Walter M. Miller, Jr.

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Walter M. Miller, Jr. (* 23 January 1923 in New Smyrna Beach , Florida ; † 11. January 1996 in Daytona Beach , Florida) was an American science fiction - writers .

Life

Walter Miller was a US Air Force pilot during World War II . In Italy he was involved in the battles for the Benedictine abbey on Monte Cassino . These experiences, which were perceived as traumatic, moved Miller to convert to Catholicism in 1947 .

Walter Miller's literary work was limited to a decade. In the early 1950s he published his first short stories, three of which ("The First Canticle", 1955; "And the Light Is Risen", 1956; "The Last Canticle", 1957) to his most successful work, the 1959 novel A Canticle for Leibowitz (Eng. Lobgesang auf Leibowitz ) further developed. This was honored with the Hugo Award in 1961 as the best novel and is considered one of the best apocalyptic novels par excellence.

The novel is characterized by an interest in religion that is rare in science fiction . The Catholic Miller paints a vivid, if not always orthodox, picture of the Church in a world after a nuclear war in which humanity is thrown into a new Middle Ages . The old (scientific) knowledge is preserved by the Catholic Church, whose monks can only interpret the relics mystically. The analogy to the decline of European civilization after the end of the Roman Empire is obvious, as is to the gradual rebuilding in a period corresponding to the Renaissance . The novel ends pessimistically in a new modern age, in which humanity has not learned from its mistakes and triggers the old catastrophes again.

After his success, Miller did not publish any further work. He suffered from depression and writer's block and withdrew from both public life and his family. In the late 1980s, he began to work on a new novel that would act in parallel to the events in the Canticle . In 1989 Bantam Books learned of it and signed a contract for the unwritten book with Walter M. Miller. When his wife died after 50 years of marriage, he shot himself in 1996, leaving behind a 600-page manuscript. The unfinished novel was revised by Terry Bisson and published in 1997 as Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman , (German: Ein Hohelied für Leibowitz ).

