John Grant (writer, 1949)

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John Grant (actually Paul le Page Barnett; born November 22, 1949 in Aberdeen , Scotland ; died February 3, 2020 in Hewitt , New Jersey ) was a Scottish author and editor of science fiction , fantasy and non-fiction. Together with John Clute , he was editor of the award-winning Encyclopedia of Fantasy . He is the author of over 70 books, most of which appeared under his pseudonym, John Grant. In addition to his real name Paul Barnett, he also used the pseudonym Eve Devereux several times.

Life

Barnett attended Robert Gordon's College in Aberdeen from 1955 to 1963 and then from 1963 to 1967 the Strathallan School in Forgandenny . From 1967 to 1968 he studied at King's College and University College in London . From 1969 to 1980 he worked as an editor and editor in various publishing houses, namely Frederick Muller in London (1969–1975), Elsevier International Projects in Oxford (1976–1977), David & Charles in Newton Abbot (1978–1980) and Webb and Bower in Exeter (1980). From then on he was a freelance writer and editor. Barnett was married to Sarah Campbell Stewart from 1974 and has a daughter with her. From 1999 he lived in the USA.

While at David & Charles , Grant edited the anthology Aries 1 in 1979, which included his first published short story, MT (and hence to be filled) (under the pseudonym Eve Devereux). His first novel, The Truth About the Flaming Ghoulies (1983), is an SF humoresque about a rock band made up of androids , it turns out. The following two novels are also parodic . Sex Secrets of Ancient Atlantis (1985), pokes fun at pseudoscience in general and Atlantis theories in particular. Earthdoom! (1987, with David Langford ) is a parody of the apocalyptic subgenre in science fiction.

Grant's fiction works include a cycle of novels from the world of Lone Wolfe - play books by Joe Dever , the two volumes of Space Opera of the Strider Chronicles , which he wrote as Paul Barnett, and above all the two loosely coupled fantasy novels Albion (1991) and The World (1992), which are considered his most ambitious works. In Albion , the protagonist is stranded in a fluctuating world without long-term memory, in which not only the residents cannot remember their existence from the previous day, but also the world as a whole is subject to unpredictable change. This continues in The World . The novel describes a multiverse in which fictional and “real” worlds continually overlap and merge with one another, and all certainty seems to have disappeared. Grant exceeds here clearly the limitations of traditional fantasy and also indicates otherwise a special tendency to slipstream and genre - Crossover , for example, in The City in These Pages (2008), on the one hand cosmological Fantasy, on the other hand, a tribute to the 87th Precinct -Krimireihe of Ed McBain .

Dealing with pseudoscientific nonsense, conspiracy theories and politically motivated distortions of reality make up a considerable part of Grant's non-fiction books, and since the mid-2000s a predominant part. This group includes:

  • Corrupted Science: Fraud, Ideology, and Politics in Science (2007, revised 2017)
  • Bogus Science: Ideas That Fool Some of the People All of the Time (2009)
  • Denying Science: Conspiracy Theories, Media Distortions, and the War Against Reality (2011)
  • Debunk It! : How to Stay Sane in a World of Misinformation (2014)
  • Bullsh * t: How to Detect Junk Science, Bogus Claims, Whacky Theories, and General Human Stupidity (2014)
  • Spooky Science: Debunking the Pseudoscience of the Afterlife (2015)

Related to this are his books on Byways of Science, beginning with A Directory of Discarded Ideas (1981), which is also Grant's first lexicographical work. It is also in the area of lexicography in which Grant predominantly found recognition, especially with the Encyclopedia of Fantasy (1997), for which he received the Hugo Award , Locus Award and other prizes. For the second edition of the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction Grant was the technical editor and prepared the conversion to the online dictionary. Other Lexica Grants include Encyclopedia of Walt Disney's Animated Characters (1987), The Encyclopedia of Fantasy and Science Fiction Art Techniques (1996) together with comic artist and illustrator Ron Tiner, and most recently A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Film Noir (2013). Another focus of Grant's work was science fiction and fantasy artists and illustrators. In addition to the aforementioned lexicon of SF&F art techniques, this includes his work on the Chesley Award winners , to which he has been a member since 2002. He won his second Hugo in 2004 with The Chesley Awards for Science Fiction & Fantasy Art . Grant is also the author of several books on individual artists.

Awards

bibliography

The series are arranged according to the year of publication of the first part.

