John Russell Fearn

John Francis Russell Fearn (born June 5, 1908 in Worsley , Lancashire ; died September 18, 1960 in Blackpool , Lancashire) was a British writer of science fiction , crime novels and westerns . Fearn was extremely productive and from the mid-1930s until his death wrote over 100 novels and over 200 short stories using numerous pseudonyms . His more commonly used pseudonyms include Vargo Statten, Volsted Gridban, Thornton Ayre, and Polton Cross.

Life

Fearn was the son of cloth merchant John Slate Fearn and secretary Florence Rose, nee Armstrong. He attended Chorlton High School in Chorlton-cum-Hardy from 1919 to 1924 . From 1925 to 1929 he worked in his father's company, then until 1930 as a legal assistant and in 1931 as an exhibitor assistant in the amusement park Blackpool Pleasure Beach . In 1931 he sold his first short story, Hands That Speak , to Film Weekly magazine and continued to work as a freelance writer. During the war, from 1942, he worked in a munitions factory and as a projectionist. Then he worked again as a writer until his death. From 1954 to 1956 he was editor of the Vargo Statten Science Fiction Magazine , which also appeared under the titles British Science Fiction Magazine and British Space Fiction Magazine , and for which he - often under the publishing pseudonym Vargo Statten - also made numerous contributions.

He lived mostly in Blackpool, with the exception of one episode in Brighton in 1937. According to Philip Harbottle, Fearn was very active in various writers' associations and often and willingly supported other authors. Together with his wife Married Carrie, whom he married in August 1957 and who was the actress, he is said to have appeared in various theater productions and also wrote some plays himself.

Fearn was one of the first authors who was also very successful in the North American market and who made the switch from pulp magazines to paperback publications early in the 1940s. There are relatively few German translations of his stories, which appeared mainly in booklet series , while Fearn was much more successful in Italy.

Fearn did not shy away from using successful colleagues for the inventions, particularly Edgar Rice Burroughs . Thus, Emperor of Mars , Warrior of Mars , Red Men of Mars and Goddess of Mars (all 1950) after-sensations of Burroughschen Mars novels while, The Gold of Akada and Anjani the Mighty (both in 1951 under the pseudonym Earl titanium) obvious borrowings from Tarzan take .

Fearn's most successful character was Violet Ray, known as Golden Amazon , an SF superhero who first appeared in US pulp magazine Fantastic Adventures in July 1939 . In 1944 he published his first Golden Amazon novel, which was so successful in sequels in the Toronto Star Weekly that over 10 novel sequels and several short stories followed. The book publications are not mere fix-ups of material previously published in magazines, but rather completely independent novels. The stories from the magazines were published in 2006 by Philip Harbottle under the title The Golden Amazon of Venus .

In 1960 Fearn died of a heart attack in Blackpool at the age of 52 .

reception

With a proven prolific writer, condescending evaluations of the work are hardly surprising. The lexicon of science fiction literature concisely states in the brief article on Fearn: "His work remained of little importance." And the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction attests to him "wild fantasies, but his best works are vigorous and occasionally lively". In any case, his work did not remain without effect in science fiction. For example, in his first SF story The Intelligence Gigantic , which appeared in Amazing Stories in 1933 , he introduced the idea of ​​only a small part of the "brain capacity" that was later taken up by John W. Campbell ( The Double Minds , 1937) and found further abundant precipitation with Heinlein and others. In Liners of Time (1935) and the sequel Zagribud (1937) the idea of ​​manipulating timelines and their dangers appears, later carried out, for example, by Jack Williamson ( The Legion of Time , 1938) and Isaac Asimov ( The End of Eternity , 1955) . However, his originality and his craftsmanship did not help him in the long term and the years in which he worked as Vargo for Scion Ltd. turned out to be detrimental to his reputation as an SF author . Assembly line work produced and older work recycled.

