Spider Robinson

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Spider Robinson with his wife Jeanne at the NecronomiCon 2004.

Spider Robinson (born November 24, 1948 in New York City ) is a Canadian science fiction writer of American descent.

Life

Robinson was born in the Bronx , attended Catholic schools, and studied English at Stony Brook University . The name Spider can be explained both by his youthful thinness and by his admiration for the musician Spider John Koerner ( Minneapolis ). His real first name is the subject of speculation. Robinson has lived in Canada for 30 years (between 1976 and 1990 in Nova Scotia and since then in British Columbia ) and won the coveted Hugo and Nebula prizes for his works in the 1970s and 1980s . In the mid to late 1970s, he also worked as a book critic for theGalaxy Science Fiction Magazine and later contributed reviews to the Destinies anthology . From 1996 to 1997 he was a technical columnist for the Canadian daily The Globe and Mail . In 2002 he became Canadian and gave up US citizenship.

Robinson's stories could be described as humanistic and humorous. He often stimulates a positive outlook on the world and claims that a pessimistic worldview leads to pessimistic outcomes. Often the conflicts are concentrated around a science fiction topic, but are resolved humanely (in the sense of people as well as with a human attitude ). In doing so, they follow Theodore Sturgeon's definition of a good science fiction story.

Robinson's wife since 1975 and occasional co-author Jeanne died on May 30, 2010 at the age of 62 of biliary cancer .

Trivia

  • Robinson is an admirer of the mystery writer John D. MacDonald . Lady Sally McGee from the Callahan series is apparently named after Travis McGee. The main character from Lady Slings The Booze often refers to him as a role model. In Callahan's Key , Callahan's Place regulars take a trip to the Fort Lauderdale marina , where the Busted Flush on McGee Row used to be anchored. The author Donald E. Westlake is equally important to Robinson .
  • The title of the novel The Free Lunch refers to the TANSTAAFL concept popularized by Robert A. Heinlein in the 1966 novel Revolte auf Luna .
  • Robinson himself denies the Internet rumor that his original first name was Paul; with which this remains a secret:

"I don't know how that" Paul "rumor got started, but I've been correcting it for thirty years, and nobody seems to pay the slightest bit of attention to me. Maybe I'll give up and LET them mistake me for someone else, since they're so determined. If there is a Paul, maybe I can get him to pay my taxes for me. Or better yet, write the damn books ... "

"I have no idea how this" Paul "rumor came about. I've tried to correct this for 30 years, but everyone seems to ignore my objections. Meanwhile I've given up and LET them mistake me for someone else if they're so determined. If there's a Paul out there, he's welcome to pay my taxes, or even better, he should write the damn books ... "

Awards

Robinson has received numerous awards for his life's work as well as for individual works and has been nominated even more frequently. He was also a frequent guest of honor at various science fiction conventions .

bibliography

The series are arranged according to the year of publication of the first part. If two years of publication are given for the original editions, the first is that of the first edition and the second that of the first edition (as a book).

Callahan
  • 1 Callahan's Crosstime Saloon (1977, collection)
    • English: The time travelers in Callahan's saloon. With a foreword by Ben Bova. Translated by Hilde Linnert. Heyne-Science-Fiction & Fantasy # 4321, 1986, ISBN 3-453-31315-1 .
  • 2 Time Travelers Strictly Cash (1981, collection)
    • German: For time travelers only against cash: Another evening in Callahan's saloon. Translated by Hilde Linnert. Heyne-Science-Fiction & Fantasy # 4322, 1986, ISBN 3-453-31316-X .
  • 3 Callahan's Secret (1986, collection)
  • 4 Callahan's Lady (1989)
  • 5 Lady Slings the Booze (1991, also as Kill the Editor )
  • 6 The Callahan Touch (1993)
  • 7 Off the Wall at Callahan's (1994, collection)
  • 8 Callahan's Legacy (1996)
  • 9 Callahan's Key (2000)
  • 10 Callahan's Con (2003)
  • Callahan and Company: The Compleat Chronicles of the Crosstime Saloon (1987, collection, also as Callahan's Crazy Crosstime Bar , 1989, and as The Callahan Chronical , 1997)

Individual Callahan Short Stories:

