John S. Glasby

John Stephen Glasby (born September 23, 1928 in East Retford , Nottinghamshire ; died June 5, 2011 in England ) was a British chemist and astronomer, and a prolific writer in pulp magazines in the 1950s and 1960s. In addition to the pseudonym AW Merak - derived from the star Merak in the Big Bear - he used a large number of other pseudonyms and publisher names and wrote not only science fiction but also other genres such as horror , crime , mystery , espionage and westerns .

Life

Glasby was the son of train driver Edgar Stuart Glasby and Elizabeth Alice, nee Hempsall. After attending the King Edward VI Grammar School in Retford , he studied chemistry at the University of Nottingham , where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1952 . After his studies he worked for Imperial Chemical Industries , initially in research for explosives and rocket propellants, where he became head of the department for physical chemistry . After 25 years he switched to organic chemistry , where he worked in publishing and public relations. In 1988 he retired.

His interest in astronomy led him to participate in the British Astronomical Association's variable program from 1958 . In 1962 he was appointed its head for seven years. He was a lecturer in astronomy at Glasgow University and a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society .

From 1952 Glasby science fiction began to write soon along with the legendary productive R. Lionel Fanthorpe for the series of by John Spencer & Co laid Badger Books and related series, Futuristic Science Stories for example. Together with Fanthorpe, he wrote the majority of Spencer's titles, often within a few days and (more or less) matching a given cover. In order to disguise the share of the relatively few authors in the production, pseudonyms were used, often collectively. The list of pseudonyms used by Glasby is long and ranges from John Adams to Karl Zeigfried. His total production is estimated at over 250 titles, and it can be assumed that by no means all of Glasby's works could be assigned.

Production practically came to a standstill in the late 1960s when market conditions changed and sales via Badger Books came to a standstill. Early 1990 began then again a productive period for Glasby with an emphasis in the horror field, including with stories of Lovecraft's Cthulhu - universe , including the collection of The Substance of a Shade (2003), the novel The Dark Destroyer (2005) and the Dark Armageddon trilogy (2016/2017). Also worth mentioning are Sea Tea Sun and The Crimson Peril (2007), two sequels to John Russell Fearn's Golden Amazon series. The old titles from the Badger Books series were revised in the 2000s and reissued by Orion / Gateway.

In addition to his literary works, he wrote a number of astronomical non-fiction books, including Boundaries of the Universe (1971), as well as several, sometimes multi-volume technical dictionaries in the fields of organic chemistry , pharmacy and botany .

Glasby had been married to Janet Beattie Hannah since 1954. There are five children from the marriage. Glasby died in 2011 at the age of 82.

bibliography

Science fiction and horror

Dark Armageddon (trilogy)

• 1 The Coming of Cthugha (2016)
• 2 Dawn of the Old Ones (2016)
• 3 Dark Armageddon (2017)

Novels

• Satellite BC (1952, with Arthur Roberts, as Rand Le Page)
• Cosmic Echelon (1952, with Arthur Roberts, as Berl Cameron)
• Sphero Nova (1952, with Arthur Roberts, as Berl Cameron)
• Time and Space (1952, with Arthur Roberts, as Rand Le Page)
• Zenith-D (1952, with Arthur Roberts, as Paul Lorraine)
• Zero Point (1952, with Arthur Roberts, also as Rand Le Page)
  • German: Zero hour. Pabel (Utopia Grossband # 10), 1954.
• Dawn of the Half-Gods (1953, as Victor La Salle)
• The Uranium Seekers (1953, as Karl Zeigfried)
• Twilight Zone (1953, as Victor La Salle)
• Dark Andromeda (1954, as AJ Merak)
  • German: Secret Mission Andromeda. Bewin, 1957. Also as: On a secret mission. Moewig (Terra # 12), 1958.
• Dark Centauri (1954, also as Karl Zeigfried)
• This Second Earth (1957, as RL Bowers)
• The Time Kings (1958, as JB Dexter)
• The World Makers (1958, as John C. Maxwell)
• Dark Conflict (1959, as AJ Merak)
• No Dawn and No Horizon (1959, also as The Frozen Planet , 1969, as AJ Merak)
  • German: Company Alpha 1. Moewig (Terra Astra # 15), 1971.
• The Dark Millennium (1959, as AJ Merak)
• Barrier Unknown (1960, as AJ Merak)
• Black Abyss (1960, as JL Powers)
  • English: Advance into the Galaxy. Balowa / Gebrüder Zimmermann (Balowa science fiction), 1962. Also as: Moewig (Terra # 295), 1963.
• Hydrosphere (1960, as AJ Merak)
• Space Void (1960, as John E. Muller, also as Marston Johns, 1965)
• When the Gods Came (1960, as John Adams)
• Alien (1961, as John E. Muller)
• Day of the Beasts (1961, as John E. Muller)
• The Unpossessed (1961, as John E. Muller)
  • English: The murderous corpses. Vampire Horror Novel # 74, 1974.
• Edge of Eternity (1962, as John E. Muller)
• In the Beginning (1962, as John E. Muller)
  • German: 9,000 years like a day. Pabel (Utopia Science Fiction # 375), 1964.
• Night of the Big Fire (1962, also as Moon Rocket , 1967, as John E. Muller)
• Dark Legion (1967, as John Crawford)
  • German: Der Geisterhügel. Vampire horror novel TB # 1, 1973.
• Project Jove (1971)
• The Dark Destroyer (2005)
• Mystery of the Crater (2010)