According to Philip Harbottle, his 1979 estate was said to contain a whole series of unpublished stories in the style of Howard and Burroughs, as well as a Golden Amazon novel. Whether these have been published in the meantime remains unclear, in any case there were a number of posthumous publications by Gryphon Books and Wildside Press in the 2000s . Many of his novels and stories published during his lifetime have also been reissued - no longer under a pseudonym - by SF specialist publishers.

bibliography

SF novels

• Liners of Time (1935, 1947)
• Zagribud (1937, also as Science Metropolis , 1952, as Vargo Statten)
• The Golden Amazon (1944)
• Within That Room! (1946)
• Slaves of Ijax (1947)
• The Golden Amazon Returns (1948, also as The Deathless Amazon , 1955)
• Conquest of the Amazon (1949)
• Lord of Atlantis (1949)
• Operation Venus (1949, as Vargo Equip)
• The Trembling World (1949, as Astron del Martia, also as Legacy from Sirius , 2012)
• Account Settled (1949, as John Russell)
• Annihilation! (1950, as Vargo Statten, also as Fool's Paradise , 2009)
• Emperor of Mars (1950)
• Goddess of Mars (1950)
• Inferno! (1950, as Vargo Statten)
• Red Men of Mars (1950)
• The Cosmic Flame (1950, as Vargo Statten)
• The Micro Men (1950, as Vargo Equip)
• Warrior of Mars (1950)
• Triangle of Power (1950)
• Wanderer of Space (1950, as Vargo Statten)
• 2,000 Years On (1950, as Vargo Equip)
• Nebula X (1950, as Vargo Equip)
• The Sun Makers (1950, as Vargo Statten)
• Anjani the Mighty (1951, as Earl Titan)
• Born of Luna (1951, as Vargo Statten)
• Cataclysm (1951, as Vargo Statten)
• Dawn of Darkness (1951, as Astron del Martia)
• Deadline to Pluto (1951, as Vargo Statten)
• The Catalyst (1951, as Vargo Statten)
• The Devouring Fire (1951, as Vargo Statten)
• The New Satellite (1951, as Vargo Equip)
• The Petrified Planet (1951, as Vargo Equip)
• What Happened to Hammond? (1951, as Hugo Blayn)
• The Avenging Martian (1951, as Vargo Equip)
• Space Pirates (1951, as Astron del Martia)
• The Red Insects (1951, as Vargo Statten)
• The Amethyst City (1951)
• The Gold of Akada (1951, as Earl Titan)
• The Renegade Star (1951, as Vargo Statten)
• Interstellar Espionage (1952, as Astron del Martia)
• The G-Bomb (1952, as Vargo Statten)
  • German: Pulverfaß earth. Pabel (Utopia Science Fiction # 211), 1960.
• The Inner Cosmos (1952, as Vargo Statten)
• The Space Warp (1952, as Vargo Equip)
• The Time Bridge (1952, as Vargo Statten)
• The Eclipse Express (1952, as Vargo Equip)
• The Man from Tomorrow (1952)
• Laughter in Space (1952, as Vargo Statten)
• The Last Martian (1952, as Vargo Statten)
• Across the Ages (1952, as Vargo Statten)
• The Time Trap (1952, as Vargo Statten)
• Daughter of the Golden Amazon (1952)
• Quorne Returns (1952)
