John Christopher

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John Christopher , pseudonym for Christopher Samuel Youd (* 16th April 1922 in Knowsley , Lancashire , England ; † 3. February 2012 in Bath ), was a British science fiction - author .

Life

Christopher Samuel Youd was born in Lancashire, England in 1922. In 1932 he moved to Hampshire with his parents . Even in school he was enthusiastic about science fiction and as a teenager he published a small fan magazine called "The Fantast". His favorite authors were Aldous Huxley and Arthur C. Clarke . He left school at the age of 16 and worked for the city administration.

From 1941 to 1946, Samuel Youd served in the telecommunications service of the British Army . After the war, he received a scholarship from the Rockefeller Foundation for aspiring authors whose careers through the Second World War had been interrupted. This enabled him to complete his first novel, The Winter Swan . The book, published in 1949, was not a science fiction work.

The money he earned as an author was not enough for the newly married family man. He took a job at the information office of a diamond dealer . He could only write in his spare time.

In 1954, The Twenty Second Century , a collection of short stories , was his first science fiction book. The first science fiction novel appeared in 1955 under the title The Year of the Comet and had great success, which was surpassed just a year later by The Death of Grass (Eng. The Valley of Life ). The Death of Grass was filmed in 1970 under the title of the American edition ( No Blade of Grass ). The film was unsuccessful and was generally described by critics as a very poor implementation.

His career reached a decisive turning point in 1966: Samuel Youd was dissatisfied with his situation and was looking for a new challenge. His publisher suggested he write a science fiction book for children. Youd was not enthusiastic about the idea, but after some deliberation decided to write The White Mountains - the first part of a trilogy that became a worldwide success under the title The Tripods (German title: The three-legged monsters ). The books were published under the pseudonym John Christopher.

After a long ordeal, John Christopher died on February 3rd, 2012 in Bath of complications from bladder cancer .

Pseudonyms

  • John Christopher
  • Fantacynic
  • Hilary Ford
  • William Godfrey
  • CS Goud
  • Peter Graaf
  • Peter Nichols
  • Anthony Rye
  • William Vine