  • The Guy with the Eyes (1973)
  • The Time-Traveler (1974)
  • The Law of Conservation of Pain (1974)
  • Two Heads Are Better Than One (1975)
  • Unnatural Causes or the Guy We Couldn't Help (1975)
  • "A Voice Is Heard in Ramah ..." (1975)
  • Just Dessert (1977)
  • The Centipede's Dilemma (1977)
  • The Wonderful Conspiracy (1977)
  • Dog Day Evening (1977)
  • Mirror / rorriM Off the Wall (1977)
  • Fivesight (1979)
  • Have You Heard the One ...? (1980)
  • Pyotr's Story (1981)
  • Involuntary Man's Laughter (1983)
  • The Blacksmith's Tale (1985)
  • The Mick of Time (1986)
  • The Paranoid (excerpt from Callahan's Lady , 1988)
  • The Immediate Family (1993)
  • The End of the Painbow (1993)
  • Post Toast (1996)
  • Too Hot to Hoot (excerpt from Callahan's Legacy , 2006)
Mind killer
  • God Is an Iron (1979, short story)
  • 1 Mindkiller (1982)
  • 2 Time Pressure (1987)
  • Deathkiller (1996, collective edition of 1 and 2)
  • 3 Lifehouse (1997)
  • The Lifehouse Trilogy (2007, collective edition from 1 to 3)
Stardance (with Jeanne Robinson)
  • 1 Stardance (1979)
    • German: Sternentanz. Translated by Irene Holicki. Heyne-Science-Fiction & Fantasy # 4082, 1984, ISBN 3-453-31045-4 .
  • 2 Starseed (1991)
  • 3 Starmind (1994, 1995)
  • Stardance (1977, short story)
  • Stardance II (1978)
  • The Star Dancers (1997, collective edition of 1 and 2)
  • The Stardance Trilogy (2006, collective edition from 1 to 3)
Very
  • 1 Very Bad Deaths (2004)
  • 2 Very Hard Choices (2008)
Novels
  • Telempath (1976)
  • Armageddon 2419 AD (1978, Buck Rogers novel, with Philip Francis Nowlan, Robinson not named as author)
  • Night of Power (1985)
    • German: Night of Violence. Translated by Rosemarie Hundertmarck. Heyne-Science-Fiction & Fantasy # 4859, 1992, ISBN 3-453-05382-6 .
  • Tales from the Planet Earth (1986, along with 18 other authors)
  • The Free Lunch (2001)
  • Variable Star (2006, with Robert A. Heinlein)
Collections
  • Antinomy (1980)
  • Melancholy Elephants (1984)
  • True Minds (1990)
  • User Friendly (1998)
  • By Any Other Name (2001)
  • God Is an Iron and Other Stories (2002)
  • Anthology Series
  • Tesseracts: Canadian Science Fiction
Short stories
  • The Dreaming Dervish (1974)
  • When No Man Pursueth (1974)
  • Nobody Likes to Be Lonely (1975)
  • Overdose (1975)
  • Ambiguous Oracle (1976, as BD Wyatt)
  • Want Ad (1976, as BD Wyatt)
  • It's a Sunny Day (1976)
  • Half an Oaf (1976)
  • By Any Other Name (1976)
  • Live on Tape (1977)
  • No Renewal (1977)
    • German: deadline expired. In: Walter Spiegl (Ed.): Science-Fiction-Stories 80. Ullstein (Ullstein Science Fiction & Fantasy # 31010), 1980, ISBN 3-548-31010-9 .
  • Tin Ear (1977)
  • The Magnificent Conspiracy (1977)
    • English: The great conspiracy. In: Roy Torgeson (ed.): The monster from the swamp. Moewig (Playboy Science Fiction # 6729), 1982, ISBN 3-8118-6729-6 .
  • Apogee (1978)
  • Too Soon We Grow Old (1978)
  • Antinomy (1978)
  • Local Champ (1979)
    • German: The local winner. In: Roy Torgeson (ed.): On the eve of St. Poleander Day. Moewig (Playboy Science Fiction # 6716), 1981, ISBN 3-8118-6716-4 .
  • Satan's Children (1979)
  • Soul Search (1979)
  • A Standing Joke (1980)
  • Rhythms and 'Rithms (1980)
  • The Shamin 'of the Shaman (1980)
  • The Snoopy Scientist (1980)
  • Three-Time Winner (1980)
  • Tidbit (1980)
  • Serpents' Teeth (1981)
    • German: snake teeth. In: Terry Carr (Ed.): The most beautiful science fiction stories of the year: Volume 2. Heyne (Heyne Science Fiction & Fantasy # 4047), 1984, ISBN 3-453-30990-1 .
  • Chronic Offender (1981)
  • Rubber Soul (1982)
  • Melancholy Elephants (1982)
  • Not Fade Away (1982)
    • German: Not in vain. In: Friedel Wahren (Ed.): Isaac Asimovs Science Fiction Magazin 20th episode. Heyne (Heyne Science Fiction & Fantasy # 4034), 1983, ISBN 3-453-30975-8 .
  • The Missing Verse (1982)
  • High Infidelity (1984)
  • In the Olden Days (1984)
  • True Minds (1984)
  • Common Sense (1985)
  • Father Paradox (1985)
  • User Friendly (1986)
  • The Gifts of the Magistrate (1986)
  • Revolver (1988)
  • Copyright Violation (1988)
  • His Own Petard (1993)
  • “—And Subsequent Construction” (1995)
  • Orphans of Eden (1996)
  • Distraction (1998)
  • You Don't Know My Heart (2003)
  • A Hell of a Deal: Apogee (2012)
Anthologies (as editor)
  • The Best of All Possible Worlds (1980)
  • Tesseracts Twenty: Compostela (2017, with James Alan Gardner)
Non-fiction and miscellaneous
  • Belabouring The Obvious (2000, audio CD with four songs, composed and sung by Robinson; in between excerpts from the novel Callahan's Key )
  • The Crazy Years: Reflections of a Science Fiction Original (2004)

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Robinson, Spider
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wyatt, BD (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian science fiction writer
DATE OF BIRTH November 24, 1948
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City