• To the Ultimate (1952, as Vargo Equip)
• A Thing of the Past (1953, as Volsted Gridban)
• Black Bargain (1953, as Vargo Statten)
• Exit Life (1953, as Volsted Gridban)
• Moons for Sale (1953, as Volsted Gridban)
• Odyssey of Nine (1953, as Vargo Statten)
• Scourge of the Atom (1953, as Volsted Gridban)
• The Amazon's Diamond Quest (1953)
• The Black Avengers (1953, as Vargo Equip)
• The Dust Destroyer (1953, as Vargo Statten)
• The Dyno-Depressant (1953, as Volsted Gridban)
• The Golden Amazon's Triumph (1953)
• The Magnetic Brain (1953, as Volsted Gridban)
• Ultra Spectrum (1953, as Vargo Equip)
• Dark Boundaries (1953, as Paul Lorraine)
  • German: border between the worlds. Pabel (Utopia Grossband # 4), 1954.
• Black-Wing of Mars (1953, as Vargo Statten, also as Winged Pestilence )
• Z-Formations (1953, as Brian Shaw)
• Zero Hour (1953, as Vargo Statten, also as Fugitive of Time , 2012)
• "Pioneer, 1990" (1953, as Vargo Statten)
• Liquid Death (1953, as a handle)
• The Central Intelligence (1953)
• The Interloper (1953, as Vargo Statten)
• Man of Two Worlds (1953, as Vargo Statten)
• The Lie Destroyer (1953, as Vargo Statten)
• The Master Must Die (1953, as Volsted Gridban)
• 1,000-Year Voyage (1954, as Vargo Equip)
• I Came - I Saw - I Wondered (1954, as Volsted Gridban)
  • English: Mister Seacombe, the visitor from Mars . Erber SF # 16, 1977.
• I Spy (1954, as Vargo Equip)
• The Amazon Strikes Again (1954)
• The Frozen Limit (1954, as Volsted Gridban)
• The Genial Dinosaur (1954, as Volsted Gridban)
• Twin of the Amazon (1954)
• Voice of the Conqueror (1954, also called The Conqueror's Voice )
• The Grand Illusion (1954, as Vargo Equip)
• The Purple Wizard (1954, as Volsted Gridban)
• A Time Appointed (1954, as Vargo Statten)
• The Lonely Astronomer (1954, as Volsted Gridban)
• The Multi-Man (1954, as Vargo Equip)
• Wealth of the Void (1954, as Vargo Statten)
• Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954, as Vargo Statten, novel version of the film of the same name, German Der Schreck vom Amazonas )
• Earth 2 (1955, as Vargo Statten)
• Here and Now (1955, as Vargo Statten)
• The Silvered Cage (1955, as Hugo Blayn)
• The Cosmic Crusaders (1955)
• Parasite Planet (1955)
• Robbery Without Violence (1957)
• Climate Incorporated (1959)
• The Slitherers (1970)
• No Grave Need I (1984, also as The Empty Coffins , 2009)
• Land's End - Labrador (2005)
• Vision Sinister (2005)
• Duel with Colossus (2005)
• Lords of Creation (2005)
• Earth Divided (2005)
• Ghost World (2005)
• Standstill Planet (2005)
• Chameleon Planet (2006, with Philip Harbottle)
• The Golden Amazon of Venus (2006)
• Prisoner of Time (2008)
• The Silent World (2011)
• Within That Room! A Tale of Horror (2012)
• World Beneath Ice (2012)

