Barrington J. Bayley (9 April 1937 – 14 October 2008) was an English
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
writer.
Biography
Bayley was born in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
and educated in
Newport, Shropshire. He worked a number of jobs before joining the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
during 1955; his first published story, "Combat's End", had been printed the year before in ''Vargo Statten Magazine''.
During the late 1950s, Bayley became friends and a frequent collaborator with
Michael Moorcock on features, comics and short stories, chiefly for
Fleetway Publications
Fleetway Publications was a magazine publishing company based in London. It was founded in 1959 when the Mirror Group acquired the Amalgamated Press, then based at Fleetway House, Farringdon Street, London. It was one of the companies that merg ...
where he was also a regular writer of text stories, some of which have recently been reprinted by Rebellion Books. He later wrote sf stories for
New Worlds
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartn ...
and Moorcock, who described himself as "the dumb one in the partnership".
He, Moorcock and
J.G.Ballard met regularly and their discussions and theories led to the development of science fiction's
New Wave. His short stories featured regularly in ''
New Worlds
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartn ...
'' magazine and then later in various ''New Worlds'' paperback anthologies.
His first book, ''
The Star Virus'', was followed by more than a dozen other novels; his downbeat, gloomy themes have been cited as influential on the likes of
M. John Harrison
Michael John Harrison (born 26 July 1945), known for publication purposes primarily as M. John Harrison, is an English author and literary critic.Kelley, George. "Harrison, M(ichael) John" in Jay P. Pederson (.ed) ''St. James guide to sci ...
,
William S. Burroughs,
Brian Stableford,
Bruce Sterling
Michael Bruce Sterling (born April 14, 1954) is an American science fiction author known for his novels and short fiction and editorship of the ''Mirrorshades'' anthology. In particular, he is linked to the cyberpunk subgenre.
Sterling's first ...
,
Iain Banks and
Alastair Reynolds.
Bayley, who came to live at
Donnington, Telford
Donnington is an area / housing estate located in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. The population of Donnington Ward was 6,883 at the 2011 Census.
History
Before the ...
,
died of complications from
bowel cancer on 14 October 2008.
During 2001, he had written an outline for a sequel to ''Eye of Terror'', provisionally titled ''An Age of Adventure''.
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. His literary estate is managed by Michael Moorcock.
Works
Bayley used the pseudonyms S. Barrington Bayley,
[ P.F Woods, J. Barrington Bayley, Alan Aumbry, Michael Barrington, Simon Barclay, and John Diamond.
]
Novels
Collections
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
External links
*
Astounding World of Barrington J. Bayley
Fan Site
Overview by Rhys Hughes
Three Stories by Barrington Bayley
- ''The Infinite Searchlight'', ''The God Gun'' and ''Mutation Planet'' hosted online with the author's permission
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bayley, Barrington J.
1937 births
2008 deaths
English science fiction writers
People educated at Adams' Grammar School
People from Birmingham, West Midlands
Deaths from colorectal cancer
British male novelists
20th-century British novelists
21st-century British novelists
20th-century English male writers
21st-century English male writers