James Follett (27 July 1939 – 10 January 2021) was an English author and screenwriter. Follett became a full-time fiction writer in 1976, after resigning from contract work as a technical writer for the Ministry of Defence. He wrote over 20 novels, several television plays and many radio dramas. He died in January 2021 at the age of 81.

Works

Novels

* ''The Doomsday Ultimatum'' (1976) * ''Crown Court'' (1977) * ''Ice'' (1978) * ''U-700'' (1979), based on his radio play ''The

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

that lost its Nerve'', in turn based on a true story during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. * ''Churchill's Gold'' (1980) * ''The Tiptoe Boys'' (1981) (filmed as ''

Who Dares Wins ''Who Dares Wins'' (Latin: ''Qui audet adipiscitur''; el, Ο Τολμών Νικά, ''O tolmón niká''; french: Qui ose gagne; it, Chi osa vince; Portuguese: ''Quem ousa vence''; German: ''Wer wagt, gewinnt'') is a motto made popular in the ...

'') * ''Earthsearch'' (1981, a novelization of Follett's

radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

Earthsearch ''Earthsearch: A Ten-Part Adventure Serial in Time and Space'' is a science fiction radio series written by James Follett. It consists of ten half-hour episodes. It was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between January and March 1981. There is also ...

'') * ''Deathship'' (1982, a novelization of Follett's

Earthsearch II ''Earthsearch: A Ten-Part Adventure Serial in Time and Space'' is a science fiction radio series written by James Follett. It consists of ten half-hour episodes. It was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between January and March 1981. There is also ...

'') * ''Dominator'' (1984) * ''Swift'' (1985). Set in 1996, it foresaw the proliferation of

Mobile phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...

s * '' A Cage of Eagles'' (1989) * ''Mirage'' (1988). A fictionalised account of the transfer of practically all documents and drawings of the

Mirage III The Dassault Mirage III () is a family of single/dual-seat, single-engine, fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by French aircraft company Dassault Aviation. It was the first Western European combat aircraft to exceed Mach 2 in horizonta ...

to the state of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

during a temporary French arms embargo in the 1960s, through Sulzer Aircraft in Switzerland. These events led to the creation of the later

IAI Kfir , abbreviated , is a Japanese martial art that emphasizes being aware and capable of quickly drawing the sword and responding to sudden attacks.Christensen, Karen and Allen Guttmann et.al (2001) ''International Encyclopedia of Women and Sport ...

jet fighter in the 1970s. * ''Torus'' (1990) * ''Trojan'' (1991). Set mainly in 1999, ''Trojan'', predicted

high-definition television High-definition television (HD or HDTV) describes a television system which provides a substantially higher image resolution than the previous generation of technologies. The term has been used since 1936; in more recent times, it refers to the g ...

, hard-drive

video recording Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) systems ...

and keyboard-free

touchpad A touchpad or trackpad is a pointing device featuring a tactile sensor, a specialized surface that can translate the motion and position of a user's fingers to a relative position on the operating system that is made output to the screen. Touchp ...

computers. It was translated into Hungarian in 1994 as ''A trójai''WorldCat
/ref> * ''Savant'' (1993)An Amazon page
includes an unattributed three-sentence summary that includes "... the Iraqi tank which survived the West's most formidable weaponry." * ''Mindwarp'' (1993, a prequel to Folllet's radio drama ''Earthsearch'') * ''Those in Peril'' (1995) * ''Sabre'' (1997) * ''Second Atlantis'' (1998, a revised version of ''Ice'') * ''Temple of the Winds'' (2000) * ''Wicca'' (2000) * ''

The Silent Vulcan ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (2002 hardback) * ''A Forest of Eagles'' (2004 hardback, a sequel to '' A Cage of Eagles'') * ''Return of the Eagles'' (2004 hardback, concluding the ''Eagles'' trilogy) * ''Hellborn'' (2009) (eBook)

Radio

(AT indicates the play was heard on BBC Radio 4's ''Afternoon Theatre'', a 60-minute slot; JBM that it was in Radio 4's ''Just Before Midnight'' 15-minute slot, and SNT: Radio 4's ''Saturday Night Theatre'' of 90 minutes.) *''Rules of Asylum'' (1973*, 90 minutes),

Wiped Lost television broadcasts are mostly those early television programs which cannot be accounted for in studio archives (or in personal archives) usually because of deliberate destruction or neglect. Common reasons for loss A significant prop ...

