John Russell Fearn


John Russell Fearn was a British writer, one of the first to appear in American pulp science fiction magazines. A prolific author, he published his novels also as Vargo Statten and with various pseudonyms including Thornton Ayre, Polton Cross, Geoffrey Armstrong, John Cotton, Dennis Clive, Ephriam Winiki, Astron Del Martia.

Career

Fearn was a prolific writer who wrote Westerns and crime fiction as well as science fiction. His writing appeared under numerous pseudonyms. He wrote series such as Adam Quirke, Clayton Drew, Golden Amazon, and Herbert. At times these drew on the pulp traditions of Edgar Rice Burroughs. His work received praise for its vividness, but criticism, being deemed "unpolished", with Arthur C. Clarke commenting in 1939 that "we must admire the magnificent, if undisciplined, fertility of his mind".

Personal life

Child of a cotton salesman and a secretary, Fearn worked initially for his father's firm, followed by work as a solicitor's clerk, fairground assistant, at a munitions factory, and as a cinema projectionist. He married writer Camilla Fegan in 1957.
As well as writing he was involved in writing/acting in local plays and active in writers' groups. In 1938, he told Amazing Stories that he "likes broiling sunlight and heated rooms smokes incessantly while he writes". During the Second World War, Fearn was chief projectionist at the Empire Cinema in Blackpool.

As himself

  • The Intelligence Gigantic
  • Liners of Time and its sequel
  • Zagribud
  • He Never Slept
  • Nebula X
  • The Sun Makers
  • The Avenging Martian
  • The Renegade Star
  • The Inner Cosmos
  • To the Ultimate
  • The Dust Destroyer
  • The Arbiter
  • The Gold of Akada
  • Anjani the Mighty
  • Creature from [the Black Lagoon|The Creature from the Black Lagoon] novelisation of 1954 film
  • Slaves of Ijax
  • From Afar
  • No Grave Need I
  • ''The Slitherers''

Golden Amazon

  1. The Golden Amazon
  2. The Amazon Fights Again
  3. The Golden Amazon Returns
  4. The Golden Amazon's Triumph
  5. The Amazon's Diamond Quest
  6. Twin of the Amazon
  7. The Amazon Strikes Again
  8. Conquest of the Amazon
  9. Lord of Atlantis
  10. Triangle of Power
  11. Amethyst City
  12. Daughter of Golden Amazon
  13. Quorne Returns
  14. The Central Intelligence
  15. The Cosmic Crusaders
  16. Parasite Planet
  17. World Out of Step
  18. The Shadow People
  19. Kingpin Planet
  20. World in Reverse
  21. Dwellers in Darkness
  22. World in Duplicate
  23. Lord of Creation
  24. Duel with Colossus
  25. Standstill Planet
  26. Ghost World
  27. Earth Divided
  28. ''Chameleon Planet''

Mars Quartet (Clayton Drew)

  • Emperor of Mars
  • Warrior of Mars
  • Red Men of Mars
  • ''Goddess of Mars''

Works written under pseudonyms

  • Whispering Satellite as by Thornton Ayre
  • What Happened to Hammond? as by Hugo Blayn
  • Valley of Pretenders as by Dennis Clive
  • The Voice Commands as by Dennis Clive
  • Other Eyes Watching as by Polton Cross
  • The Trembling World as by Astron Del Martia. There is another novel One Against Time as by Astron Del Martia stated to have been written by JRF. This is incorrect. It was in fact written by Stephen D. Frances.
  • Don't Touch Me as by Spike Gordon
  • The Dyno-Depressent as by Volsted Gridban
  • Magnetic Brain as by Volsted Gridban
  • Moons for Sale as by Volsted Gridban
  • Scourge of the Atom as by Volsted Gridban
  • A Thing of the Past as by Volsted Gridban
  • The Genial Dinosaur
  • Exit Life as by Volsted Gridban
  • The Master Must Die as by Volsted Gridban
  • The Lonely Astronomer as by Volsted Gridban
  • The Purple Wizard as by Volsted Gridban
  • The Frozen Limit as by Volsted Gridban
  • I Came - I Saw - I Wondered as by Volsted Gridban
  • Liquid Death as by "Griff"
  • Cosmic Exodus as by Conrad G. Holt
  • Dark Boundaries as by Paul Lorraine
  • The Hell-Fruit as by Lawrence F. Rose
  • Account Settled as by John Russell
  • Z-Formations as by Brian Shaw

Work written under the name Vargo Statten

  • Operation Venus
  • Annihilation
  • The Micro-Men
  • Wanderer of Space
  • 2000 Years On
  • Inferno!
  • The Cosmic Flame
  • Cataclysm |Cataclysm
  • The Red Insects
  • The New Satellite
  • Deadline to Pluto
  • The Petrified Planet
  • Born of Luna
  • The Devouring Fire
  • The Catalyst
  • The Space Warp
  • The Eclipse Express
  • The Time Bridge
  • The Man from Tomorrow
  • The G-Bomb
  • Laughter in Space
  • Across the Ages
  • The Last Martian
  • Worlds to Conquer
  • De-Creation
  • The Time Trap
  • Ultra Spectrum
  • Black-Wing of Mars
  • Man in Duplicate
  • Zero Hour
  • The Black Avengers
  • Odyssey of Nine
  • Pioneer 1990
  • The Interloper
  • Man of Two Worlds
  • The Lie Destroyer
  • Black Bargain
  • The Grand Illusion
  • Wealth of the Void
  • A Time Appointed
  • I Spy
  • The Multi-Man
  • 1,000 Year Voyage
  • ''Earth 2''

Writing about Fearn

The Multi-Man by Philip Harbottle Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, Volume 2 by R. Reginald