: Slimming diet - and the consequences. In: Walter Spiegl (Ed.): Science-Fiction-Stories 83. Ullstein Science Fiction & Fantasy # 31017, 1980, ISBN 3-548-31017-6 .
  • Transition Team (1978)
  • The Grooves of Change (1979)
  • The Lambeth Immortal (1979)
    • English: The deathless of Lambeth. In: The miraculous Dr. Darwin. 2004.
  • Skystalk (1979)
  • That Strain Again (1980)
    • German: Everything has its season. In: Isaac Asimov, Martin Harry Greenberg, Joseph D. Olander (eds.): Fireworks of the SF. Goldmann (Edition '84: The Positive Utopias # 8), 1984, ISBN 3-442-08408-3 .
  • The Subtle Serpent (1980)
  • The Man Who Stole the Moon (1980)
  • The New Physics: The Speed ​​of Lightness, Curved Space, and Other Heresies (1980)
    • German: The new physics. In: Hans Joachim Alpers (Ed.): Analog 1. Moewig Science Fiction # 3547, 1981, ISBN 3-8118-3547-5 .
  • Hidden Variable (1980)
  • The Marriage of True Minds (1980)
  • Forefather Figure (1981)
  • The Softest Hammer (1981)
  • Parasites Lost (1981)
  • Summertide (1981)
  • The Devil of Malkirk (1982)
    • English: The Devil of Malkirk. In: Ronald M. Hahn (Ed.): Dinosaurs on Broadway. Heyne Science Fiction & Fantasy # 4027, 1983, ISBN 3-453-30967-7 .
    • English: The demon of Malkirk. In: The miraculous Dr. Darwin. 2004.
  • The Manna Hunt (1982)
  • The Mouths of Earth (1982)
  • The Seventeen-Year Locusts (1983)
  • Rogueworld (1983)
  • Crocuses (1983)
  • The Dominus Demonstration (1984)
  • Nine Days' Wonder (1984)
  • Accounting System (1984) [only as by James Kirkwood]
  • Hostages of Zark (1984)
  • Tunicate, Tunicate, Wilt Thou Be Mine? (1985)
  • Trader's Secret (1985)
  • Dies Irae (1985)
  • Trader's Blood (1986)
  • Hotel Hunting (1986)
  • Trader's Cross (1987)
  • The Grand Tour (1987)
  • Trapalanda (1987)
  • Trader's Partner (1987)
  • Guilt Trip (1987)
  • The Dreaming Spiers of Houston (1987)
  • Obsolete Skill (1987)
  • Saved from the Shredder (1988)
  • The Courts of Xanadu (1988)
    • English: The Courtyards of Xanadu. In: Wolfgang Jeschke (Ed.): Papa Godzilla. Heyne Science Fiction & Fantasy # 4560, 1989, ISBN 3-453-03152-0 .
  • Dead Meat (1988)
  • The Heart of Ahura Mazda (1988)
    • English: The heart of Ahura Masdah. In: The miraculous Dr. Darwin. 2004.
  • Space Opera (1988)
  • Destroyer of Worlds (1989)
  • Humanity Test (1989)
  • Out of Copyright (1989)
    • English: Call me Al. In: Ronald M. Hahn (Ed.): The Aquarius. Heyne Science Fiction & Fantasy # 4786, 1991, ISBN 3-453-04495-9 .
  • The Serpent of Old Nile (1989)
  • Beyond the Golden Road (1989)
  • Dancing With Myself (1989)
  • Nightmares of the Classical Mind (1989)
  • The Double Spiral Staircase (1990)
  • A Braver Thing (1990)
  • Godspeed (1990)
  • Health Care System (1990)
    • German: Systematic Health Care. In: Friedel Wahren (Ed.): Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazin 40th episode. Heyne Science Fiction & Fantasy # 4957, 1992, ISBN 3-453-06199-3 .
  • Casualities (1990)
  • Eighth Trimester (1991)
  • Fat Man's Gold (1991)
  • Deep Safari (1992)
    • German: Safari in depth. In: Friedel Wahren (Ed.): Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine 43rd episode. Heyne Science Fiction & Fantasy # 5141, 1994, ISBN 3-453-07762-8 .
  • The Hidden Matter of McAndrew (1992)
  • The Price of Civilization (1992)
  • Ladies Night at the OK Corral (1992)
    • German: Night of the Ladies in the OK Corral. In: Wolfgang Jeschke (ed.): The pilot. Heyne Science Fiction & Fantasy # 5160, 1994, ISBN 3-453-07775-X .
  • The Feynman Saltation (1992)
  • C-Change (1992)
  • The Decline of Hyperion (1992)
  • Georgia on My Mind (1993)
    • English: The South Georgia Adding Machine. In: Wolfgang Jeschke (Ed.): Heyne Science Fiction Annual Volume 1997. Heyne Science Fiction & Fantasy # 5648, 1997, ISBN 3-453-11910-X .
  • Fifteen-Love on the Dead Man's Chest (1993)
  • The Fifteenth Station of the Cross (1993)
  • Millennium (1994)
  • Higher Education (1994) with Jerry Pournelle
  • The Bee's Kiss (1994)
  • The Invasion of Space (1995, as James Kirkwood)
  • The Phantom of Dunwell Cove (1995)
    • English: The Phantom of Dunwell Cove. In: The miraculous Dr. Darwin. 2004.
  • At the Eschaton (1995)
  • The Peacock Throne (1996)
  • Cloud Cuckoo (1996)
  • The Lady Vanishes (1996)
  • Waiting for the Riddlers (1997)
  • What would you like to know? (1997)
  • Packing Fraction (1998)
  • The Solborne Vampire (1998)
    • English: The Solborne Vampire. In: The miraculous Dr. Darwin. 2004.
  • The Turning of Auberon Mansfield (1998)
  • Brooks Too Broad For Leaping (1998)
  • Phallicide (1999)
  • Nuremberg Joys (2000)
  • The New Laureate Speaks (2000)
  • The Art of Fugue (2000)
  • With the Knight Male (2000)
  • The Diamond Drill (2002)
  • The Whole Three Yards (2002)
  • The Demon of E Staircase (2003)
  • The Waste Land (2003)
Anthology (as editor)
  • How to Save the World (1995)
Non-fiction
  • Earthwatch: A Survey of the World from Space (1981)
  • Man on Earth: How Civilization and Technology Changed the Face of the World-A Survey from Space (1983)
  • Space Careers (1984)
  • The World of 2044: Technological Development and the Future of Society (1994)
  • Borderlands of Science (1999)

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Sheffield, Charles
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kirkwood, James (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American mathematician , physicist, and author
DATE OF BIRTH June 25, 1935
PLACE OF BIRTH Hull , England
DATE OF DEATH November 2, 2002
Place of death Silver Spring , Maryland