SF short stories

• The Intelligence Gigantic (1933, 1943)
• The Man Who Stopped the Dust (1934)
• The Brain of Light (1934)
• Invaders from Time (1934)
• He Never Slept (1934)
• Before Earth Came (1934)
• Earth's Mausoleum (1935)
• The Blue Infinity (1935)
• Mathematica (1936)
• Mathematica Plus (1936)
• Subconscious (1936)
• Deserted Universe (1936)
• The Great Illusion (1936, only part 5 by Fearn)
• Dynasty of the Small (1936)
• Portrait of a Murderer (1936, also as Experiment in Murder , 1946)
• The Stain That Grew (1936)
• Seeds from Space (1937)
• Superhuman (1937, as Geoffrey Armstrong)
• Metamorphosis (1937)
• Brain of Venus (1937)
• Worlds Within (1937)
• Menace from the Microcosm (1937)
• Death Asks the Question (1937)
• Beast of the Tarn (1937)
• Penal World (1937, as Thornton Ayre)
• Dark Eternity (1937)
• The Red Magician (1938)
• Through Earth's Core (1938)
• Red Heritage (1938)
• The Mental Ultimate (1938, as Polton Cross)
• Whispering Satellite (1938, as Thornton Ayre)
• The Degenerates (1938, as Polton Cross)
• Lords of 9016 (1938)
• A Summons from Mars (1938, also called Debt of Honor , 2016)
• The Master of Golden City (1938, as Polton Cross)
• Wings Across the Cosmos (1938, as Polton Cross)
• Glass Nemesis (1938)
• Locked City (1938, as Thornton Ayre)
• Death at the Observatory (1938)
• The Secret of the Ring (1938, as Thornton Ayre, also as The Circle of Life , as)
• The Wailing Hybrid (1938)
• The Misty Wilderness (1938)
• Lunar Intrigue (1939, as Thornton Ayre)
• The Golden Amazon (1939, as Thornton Ayre)
• The Black Empress (1939)
• The World That Dissolved (1939, as Polton Cross)
• World Without Chance (1939, as Polton Cross)
• Climatica (1939)
• Leeches from Space (1939, as Ephraim Winiki)
• Outlaw of Saturn (1939, as John Cotton)
• Valley of Pretenders (1939, as Dennis Clive)
• Science Fiction - 1950 (1939)
• The Martian Avenger (1939, as Polton Cross)
• World Without Women (1939, as Thornton Ayre)
• Secret of the Buried City (1939)
• Microbes from Space (1939, as Thornton Ayre, also as Murmuring Dust , 1955, as Herbert Lloyd)
• Moon Heaven (1939, as Dom Passante)
• World Without Death (1939, as Polton Cross)
• She Walked Alone (1939)
• Face in the Sky (1939, as Thornton Ayre)
• The Jewels from the Moon (1939, as Ephraim Winiki)
• World Beneath Ice (1939, as Polton Cross)
• Earth Asunder! (1939, as Ephraim Winiki)
• Thoughts That Kill (1939)
• Frigid Moon (1939, as Dennis Clive)
• The Man from Hell (1939, as Polton Cross)
• After Doomsday (1940, as John Cotton)
• Laughter Out of Space (1940, as Dennis Clive)
• Mystery of the White Raider (1940, as Thornton Ayre)
• Special Agent to Venus (1940, as Thornton Ayre)
• The Amazon Fights Again (1940, as Thornton Ayre)
• The Flat Folk of Vulcan (1940, as Dennis Clive)
• Wedding of the Forces (1940, as Polton Cross)
• World Reborn (1940, as Thornton Ayre)
• The Man Who Saw Two Worlds (1940, as Thornton Ayre, also as Blind Vision , 2013)
• Chameleon Planet (1940, as Polton Cross)
• White Outcast (1940)
• Eclipse Bears Witness (1940, as Ephraim Winiki)
• Men Without a World (1940, as Dom Passante)
• Phantom from Space (1940)
• The Case of the Murdered Savants (1940, as Thornton Ayre)
• War of the Scientists (1940)
• The Cosmic Juggernaut (1940)
• He Conquered Venus (1940)
• The Voice Commands (1940, as Dennis Clive)
• Secret of the Moon Treasure (1940, as Thornton Ayre)
• Domain of Zero (1940, as Thornton Ayre)
• The Man Who Sold the Earth (1940, as Thornton Ayre)
• Island in the Marsh (1940, as Thornton Ayre)
• Queen of Venus (1940)
• The Onslaught from Below (1940, as John Cotton)
• Twilight of the Tenth World (1940, as Thornton Ayre)
• The Golden Amazon Returns (1941, as Thornton Ayre)
• The Man Who Bought Mars (1941, as Polton Cross)
