James White (author)
James White ( born April 7, 1928 in Belfast, Northern Ireland; † August 23, 1999 ) was an Irish science fiction author.
Life
James White was born in Belfast, but the first years of his childhood he spent in Canada. After a stay of five years his parents moved back to Ireland. There, White attended 1935-1941 St. John's Primary School. James White began an apprenticeship as a tailor and attended the same from 1942 to 1943, the St. Joseph's Technical Secondary School, because he had won a scholarship to the school. White continued to work as a tailor until he 1965 aircraft factory Short Brothers, Ltd.. changed, where he worked first as a clerk and was later employed in the press department until his retirement in 1984. In 1955, James White Margaret Sarah Martin married. From this marriage three children were born, the daughter of Patricia and sons Martin and Peter. Almost all his life suffered from diabetes White, whereby its eyesight was so far restricted over the years that he could make, among other things no ticket and had to retire early.
Services
James White's career as a science fiction writer began like many other writers of the genre as a fan of science fiction with James White came into contact in 1941, by John W. Campbell's Astounding magazine. White devoured the stories of Robert Heinlein, EE " Doc" Smith, and others. In reading of Smith's stories White realized in his own words, that it not only bad, but also good aliens exist. White collected all Astounding spending and still trying to complete the collection. Together with other fans, Bob Shaw, George Charles and Walt Willis, White worked on the fanzine ( science fiction fan magazine ) Slant and Hyphen. In 1953, the first story Whites, Assisted Passage in New Worlds, a British science fiction magazine was published. White had written the history of resentment about the demise of the magazine Astounding. For more stories, all published in New Worlds, followed: Crossfire (1953), The Conspirators (1954 ); Starvation Orbit (1954 ), The Star Walk (1955) and Boarding Party ( 1955). The published in 1946 History Rescue Party by Arthur C. Clarke -inspired White to The Scavengers. White inquired of Clarke whether he the premise of the story -. Sometimes a civilization must be saved - if she wants, or non- use should Clarke did not mind and The Scavengers appeared in 1953 with success in Astounding. The first novel Whites appeared in 1957 under the title Secret Visitor (Eng. The aliens ). The template of the novel was titled Tourist Planet. The end of the novel and the short story are different because Donald A. Wollheim, the then editor at Ace ( the issuing Verlag), found White's end would be too tame. He envisioned a "real" space battle after the trial that forms the climax of the story. White leaned Wollheim's claim with the words, " He who pays the piper calls the tune! " About " who pays the piper ', calls the tune ".
In 1957, James White wrote a story that influenced his future career more than any other. White offered Ted Carnell, editor of New Worlds, 17,000 words a story with the title Sector Twelve General Hospital. Carnell, whose first reaction was to return the story to the revision had, however, yet to fill a gap of just 17,000 words in the November issue of New Worlds and took part in the story. Sector General is about a huge hospital in the universe, which was created by an alliance of people and aliens to help sick and injured aliens. To this end, the hospital has 384 levels at which the respective living conditions of the aliens can be created. From this first story of twelve novels, including Star Surgeon (Star Surgeon ), Major surgery ( major surgery), Ambulance Ship arisen over the years (German ambulance ship ). The story was published in novel form in 1962 under the title Hospital Station. The Sector General series ( dt Orbit Hospital series) founded James White's reputation within the genre.
White wrote more short stories and novels outside of Sector General, including Second Ending ( 1962), The Watch Below ( 1966) and All Judgement Fled (1966 ) to The Silent Stars Go By (1991).
For James White, the writing was a hobby that he pursued in addition to his profession. In addition to his work and his part-time work as a writer White was still active as a fan. The every Thursday evening held in a restaurant in Belfast Belfast meeting of the Science Fiction Group, he missed only if the circumstances allowed him no choice. In addition, he was for many years a member of the British Science Fiction Association and its Irish counterpart, the Irish Science Fiction Association.
James White, who had no medical training, was an opponent of violence and the military, which he points out again and again in his novels and short stories. So there are logical in Sector General also no military, but only the Monitor Corps, a police force that relies on negotiations, neither side in the conflict 's preference and use violence as a last resort. Significantly, there is the Monitor Corps from humans, as they are the most aggressive breed in Whites universe. The aliens that describes James White, sometimes smart, sometimes silly, but always aliens.
Works
A selection of works written by James White, without the Sector General novels and short stories Whites. As White wrote twelve books about the hospital sector in the Galactic twelve within thirty years, a mere listing these novels and short stories is not fair. See the Orbit Hospital.
Novels (without Orbit Hospital)
- The aliens, 1958, The Secret Visitors, 1957
- The second life, too: Lord of the robot, 1963, Second Ending 1961
- Prison in Space, 1966, The Escape Orbit also: Open Prison, 1965 ( for the Nebula nominated )
- Prisoners of the Sea, 1967, The Watch Below, 1966
- The spaceship of the puzzles also: The Prometheus Project, 1968 All Judgement Fled, 1968
- Minus time, in 1971, Tomorrow Is Too Far, 1971
- The black inferno, 1973, ISBN 3-442-23207-4, Lifeboat, also: Dark Inferno 1972
- The millennium of Dreams, 1975, ISBN 3-442-23294-5, The Dream Millennium, 1974
- The global engagement, 1987, ISBN 3-811-83568-8, Underkill, 1979
- The Interpreters, 1985
- The Federation, 1991, ISBN 3-453-05013-4, World Federation, 1988
- The Silent Stars Go By, 1991
- Earth - Final Conflict 2: The First Protector, 2000