The Legends of Lone Wolf (with Joe Dever )
  • 1 Eclipse of the Kai (1989)
  • 2 The Dark Door Opens (1989)
  • 3 The Sword of the Sun (1989, also in two parts as The Tides of Treachery and The Sword of the Sun , 1991)
  • 4 Hunting Wolf (1990)
  • 5 The Claws of Helgedad (1991)
  • 6 The Sacrifice of Ruanon (1991)
  • 7 The Birthplace (1992)
  • 8 The Book of the Magnakai (1992)
  • 9 The Tellings (1993)
  • 10 The Lorestone of Varetta (1994)
  • 11 The Secret of Kazan-Oud (1994)
  • 12 The Rotting Land (1995)
  • The Legends of Lone Wolf Omnibus (1992, collective edition of 1 and 2)
  • Legends of Lone Wolf Omnibus 1 (2011, collective edition from 1–3)
  • Legends of Lone Wolf Omnibus 2 (2013, collective edition of 4–6)
  • Legends of Lone Wolf Omnibus 3 (2013, collective edition of 7 and 8)
Albion
  • Albion (1991)
  • The World (1992)
The Strider Chronicles (also as Paul Barnett)
  • 1 Strider's Galaxy (1997)
  • 2 Strider's Universe (1998)
Dragonhenge (short stories)
  • 1 Dragonhenge (2002)
  • 2 The Stardragons (2005)
Novels
  • The Truth About the Flaming Ghoulies (1983)
  • Sex Secrets of Ancient Atlantis (1985)
  • Earthdoom! (1987, with David Langford )
  • Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (1993, retelling for teenagers)
  • The Hundredfold Problem (1994, Judge Dredd # 7)
  • Frankenstein (1995, retelling for young people)
  • The Far-Enough Window or The Reclaiming of Fairyland (2002)
  • Qinmeartha and The Girl Child LoChi (2002)
  • The Hundredfold Problem (2003)
  • Sex Secrets of Ancient Atlantis (2004)
  • The Dragons of Manhattan (2005)
  • Guts: A Comedy of Manners (2005, with David Langford)
  • Leaving Fortusa (2008)
  • The City In These Pages (2008)
  • Has Anyone Here Seen Kristie? (2011)
  • The Lonely Hunter (2012)
Collections
  • Take No Prisoners (2004)
  • Tell No Lies (2014)
Short stories
  • MT (and hence to be filled) (1979, as Eve Devereux)
  • Marooned (1980)
  • Queen of the Skies (1980)
  • Return of the Warriors (1980)
  • When All Else Fails (1983)
  • On and on and on and on and ... (1988)
  • The Machine It Was That Cried (1990)
  • Word Processor (1990, as Eve Devereux)
  • History Book: A Thog the Mighty Text (1994)
  • The Glad Who Sang a Mermaid in from the Probability Sea (1995)
  • Beast (1997, as Paul Barnett)
  • Imogen (1997, as Paul Barnett)
  • All the Best Curses Last for a Lifetime (1997)
  • Now, Just Wait a Second (1999)
  • A Case of Four Fingers (2001)
  • Snare (2001)
  • Mouse (2001)
  • A Golden Age (2002)
  • I Could Have a General Be / In the Bright King's Arr-umm-ee (2002)
  • Wooden Horse (2002)
  • MeTopia (2002)
  • No Solace for the Soul in Digetopia (2003)
  • A Lean and Hungry Look (2004)
  • Coma (2004)
  • Has Anyone Here Seen Kristie (2004)
  • How I Slept with the Queen of China (2004)
  • Sheep (2004)
  • The Dead Monkey Puzzle (2004)
  • Q (2004)
  • The Hard Stuff (2005)
  • H –––– 's Last Case (2005)
  • The Thirty-Million Day Dance Card (2006)
  • The Unforbidden Playground (2006)
  • Lives (2007)
  • Always More Than You Know (2008)
  • All the Little Gods We Are (2008)
  • The City in These Pages (2008)
  • Will the Real Veronica LeBarr Please Stand Down? (2008)
  • Beach of the Drowned (2009)
  • Breaking Laws (2009)
  • Where Shadows Go at Low Midnight (2010)
  • Baited Breath (2010)
  • Only One Ghost (2010)
  • The Lonely Hunter (2012)
  • Memoryville Blues (2013)
  • I'm Running (2013)
  • Buzz Off (2013)
  • The Girl Who Was Ugly (2013)
  • His Artist Wife (2014)
  • Ghost Story (2014)
  • Benjy's Birthday (2014)
  • Little Helpers (2015)
  • Chasing Charlemagne (2015)
  • Everything Finishes (2016)
  • The Second Runner (2016)
  • Stained Glass (2016)
  • The Law of Conservation of Data (2017)
  • Too Late (2018)
Anthologies
  • Aries 1 (1979)
  • The Book of Time (1980, with Colin Wilson )
  • The Directory of Possibilities (1981, with Colin Wilson)
  • Strange Pleasures 2 (2003, with Dave Hutchinson)
  • New Writings in the Fantastic (2007)
Non-fiction
  • A Directory of Discarded Ideas: An Absorbing and Hilarious AZ of Lunacies and Curios (1981)
  • A Book of Numbers (1982)
  • Dreamers: A Geography of Dreamland (1983)
  • The Depths of Cricket (1986)
  • Encyclopedia of Walt Disney's Animated Characters (1987)
