James White (writer, 1928)

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James White (* 7. April 1928 in Belfast , Northern Ireland ; † 23. August 1999 ) was an Irish science fiction - author .

Life

James White was born in Belfast, but spent the early years of his childhood in Canada. After a five-year stay, his parents moved back to Ireland. There White attended St. John's Primary School between 1935 and 1941 . James White began training as a tailor and attended St. Joseph's Technical Secondary School from 1942 to 1943 , having won a scholarship for the school. White continued to work as a tailor until he joined the Short Brothers, Ltd. aircraft factory in 1965 . moved where he initially worked as an office worker and later in the press department until his early retirement in 1984. In 1955, James White married Margaret Sarah Martin. This marriage resulted in three children, the daughter Patricia and the sons Martin and Peter. White suffered from diabetes almost all of his life, which over the years reduced his eyesight to such an extent that, among other things, he was unable to obtain a flight license and had to retire early.

plant

James White's career as a science fiction writer began, like many other writers in the genre, as a fan. James White came into contact with science fiction in 1941 through John W. Campbell's Astounding magazine . White devoured the stories of Robert Heinlein , EE "Doc" Smith and others. While reading Smith's stories, White said he recognized that there were not only bad aliens, but also good aliens. White collected all Astounding issues and always tried to complete the collection. Together with other fans, Bob Shaw , George Charles and Walt Willis, White worked on the fanzines Slant and Hyphen .

In 1953, White's first story, Assisted Passage, was published in the English science fiction magazine New Worlds . White had written the story out of displeasure with the demise of Astounding magazine . More stories followed, all in New Worlds : Crossfire (1953), The Conspirators (1954), Starvation Orbit (1954), The Star Walk (1955), and Boarding Party (1955). Which appeared in 1946. History Rescue Party of Arthur C. Clarke inspired White to The Scavengers . White asked Clarke if he could use the story's premise - sometimes a civilization has to be saved - whether it wants to or not . Clarke didn't mind and The Scavengers appeared in Astounding in 1953 with success .

White's first novel Secret Visitor (German as The Extra Terrestrial ) was published in 1957. The template for the novel was published under the title Tourist Planet . The end of the novel and the short story are different, as Donald A. Wollheim , then editor at Ace (the publishing house), thought White's ending was too tame. He envisioned a “real” space battle after the trial, which will be the climax of the story. White bowed to Wollheim's demand with the words “He who pays the piper calls the tune!” (“Wes bread I eat, I sing the song!”).

In 1957, James White wrote a story that influenced his subsequent career more than any other. White offered a 17,000-word story to Ted Carnell, editor of New Worlds , entitled Sector Twelve General Hospital . Carnell, whose first reaction was to return the story for revision, however, had just 17,000 words to fill in the November issue of New Worlds and accepted the story. Sector General is about a huge hospital in space, created by an alliance of humans and aliens to help sick and injured aliens. The hospital also has 384 levels on which the living conditions of the aliens can be created. From this first story, twelve novels emerged over the years, including Star Surgeon (Star Surgeon), Major Operation (large-scale operation), Ambulance Ship (German ambulance ship). The story appeared in novel form in 1962 under the title Hospital Station . The Sector General series ( Orbit Hospital series ) established James White's reputation within the genre.

White wrote other short stories and novels outside of Sector General , including Second Ending (1962), The Watch Below (1966) and All Judgment Fled (1966) up to The Silent Stars Go By (1991).

For White, writing was just a sideline. In addition to his professional work and writing, White continued to be active as a fan. He only missed the Belfast Science Fiction Group meetings held every Thursday evening in a restaurant in Belfast when circumstances left him no choice. He was also a long-time member of the British Science Fiction Association and its Irish counterpart, the Irish Science Fiction Association .

James White, who had no medical training, was an opponent of violence and the military, which he repeatedly shows in his novels and short stories. There is consequently no military in Sector General , but only the "Monitor Corps", a police force that relies on negotiations, does not give preference to either side in conflicts and uses violence as a last resort. Significantly, the Monitor Corps is made up of humans, as they are the most aggressive race in White's universe.

Awards

To honor the memory of James White, the James White Award for Science Fiction Short Stories was launched in 2000 and was first presented in 2001. The first winner was Mark Dunn for the short story Think Tank .

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.