• The Cosmic Derelict (1941)
• Science from Syracuse (1941, as Polton Cross)
• The Last Secret Weapon (1941, as Polton Cross)
• The Creation's End (1941)
• The World in Wilderness (1941, as Thornton Ayre)
• Lunar Concession (1941, as Thornton Ayre)
• Across the Ages (1941, as Dom Passante)
• Mystery of the Martian Pendulum (1941, with Raymond A. Palmer, as Thornton Ayre and AR Steber)
• Outcasts of Eternity (1942, as Polton Cross)
• Prisoner of Time (1942, as Polton Cross)
• The Mental Gangster (1942, as Thornton Ayre)
• Arctic God (1942, as Frank Jones)
• Destroyer from the Past (1942, as Polton Cross)
• Martian Miniature (1942)
• The Case of the Mesozoic Monsters (1942, as Thornton Ayre)
• The Last Hours (1942, also as Nemesis )
• Vampire Queen (1942, as Thornton Ayre)
• The Silver Coil (1942, as Thornton Ayre)
• Children of the Golden Amazon (1943, as Thornton Ayre)
• Lunar Vengeance (1943, as Thornton Ayre)
• Wanderer of Time (1944, as Polton Cross)
• The Devouring Tide (1944, as Polton Cross)
• The Ultimate Analysis (1944)
• Mark Grayson Unlimited (1945, as Polton Cross)
• Aftermath (1945)
• Interlink (1945)
• Space Trap (1945, as Polton Cross)
• From Afar (1946)
• Pre-Natal (1946)
• Other Eyes Watching (1946, as Polton Cross)
• The Unbroken Chain (1946)
• Knowledge Without Learning (1946, as K. Thomas)
• Solar Assignment (1946, as Mark Denholm)
• Sweet Mystery of Life (1946)
• The Vicious Circle (1946, as Polton Cross)
• Twilight Planet (1946, as Polton Cross)
• White Mouse (1946, as Thornton Ayre)
• The Multillionth Chance (1946)
• Last Conflict (1946)
• The Arbiter (1947)
• Chaos (1947, as Polton Cross)
• Ultra Evolution (1948, as Polton Cross)
• After the Atom (1948)
• Black-Out (1950, also called Black Saturday )
• Stranger in Our Midst (1950)
• De-Creation (1952, as Vargo Statten)
• Worlds to Conquer (1952, as Vargo Statten)
• Flight of the Vampires (1952)
• Cosmic Exodus (1953, as Conrad G. Holt)
• The Hell Fruit (1953, as Lawrence F. Rose)
  • German: Deadly intoxication. Pabel (Utopia Science Fiction # 368), 1963.
• Man in Duplicate (1953, as Vargo Statten)
  • German: The double. Pabel (Utopia Science Fiction # 164), 1959.
• Survivor of Mars (1953, as Vargo Statten)
• Waters of Eternity (1953, as Mark Denholm)
• Letter from Gods (1954)
• Beyond Zero (1954, as Vargo Equip)
• March of the Robots (1954, as Volsted Gridban)
• The Copper Bullet (1954)
• A Saga of 2270 AD (1954, as Volsted Gridban)
• Before Atlantis (1954, as Vargo Equip)
• The Master Mind (1954, as Vargo Statten)
• The Others (1954, as Volsted Gridban)
• Alice, Where Art Thou? (1954, as Volsted Gridban)
• It Came from Outer Space (1954, as uncredited)
• Reverse Action (1954, as Vargo Equip)
• Rim of Eternity (1954, as Vargo Statten)
• Something from Mercury (1954, as Vargo Statten)
• A Matter of Vibration (1955, as Vargo Statten, also as Ice Maiden )
• Three's a Crowd (1955, as Vargo Statten)
• Second Genesis (1956, as Vargo Statten)
• World Out of Step (1956)
• Kingpin Planet (1957)
• The Shadow People (1957)
• World in Reverse (1958)
• Manton's World (1958)
• Dwellers in Darkness (1958)
• World in Duplicate (1959)
• Judgment Bell (1960)
• Into the Unknown (1970)
• The Ghost Sun (1970, with Sydney J. Bounds)
• Rule of the Brains (1970)
• The Slitherers (1970)
• Black Outlook (1991)
• He Walked on Air (1991)
• Thoughts That Kill (1997, with Ron Turner and Philip Harbottle)
• The Silver Disc (1998, with Sydney J. Bounds)
• A Matter of Vibration (1999, with Sydney J. Bounds)
• Later Than You Think (2000)
• Endless Day (2001)
• The Thirty-First of June (2002)
• Boomerang (2002)
• Foolproof (2002)
• Last Extra (2002)
• Safety in Numbers (2002)
• The Black Terror (2003)
• The Frozen Limit (2003)
• Z Formations (2003)
• I, Spy (2006)