  • The Advanced Trivia Quizbook (1987)
  • Great Mysteries (1988)
  • An Introduction to Viking Mythology (1989)
  • The Great Unsolved Mysteries of Science (1989)
  • Unexplained Mysteries of the World (1991, collective edition of Great Mysteries and Great Unsolved Mysteries of Science )
  • Book of World Flags (1992, as Eve Devereux)
    • German: Flaggenbuch: A manual on the history and meaning of the flags of all countries, their members and associated areas: Status 1992 including all CIS countries. Gondrom, Bindlach 1992, ISBN 3-8112-1116-1 .
  • Monsters (1992, also as Monster Mysteries , with Ron Tiner, as Armytage Ware)
  • Conjuring Tricks (1992, with Ron Tiner, as Armytage Ware)
  • Juggling and Feats of Dexterity (1992, with Ron Tiner, as Armytage Ware)
  • Card Games (1992, with Ron Tiner, as Armytage Ware)
  • Parlor Games (1992, with Ron Tiner, as Armytage Ware)
  • Practical Jokes (1993, with Ron Tiner, as Freddie Duff-Ware)
  • The Ultimate Card Trick Book (1994, as Eve Devereux)
  • The Encyclopedia of Fantasy and Science Fiction Art Techniques (1996, with Ron Tiner)
  • Cosset Your Cat: How to Pamper Your Pussy Cat in Style: Practical Projects to Show You Care (1996, as Eve Devereux)
  • Dog Treats: Pamper Your Pooch to Prove You Care: Practical Projects to Pamper Your Pooch That Prove You Care (1996, as Eve Devereux)
  • The Encyclopedia of Fantasy (1997, with John Clute )
  • Enchanted World: The Art of Anne Sudworth (2000, with Anne Sudworth)
  • Masters of Animation (2001)
  • Walking New York: 20 Original Walks Exploring New York City (2001, with George Spelvin, as Eve Devereux)
  • Perceptualistics: Art by Jael (2002, with Jael)
  • Paper Tiger Fantasy Art Gallery (2002, as Paul Barnett)
  • The Chesley Awards for Science Fiction and Fantasy Art: A Retrospective (2003, with Elizabeth Humphrey and Pamela D. Scoville)
  • Digital Art for the 21st Century: Renderosity (2004, with Audre Vysniauskas)
  • Faeries, and Other Fantastical Folk: The Faery Paintings of Maxine Gadd (2005)
  • Discarded Science: Ideas That Seemed Good at the Time ... (2006)
  • Life-Size Dragons (2006)
  • Animated Movies: Facts, Figures and Fun (2006)
  • Noir Movies: Facts, Figures & Fun (2006)
  • Sci-Fi Movies: Facts, Figures and Fun (2006)
  • Beer: Facts, Figures and Fun (2006, as Paul Barnett)
  • Cats: Facts, Figures and Fun (2006, as Eve Devereux)
  • Love & Romance: Facts, Figures and Fun (2006, as Eve Devereux)
  • Corrupted Science: Fraud, Ideology, and Politics in Science (2007, revised 2017)
  • Bogus Science: Ideas That Fool Some of the People All of the Time (2009)
  • The Life Business (2011)
  • Warm Words & Otherwise: A Blizzard of Book Reviews (2011)
  • Denying Science: Conspiracy Theories, Media Distortions, and the War Against Reality (2011)
  • A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Film Noir: The Essential Reference Guide (2013)
  • Debunk It! : How to Stay Sane in a World of Misinformation (2014)
  • Bullsh * t: How to Detect Junk Science, Bogus Claims, Whacky Theories, and General Human Stupidity (2014)
  • Spooky Science: Debunking the Pseudoscience of the Afterlife (2015)
  • Eureka! 50 Scientists Who Shaped the World (2016)
as editor
  • The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, 2nd edition (1993, with John Clute and Peter Nicholls )

Other (as Paul Barnett)

  • Planet Earth: An Encyclopedia of Geology (1977, with A. Hallam and Peter Hutchinson , as Paul Barnett)
  • Phaidon Concise Encyclopedia of Science and Technology (1978, with John-David Yule, as Paul Barnett)
as translator
  • Electric Children: Roots and Branches of Modern FolkRock (1976, as Paul Barnett)

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Paul Barnett (1949–2020) , sf-encyclopedia.com, February 5, 2020, accessed July 5, 2020
personal data
SURNAME Grant, John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Barnett, Paul le Page (real name); Barnett, Paul (alternative spelling); Duff-Ware, Freddie (pseudonym); Devereux, Eve (pseudonym); Ware, Armytage (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Scottish author and editor
DATE OF BIRTH November 22, 1949
PLACE OF BIRTH Aberdeen , Scotland
DATE OF DEATH 3rd February 2020
Place of death Hewitt , New Jersey