Terry Harknett (11 December 1936 - 23 January 2019) was a British author. He was author of almost 200 books, mostly

pulp Pulp may refer to: * Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit Engineering * Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture * Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper * Molded pulp, a packaging material * ...

novels A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...

in the

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

and

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

s. He wrote under an array of

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

s, including George G. Gilman, Joseph Hedges, William M. James, Charles R. Pike, Thomas H. Stone, Frank Chandler, Jane Harman, Alex Peters, William Pine, William Terry, James Russell and David Ford. On at least one occasion he wrote as a

ghostwriter A ghostwriter is hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are officially credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often h ...

for Peter Haining (for novel ''The Hero''). Some bibliographies, e.g. Fantastic Fiction, list Adam Hardy as one of Harknett's pseudonyms, in fact a nom de plume of

Kenneth Bulmer Henry Kenneth Bulmer (14 January 1921 – 16 December 2005) was a British author, primarily of science fiction. Life Born in London, he married Pamela Buckmaster on 7 March 1953. They had one son and two daughters, and they divorced in 1981. B ...

. This is an error resulting from incorrect copyright information printed in one of the Edge westerns. Harknett wrote a number of fiction series including: * ''Steve Wayne'' (9 books under his own name published between 1962 and 1971 by Robert Hale and Hammond) * ''Crown'' (3 books under his own name) * ''Edge'' (61 books as George G. Gilman) * ''Adam Steele'' (49 books as George G. Gilman) * ''Edge Meets Adam Steele'' (3 books as George G. Gilman) * ''The Undertaker'' (6 books as George G. Gilman) * ''The Revenger'' (12 books as Joseph Hedges) * ''Apache'' (27 books as William M. James) * ''Jubal Cade'' (3 books as Charles R. Pike) * '' Chester Fortune'' (5 books as Thomas H. Stone) Harknett's authorship of Edge, Steele, Jubal Cade and Apache series, as well as his fictionalisation of the film

A Fistful of Dollars ''A Fistful of Dollars'' ( it, Per un pugno di dollari, lit=For a Fistful of Dollars titled on-screen as ''Fistful of Dollars'') is a 1964 Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood in his first leading role, a ...

(as by 'Frank Chandler', Tandem Books

972 Year 972 ( CMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – Emperor John I Tzimiskes divides the Bulgarian territories, recent ...

earned him the description of 'One of the authors of "Blood and Soil" Western fiction'. Harknett's westerns have been identified as an influence by authors including

Robert J. Randisi Robert Joseph Randisi (born August 24, 1951) is an American author, editor and screenwriter who writes in the detective and Western genres. Biography Randisi has authored more than 650 published books and has edited more than 30 anthologies of sh ...

and

Peter Brandvold Peter Brandvold is an American western fiction author. Life Born in North Dakota, bestselling western novelist Peter Brandvold has penned over seventy fast-action westerns under his own name and his pen name, Frank Leslie. He is the author of ...

. ''George G. Gilman'' is one pseudonym, or pen name, of Terry Harknett. Under that name Harknett wrote three series of

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

books: ''

Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...

'', which his US publisher would brand, "The Most Violent Westerns In Print"; ''Adam Steele'' (this character and Edge appeared together in three books); and ''The Undertaker''. The Gilman books were known for their sardonic and sarcastic humor and for their very violent content. In 2015 Amazon Studios aired a TV pilot titled ''

'' based on the book series of the same name, adapted by

Shane Black Shane Black (born December 16, 1961) is an American filmmaker and actor who has written such films as ''Lethal Weapon'', ''The Monster Squad'', ''The Last Boy Scout'', ''Last Action Hero'', and ''The Long Kiss Goodnight''. As an actor, Black is ...

and

Fred Dekker Fred Dekker (born April 9, 1959) is an American screenwriter and film director best known for his cult classic horror comedy films ''Night of the Creeps'' and ''The Monster Squad'' (written with Shane Black). He contributed the story ideas for ...

and directed by Shane Black.

References

External links

Author profile at Piccadilly Publishing on the digital release of the Fortune and John Crown series
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harknett, Terry 1936 births Living people British writers