bibliography

Max Larkin (short stories)
  • Colonial (in: Astounding Science Fiction, April 1949 ; as Christopher Youd)
  • Balance (in: New Worlds, # 9 Spring 1951 )
  • Tree of Wrath (in: Worlds Beyond, January 1951 ; also: The Tree )
  • Breaking Point (in: New Worlds, # 15 May 1952 )
  • Decoy (1954, in: John Christopher: The Twenty-Second Century )
Tripods
  • 0 When the Tripods Came (1967)
    • English: the arrival of the three-legged monsters. Translated by Sabine Rahn. Arena, 2006, ISBN 3-401-05874-6 .
  • 1 The White Mountains (1967)
    • German: three-legged monster on earth course. Translated by Wolfgang Schaller. Arena, 1971, ISBN 3-401-03599-1 . Also as: Tripods 1 - three-legged monsters on earth course. Edited and updated by Sabine Rahn. Translated by Wolfgang Schaller. Arena, Würzburg 2006, ISBN 3-401-05996-3 .
  • 2 The City of Gold and Lead (1967)
    • English: The secret of the three-legged monster. Translated by Wolfgang Schaller. Arena, 1972, ISBN 3-401-03618-1 . Also as :: Tripods 2 - The secret of the three-legged monsters. Edited and updated by Sabine Rahn. Translated by Wolfgang Schaller. Arena, Würzburg 2006, ISBN 3-401-05873-8 .
  • 3 The Pool of Fire (1968)
    • English: The fall of the three-legged monsters. Translated by Wolfgang Schaller. Arena, 1972, ISBN 3-401-03631-9 . Also called: Tripods 3 - The Fall of the Three Legged Monsters. Edited and updated by Sabine Rahn. Translated by Wolfgang Schaller. Arena, Würzburg 2006, ISBN 3-401-05998-X .
  • The White Mountains / the City of Gold and Lead / the Pool of Fire (1968)
    • English: The three-legged monsters. Translated by Wolfgang Schaller. Arena-Taschenbuch # 1550, 1986, ISBN 3-401-01550-8 .
  • The Tripods Trilogy (collective edition from 1–3; 1980)
    • English: The three-legged monsters. Translated by Wolfgang Schaller. Arena, 1983, ISBN 3-401-04015-4 (collective edition of 1–3).
  • The Tripods Boxed Set of 4: When the Tripods Came / the White Mountains / the City of Gold and Lead / the Pool of Fire (collective edition from 0–3; 1999; also: The Tripods Collection , 2014; with Timo Würz (Ill. ))
    • English: Tripods: The three-legged rulers. With illustrations by Timo Wuerz. Edited and updated by Sabine Rahn. Translated by Wolfgang Schaller and Sabine Rahn. Cross Cult, 2016, ISBN 978-3-86425-841-1 .
The Sword of the Spirits
  • 1 The Prince in Waiting (1970)
    • German: The prince of tomorrow. Translated by Ilse Adolph. Hörnemann, 1973, ISBN 3-87384-127-4 .
  • 2 Beyond the Burning Lands (1971)
    • German: Behind the burning land. Translated by Ilse Adolph. Hörnemann, 1973, ISBN 3-87384-128-2 .
  • 3 The Sword of the Spirits (1972)
    • English: The sword of the spirit. Translated by Ilse Adolph. Hörnemann, 1974, ISBN 3-87384-129-0 .
  • Of Polymuf Stock (1977, in: Barbara Ireson (Ed.): Fantasy Tales )
  • The Sword of the Spirits (collective edition of 1–3 in cassette; 1980)
  • German: The Prince of Tomorrow: Novel Trilogy. With vignettes from Jens Rassmus . Afterword by Dietmar Dath. Translated by Ilse Adolph. S. Fischer, Frankfurt, M. 2008, ISBN 978-3-596-85271-0 .
In the beginning
  • In the Beginning (short story, 1972)
  • Dom and Va (novel, 1973)
  • In the Beginning (collective edition of novel and short story; 2015)
Fireball (novels)
  • 1 Fireball (1981)
  • 2 New Found Land (1983)
    • German: Escape from the gods. Translated by Hans-Georg Noack. Arena, 1984, ISBN 3-401-03945-8 .
  • 3 Dragon Dance (1986)
    • German: Dance of the Dragons. Translated by Hans-Georg Noack. Arena # 4165, 1987, ISBN 3-401-04165-7 .
Novels
  • The Winter Swan (1949; as Christopher Youd)
  • Babel Itself (1951; as Samuel Youd)
  • Brave Conquerors (1952; as Samuel Youd)
  • Crown and Anchor (1953; as Samuel Youd)
  • Palace of Strangers (1954; as Samuel Youd)
  • Holly Ash (1955; also: The Opportunist , 1957; as Samuel Youd)
  • The Year of the Comet (1955; also: Planet in Peril , 1959)
  • The Death of Grass (1956; also: No Blade of Grass , 1957)
    • German: The valley of life. Translated by Gerhard Thebs. Weiss, 1959.
  • The Caves of Night (1958)
  • The Sapphire Conference (Joe Dust # 3, 1959)
  • A Scent of White Poppies (1959)
  • Giant's Arrow (1960; as Samuel Youd)
  • The Long Voyage (1960; also: The White Voyage , 1961)
  • The Choice (1961; also: The Burning Bird , 1964; as Samuel Youd)
  • The Long Winter (1962; also: The World in Winter )
  • Cloud on Silver (1964)
  • The Possessors (1964)
    • German: The uncanny. Translated by Maren Organ. Hoffmann and Campe, 1966.
  • Sweeney's Island (1964; also: Cloud on Silver )
  • The Ragged Edge (1965; also: A Wrinkle in the Skin )
  • The Little People (1966)
  • Pendulum (1968)
  • The Lotus Caves (1969)
  • The Guardians (1970, novel)
  • Wild Jack (1974)
    • German: Adventure between two worlds. Translated by Ulrike Killer. Arena # 3825, 1978, ISBN 3-401-03825-7 .
  • Castle Malindine (1975; as Hilary Ford)
    • English: Flames in the castle. Hilary Ford. Translated by Uta McKechneay. Heyne-Bücher / 03 # 2151, Munich 1984, ISBN 3-453-11341-1 .
  • A Bride For Bedivere (1976; as Hilary Ford)
    • German: The Desperate Bride. Translated by Uta Mc Kechneay. Heyne-Bücher / 03 # 2107, Munich 1982, ISBN 3-453-11300-4 .
  • Empty World (1977)
    • German: Empty world. Translated by Hans-Georg Noack. Bitter, Recklinghausen 1979, ISBN 3-7903-0263-5 .
  • A Dusk of Demons (1993)
  • Bad Dream (2000, 3 parts in: Spectrum SF, # 4 November  ff.)
Collections
  • The Twenty-Second Century (1954)
Short stories

