Francis G. Rayer

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Francis George Rayer (born June 6, 1921 in Longdon , Worcestershire ; died July 11, 1981 there ) was a British science fiction writer and electronics engineer.

Life

Rayer was the son of Harry and Florence Nellie Rayer, nee Shepherd. From 1945 he was a freelance electronics engineer, circuit developer and technical author of 30 books on electrical engineering and electronics , especially for hobbyists.

His first novel, Juggernaut , was published in 1944. His first publication as an SF author was the novel Realm of the Alien (1946), which appeared under the pseudonym Chester Delray. In 1947 the short story Basic Fundamental appeared in Walter Gillings' magazine Fantasy . More than 50 short stories followed by 1963, including Deus Ex Machina (1950), the start of the Magnus Mensis series about the fight against a supercomputer in a post-apocalyptic world. John Clute rates Rayer's science fiction as routine, but finds it convincing to conjure up 1950s England. Pessimism with post-apocalyptic visions of a broken world was a feature of the British SF of those years. Only one novel and a collection with two stories in booklet series have been published in German translation . From the mid-1960s, Rayer turned away from the SF and became a non-fiction author for electronics.

Rayer had been married to Tessa Elizabeth Platt since 1957 and had two sons with her (born in 1961 and 1965). Rayer died in 1981 at the age of 60.

bibliography

Magnus Mensis (short story series)
  • Deus Ex Machina (1950)
  • Tomorrow Sometimes Comes (1951, novel)
  • The Peacemaker (1952)
  • Ephemeral This City (1955)
  • Adjustment Period (1960)
  • Contact Pattern (1961)
Jock MacTavish (short story series)
  • Plimsoll Line (1952)
  • When Greed Steps In ... (1952)
  • Traders' Planet (1953)
  • Space Prize (1954)
Novels
  • Juggernaut (1944)
  • Realm of the Alien (1945, as Chester Delray)
  • Lady in Danger (1948)
  • Coming of the Darakua (1952)
  • Earth Our New Eden (1952)
  • We Cast No Shadow (1952)
    • German: Assault from a foreign dimension. Translated by Reiner Eisfeld. Moewig (Terra # 62), 1959.
  • Thou Pasture Us (1953)
  • Cardinal of the Stars (1964, also as Journey to the Stars )
  • The Iron and the Anger (1964)
collection
  • The Star Seekers (1953)
    • German: Trapped in foreign bodies. Pabel (Utopia Science Fiction # 370), 1963.
Anthologies (as editor)
  • Worlds at War (1949, anonymous)
Short stories
  • Basic Fundamental (1947)
  • From Beyond the Dawn (1947)
  • Fearful Banner (1949)
  • The Singular Sequel to the Case of the Montrose Diamond (1949)
  • Necessity (1949)
  • Adaptability (1950)
  • Quest (1950)
  • The Ark (1950)
  • Eve of To-morrow (1951)
  • No Heritage (1951, as George Longdon)
  • Prison Trap (1951)
  • The Undying Enemy (1951)
  • Time Was ... (1951)
  • Man's Questing Ended (1952)
  • Of Those Who Came (1952, as George Longdon)
  • The Temporal Rift (1952, as George Longdon)
  • Power Factor (1953)
  • Firstling (1953)
  • The Lava Seas Tunnel (1954) with ER James
  • Seek Earthmen No More (1954)
  • Pipe Away, Stranger (1954)
  • Come Away Home (1954)
  • Dark Summer (1954)
  • Co-Efficiency Zero (1954)
  • Kill Me This Man (1955)
  • This Night No More (1955)
  • Stormhead (1955)
  • The Voices Beyond (1955)
  • The Jakandi Moduli (1955)
  • Consolidation Area (1956)
  • Culture Pattern (1956)
  • Error Potential (1956)
  • Period of Error (1956, as George Longdon)
  • Period of Quarantine (1956) with ER James
  • The Falsifiers (1956, as George Longdon)
  • Three-Day Tidal (1956)
  • Tree Dweller (1956, as George Longdon)
  • Hyperant (1956)
  • Stress Complex (1957)
  • Beacon Green (1957)
  • Painters of Narve (1958)
  • Wishing Stone (1958)
  • I Like You (1959, as George Longdon)
  • Searchpoint (1959)
  • Sands Our Abode (1959)
  • Alien (1959)
  • Continuity Man (1959, as George Longdon)
  • Static Trouble (1960)
  • Spring Fair Moduli (1961)
  • Sacrifice (1962)
  • Sixth Veil (1962)
  • Variant (1962)
  • Capsid (1962)
  • Aqueduct (1963)
Non-fiction
  • Modern Fiction-Writing Technique (1960)
  • Repair of Domestic Electrical Appliances (1961)
  • Electricity in the Home (1962)
  • Amateur Radio (1964)
  • Electricity in Your Home (1964, as Milward Scott)
  • Electrical Hobbies (1964)
  • Transistor Receivers and Amplifiers (1965)
  • The Pegasus Book of Radio Experiments (1968, youth non-fiction)
  • The Pegasus Book of Electrical Experiments (1968, youth non-fiction)
  • Popular Electronics and Computers (1968, also called Electronics and Computers )
  • The Pegasus Book of Electronic Experiments (1969, youth non-fiction)
  • Electronics (1969, as Roland Worcester)
  • A Guide to Outdoor Building (1970)
  • Handbook of IC Audio Preamplifier and Power Amplifier Construction (1976)
  • Two Transistor Electronic Projects (1976)
  • 50 Projects Using Relays (1977)
  • 50 Field Effect Transistor Projects (1977)
  • How to Make Walkie-Talkies (1977)
  • Electronic Game Projects (1979)
  • Electronic Projects in Hobbies (1979)
  • How to Build Your Own Solid State Oscilloscope (1979)
  • Counter, Driver and Numerical Display Projects (1979)
  • Radio Control for Beginners (1980)
  • Electronic Test Equipment Construction (1980)
  • Digital IC Projects (1981)
  • Electronic Timer Projects (1981)
  • Audio Projects (1981)
  • Projects in Amateur Radio (1981)
  • Beginner's Guide to Amateur Radio (1982)
  • IC Projects for Beginners (1982)

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Rayer, Francis G.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rayer, Francis George (full name); Delray, Chester (pseudonym); Longdon, George (pen name); Rayer, FG (alternative spelling); Scott, Milward (pen name); Worcester, Roland (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British science fiction writer and journalist
DATE OF BIRTH June 6, 1921
PLACE OF BIRTH Longdon , Worcestershire
DATE OF DEATH July 11, 1981
Place of death Longdon , Worcestershire