James H. Schmitz

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Schmitz with his dog.
Schmitz with his dog.
James Henry Schmitz (October 15, 1911–April 18, 1981) was an American writer born in Hamburg, Germany of American parents. Aside from two years at business school in Chicago, Schmitz lived in Germany until 1938, leaving before World War II broke out in Europe in 1939. During World War II, Schmitz served as an aerial photographer in the Pacific for the United States Army Air Corps. After the war, he and his brother-in-law ran a business which manufactured trailers until they broke up the business in 1949.

Schmitz is best known as a writer of space opera, and for strong female characters (such as Telzey Amberdon and Trigger Argee) that didn't fit into the damsel in distress stereotype typical of science fiction during the time he was writing. His first published story was Greenface, published in August 1943 in Unknown. Most of his works are part of the "Hub" series, though his best known novel is The Witches of Karres, concerning juvenile "witches" with genuine psi-powers and their escape from slavery. Karres was nominated for a Hugo Award. In recent years, his novels and short stories have been republished by Baen Books, edited and with notes by Eric Flint.

Schmitz died of congestive lung failure in 1981 after a five week stay in the hospital in Los Angeles. He was survived by his wife, Betty Mae Chapman Schmitz.

Contents


[edit] Short works

Listed chronologically, with month and year of publication, as well as the magazine, listed in parentheses.

[edit] 1940s

  • Greenface (August 1943, Unknown)
  • Agent of Vega (July 1949, Astounding)
  • The Witches of Karres (December 1949, Astounding)

[edit] 1950s

  • The Truth About Cushgar (November 1950, Astounding)
  • The Second Night of Summer (December 1950, Galaxy Science Fiction)
  • Space Fear (March 1951, Astounding)
  • Captives of the Thieve Star (May 1951, Planet Stories)
  • The End of the Line (July 1951, Astounding)
  • The Altruist (September 1952, Galaxy Science Fiction)
  • We Don't Want Any Trouble (June 1953, Galaxy Science Fiction)
  • Caretaker (July 1953, Galaxy Science Fiction)
  • The Vampirate (December 1953, Science Fiction Plus)
  • Grandpa (February 1955, Astounding)
  • The Ties of Earth (November 1955, Galaxy)
  • Sour Note on Palayata (November 1956, Astounding)
  • The Big Terrarium (May 1957, Saturn)
  • Harvest Time (September 1958, Astounding)
  • Summer Guests (September 1959, Worlds of If)

[edit] 1960s

  • The Illusionists (retitle of Space Fear, 1960, Agent of Vega)
  • Gone Fishing (May 1961, Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact)
  • Lion Loose... (October 1961, Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact)
  • The Star Hyacinths (December 1961, Amazing Stories)
  • An Incident on Route 12 (January 1962, Worlds of If)
  • Swift Completion (March 1962, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine)
  • Novice (June 1962, Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact)
  • The Other Likeness (July 1962, Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact)
  • Rogue Psi (August 1962, Amazing Stories)
  • Watch the Sky (August 1962, Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact)
  • These Are the Arts (September 1962, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction)
  • The Winds of Time (September 1962, Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact)
  • Left Hand, Right Hand (November 1962, Amazing Stories)
  • Beacon to Elsewhere (April 1963, Amazing Stories)
  • Oneness (May 1963, Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact)
  • Ham Sandwich (June 1963, Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact)
  • Undercurrents (May 1964, Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact)
  • Clean Slate (September 1964, Amazing Stories)
  • The Machmen (September 1964, Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact)
  • A Nice Day for Screaming (January 1965, Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact)
  • Planet of Forgetting (February 1965, Galaxy Science Fiction)
  • The Pork Chop Tree (February 1965, Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact)
  • Balanced Ecology (March 1965, Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact)
  • Goblin Night (April 1965, Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact)
  • Trouble Tide (May 1965, Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact)
  • Research Alpha (July 1965, World of If)
  • Sleep No More (August 1965, Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact)
  • Space Master (1965, New Writings in SF 3)
  • The Tangled Web (retitle of The Star Hyacinths, 1965, A Nice Day for Screaming and Other Tales of the Hub)
  • Faddist (January 1966, Bizarre Mystery Magazine)
  • The Searcher (February 1966, Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact)
  • The Tuvela (September 1968, Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact)
  • Where the Time Went (November 1968, Worlds of If)
  • The Custodians (December 1968, Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact)
  • Just Curious (December 1968, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine)
  • Attitudes (February 1969, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction)
  • Would You? (December 1969, Fantastic)

[edit] 1970s

  • Resident Witch (May 1970, Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact)
  • Compulsion (June 1970, Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact)
  • The Telzey Toy (January 1971, Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact)
  • Company Planet (May 1971, Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact)
  • Glory Day (June 1971, Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact)
  • Poltergeist (July 1971, Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact)
  • The Lion Game (August 1971, Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact)
  • Child of the Gods (March 1972, Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact)
  • The Symbiotes (September 1972, Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact)
  • Crime Buff (August 1973, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine)
  • One Step Ahead (April 1974, Worlds of If)
  • Aura of Immortality (June 1974, Worlds of If)

[edit] 2000s

  • Blood of Nalakia (retitle of The Vampirate, 2000, Telzey Amberdon)
  • Ti's Toys (retitle of The Telzey Toy, 2000, T'nT: Telzey & Trigger)
  • Forget It (retitle of Planet of Forgetting, January 2001, Trigger & Friends)



[edit] Collections

Listed by title, with chronological publishing list.