Allen (short stories)
  • 1 Assisted Passage (1953)
  • 2 False Alarm (1957)
  • Outrider (1955, novel)
Sector General / Orbit Hospital
Federation World (short stories)
  • Federation World (1980)
  • The Scourge (1982)
  • Something of Value (1985)
  • Federation World (1988, fix-up )
    • German: The Federation. Translated by Kalla Wefel. Heyne Science-Fiction & Fantasy # 4826, 1991, ISBN 3-453-05013-4 .
Novels
  • Tourist Planet (1956, also as The Secret Visitors , 1957)
    • German: The extraterrestrials. Translated by Armin von Eichenberg. Moewig (Terra special volume # 7), 1958. Also called: Die Aliens. Translated by Horst Hoffmann. Pabel (Utopia Classics # 1), 1979.
  • Second Ending (1961, 1962)
    • German: Lord of the Robots. Translated by HU Nichau. Moewig (Terra # 278), 1963. Also as: The second life. Translated by Horst Hoffmann. Pabel (Terra Paperback # 309), 1979.
  • Open Prison (1964, also as The Escape Orbit , 1965)
    • German: prison in space. Moewig (Terra Taschenbuch # 107), 1966.
  • The Watch Below (1966)
    • English: Prisoners of the Sea. Moewig (Terra Taschenbuch # 122), 1967.
  • All Judgment Fled (1967, 1968)
    • English: The spaceship of puzzles. Moewig (Terra Taschenbuch # 150), 1968.
  • Tomorrow Is Too Far (1971)
    • German: Minuszeit. Pabel (Terra Paperback # 185), 1971.
  • Dark Inferno (1972, also as Lifeboat )
    • English: The black inferno. Goldmann Science Fiction of Chef Picks, 1973, ISBN 3-442-30280-3 .
  • The Dream Millennium (1973, 1974)
    • German: The millennium of dreams. Goldmann Science Fiction The Chef Picks, 1975, ISBN 3-442-30307-9 .
  • Underkill (1979)
    • German: The global intervention. Moewig Science Fiction # 3568, 1982, ISBN 3-8118-3568-8 .
  • The Silent Stars Go By (1991)
  • The First Protector (2000, Gene Roddenberry's Earth: Final Conflict # 2)
Collections
  • Deadly Litter (1964)
    • English: The lights of space and other stories. Moewig (Terra # 423), 1965.
  • The Aliens Among Us (1969)
    • German: Brothers in the Cosmos. Pabel (Terra Paperback # 193), 1972.
  • Monsters and Medics (1977)
    • German: The second life. Pabel (Terra Paperback # 309), 1979.
  • Futures Past (1982)
  • The White Papers (1996)
Short stories
  • Crossfire (1953)
  • The Scavengers (1953)
    • German: Purge. In: Brothers in the Cosmos. 1972.
  • The Conspirators (1954)
    • German: the conspirators. In: Brothers in the Cosmos. 1972.
  • Starvation Orbit (1954)
  • Curtain Call (1954)
  • Suicide Mission (1954)
  • The Star Walk (1955)
  • Boarding Party (1955)
  • Dynasty of One (1955)
  • Pushover Planet (1955)
  • Question of Cruelty (1956)
  • Red Alert (1956)
  • In Loving Memory (1956)
    • German: Connected in love. In: The second life. 1979.
  • To Kill or Cure (1957)
    • German: kill or heal. In: Brothers in the Cosmos. 1972.
  • Patrol (1957)
  • The Lights Outside the Windows (1957)
    • German: The lights of space. In: The Lights of Space and Other Stories. 1965.
  • The Ideal Captain (1958)
    • German: The ideal captain. In: The Lights of Space and Other Stories. 1965.
  • Dark Talisman (1958)
  • Dogfight (1959)
  • The High Road (1959)
  • Grapeliner (1959)
    • German: encounter. In: The Lights of Space and Other Stories. 1965.
  • Deadly Litter (1959)
    • German: Deadly waste. In: The Lights of Space and Other Stories. 1965.
  • The Apprentice (1960)
  • Christmas Treason (1962)
    • German: toy rockets. In: Helmuth W. Mommers , Arnulf D. Krauss (ed.): The night of ten billion lights. Heyne Science Fiction & Fantasy # 3106, 1967.
  • Counter Security (1963)
    • English: the dolls. In: Charlotte Winheller (ed.): Homecoming to the stars. Heyne General Series # 236, 1963. Also called: Puppenkörder. In: The second life. 1979.
  • Fast Trip (1963)
    • German: Between Earth and Mars. In: Charlotte Winheller (Ed.): Signals from Pluto. Heyne General Series # 248, 1963.
  • Commuter (1972)
  • Answer Came There None (1974)
    • German: There was no answer. In: Science-Fiction-Stories 73. Ullstein 2000 # 146 (3515), 1978, ISBN 3-548-03515-9 . Also as: And the universe is silent ... In: The second life. 1979.
  • Nuisance Value (1975)
    • German: Der Querulant. In: The second life. 1979.
  • Custom fitting (1976)
    • German: Clothes make the man. In: Wolfgang Jeschke (Ed.): Science Fiction Story Reader 19. Heyne Science Fiction & Fantasy # 3944, 1983, ISBN 3-453-30872-7 .
  • The Exorcists of IF (1976)
  • Long Will Live the King (1982)
  • The Interpreters (1985)
  • Sanctuary (1988)
  • Type 'Genie' and Run (1989)
  • Incident on a Colonizing Starship Where All Living Things are in Suspended Animation ... (1990)
  • The Backward Magician (1992)
  • House Sitter (1996)
  • Un-Birthday Boy (1996)

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME White, James
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Irish science fiction writer
DATE OF BIRTH April 7, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH Belfast
DATE OF DEATH August 23, 1999
Place of death Belfast