Barrington J. Bayley

Barrington J. Bayley
Born 9 April 1937
Birmingham, England
Died 14 October 2008 (aged 71)
Shrewsbury, England
Pen name Alan Aumbry, Michael Barrington (with Michael Moorcock), John Diamond, P. F. Woods
Occupation Fiction writer
Nationality British
Genre Science fiction
Literary movement New Wave

Barrington J. Bayley (9 April 1937 – 14 October 2008) was an English science fiction writer.

Bayley was born in Birmingham[1] and educated in Newport, Shropshire. He worked a number of jobs before joining the Royal Air Force in 1955; his first published story, "Combat's End", had seen print the year before in Vargo Statten Magazine.[2]

In the 1960s, Bayley became friends and a frequent collaborator with New Worlds editor Michael Moorcock, who described himself as "the dumb one in the partnership"[1][3] and joined science fiction's New Wave movement. His short stories featured regularly in New Worlds magazine and then later in various New Worlds paperback anthologies,[4] His first book, The Star Virus, was followed by more than a dozen other novels; his downbeat, gloomy approach to novel writing has been cited as influential on the likes of M. John Harrison,[5] Brian Stableford, Bruce Sterling, Iain Banks and Alastair Reynolds.[1][6]

Bayley died of complications from bowel cancer on 14 October 2008.[4] In 2001, he had written an outline for a sequel to Eye of Terror, provisionally titled An Age of Adventure.[7] The novel was unreleased at the time of his death but rumours and listings of copies have circulated, including claims of a 2002 release date and a page count of 288. The book still makes appearances in lists of his works, including the bibliography in the ebooks of Bayley's works released by the Gollancz SF Gateway.

Works

Bayley used the pen names P.F Woods, J. Barrington Bayley, Alan Aumbry, Michael Barrington, Simon Barclay, and John Diamond.

Novels

NameYearAsComments
The Star Virus 1970 Barrington J. Bayley expansion of a 1964 short story of the same name
Annihilation Factor 1972 Barrington J. Bayley expansion of "The Patch" from 1964
Empire of Two Worlds 1972 Barrington J. Bayley
Collision Course 1973 Barrington J. Bayley aka Collision with Chronos
The Fall of Chronopolis 1974 Barrington J. Bayley
The Soul of the Robot 1974 Barrington J. Bayley
The Garments of Caean 1976 Barrington J. Bayley
The Grand Wheel 1977 Barrington Bayley
Star Winds 1978 Barrington J. Bayley
The Pillars of Eternity 1982 Barrington J. Bayley
The Zen Gun 1983 Barrington J. Bayley
The Forest of Peldain 1985 Barrington J. Bayley
The Rod of Light 1985 Barrington J. Bayley
Eye of Terror 1999 A Warhammer 40,000 novel
The Sinners of Erspia 2005 Barrington J. Bayley
The Great Hydration 2005 Barrington Bayley

Collections

NameYearAsComments
The Knights of the Limits 1978 Barrington Bayley Collection of nine short stories
The Seed of Evil 1979 Collection of thirteen short stories

