FEARN, John (Francis) Russell

(1908-1960)

   UK writer; extremely prolific, he used many pseudonyms. During the 1930s he wrote for magazines, including the US PULP MAGAZINES, but during WWII he switched to books. He became a central figure in the post-WWII paperback boom, writing numerous Westerns, crime stories and probably some romances as well as his sf, most of which appeared under the names Vargo Statten and Volsted GRIDBAN (the latter pseudonym being taken over from E.C. TUBB). In the pulps he wrote many stories as Thornton Ayre and Polton Cross, and also used the names Geoffrey Armstrong, Dennis Clive, John Cotton and Ephriam Winiki; his sf books and crime stories withsf elements include items signed with the personal pseudonyms Spike Gordon, Conrad G. Holt, Laurence F. Rose, John Russell and Earl Titan, andthe house names Astron DEL MARTIA, "GRIFF", Paul LORRAINE and Brian SHAW.JRF's first GENRE-SF work was the early SUPERMAN story TheIntelligence Gigantic (1933 AMZ; 1943). It was followed by the extravagant Liners of Time (1935 AMZ; 1947) and its sequel "Zagribud" (1937 AMZ; cut vt Science Metropolis by Vargo Statten 1952); he subsequently wrote a good deal for ASTOUNDING SCIENCE-FICTION while it was edited by F. Orlin TREMAINE, contributing numerous "thought-variant" stories, some of whichhe later expanded into Vargo Statten novels, including Nebula X (1946 as "The Multillionth Chance" by JRF; rev 1950), The Sun Makers (1937 as"Metamorphosis" by JRF; rev 1950), The Avenging Martian (1938 as "Red Heritage" by JRF; rev 1951), The Renegade Star (1935 as "The Blue Infinity" by JRF; rev 1951), The Inner Cosmos (1937 as "Worlds Within" by JRF; rev 1952), To the Ultimate (1936 as "Mathematica" and "Mathematica Plus" by JRF; rev 1952) and The Dust Destroyer (1934 as "The Man who Stopped the Dust" by JRF; rev 1953).Four Thornton Ayre novelettes in FANTASTIC ADVENTURES featuring the superwoman - or Golden Amazon - Violet Ray were extensively revised into the novel The Golden Amazon (1939-43; 1944), which was reprinted in the Toronto Star Weekly to such acclaim that 23 sequels followed, the last appearing posthumously there in 1961. Those which have subsequently appeared in book form are: The Golden Amazon Returns (1945; 1949; vt The Deathless Amazon 1953 Canada), The GoldenAmazon's Triumph (1946; 1953), The Amazon's Diamond Quest (1947 as "Diamond Quest"; 1953), The Amazon Strikes Again (1948; 1954), Twin of the Amazon (1948; 1954), Conquest of the Amazon (1949; 1973 chap) and Lord of Atlantis (1949; 1991 chap). Two other series are Edgar Rice BURROUGHS imitations: the Clayton Drew interplanetary romances Emperor of Mars (1950), Warrior of Mars (1950), Red Men of Mars (1950) and Goddess of Mars(1950); and the Anjani sequence of Tarzan imitations signed Earl Titan: The Gold of Akada (1951) and Anjani, the Mighty (1951). JFR also wrote the book of the notable 1954 schlock-horror film The CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON , The Creature from the Black Lagoon * (1954) as VargoStatten.Scion, publishers of Vargo Statten, created the VARGO STATTEN SCIENCE FICTION MAGAZINE, although JRF did not become its editor immediately; it underwent several title changes in the course of its short life.JRF's writing was unpolished and his use of ideas imaginatively reckless, but his best work is vigorous and occasionally vivid. His works have sometimes proved popular in translation; he enjoyed something of a boom in Italy in the 1970s.

   BS

   Other works as JRF: Slaves of Ijax (1947 chap); Operation Venus (1950); From Afar (1982 chap); No Grave Need I (1984 chap); The Slitherers (1984 chap).As Hugo Blayn: What Happened toHammond? (1951).As Dennis Clive: Valley of Pretenders (c1942 chap US); The Voice Commands (c1942 chap US).As Polton Cross: Other Eyes Watching (1946).As Astron del Martia (house name): The Trembling World (1949).As Spike Gordon: Don't Touch Me (1953).As Volsted Gridban: The Dyno-Depressant (1953); Magnetic Brain (1953); Moons for Sale (1953); Scourge of the Atom (1948 as "After the Atom" by JRF; rev 1953); the Herbert sequence, comprising A Thing of the Past (1953) and The Genial Dinosaur 1954); Exit Life (1941 as "The World in Wilderness" by Thornton Ayre; rev 1953); the Adam Quirke sequence, comprising The Master Must Die (1953) and The Lonely Astronomer (partly based on "Death at the Observatory" 1938 by JRF; 1954); The Purple Wizard (1953); The Frozen Limit (1954); I Came - I Saw - I Wondered (1954).As "Griff" (house name): Liquid Death (1953).As Conrad G. Holt: Cosmic Exodus (1953 chap).As Paul Lorraine (house name): Dark Boundaries (1953).As Laurence F. Rose: The Hell-Fruit (1953 chap).As John Russell: Account Settled (1949).As Brian Shaw (house name): Z-Formations (1953).As Vargo Statten: Annihilation (1950); The Micro-Men (1950); Wanderer of Space (1950); 2000 Years On (1950); Inferno! (1950); The Cosmic Flame (1950); Cataclysm (1944 as "The Devouring Tide" by Polton Cross; rev 1951); The Red Insects (1951); The New Satellite (1951); Deadline to Pluto (1951); The Petrified Planet (1951); Born of Luna (1951); The Devouring Fire (1951); The Catalyst (1951); The Space Warp (1952); The Eclipse Express (1952); The Time Bridge (1942 as "Prisoner of Time" by Polton Cross; rev 1952); The Man from Tomorrow (1950 as "Stranger in our Midst" by JRF; rev 1952); The G-Bomb (1941 as "The Last Secret Weapon" by Polton Cross; rev 1952); Laughter in Space (1939 as "Laughter out of Space" by Dennis Clive; rev 1952); Across the Ages (1952 as "Glimpse" by JRF; 1952 chap); The Last Martian (1952 chap); Worlds to Conquer (1952 chap); De-Creation (1952 chap); The Time Trap (1952 chap); Ultra Spectrum (1953); Black-Wing of Mars (1953 as"Winged Pestilence" by JRF; 1953); Man in Duplicate (1953); Zero Hour (1952 as "Deadline" by JRF; 1953); The Black Avengers (1953); Odyssey of Nine (1953); Pioneer 1990 (1940 as "He Conquered Venus" by JRF; rev 1953); The Interloper (1953); Man of Two Worlds (1953); The Lie Destroyer (1953); Black Bargain (1953); The Grand Illusion (1953); Wealth of the Void (1954); A Time Appointed (1954); I Spy (1954); The Multi-Man (1954); 1,000 Year Voyage (1954); Earth 2 (1955).

   About the author: The Multi-Man (1968 chap) by Philip HARBOTTLE.

   See also: BOYS' PAPERS; CLONES; TIME TRAVEL.