1939:

  • Citadel of Dreams (4 parts in: The Satellite, January 1939  ff .; as CS Youd, with Charles Eric Maine , Frank D. Wilson and John Burke )
  • Fanopolis (5 parts in: The Fantast, May 1939  ff .; as Fantacynic)
  • Ladders (in: The Fantast, October-November 1939 ; as Fantacynic)

1940:

  • The Survivors (in: The Fantast, May 1940 ; as Fantacynic, with John Burke)

1949:

  • Christmas Tree (in: Astounding Science Fiction, February 1949 ; also: Christmas Roses , 1954; as Christopher Youd)
    • German: The last flight. Translated by Wulf H. Bergner . In: Helmuth W. Mommers and Arnulf D. Krauss (eds.): The night of ten billion lights. Heyne SF&F # 3106, 1967. Also called: Christmas roses. Translated by Barbara Röhl. In: Carsten Polzin (ed.): The festival of the elves. Piper Fantasy TB # 6706, 2009, ISBN 978-3-492-26706-9 .

1950:

  • Monster (in: Science-Fantasy, v 1 # 1, Summer 1950 ; as Christopher Youd)

1951:

  • Socrates (in: Galaxy Science Fiction, March 1951 )
  • Man of Destiny (in: Galaxy Science Fiction, May 1951 )
  • In the Balance (in: Future Combined with Science Fiction Stories, July 1951 ; as CS Youd)

1952:

  • Resurrection (in: Science-Fantasy, v 2 # 4, Spring 1952 )

1953:

  • Mr. Kowtshook (in: Avon Science Fiction and Fantasy Reader, January 1953 )
  • Aristotle (in: Science Fiction Quarterly, February 1953 )
  • Relativity (in: Space Science Fiction, February 1953 )
  • The Drop (in: Galaxy Science Fiction, March 1953 )
  • The Prophet (in: New Worlds Science Fiction, # 20 March 1953 )
  • The Rather Improbable History of Hillary Kiffer (in: Avon Science Fiction and Fantasy Reader, April 1953 ; also: The Rather Improbable History of Hilary Kiffer , 1954; as William Vine)
  • Death Sentence (in: Imagination, June 1953 ; as William Vine)
  • Explosion Delayed (in: Space Science Fiction, July 1953 ; also: Rock-a-Bye , 1954; as William Vine)
  • Planet of Change (in: Authentic Science Fiction Monthly, # 36 (August) 1953 )
  • Blemish (1953, in: Authentic Science Fiction Monthly, # 39 November )
  • Museum Piece (1953, in: Orbit, No. 2 )

1954:

