Phillip Mann

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Phillip man (* 7. August 1942 in Northallerton , Yorkshire , England ) is a British science fiction - writers , who in since 1969 New Zealand lives.

He studied English and acting at the University of Manchester and later in California before moving to New Zealand, where in 1970 he established the first professorship in acting at a New Zealand university, Victoria University of Wellington . He retired from the position of professor of acting in Victoria in 1998 to focus on other projects.

biography

He has worked extensively in the theater, as a professional director and theater teacher, in New Zealand, the USA and Europe.

Between 1968 and 1970 he worked as a co-editor at the New China News Agency in Beijing. During this period, shortly after the end of the Cultural Revolution, he was able to witness the reappearance of classical Chinese theater and the emergence of new forms of drama. During this time he wrote his first science fiction novel The Eye of the Queen .

The Eye of the Queen describes the life of Marius Thorndyke, Earth's leading contact linguist and founder of the CLI (Contact Linguistics Institute), after he traveled to Pe-Ellia, an alien species' invitation. This species, long suspected but hitherto unknown, was responsible for limiting space exploration to just a few inhabited planets, none of which have reached the space stage. During his visit Thorndyke identifies emotionally with one of the residents of Pe-Ellian and tries to “fuse” with this being. This has extraordinary consequences for Earth and Pe-Ellia.

The Eye of the Queen established Phillip Mann's reputation as the creator of believable aliens - a trait that continues to play a prominent role in his later work. He comments:

“Thinking about alien consciousness helps clarify my thinking about Earth and the way we conduct ourselves. Thus I think of my books as being about us, no matter how outlandish the scenario. "

“Thinking about other people's consciousness helps me to clarify my thinking about the earth and our behavior. Therefore, I think that my books are about us, no matter how unusual the scenario is. "

- Phillip Mann

The novel was so successful that some believed man couldn't get it back. However, Master of Paxwax and its sequel Fall of the Families have become classics in New Zealand literature. Both books were recorded in 15-minute episodes read by Dick Weir. They are broadcast regularly on Radio New Zealand. CDs of these recordings are available from Radio New Zealand.

The story of The Master of Paxwax , Mann's second book, revolves around the life of Pawl Paxwax. Pawl - and his name is significant - is the second son of the Fifth Family in a galaxy-wide empire ruled by eleven large families. These families have been enslaving nonhuman life forms for centuries through policies of alien genocide. Now things are changing. Beneath the surface of the seemingly dead world of Sanctum, surviving intelligent aliens gather, united in their desire to fight back the barbaric society that had devastated their civilizations.

When Pawl's father and brother die in quick succession, Pawl finds himself in a position of supreme power, unaware that the alien races have decided to revolt and use him and his lover Laurel Beltane as farmers to defeat the other ruling families . Pawl is a poet and apolitical in nature, but his enmity, once aroused, is to be feared. "Wonderfully resourceful," said Locus .

The sequel, appropriately titled The Fall of the Families, brings this saga to a close.

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction describes Phillip Mann's fiction as "a strong visual and structural sense".

After a decade focusing on theater directing, traveling, living in France and writing plays and children's literature, he published his first novel since 1996, The Disestablishment of Paradise , in 2013 . This is about the corruption of an untouched Earth-like planet called Paradise by mankind and the subsequent banishment.

Man divides his time between his Brooklyn home in Wellington and a converted barn in the small town of Choussy in the French Loire Valley . He is currently working on a new novel The Headman , an anthology of short stories and a thesis on theater production.

bibliography

A Land Fit for Heroes

  • Escape to the woods . tape 1 . Heyne, 2000, ISBN 3-453-14904-1 (British English: Escape to the Wild Wood . 1993. Translated by Usch Kiausch).
  • The monolith . tape 2 . Heyne, 2000, ISBN 3-453-14905-X (British English: Stand Alone Stan . 1994. Translated by Usch Kiausch).
  • The dragon wakes up . tape 3 . Heyne, 2000, ISBN 3-453-14916-5 (British English: The Dragon Wakes . 1995. Translated by Usch Kiausch).
  • The burning forest . tape 4 . Heyne, 2000, ISBN 3-453-14917-3 (British English: The Burning Forest . 1996. Translated by Usch Kiausch).

The story of Pawl the Gardener (Gardener)

  • The Lord of Paxwax . tape 1 . Heyne, 1988, ISBN 3-453-02785-X (British English: Master of Paxwax . 1986.).
  • The case of the families . tape 2 . Heyne, 1988, ISBN 3-453-02786-8 (British English: The Fall of the Families . 1987.).

More novels

  • The Queen's Eye . Heyne, 1985, ISBN 3-453-31190-6 (British English: The Eye of the Queen . 1982. Translated by Hans Maeter).
  • Pioneers . Heyne, 1991, ISBN 3-453-04493-2 (British English: Pioneers . 1988. Translated by Walter Brumm).
  • Wolf's yarn . Heyne, 1992, ISBN 3-453-06196-9 (British English: Wulfsyarn . 1990. Translated by Hendrik P. Linckens & Tom Linckens).
  • The Disestablishment of Paradise . Gollancz, 2013, ISBN 978-0-575-13262-7 (British English, not published in German).

literature

  • Van Ikin (ed). Science Fiction: A Review of Speculative Fiction Nos 49-50 (Vol 19, Nos 1-2) (2018): Special double issue on Phillip Mann.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Mann Alive by Malcolm Burgess in the New Zealand Listener , March 16, 2013 pp33-35

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Man, Phillip
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British science fiction writer
DATE OF BIRTH August 7, 1942
PLACE OF BIRTH Northallerton