Philip E. High

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Philip Empson High (born April 28, 1914 in Biggleswade , Bedfordshire ; died August 9, 2006 in Canterbury ) was a British science fiction writer.

Life

High was the son of William High, a bank clerk, and Muriel High. He grew up as the middle of three brothers, first in North Walsham and then in Great Yarmouth , Norfolk . In 1921 the father was transferred to a branch in Whitstable , Kent . High attended Kent College in Canterbury from 1924 to 1930 but was a very poor student. He began working as a newspaper reporter, but his career was interrupted by World War II, during which he served in the Royal Navy .

After the war, High worked as an insurance agent and other jobs for a while. In 1950 he married Pamela Baker, with whom he had two daughters. From that year until his retirement in 1979, he was a bus driver for the East Kent Road Car Company and a sideline writer.

High was an avid reader from his youth, including science fiction, which he discovered for himself at the age of 13. His literary attempts since his teenage years - he was an admirer of Nevil Shute - moved into other genres and were unsuccessful. He didn't begin writing SF short stories until the mid-1950s, and in 1955 The Statics appeared in Authentic Science Fiction Monthly, edited by Herbert J. Campbell . In the decades that followed, up to his death, High wrote over 80 short stories. A large part of these short stories appeared in the years 1955 to 1964. A first collection of these short stories appeared in 2002. From the mid-1960s, High turned to the novel and until 1979 wrote a total of 14 novels, the majority of which appeared in German translation - mostly however in booklet series.

Since there appeared to be no interest, High did not release any more SF after 1979. However, when he was approached by Philip Harbottle in the late 1990s , it became apparent that he was still productive, and so a number of other short stories Highs appeared in the anthologies edited by Harbottle.

High died in 2006 at the age of 92.

bibliography

Novels
  • No Truce with Terra. 1964.
    • German: Die Metalloiden. (= Terra Nova. 149). Moewig, 1970.
  • The Prodigal Sun. 1964.
    • German: The lost sun. (= Terra Nova. 115). Moewig, 1970.
  • The Mad Metropolis. 1966. (also as Double Illusion )
  • Reality Forbidden. 1967.
    • German: Forbidden Reality. (= Goldmann's Space Pocket Books. 0114). 1970.
  • These Savage Futurians. 1967.
    • English: The island of scientists. (= Terra Nova. 157). Moewig, 1970.
  • Twin planets. 1967.
    • English: The twin planets. (= Terra Nova. 91). Moewig, 1969.
  • Invader on My Back. 1968.
    • English: Dictatorship of the Parasites. (= Terra Nova. 99). Moewig, 1969.
  • The Time Mercenaries. 1968.
    • German: Army from the retort. (= Science Fiction Paperback. 3). Bastei Lübbe, 1971.
  • Butterfly Planet. 1971.
    • English: the planet of butterflies. (= Goldmann's space paperbacks. 0138). 1972, ISBN 3-442-23138-2 . (Also called: Planet of Butterflies. (= Super Science Fiction. 126). Xenos, 1981).
  • Come, Hunt to Earthman. 1973.
  • Sold - For a Spaceship. 1973.
    • German: After the inferno. (= Science Fiction Paperback. 21051). Bastei Lübbe, 1974, ISBN 3-404-04910-1 .
  • Speaking of Dinosaurs. 1974.
  • Fugitive from Time. 1978.
  • Blindfold from the Stars. 1979.
Collections
  • The Best of Philip E. High. 2002.
  • Step to the stars. 2004.
  • Guilty as Charged: Fantastic Crime Stories. 2013.
Short stories
  • The statics. 1955.
  • A school room for the teacher. 1956.
  • The collaborator. 1956.
  • Wrath of the Gods. 1956.
  • City at random. 1956.
  • Assassin in Hiding. 1957.
  • Buried talent. 1957.
  • Life Sentence. 1957.
  • The Ancient Enemy. 1957.
  • The Golden Age. 1957.
  • Guess Who? 1957.
  • Plague Solution. 1957.
  • Time bomb. 1957.
  • Topside. 1957.
  • Further Outlook. 1957.
  • The Meek Shall Inherit. 1958.
  • Risk Economy. 1958.
  • Shift case. 1958.
  • The Guardian. 1958.
    • German: The Guardian. In: Walter Spiegl (Ed.): Science-Fiction-Stories 72. (= Ullstein-Bücher. 3487; Ullstein. 2000). Ullstein, 1978, ISBN 3-548-03487-X .
  • The Lords of Creation. 1958.
  • A Race of Madmen. 1959.
  • Infection. 1959.
  • Squeeze box. 1959.
  • Project - stall. 1959. (also as Project Mars )
  • To See Ourselves. 1959.
  • For Those Who Wait. 1959.
  • Pseudopath. 1959.
  • Mumbo Jumbo Man. 1960.
  • Pursuit Missile. 1960.
  • Routine exercise. 1961.
  • The Jackson Killer. 1961.
  • Fallen Angel. 1961.
  • The Martian Hunters. 1961.
  • Survival Course. 1961.
  • The Psi Squad. 1962.
  • Blind as a bat. 1962.
  • Probability Factor. 1962.
  • Dictator bait. 1962.
  • The Method. 1962.
  • Dead end. 1962.
  • The Big Tin God. 1963.
  • Bottomless pit. 1963.
  • Point of no return. 1963.
  • Relative genius. 1963.
  • Temporary resident. 1966.
  • The Adapters. 1969.
  • Psycho land. 1970.
  • Technical wizard. 1970.
  • Fixed image. 1970.
  • The Kiss. 1998.
  • The Falling Elephant. 1999.
  • The Gulf. 1999.
  • Transit serum. 1999.
  • Chain reaction. 2000. (as BJ Empson)
  • One Hour To Darkness. 2000.
  • The Occultist. 2000. (as BJ Empson)
  • Malfunction Syndrome. 2001.
  • The Artifact. 2002.
  • A Question of Fuel. 2003.
  • Guilty as Charged. 2003. (as BJ Empson)
  • Let There Be Light. 2003.
  • Production model. 2003.
  • Seeds of Invasion. 2003.
  • The drainpipe. 2003.
  • The Elementals. 2003.
  • Time ticket. 2003.
  • Bought on the Internet. 2003. (as BJ Empson)
  • Awakening. 2004.
  • Funny farm. 2004.
  • Galactic Love Story. 2004.
  • Pioneer Plus. 2004.
  • Step to the stars. 2004.
  • The Gunman. 2004.
  • The Mex. 2004.
  • The price to pay. 2004.
  • The prisoner. 2004.
  • The thing at the bottom of the garden. 2004.
  • Tune out of time. 2004.
  • Virtual reality. 2004.
  • The simulator. 2006.
  • The Wishing Stone. 2008.
  • This World Is Ours. 2008.

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME High, Philip E.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES High, Philip Empson (full name); Empson, BJ (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British science fiction writer
DATE OF BIRTH April 28, 1914
PLACE OF BIRTH Biggleswade , Bedfordshire
DATE OF DEATH August 9, 2006
Place of death Canterbury