Collections

• Twilight Zone (1959, as Victor La Salle)
• The Substance of a Shade (2003)
• The Lonely Shadows: Tales of Horror and the Cthulhu Mythos (2012)
• The Dark Boatman: Tales of Horror and the Cthulhu Mythos (2012)
• The Thing in the Mist: Selected Stories (2012)
• The Substance of a Shade: And Other Stories (2014)
• The Brooding City and Other Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos (2015)
• Beyond the Rim and Other Tales of Cosmic Horror (2015)

Short stories

• Moondust (1952, as AJ Merak)
• Ghost Moon (1952, as Ray Cosmic)
• The Veiled Planet (1953, as AJ Merak)
• Time Pit (1953, as Michael Hamilton)
• Ultimate Species (1953, as AJ Merak)
• The Golden Hibiscus (1953, as AJ Merak)
• Void Warp (1953, as Ray Cosmic)
• “Zerzuran Plague” (1953, as Michael Hamilton)
• The Storm Movers (1953, as AJ Merak)
• "Allomorph" (1953, as Ray Cosmic)
• "Stars' End" (1953, as Max Chartair)
• Moon King (1953, as AJ Merak)
• Final Answer (1954, as Ray Cosmic)
• Pyramid Problem (1954, as Michael Hamilton)
• Shadow of the Atom (1954, as AJ Merak)
• Such Worlds Are Dangerous (1954, as AJ Merak)
• The Aphesian Riddle (1954, as Randall Conway)
• The Entropists (1954, as Randall Conway)
• The Things That Are Mars (1954, as Peter Laynham)
• World of Tomorrow (1954, as Ray Cosmic)
• “Chronolei” (1954, as Max Chartair)
• “Mischa” (1954, as AJ Merak)
• "The Laughter of Space" (1954, as Michael Hamilton)
• "Ugly Duckling" (1954, as JJ Hansby)
• Paradise Planet (1954, as Max Chartair)
• The Byarkil Eaters (1954, as AJ Merak)
• Time Trouble (1954, as Randall Conway)
• Lycanthrope (1954, as Ray Cosmic)
• The Cloak of Darkness (1954, as Max Chartair, also as HK Lennard, 1957)
• The Devil's Canvas (1954, as AJ Merak)
• The Gods of Fear (1954, as Randall Conway)
• Vengeance of Set (1954, as Michael Hamilton)
• Beyond the Rim (1954, as AJ Merak)
• Edge of Darkness (1954, as Max Chartair)
• Frog (1954, as Max Chartair)
• Hunter's Moon (1954, as Randall Conway)
• The Illusion Makers (1954, as JJ Hansby)
• Things of the Dark (1954, as AJ Merak)
• Haunt of the Vampire (1954, as Max Chartair)
• Something from the Sea (1954, as Ray Cosmic, also as The Sea Thing , 1960, as John Morton)
• The Crystal Skull (1954, as AJ Merak)
• The Other Seance (1954, as Michael Hamilton)
• Will O 'the Wisp (1954, as Randall Conway)
• A Place of Madness (1954, as AJ Merak)
• Angel of the Bottomless Pit (1954, as Michael Hamilton)
• The Devil at My Elbow (1954, as Max Chartair)
• The Nightmare Road (1954, as Ray Cosmic)
  • German: The end of the road. In: Hordes out of darkness. Pabel (Demon Killer Paperback # 32), 1977.
• The Seventh Image (1954, as Randall Conway)
• House of Unreason (1954, as HJ Merak)
• The Chair (1954, as Ray Cosmic)
• The Zegrembi Bracelet (1954, as Max Chartair)
• They Fly By Night (1954, as Randall Conway)
• A Little Devil Dancing (1955, as Max Chartair)
• A World Named Creation (1955, as JJ Hansby)
• Coven of Thirteen (1955, as Michael Hamilton)
• Lurani (1955, as Max Chartair)
• My Name Is Satan (1955, as AJ Merak)
• Somewhere in the Moonlight (1955, as Michael Hamilton)
• The Dark Ones (1955, as Ray Cosmic)
• The Stairway (1955, as Ray Cosmic)
• The Unseen (1955, as AJ Merak)
• The Whisper of the Wind (1955, as Randall Conway)
• Time to Die (1955, as Randall Conway)
• Lorelei (1955, as Ray Cosmic)
• The Hungry House (1955, as Randall Conway)
• The Supernaturalist (1955, as AJ Merak)
• Voice of the Drum (1955, as Michael Hamilton)
• Without a Shadow of Doubt (1955, as Max Chartair)
• Mask of Asmodeus (1955, as Max Chartair)
• Moonbeast (1955, as AJ Merak)
• Shadow Over Endor (1955, as Ray Cosmic)
• The Crystal Fear (1955, as Michael Hamilton)
• The Hungry Gods (1955, as Randall Conway)
• A Place of Meeting (1955, as Michael Hamilton)
• The Golden Scarab (1955, as Ray Cosmic)
• The Man Who Lost Thursday (1955, as Randall Conway)
• The Reincarnate (1955, as AJ Merak)
• The Ugly Ones (1955, as Max Chartair)
• Genius (1955, as JJ Hansby)
• Mr. Pilkington's Ghost (1957, as JJ Hansby)
• Nightmare (1957, as Randall Conway)
• The Midnight Walkers (1957, as Michael Hamilton)
• The Three Green Sisters (1957, as AJ Merak)
• Witch-Water (1957, as Max Chartair)
• It Came by Appointment (1957, as Randall Conway)
• Lord of the Necromancers (1957, as Max Chartair)