by the BBC, but kept in the form of a domestic FM recording by Follett himself and subsequently rebroadcast on

BBC 7 BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British digital radio station from the BBC, broadcasting archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes nationally, 24 hours a day. It is the sister station of BBC Radio 4 and the p ...

and since 2011 on BBC Radio 4 Extra in three half-hour instalments. *''The Light of A Thousand Suns'' (1974*, SNT), a

cold war The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

techno-thriller set in 1995 *''The Doppelganger Machine'' (1974, AT) *''Speculator Sport'' (1974, AT) *''The U-Boat That Lost Its Nerve'' (1975, SNT), a WWII historical drama regarding an informal trial of a German U-boat officer in a POW camp. *''The War in Secret'' (1975, 3 episodes of 45 mins) *''The Last Riot'' (1975, AT) *''Jumbo'' (1976, SNT) *''No Time on Our Side'' (1976, 60 mins) *''The Rabid Summer'' (1976, SNT) *''The Twisted Image'' (1977*, AT) *''The Spanish Package'' (1977, SNT) *''The War Behind the Wire'' (1977, 4 episodes of 45 mins) *''A Touch of Slander'' (1977, AT) *''

The Destruction Factor ''The Destruction Factor'' is a 1978 BBC radio play written by James Follett and starring T. P. McKenna, Paul Copley and Rosalind Adams. It was broadcast over six episodes on BBC Radio 4 Extra.Earthsearch ''Earthsearch: A Ten-Part Adventure Serial in Time and Space'' is a science fiction radio series written by James Follett. It consists of ten half-hour episodes. It was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between January and March 1981. There is also ...

'' (1981*, 10 episodes of 30 mins) *''

'' (1982*, 10 episodes of 30 mins) *''A Darkening of the Moon'' (1986, SNT) *''Ice'' (1986*, SNT), based on Follett's novel. * ''Men, Martians and Machines'' (2003). A three-hour career retrospective for BBC 7 named after the science fiction collection by

Eric Frank Russell Eric Frank Russell (January 6, 1905 – February 28, 1978) was a British writer best known for his science fiction novels and short stories. Much of his work was first published in the United States, in John W. Campbell's '' Astounding Science ...

which had fired Follett's imagination. *''Temple of the Winds'' (2009, 8 episodes of 20 mins) *''Wicca'' (2004, 8 episodes of 20 mins) *''

Earthsearch Mindwarp {{Infobox audio drama , title=Earthsearch Mindwarp , publisher= Big Finish Productions , series=''Earthsearch'' , number=1 , featuring= , cover=Earthsearch Mindwarp.jpg , writer=James Follett adapted by Jacqueline Rayner , director=Jason Haigh-Ell ...

'' (2006, 3 episodes of 45 mins) An asterisk * after the year means the play has been repeated on BBC7 and/or BBC Radio 4 Extra.

Television

* ''

Blake's 7 ''Blake's 7'' (sometimes styled ''Blakes7'') is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. Four 13-episode series were broadcast on BBC1 between 1978 and 1981. It was created by Terry Nation, who also wrote the first ...

'' – "Dawn of the Gods" and "Stardrive" * ''Knowhow'' (eighteen "Hyperspace Hotel" segments of BBC series) * ''

Crown Court The Crown Court is the court of first instance of England and Wales responsible for hearing all Indictable offence, indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals lied to it by the Magistrates' court, magistrates' court ...

'' (six episodes of Granada TV series) * '' The Squad'' (two episodes for Thames TV series)

Other works

* ''

Starglider ''Starglider'' is a 3D video game published in 1986 by Rainbird. It was developed by Jez San under his company name Argonaut Software. The game is a fast-moving, first-person combat flight simulator, rendered with colourful wireframe vector ...

'' – a science fiction novella accompanying the 1986 computer game of the same name. * '' Starglider 2'' – a science fiction novella accompanying the 1988 computer game of the same name, a sequel to Starglider. * ''Tracker'' – a science fiction novella accompanying the 1988 computer game of the same name. * ''Lost Eden'' – a science fiction novella accompanying the 1995 computer game of the same name.

References

External links

Official websiteArticles and reviews: James Follett's radio work
{{DEFAULTSORT:Follett, James 1939 births 2021 deaths 20th-century English male writers 20th-century English novelists 21st-century English male writers 21st-century English novelists English male novelists English male screenwriters English science fiction writers English screenwriters