H. Beam Piper

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
H. Beam Piper

Henry Beam Piper (born March 23, 1904 in Altoona , Pennsylvania , † November 6, 1964 ) was an American science fiction writer who always published as H. Beam Piper .

life and work

H. Beam Piper began working for the Pennsylvania Railroad when he was 18 and did not stop there until 1956 to make a living from writing. In 1964 he took his own life with a gun from his collection.

He published his first SF story Time and Time Again in 1947 in Astounding magazine . In the following years he wrote numerous short stories and some novels in which the themes of space opera and alternative histories crop up again and again. The story He Walked Around the Horses (1948) describes a world in which the American colonists lost the War of Independence and the Napoleonic Wars also failed, based on a real historical incident, the disappearance of Benjamin Bathurst . Beam Piper later developed a concept of intertwined parallel histories in which he also took into account Arnold J. Toynbee's view of the cyclical structure of cultural development.

The author not only mystified himself by occasionally claiming to come from an alternate timeline and using "Horace" instead of his real first name (which he disliked); his death is also partly a mystery. The exact date of death is not very clear; In the sources, both November 9th and 11th are given for the discovery of the body, while the author's last diary entry is dated November 5th. The reason for the suicide is said to have been personal conflicts or economic problems.

reception

In the 1980s, Beam Piper's lyrics were republished. Charles Stross (in The Merchant Princes ), L. Neil Smith and Michael McCollum (in A Greater Infinity , 1982; Eng. Greater Infinity ) dedicated their own books to the author and took up his concepts. Michael Kurland used an unfinished draft for his novel First Cycle (1982). John Scalzi emphasizes in the foreword of his novel The Wild Planet that the book is a "retelling" of the 1962 Hugo- nominated The Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper.

In 1963 the novel Little Fuzzy was nominated for the Hugo Award , in 2001 the story The Last Enemey received a nomination at the Retro Hugo Awards . The novel A Planet for Texans was inducted into the Prometheus Awards Hall of Fame in 1999 .

bibliography

The series are arranged according to the year of publication of the first part. If two years of publication are given for the original editions, the first is that of the first edition and the second that of the first edition (as a book). If only the title and year are given as the source for short stories, the complete information can be found in the corresponding collective edition.

