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The works of Eric Frank Russell (Hannah Davis Hancock)



During the mid-20th century, science fiction was at its best, rapidly growing and becoming the steady genre that it is known for today. Of the numerous authors who contributed to the genre, Eric Frank Russell was one of the writers who helped to build up the “Golden Age of Science Fiction”. His stories were socially provocative, as well as technologically imaginative and creative. Russell was a British writer, becoming interested in science fiction from magazines, which he soon became a regular contributor and writer for. Though he may have been lesser known, Russell gave much to science fiction, and aided in the some of the greatest works of science fiction.

Born in England in 1905, Eric F. Russell did not become interested in science fiction until his late twenties. He began reading Astounding Science Fiction, which he soon began writing to and contributing to. His first story, “Seeker of Tomorrow,” was written by him and a fellow science fiction writer, Leslie Johnson. It was published in the summer of 1937, the first of many stories soon to come.

Russell’s work quite prominently allured to conspiracies (aimed at government and the society of the 30s and 40s), yet was still written in a basic almost comedic tone, while at the same time achieving slightly paranoid, some times suspenseful style. He served in the Air Force during World War II, which may have had some impact on his writing. The social commentaries of anarchy and popular sovereignty, as produced in “And Then There Were None,” (1951), is an example of what may have been an effect of his war-time experiences.

Eric F. Russell's work has been acknowledged throughout his life and past, with various awards for his stories. Russell's spoof of military command, //Allamagoosa//, won a Hugo Award for Best Shot Story in 1955. In 1985 (twelve years after his death), Russell earned a Prometheus Hall of Fame award for "The Great Explosion," (1951). He was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 2000, for his notable stories that helped science fiction to evolve and grow to the successful genre it is today.

sources: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/r/eric-frank-russell/ http://www.abelard.org/e-f-russell.htm http://www-users.cs.york.ac.uk/susan/sf/dani/PS_010.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Frank_Russell