  • Agent of Vega
  • Agent of Vega & Other Stories
    • Includes: Agent of Vega; The Illusionists; The Second Night of Summer; The Truth About Cushgar; The Custodians; Gone Fishing; The Beacon to Elsewhere; The End of the Line; Watch the Sky; Greenface; Rogue Psi.
    • Paperback, November 2001, Baen Books
  • The Best of James H. Schmitz
    • Includes: Grandpa; Lion Loose...; Just Curious; The Second Night of Summer; Novice; Balanced Ecology; The Custodians; Sour Note on Palayata; Goblin Night.
    • Hardcover, 1991, NESFA Press
  • Eternal Frontier
    • Includes: The Big Terrarium; Summer Guests; Captives of the Thieve-Star; Caretaker; One Step Ahead; Left Hand, Right Hand; The Ties of Earth; Spacemaster; The Altruist; Oneness; We Don't Want Any Trouble; Just Curious; Would You?; These Are the Arts; Clean Slate; Crime Buff; Ham Sandwich; Where the Time Went; An Incident on Route 12; Swift Completion; Faddist; The Eternal Frontiers.
    • Paperback, September 2002, Baen Books
  • The Hub: Dangerous Territory
    • Includes: The Searcher; Grandpa; Balanced Ecology; A Nice Day for Screaming; The Winds of Time; The Machmen; The Other Likeness; Attitudes; Trouble Tide; The Demon Breed.
    • Paperback, 2001, Baen Books
  • The Lion Game
    • Includes: Goblin Night; Sleep No More; The Lion Game.
    • Paperback, 1973, DAW Books
    • Hardcover, 1976, Sidgwick & Jackson
    • Paperback, 1979, Hamlyn
    • Paperback, 1982, Ace Books
  • A Nice Day for Screaming and Other Tales of the Hub
    • Includes: Balanced Ecology; A Nice Day for Screaming; The Tangled Web; The Machmen; The Other Likeness; The Winds of Time.
    • Hardcover, 1965, Chilton
  • A Pride of Monsters
    • Includes: Lion Loose; The Searcher; The Winds of Time; The Pork Chop Tree; Greenface.
    • Hardcover, 1970, MacMillan
    • Paperback, 1973, Collier
  • Telzey Amberdon
    • Includes: Novice; Undercurrents; Poltergeist; Goblin Night; Sleep No More; The Lion Game; Blood of Nalakia; The Star Hyacinths.
    • Paperback, April 2000, Baen Books
  • The Telzey Toy
    • Includes: The Telzey Toy; Resident Witch; Compulsion; Company Planet.
    • Paperback, 1973, DAW Books
    • Hardcover, 1976, Sidgwick & Jackson
    • Hardcover, 1978, Sidgwick & Jackson, in a 3-in-1 collection titled Special 24
    • Paperback, 1982, Ace Books
    • Paperback, 1983, Hamlyn
  • T'nT: Telzey & Trigger
    • Includes: Company Planet; Resident Witch; Compulsion (includes The Pork Chop Tree as prolog); Glory Day; Child of the Gods; Ti's Toys; Symbiotes.
    • Paperback, July 2000, Baen Books
  • Trigger & Friends
    • Includes: Lion Loose; Harvest Time; Forget It; Aura of Immortality; Legacy; A Sour Note on Palayata.
    • Paperback, January 2001, Baen Books


[edit] Novels

Listed by title, with chronological publishing list.

  • The Demon Breed (retitle of The Tuvela)
    • Hardcover, 1968, Ace Books/SFBC
    • Paperback, 1968, Ace Books
    • Hardcover, 1969, MacDonald
    • Hardcover, 1971, UK SFBC/Newton Abbot
    • Paperback, 1974, Orbit Books
    • Paperback, 1979, Ace Books/SFBC
    • Paperback, 1981, Ace Books
  • The Eternal Frontiers
  • Legacy (retitle of A Tale of Two Clocks, paperback, 1979, Ace Books)
  • A Tale of Two Clocks
    • Hardcover, 1962, Torquil Books/SFBC
    • Paperback, 1965, Belmont
  • The Universe Against Her (novelized version of Novice and Undercurrents.)
    • Paperback, 1964, Ace Books
    • Paperback, 1979, Ace Books
    • Hardcover, 1981, Gregg Press
  • The Witches of Karres
    • Hardcover, 1966, Chilton
    • Paperback, 1966 (twice), Ace Books
    • Paperback, 1977, Ace Books
    • Paperback, 1981, Ace Books
    • Paperback, 1988, Gollancz
    • Hardcover, 1992, Baen Books/SFBC

[edit] Related books

This is a sequel of The Witches of Karres which follows the continuing adventures of Captain Pausert, Goth, and the Leewit.


[edit] References and external links

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