• The Haunter (1957, as AJ Merak)
• The Lonely Things (1957, as Peter Laynham)
• The Night Creatures (1957, as Michael Hamilton)
• No Escape (1957, as JS Glasby)
• Dark Kith and Kin (1958, as Peter Laynham)
• Something About Gargoyles (1958, as Randall Conway)
• The Chalice of Circe (1958, as AJ Merak)
• The Hungry Ones (1958, as Michael Hamilton)
  • German: You are hungry again. In: Hordes out of darkness. Pabel (Demon Killer Paperback # 32), 1977.
• The Tunnel of Fear (1958, as JJ Hansby)
• Point of No Return (1959, as Max Chartair)
• Witchcraft (1959, as Michael Hamilton)
• Out of the Shadows (1959, as Randall Conway)
• Somewhere the Devil Hides (1959, as Peter Laynham)
• Take the Last Train (1959, as AJ Merak)
• The Serpent Ring (1959, as Max Chartair)
• Doorway to Darkness (1959, as AJ Merak)
  • English: Meeting with Mr. Forsythe. In: Hordes out of darkness. Pabel (Demon Killer Paperback # 32), 1977.
• Ebb Tide (1959, as Max Chartair)
• The Crimson Evil (1959, as Peter Laynham)
• The Dark Possessed (1959, as Michael Hamilton)
• The Shadow of Terror (1959, as Randall Conway)
• A Pattern of Evil (1959, as AJ Merak)
• Dark of the Dawn (1959, as Randall Conway)
• The Creature in the Depths (1959, as JJ Hansby)
• The Lady Labyrinth (1959, as Max Chartair)
• The Pipes of Pan (1959, as Michael Hamilton)
• Never Look Behind You (1960, as Michael Hamilton)
• Something Old ... (1960, as Peter Laynham)
• Strange Company (1960, as Randall Conway)
• The Phantom Wakes (1960, as Max Chartair)
• The Sorcerers of Bast (1960, as AJ Merak)
• Myth (1961, as Max Chartair)
• Not Without Sorcery (1961, as Randall Conway)
• Refuge (1961, as Peter Laynham)
• Something About Spiders (1961, as AJ Merak)
• When Darkness Falls (1961, as Michael Hamilton)
• And Midnight Falls (1962, as Michael Hamilton)
  • German: Isle of Horror. In: The Midnight Museum. Pabel (Demon Killer Paperback # 35), 1977.
• Dark Conquest (1962, as Randall Conway)
• The Beckoning Shade (1962, as Max Chartair)
• The Lonely Shadows (1962, as AJ Merak)
• To Suffer a Witch (1962, as Peter Laynham)
• A Place of Shadows (1963, as Randall Conway)
• Howl at the Moon (1963, as AJ Merak)
• In the Midst of Night (1963, as Peter Laynham)
• Nightmare on Ice (1963, as Max Chartair)
• Solitude (1963, as Michael Hamilton)
• Body and Soul (1967, as Randall Conway)
• Dust (1967, as Max Chartair)
• Older Than Death (1967, as AJ Merak)
• That Deep Black Yonder (1967, as AJ Merak)
• The Black Mirror (1967, as Randall Conway)
• The Dark Time (1967, as Peter Laynham)
• The Haunting of Charles Quintain (1967, as Michael Hamilton)
• The Keeper of Dark Point (1967, as Michael Hamilton)
• The Night-Comer (1967, as JJ Hansby)
• The Thing in the Mist (1967, as Max Chartair)
• The Visitors (1967, as JJ Hansby)
• Where Dead Men Dream (1967, as Peter Laynham)
• A Present for Christmas (1989, as AJ Merak)
• The Dark Boatman (1989)
• The Uninvited (1989)
• Drawn from Life (1989)
• The Dweller in Darkness (1989)
• The Old One (1989)
• The Ring of the Hyades (1989)
• Cyanide for Christmas (1990)
• A Shadow from the Aeons (1990)
• The Brooding City (1990)
• The Dweller Beyond the Gate (1990)
• The Kh'yrog Tablets (1990)
• The Shadow over Redforde (1990)
• Beyond the Bourne (1990)
• The Black Widow (1991)
• The Nameless Tower (1995)
• Return to Y'ha-nthlei (1997)
• Devil Reef (1998)
• The Weird Shadow Over Innsmouth (1999, with HP Lovecraft)
• Footsteps far Below (2001, with August Derleth)
• A Tangled Web (2003)
• Grandfather (2003)
• Nightfall on Ronan (2003, as AJ Merak)
• On the Up Line (2003)
• Resurrection Day (2003)
• Sisters (2003)
• Something in the Shadows (2003)
• Somewhere A Voice Is Calling (2003)
• The Dark Threshold (2003)
• The Ending of the Tale (2003)
• The Fount of Fantasy (2003)
• The Hour Before Sundown (2003)
• The Journey (2003)
• The Last Séance (2003)
• The Night-Walker (2003)
• The Resident in No. 13 (2003)
• The Substance of a Shade (2003)
• The Summer House (2003)
• The Visitant (2003)
• Charon's Curse (2004)
• The Confessional of St. Augustine (2004)
• The Night Visitor (2004)
• Innsmouth Bane (2005)
• The Quest for Y'ha-nthlei (2005)
• Undersea Quest (2005)
• Shirley's Ghost (2005)
• The House on the Moors (2006)
• Aunt Amelia (2008)
• The Martian Enigma (2008)