plant

Leibowitz cycle
  • A Canticle for Leibowitz (1955, also as: The First Canticle , short story)
    • German: A hymn of praise to Leibowitz. Translated by Reinhard Heinz. In: Edward L. Ferman (Ed.): 30 Years of Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Heyne SF&F # 3763, 1981, ISBN 3-453-30732-1 .
  • And the Light Is Risen (1956, short story)
  • The Last Canticle (1957, short story)
  • 1 A Canticle for Leibowitz (1959, fix-up of the three short stories above)
    • German: Lobgesang auf Leibowitz. Translated by Jürgen Saupe and Walter Erev. Marion von Schröder (Science Fiction & Fantastica), 1971, ISBN 3-547-76745-8 . Abridged edition: Heyne SF&F # 3342, 1973. Unabridged edition: Heyne SF&F # 3342, 1979, ISBN 3-453-30577-9 . Also as: Heyne (Library of Science Fiction Literature # 49), 1986, ISBN 3-453-31285-6 . Revised translation: Heyne SF&F # 8211, 2000, ISBN 3-453-16419-9 .
  • 2 Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman (1997)
  • God is Thus (1997, short story)
Collections
  • Conditionally Human (1962)
  • The View from the Stars (1965)
  • The Science Fiction Stories of Walter M. Miller, Jr. (1978)
  • The Best of Walter M. Miller, Jr. (1980, also as: Dark Benediction )
  • Conditionally Human and Other Stories (1982)
  • The Performers and Other Stories (1982)
  • Two Worlds of Walter M. Miller (2010)
Short stories
  • Secret of the Death Dome (1951)
  • Izzard and the Membrane (1951)
  • The Soul-Empty Ones (1951)
  • Dark Benediction (1951)
    • German: Dark Benediction. Translated by Leni Sobez. In: Walter Spiegl (Ed.): Science-Fiction-Stories 24. Ullstein (Ullstein 2000 # 43 (2958)), 1973, ISBN 3-548-02958-2 . Also as: Dark Legacy. Translated by Barbara Heidkamp. In: Martin Harry Greenberg, Isaac Asimov, Charles G. Waugh (eds.): Fascination of Science Fiction. Bastei Lübbe (Bastei Lübbe Science Fiction Special # 24068), 1985, ISBN 3-404-24068-5 . Also called: Dark Blessing. Translated by Leni Sobez. In: Conditionally human. 1986.
  • The Space Witch (1951)
  • The Little Creeps (1951)
  • The Song of Vorhu (1951)
  • Conditionally Human (1952)
    • German: Conditionally human. Translated by Brigitte Kraus. In: Groff Conklin (Ed.): Unearthly Visions. Moewig (Terra Taschenbuch # 171), 1970. Also as: Conditionally human. Translated by Bodo Baumann. In: Walter Spiegl (Ed.): Science-Fiction-Stories 36. Ullstein (Ullstein 2000 # 67 (3046)), 1974, ISBN 3-548-03046-7 .
    • German: Conditionally human. Translated by Leni Sobez. In: Conditionally human. 1986.
  • Bitter Victory (1952)
  • Dumb Waiter (1952)
    • German: The dying city. Translated by Bodo Baumann. In: Walter Spiegl (Ed.): Science-Fiction-Stories 5. Ullstein (Ullstein 2000 # 5 (2804)), 1970, ISBN 3-548-02804-7 .
    • German: The dying city. Translated by Leni Sobez. In: Conditionally human. 1986.
  • It Takes a Thief (1952, also as: Big Joe and the Nth Generation )
    • English: Big Joe and the nth generation. In: Conditionally human. 1986.
  • Blood Bank (1952)
    • German: waste products. Translated by Birgit Reß-Bohusch . In: Walter Spiegl (Ed.): Science-Fiction-Stories 12. Ullstein (Ullstein 2000 # 20 (2877)), 1972, ISBN 3-548-02877-2 .
    • German: waste products. Translated by Leni Sobez. In: Conditionally human. 1986.
  • Six and Ten Are Johnny (1952)
  • Let My People Go (1952)
  • Cold Awakening (1952)
  • Please Me Plus Three (1952)
  • No Moon for Me (1952)
  • Gravesong (1952)
  • The Big Hunger (1952)
    • German: The great hunger. In: Conditionally human. 1986.
  • A Family Matter (1952)
  • Command Performance (1952, also as: Anybody Else Like Me? )
    • German: In foreign power. Translated by Peter Naujack. In: Peter Naujack (Ed.): Robots. Diogenes, 1962. Also as: Is there still someone like me? Translated by Leni Sobez. In: Conditionally human. 1986.
  • The Reluctant Traitor (1952)
  • Check and Checkmate (1953)
  • Crucifixus Etiam (1953, also as: The Sower Does Not Reap )
    • English: Crucifixus Etiam. Translated by Joachim Körber. In: Hans Joachim Alpers, Werner Fuchs (Hrsg.): The Fifties I. Hohenheim (Edition SF in Hohenheim Verlag), 1981, ISBN 3-8147-0010-4 . Also called: Crucifixus etiam. Translated by Leni Sobez. In: Conditionally human. 1986.
  • I, Dreamer (1953)
    • German: I, the dreamer. In: Conditionally human. 1986.
  • The Yokel (1953)
  • Wolf Pack (1953)
  • The Will (1954)
    • German: The last will. In: Conditionally human. 1986.
  • Death of a Spaceman (1954, also as: Memento Homo )
  • I Made You (1954)
  • Way of a Rebel (1954)
  • The Ties That Bind (1954)
  • The Actor (1955)
    • German: The actor. In: Helmuth W. Mommers, Arnulf D. Krauss (Ed.): 8 Science Fiction Stories. Heyne (Heyne anthologies # 23), 1967. Also as: The actor. Translated by Walter Brumm. In: Wolfgang Jeschke (Ed.): Heyne Science Fiction Annual Volume 1982. Heyne SF&F # 3870, 1982, ISBN 3-453-30756-9 . Also in: Conditionally human. 1986.
  • The Triflin 'Man (1955, You Triflin' Skunk ! , 1965)
    • German: You useless skunk !. In: Conditionally human. 1986.
  • The Hoofer (1955)
  • The Song of Marya (1957, also as: Vengeance for Nikolai )
    • German: Retaliation for Nikolai. In: Conditionally human. 1986.
  • The Corpse in Your Bed Is Me (1957) with Lincoln Boone
  • The Lineman (1957)
    • German: The cable lay. In: Conditionally human. 1986.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Possibly based on an abridged version of the narrative that appeared in Groff Conklin's anthology 5 Unearthly Visions in 1965 .
personal data
SURNAME Miller, Walter M.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Miller, Walter M. Jr.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American writer
DATE OF BIRTH January 23, 1923
PLACE OF BIRTH New Smyrna Beach , Florida
DATE OF DEATH January 11, 1996
Place of death Daytona Beach , Florida