John Raymond Brosnan (7 October 1947 – 11 April 2005) was an Australian writer of both fiction and non-fiction works in the
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...
and
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 uni ...
genres. He was born in
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...
, and died in
South Harrow
South Harrow is the southern part of the town of Harrow, located south-west of Harrow-on-the-Hill in the London Borough of Harrow. Its development originally spread south and west from the hamlet of Roxeth in the urbanisation process and eas ...
,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, from
acute pancreatitis
Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a sudden inflammation of the pancreas. Causes in order of frequency include: 1) a gallstone impacted in the common bile duct beyond the point where the pancreatic duct joins it; 2) heavy alcohol use; 3) systemic disea ...
. He sometimes published under the pseudonyms ''Harry Adam Knight'', ''Simon Ian Childer'' (both sometimes used together with
Leroy Kettle), ''James Blackstone'' (used together with
John Baxter), and ''John Raymond''. Three movies were based on his novels–''Beyond Bedlam'' (aka ''Nightscare''), ''Proteus'' (based on ''Slimer''), and ''
Carnosaur
Carnosauria is an extinct large group of predatory dinosaurs that lived during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Starting from the 1990s, scientists have discovered some very large carnosaurs in the carcharodontosaurid family, such as ''Gig ...
''. In addition to science fiction, he also wrote a number of books about cinema and was a regular columnist with the popular UK magazine ''
Starburst'' and comic
2000 AD. Liverpool University holds a collection of his work consisting of both published material and drafts.
Bibliography
Science fiction
Series
* ''Sky Lords'' series
** ''
The Sky Lords
''The Sky Lords'' (1988) is a science fiction novel by the Australian author, John Brosnan. It was published by VGSF and is the first book in the Sky Lords trilogy. It was followed in 1989 by ''War of the Sky Lords'' and in 1991 by ''The Fall of t ...
'' (1988)
** ''
The War of the Sky Lords'' (1989)
** ''
The Fall of the Sky Lords'' (1991)
* ''Damned and Fancy'' series
** ''
Damned and Fancy'' (1995)
** ''
Have Demon, Will Travel'' (1996)
* ''Mothership'' series
** ''
Mothership
A mother ship, mothership or mother-ship is a large vehicle that leads, serves, or carries other smaller vehicles. A mother ship may be a maritime ship, aircraft, or spacecraft.
Examples include bombers converted to carry experimental airc ...
'' (2004)
** ''Mothership Awakening'' (2005)
Novels
* As ''John Brosnan''
** ''
Skyship'' (1981)
** ''
The Midas Deep'' (1983)
** ''
The Opoponax Invasion'' (1993)
* As ''James Blackstone'' with
John Baxter
** ''Torched'' (1986)
* As ''Harry Adam Knight'' with
Leroy Kettle
** ''
Slimer'' (1983)
** ''
The Fungus'' (1985) (re-released in 1990 as ''Death Spore'')
** ''
Bedlam'' (1992)
* As ''Simon Ian Childer'' with Leroy Kettle
** ''
Tendrils
In botany, a tendril is a specialized stem, leaf or petiole with a threadlike shape used by climbing plants for support and attachment, as well as cellular invasion by parasitic plants such as ''Cuscuta''. There are many plants that have tendr ...
'' (1986)
* As ''Harry Adam Knight''
** ''
Carnosaur
Carnosauria is an extinct large group of predatory dinosaurs that lived during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Starting from the 1990s, scientists have discovered some very large carnosaurs in the carcharodontosaurid family, such as ''Gig ...
'' (1984)
* As ''Simon Ian Childer''
** ''Worm'' (1988)
Short stories
* ''
Junk Shop'' Published in
SF Digest
''S.F. Digest'' was a small bedsheet magazine published by New English Library
The New English Library was a United Kingdom book publishing company, which became an imprint of Hodder Headline.
History
New English Library (NEL) was created i ...
1976
* ''
Conversation on a Starship in Warp-Drive'' (1975)
* ''
An Eye in Paradise''
* ''
The One and Only Tale from The White Horse''
TV novelisations
*''
Bulman
''Bulman'' is a British television crime drama series, principally written and created by Murray Smith. It was first broadcast on ITV on 5 June 1985. The series, featuring retired ex-cop George Bulman (Don Henderson) and his assistant Lucy Mc ...
'' series (as John Raymond)
**''Thin Ice'' (1987)
* ''
Prospects'' series (as John Raymond)
** ''Dirty Weekend'' (1986)
** ''
Partners in Brine'' (1986)
Humour
* ''
The Dirty Movie Book'' (1988) with Leroy Kettle (as ''Leroy Mitchell'')
Non-fiction
* ''
James Bond in the Cinema'' (1972)
* ''
Movie Magic: The Story of Special Effects in the Cinema'' (1974)
* ''
The Horror People'' (1976)
* ''
Future Tense: The Cinema of Science Fiction'' (1978)
* ''
James Bond for Your 007 Eyes Only'' (1981) (with
Tony Crawley)
* ''
The Primal Screen: A History of Science Fiction Film'' (1991)
* ''
Hollywood Babble On'' (1998)
* ''
Lights, Camera, Magic!'' (1998)
* ''
Scream: The Unofficial Guide to the Scream Trilogy'' (2000)
Comics
2000 AD
*''
Night Zero
''Night Zero'' is a webcomic and published graphic novel created by Anthony van Winkle and Forest Gibson. Conception and production began in late 2007, with the completion of the "pilot" episode in May 2008. The first serial comic began its online ...
'' (with
Kev Hopgood
Kev Hopgood (born 25 August 1961) is a British comic artist who has been drawing comic books since 1984. He specialises in artwork for science fiction and fantasy comics.
Biography
Hopgood started his career in British comics getting work at ...
):
** "Night Zero" (in ''
2000 AD'' #607-616, December 1988 - March 1989)
** "Beyond Zero" (in ''2000 AD'' #630-634, 645-649 and 665-666, June 1989 - February 1990)
** "Lost in Zero" (in ''2000 AD Annual 1991'', September 1990)
** "Below Zero" (in ''2000 AD'' #731-745, May–August 1991)
References
External links
*
John Brosnana
Fantastic Fiction*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brosnan, John
1947 births
2005 deaths
20th-century Australian novelists
20th-century Australian male writers
21st-century Australian novelists
Australian comics writers
Australian male novelists
20th-century Australian non-fiction writers
Australian science fiction writers
Australian male short story writers
Deaths from pancreatitis
People from South Harrow
Writers from Perth, Western Australia
20th-century Australian short story writers
21st-century Australian short story writers
21st-century Australian male writers