Crime, mystery and espionage

Steve Carradine (series of novels, also as Manning K. Robertson)

• Seek and Destroy (1965)
• Blueprint For Destruction (1966)
• The Secret Enemy (1966)
• Twelve Hours To Destiny (1966)
• Night Passage To Kano (1967)
• Pattern For Survival (1967)

Johnny Merak

• The Savage City (2005)
• A Time for Murder (2007)
• Death Never Strikes Twice (2007)
• Murder Is My Shadow (2009)
• Rackets, Inc. (2013)

Non-fiction and specialist literature

astronomy

• Variable Stars (1968)
• The Dwarf Novae (1970)
• Boundaries of the Universe (1971)
• Variable Star Observers Handbook (1971)
• The Nebular Variables (1974)
• The Planet Pluto (1975)

Chemistry and pharmacy

• Encyclopedia of the Alkaloids (4 vols., 1975, 1977 and 1983)
• Encyclopaedia of Antibiotics (1976)
• Encyclopaedia of the Terpenoids (2 vols., 1982)
• Dictionary of Plants Containing Secondary Metabolites (1991)
• Dictionary of Antibiotic-producing Organisms (1992)

literature

• Hans Joachim Alpers , Werner Fuchs , Ronald M. Hahn : Reclam's science fiction guide. Reclam, Stuttgart 1982, ISBN 3-15-010312-6 , p. 289.
• Hans Joachim Alpers, Werner Fuchs, Ronald M. Hahn, Wolfgang Jeschke : Lexicon of Science Fiction Literature. Heyne, Munich 1991, ISBN 3-453-02453-2 , p. 482.
• John Clute , David Langford : Glasby, John S. 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. 914.

Web links

• Literature by and about John S. Glasby in the catalog of the German National Library
• John S. Glasby in the Internet Speculative Fiction Database (English)
• Works by and about John S. Glasby at Open Library
• John S Glasby in Fantastic Fiction (English)
• John E Muller in Fantastic Fiction (English)
• John Glasby , obituary in The Telegraph, September 15, 2011 (accessed May 30, 2018)
• John Glasby (1928-2011) , obituary in Locus Magazine, June 13, 2011 (accessed May 30, 2018)