Short stories

  • "Combat's End" (aka "Cosmic Combatants") (1954)
  • "Cold Death" (1955)
  • "Last Post" (1955)
  • "Kindly Travellers" (1955)
  • "The Bargain" (1955)
  • "Martyrs Appointed" (1955)
  • "Fugitive" (1956)
  • "The Reluctant Death" (1956)
  • "Consolidation" (1959)
  • "Peace on Earth" (with Michael Moorcock) (1959)
  • "The Tank" (1961)
  • "The Radius Riders" (1962)
  • "Double Time" (1962)
  • "The Big Sound" (1962)
  • "The Ship That Sailed the Ocean of Space" (aka "Fishing Trip") (1962)
  • "Solo Flight" (1963)
  • "Flux" (with Michael Moorcock) (1963)
  • "Natural Defence" (1963)
  • "Return Visit" (1963)
  • "Farewell, Dear Brother" (1964)
  • "The Countenance" (1964)
  • "Integrity" (1964)
  • "The Star Virus" (1964)
  • "The Patch" (1964)
  • "All the King's Men" (1965)
  • "The Ship of Disaster" (1965)
  • "Reactionary" (1965)
  • "Catspaw" (1965)
  • "A Taste of the Afterlife" (with Charles Platt) (1966)
  • "Aid to Nothing" (1967)
  • "The Four-Color Problem" (1971)
  • "Exit From City 5" (1971)
  • "Man in Transit" (1972)
  • "The Exploration of Space" (1972)
  • "The Seed of Evil" (1973)
  • "Mutation Planet" (1973)
  • "An Overload" (1973)
  • "Me and My Antronoscope" (1973)
  • "Maladjustment" (1974)
  • "The Bees of Knowledge" (1975)
  • "The Cabinet of Oliver Naylor" (1976)
  • "The Problem of Morley's Emission" (1978)
  • "Rome Vindicated" (1978)
  • "Sporting with the Chid" (1979)
  • "Life Trap" (1979)
  • "Perfect Love" (1979)
  • "The Infinite Searchlight" (1979)
  • "Wizard Wazo's Revenge" (1979)
  • "The God Gun" (1979)
  • "The Forever Racket" (1980)
  • "The Ur-Plant" (1983)
  • "Escapist Literature" (1985)
  • "When They Asked Him What Happens" (1988)
  • "Death Ship" (1989)
  • "Cling to the Curvature!" (1989)
  • "Tommy Atkins" (1989)
  • "The Death of Arlett" (1989)
  • "The Phobeya" (with Sean Bayley) (1990)
  • "Galimatias" (1990)
  • "Culture Shock" (1990)
  • "Light" (1991)
  • "The Remembrance" (1991)
  • "Don't Leave Me" (1992)
  • "Doctor Pinter in the Mythology Isles" (1992)
  • "Why Live? Dream!" (1992)
  • "Quiddity Wars" (1992)
  • "Teatray in the Sky" (1992)
  • "This Way into the Wendy House" (1993)
  • "Love in Backspace" (1994)
  • "Gnostic Endings: Flight to the Hypercosmos" (1994)
  • "On the Ledge" (1994)
  • "Get Out of Here" (1995)
  • "Duel Among the Wine Green Suns" (with Michael Moorcock) (1995)
  • "The Island of Dr. Romeau" (1995)
  • "A Crab Must Try" (1996)
  • "The Crear" (1996)
  • "Children of the Emperor" (Warhammer 40K) (1998)
  • "The Lives of Ferag Lion-Wolf" (Warhammer 40K) (1999)
  • "The Sky Tower" (2000)
  • "Battle of the Archeosaurs" (Warhammer 40K) (2000)
  • "Planet of the Stercorasaurs" (2000)
  • "Hive Fleet Horror" (Warhammer 40K) (2000)
  • "The Worms of Hess" (2000)
  • "The Revolt of the Mobiles" (2000)
  • "It Was a Lover and His Lass" (2001)
  • "Domie" (2001)
  • "The Multiplex Fixative" (2003)
  • "Party Smart Card" (2006)
  • "Formic Gender Disorder" (2008)

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "About Barrington J Bayley". Fantastic Fiction. FantasticFiction. 12 October 2008. Archived from the original on 5 October 2008. Retrieved 16 October 2008.
  2. Lindroos, Juha (July 1998). "Barrington Bayley: Zen Master of Modern Space Opera". Astounding Worlds of Barrington Bayley. Archived from the original on 19 October 2008. Retrieved 16 October 2008.
  3. Moorcock, Michael (31 January 2002). "Fantastic Metropolis » The Bayley-Moorcock Letters". Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Obituary: Barrington J. Bayley". Locus Online (Locus Publications). 15 October 2008. Archived from the original on 19 October 2008. Retrieved 16 October 2008.
  5. Clute, John (1993). "Bayley, Barrington J.". In Clute, John; Nicholls, Peter. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (2nd ed.). St. Martin's Press.
  6. "Sporting with the Chid". Teahouse on the Tracks. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  7. "Barrington J. Bayley: "An Age of Adventure"". Astounding Worlds of Barrington J. Bayley. Retrieved 2 February 2013.

External links