Paratime Police (short story series)
  • He Walked Around the Horses (1948)
    • German: He went around the horses. Translated by Eva Malsch. In: Isaac Asimov , Martin H. Greenberg , Joseph Olander (eds.): Star mail: 3rd delivery. Moewig (Playboy Science Fiction # 6735), 1984, ISBN 3-8118-6735-0 . Also as: The man who walked around the horses. In: Para time. 1984.
  • Police Operation (1948)
    • English: The Venusian Strangler. Translated by Dolf Strasser. In: Walter Spiegl (Ed.): Science-Fiction-Stories 66. Ullstein (Ullstein 2000 # 127 (3323)), 1977, ISBN 3-548-03323-7 . Also as: police action. In: Para time. 1984.
  • Last Enemy (1950)
    • German: the last enemy. In: Science-Fiction-Stories 59. 1976. Also as: The last enemy. In: Para time. 1984.
  • Temple Trouble (1951)
    • German: Power struggle of the idols. In: Walter Spiegl (Ed.): Science-Fiction-Stories 5. Ullstein (Ullstein 2000 # 5 (2804)), 1970, ISBN 3-548-02804-7 . Also as: Temple Difficulties. In: The time crime. 1984.
  • Genesis (1951)
    • German: Genesis. In: Science-Fiction-Stories 59. 1976.
  • Time Crime (1955)
    • English: slaves of time. In: Walter Spiegl (Ed.): Science-Fiction-Stories 6. Ullstein (Ullstein 2000 # 7 (2818)), 1971, ISBN 3-548-02818-7 . Also as: The time crime. In: The time crime. 1984.
  • Paratime (1981, collection)
  • The Complete Paratime (2001, collection)
  • Time Crime (2010, with John F. Carr)
Terro-Human Future History (cycle)
  • Ullr Uprising (1952, novel)
    • German: The Uller uprising. Ullstein (Ullstein 2000 # 125 (3306)), 1977, ISBN 3-548-03306-7 .
  • The Keeper (1957, short story)
  • Omnilingual (1957, short story)
    • German: The universal key. In: Walter Spiegl (Ed.): Science-Fiction-Stories 14. Ullstein (Ullstein 2000 # 24 (2889)), 1972, ISBN 3-548-02889-6 . Also as: The universal language. In: Leon E. Stover, Harry Harrison (Eds.): Anthropofiction. Fischer paperback (Fischer Orbit # 21), 1974, ISBN 3-436-01676-4 .
  • The Edge of the Knife (1957, short story)
  • Graveyard of Dreams (1958, short story)
  • Ministry of Disturbance (1958, short story)
    • German: Ministry of Unrest. In: Walter Spiegl (Ed.): Science-Fiction-Stories 46. Ullstein (Ullstein 2000 # 87 (3118)), 1975, ISBN 3-548-03118-8 .
  • Oomphel in the Sky (1960, short story)
  • Four-Day Planet (1961, novel)
    • German: The four-day world. Pabel-Moewig (Terra Astra # 505) 1981.
  • A Slave Is a Slave (1962, short story)
  • Empire (1981, collection)
  • Federation (1981, collection)
  • The Condottieri (2017, short story, with David Johnson)
Fuzzy (series of novels as part of the Terro-Human Future History )
  • 1 Little Fuzzy (1962)
    • German: The little fuzzy. Translated by Heinz Zwack. Moewig (Terra special volume # 87) 1964. Also called: What's going on on Planet Zeno ?. Translated by Heinz Nagel. Müller, 1976, ISBN 3-275-00627-4 . Also as: The little fuzzy. Translated by HP Lehnert. Pabel (Terra Paperback # 319) 1979.
  • 2 The Other Human Race (1964, also as Fuzzy Sapiens ; 1976)
    • German: Fuzzy sapiens. Pabel (Terra Taschenbuch # 321) 1979.
  • 3 Fuzzies and Other People (1984)
  • The Fuzzy Papers (1977, collective edition of 1 and 2)
  • The Adventures of Little Fuzzy (1983, short story, with Benson Parker)
  • The Complete Fuzzy (1998, collective edition of 1–3)
Kalvan (series as part of the Terro-Human Future History )
  • Gunpowder God (1964, short story)
  • Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen (1965, also as Gunpowder God , 1978, novel)
    • English: The man who cheated time. Translated by Helmut Bittner. Winther Science Fiction # 2003, 1967. Also called: The Man Who Cheated Time. Translated by Susi-Maria Roediger. Pabel (Utopia Classics # 29), 1981.
  • Down styphon! (1965, short story)
Single novels
  • Murder in the Gunroom (1953)
  • Zero ABC (1953, also called Crisis in 2140 , 1957, with John J. McGuire)
  • A Planet for Texans (1958, also as Lone Star Planet , 1979, with John J. McGuire)
  • Space Viking (1962, 1963)
    • German: Die Welten-Plundererer. Ullstein (Ullstein 2000 # 112 (3223)), 1976, ISBN 3-548-03223-0 .
  • Junkyard Planet (1963, also as The Cosmic Computer , 1964)
    • German: The lost computer. Ullstein (Ullstein 2000 # 100 (3167)), 1975, ISBN 3-548-03167-6 . Also called: the cosmic computer. Pabel (Terra Paperback # 335) 1981.
  • First Cycle (1982, with Michael Kurland)
Collections
  • The Worlds of H. Beam Piper (1983)
  • Crossroads of Destiny (2006)
  • Flight from Tomorrow (2006)
  • Graveyard of Dreams (2006)
  • Flight from Tomorrow and Other Science Fiction (2006)
  • Collected Works of Henry Beam Piper and John Joseph McGuire (2007, with John J. McGuire)
  • Five Sci-Fi Short Stories (2008)
  • Paratime! (2010)
  • Paratime !: Collected Paratime Stories (2011)
  • Short Stories of H. Beam Piper (2011)

German compilation:

  • Science Fiction Stories 59. Translated by Wim Koll. Ullstein (Ullstein 2000 # 113 (3235)), 1976, ISBN 3-548-03235-4 .
Short stories
  • Time and Time Again (1947)
    • German: Time and again time. Translated by Otto Schrag. In: Gotthard Günther (Ed.): Overcoming space and time. Rauch (Rauch's Space Books # 3), 1952. Also as: Zeitsprung. Translated by Otto Schrag. In: Hans Joachim Alpers , Werner Fuchs (eds.): Die Vierziger Jahre II. Hohenheim (Edition SF in Hohenheim Verlag), 1983, ISBN 3-8147-0033-3 .
  • Parallel Time-Tracks (1948)
  • The Mercenaries (1950)
    • German: In the service of the cause. In: Science-Fiction-Stories 59. 1976.
  • Flight from Tomorrow (1950)
  • Rebel Raider (1950)
  • Operation RSVP (1951)
  • Dearest (1951)
  • Day of the Moron (1951)
    • German: Sane to a limited extent. In: Walter Spiegl (Ed.): Science-Fiction-Stories 13. Ullstein (Ullstein 2000 # 22 (2883)), 1972, ISBN 3-548-02883-7 .
  • The Return (1954, with John J. McGuire)
  • Lone Star Planet (1957, with John J. McGuire)
  • Hunter Patrol (1959, with John J. McGuire)
  • Crossroads of Destiny (1959)
  • The Answer (1959)
  • Naudsonce (1962)
  • When in the Course— (1981)
Non-fiction
  • A Catalog of Early Pennsylvania and other Firearms and Edged Weapons at "Restless Oaks," McElhattan, PA. (1927)

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See the author's preliminary remark in: J. Scalzi: Der wilde Planet, Munich: Heyne Verlag 2011, p. 7.
personal data
SURNAME Piper, H. Beam
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Piper, Henry Beam (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American science fiction writer
DATE OF BIRTH March 23, 1904
PLACE OF BIRTH Altoona , Pennsylvania , USA
DATE OF DEATH November 6, 1964