  • Rocket to Freedom (in: Imagination, February 1954 )
  • Escape Route (in: New Worlds Science Fiction, # 24 June 1954 )
  • The New Wine (in: Fantastic Story Magazine, Summer 1954 ; as William Vine)
    • German: Heimkehr. Translated by Peter Naujack. In: Peter Naujack (Ed.): Robots. Diogenes, 1962.
  • The Name of This City (in: If, October 1954 )
  • Vacation (in: If, November 1954 )
  • Talent (1954, in: Nebula Science Fiction, Number 11 )
  • Talent for the Future (in: Fantastic Universe, December 1954 )
  • The $ 64 Question (1954, in: John Christopher: The Twenty-Second Century )
  • Begin Again (1954, in: John Christopher: The Twenty-Second Century )
  • Occupational Risk (1954, in: John Christopher: The Twenty-Second Century )
  • Rich and Strange (1954, in: John Christopher: The Twenty-Second Century )
  • Sentence of Death (1954, in: John Christopher: The Twenty-Second Century )
  • A Time of Peace (1954, in: John Christopher: The Twenty-Second Century )
  • Weapon (1954, in: John Christopher: The Twenty-Second Century )

1955:

  • Conspiracy (in: Authentic Science Fiction Monthly, # 53 January 1955 )
  • Manna (in: New Worlds Science Fiction, # 33 March 1955 )

1957:

  • The Gardener (in: Tales of the Frightened, Spring 1957 )
  • The Noon's Repose (in: Infinity Science Fiction, April 1957 )
  • Doom Over Kareeta (in: Satellite Science Fiction, October 1957 )

1959:

  • A World of Slaves (in: Satellite Science Fiction, March 1959 )
  • Winter Boy, Summer Girl (in: Fantastic Science Fiction Stories, October 1959 )

1965:

  • A Few Kindred Spirits (in: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, November 1965 )

1966:

  • Rendezvous (in: Playboy, September 1966 )
  • Communication Problem (1966)

1967:

  • The Little People (1967)

1969:

  • A Cry of Children (1969, in: John Burke (Ed.): More Tales of Unease )
  • Ringing Tone (1969, in: Herbert van Thal (Ed.): The Tenth Pan Book of Horror Stories )

1972:

  • The Island of Bright Birds (in: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, February 1972 )
  • Specimen (in: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, December 1972 )

1974:

  • The Long Night (in: Galaxy, October 1974 )

1977:

  • Summer's Lease (1977, in: Mike Ashley (Ed.): The Best of British SF 1 )

1988:

  • How We Were Tracked by a Tripod (1988, in: Edward Blishen (Ed.): Science Fiction Stories )

1991:

  • A Journey South (in: Interzone, # 44 February 1991 )

1997:

  • Paths (1997, in: Dennis Pepper (Ed.): The Young Oxford Book of Nasty Endings )

2008:

  • Return to Earth (2008; with Susan Binder)

Film adaptations

  • 1970: No Blade of Grass , Director: Cornel Wilde
  • 1984: The Tripods , BBC
  • 1986: The Guardians , WDR
  • 1987: Empty World ("Empty World")

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Samuel Youd - aka John Christopher - dies aged 89 Guardian from February 6, 2012
  2. ↑ Samuel Youd, aka John Christopher (1922--2012)
  3. ↑ Samuel Youd, aka John Christopher (1922--2012) . Retrieved April 17, 2013.
  4. ^ Paul Vitello: John Christopher, Science Fiction Writer, Dies at 89 . In: The New York Times , February 7, 2012. 
personal data
SURNAME Christopher, John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Youd, Christopher Samuel (real name); Youd, Christopher (alternative spelling); Youd, Sam (maiden name); Youd, CS (alternative spelling); Fantacynic (pseudonym); Ford, Hilary (pseudonym); Godfrey, William (pen name); Goud, CS (pseudonym); Graaf, Peter (pseudonym); Nichols, Peter (pseudonym); Rye, Anthony (pen name); Vine, William (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English science fiction author
DATE OF BIRTH April 16, 1922
PLACE OF BIRTH Knowsley , Lancashire, England
DATE OF DEATH 3rd February 2012
Place of death Bath , England