Other novels (crime, western, adventure)

• Black Maria, M. A (1944, as John Slate)
• Maria Marches On (1945, as John Slate)
• One Remained Seated (1946, as John Slate)
• They Arm Alone (1947, as John Slate)
• The Test of Love (1947, published anonymously)
• The Flying Horseman (1947)
• Except for One Thing (1947, as Hugo Blayn)
• The Five Matchboxes (1948, as Hugo Blayn)
• The Avenging Ranger (1948)
• Framed in Guilt (1948, as John Slate)
• Rustlers Canyon (1948)
• Thunder Valley (1948)
• Yellow Gulch Law (1948)
• Dead Man's Shoes (1949)
• Outlaw's Legacy (1949, as Clem Larson)
• Six-Gun Prodigal (1949, as Hank Cole)
• Account Settled (1949, as John Russell)
• Six-Guns Shoot to Kill (1949, as Hank Carson)
• Gunsmoke Valley (1949)
• Stockwhip Sheriff (1949, as Polton Cross)
• Valley of the Doomed (1949)
• Murder's a Must (1949)
• Tornado Trail (1949)
• Arizona Love (1950)
• Aztec Gold (1950)
• Death in Silhouette (1950, as John Slate)
• Flashpoint (1950, as Hugo Blayn)
• Ghost Canyon (1950)
• Merridew Rides Again (1950)
• Rattlesnake (1950)
• Skeleton Pass (1950)
• Bonanza (1950)
• Firewater (1950)
• Hell's Acres (1950, as Mick McCoy)
• Lead Law (1950)
• Merridew Marches On (1951)
• The Hanging 9 (1951)
• Guntoter from Kansas (1951, as Jed McNab)
• Injun Canyon (1951, as Jed McNab)
• Golden Canyon (1951)
• The Gold of Akada (1951, as Earl Titan)
• Anjani the Mighty (1951, as Earl Titan)
• What Happened to Hammond? (1951, as Hugo Blayn)
• Killer's Legacy (1952)
• Merridew Fights Again (1952)
• Merridew Follows the Trail (1953)
• Liquid Death (1953, as a handle)
• Don't Touch Me (1953, as Spike Gordon)
• You Take the Rap (1953, as Spike Gordon)
• Shattering Glass (1953, as Frank Russell)
• Vision Sinister (1954, as Nat Karta)
• The Silvered Cage (1955, as Hugo Blayn)
• Accident Trail (1955, as Jed McCloud)
• Feather-Fist Jones (1955, as Jed McCloud)
• SheriffofDeadman's Bend (1956, as Jed McCloud)
• Phantom Avenger (1956, as Jed McCloud)
• Navajo Vengeance (1956)

literature

• Hans Joachim Alpers , Werner Fuchs , Ronald M. Hahn : Reclam's science fiction guide. Reclam, Stuttgart 1982, ISBN 3-15-010312-6 , p. 153.
• Hans Joachim Alpers, Werner Fuchs, Ronald M. Hahn, Wolfgang Jeschke : Lexicon of Science Fiction Literature. Heyne, Munich 1991, ISBN 3-453-02453-2 , p. 434.
• Brian M. Stableford , John Clute , David Langford , David Redd: Fearn, John Russell. In: John Clute, Peter Nicholls : The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction . 3rd edition (online edition), version dated April 4, 2017.
• Robert Reginald : Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature. A Checklist, 1700–1974 with contemporary science fiction authors II. Gale, Detroit 1979, ISBN 0-8103-1051-1 , p. 897.
• Donald H. Tuck : The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy through 1968. Advent, Chicago 1974, ISBN 0-911682-20-1 , p. 166 f.
• Philip J. Harbottle: Fearn, John Russell . In: Noelle Watson, Paul E. Schellinger: Twentieth-Century Science-Fiction Writers. St. James Press, Chicago 1991, ISBN 1-55862-111-3 , pp. 272-277.
• Philip J. Harbottle: The Multi-Man: A Biographic and Bibliographic Study of John Russell Fearn. Private print, 1968.

Web links

• Literature by and about John Russell Fearn in the catalog of the German National Library
• John Russell Fearn in the Internet Speculative Fiction Database (English)
• Works by and about John Russell Fearn at Open Library
• John Russell Fearn in Fantastic Fiction (English)
• Works by Fearn on fadedpage.com, accessed January 11, 2018

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b c} Robert Reginald : Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature. Detroit 1979, p. 897. See also the introduction by Harbottle in The John Russell Fearn Science Fiction Megapack , Wildside Press, 2014.
2. ↑ [...] imaginatively reckless, but his best work is vigorous and occasionally vivid.
3. ^ Philip J. Harbottle: Fearn, John Russell . In: Twentieth-Century Science-Fiction Writers. Chicago 1991, p. 276.