Laurence James (21 September 1942 – 9 or 10 February 2000) was a British

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, especially known for his involvement with the "

Deathlands Deathlands is a series of novels published by Gold Eagle Publishing. The first novel, ''Pilgrimage to Hell'', was first published in 1986. This series of novels was first written by Christopher Lowder, under the pen name ''Jack Adrian''. Lowde ...

" series. James originally worked in publishing other people's books. In 1972 he embarked on the career of "a full-time freelance author and journalist". For several years thereafter he published short science fiction stories in both Britain and the US. In 1974 he published his first full-length novel, "Earth Lies Sleeping" – the first in a series focused on the exploits of a

galactic Galactic is an American jam band from New Orleans, Louisiana. Origins and background Formed in 1994 as an octet (under the name Galactic Prophylactic) and including singer Chris Lane and guitarist Rob Gowen, the group was soon pared down to a ...

secret agent Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...

named Simon Rack. At the time he was living with his wife and their three children at Roydon, an

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

village.Information provided on the biographical page of "Earth Lies Sleeping",

Sphere Books Sphere Books is the name of two British paperback publishers. History The original Sphere Books was launched in 1966 by Thomson Corporation. Sphere was sold to Pearson PLC in 1985 and became part of Penguin. The name was retired in 1990. In 19 ...

, London 1974 In addition, around 1974, James published the fantasy saga of Hells Angels in England & Wales in the early 1990s under the name Mick Norman. The four books, Angels from Hell, Angel Challenge, Guardian Angels, and Angels on my Mind, were compiled as the Angel Chronicles (Creation Books, ). Also in 1974 James' publisher at the time,

, provided the reading public with a list of "what Laurence James likes" – including

Alf Tupper ''Alf Tupper'' is the protagonist of a British comic strip, ''The Tough of the Track'' (or ''Alf Tupper: The Tough of the Track''), created by Bill Blaine (probably a pseudonym for William Blaine, head of DC Thomson comics), written by Gilbert L ...

, Wilson and Beraddock, old films, old comics, and

Rock 'n' roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

. Among what he disliked were

suit A suit, lounge suit, or business suit is a set of clothes comprising a suit jacket and trousers of identical textiles worn with a collared dress shirt, necktie, and dress shoes. A skirt suit is similar, but with a matching skirt instead of tr ...

gherkin A pickled cucumber (commonly known as a pickle in the United States and Canada and a gherkin in Britain, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand) is a usually small or miniature cucumber that has been pickled in a brine, vinegar, or ...

s and

earwig Earwigs make up the insect order Dermaptera. With about 2,000 species in 12 families, they are one of the smaller insect orders. Earwigs have characteristic cerci, a pair of forcep-like pincers on their abdomen, and membranous wings folded ...

s. Thereafter, James embarked on a highly prolific career, publishing dozens of novels under his own name as well as the pen names James Darke, James McPhee, Jonathan May, and James Axler. His writings included books for the series "Dark Future," "Earth Blood," "Galactic Security Service" and "Survival 2000," as well as a number of independent novels and short stories. His biggest success was the

post apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astro ...

" series. "

Pilgrimage to Hell ''Pilgrimage to Hell'' is the first book in the Deathlands Saga of novels. Written by Christopher Lowder under his pen name Jack Adrian and published on May 1, 1986, it follows the adventures of Ryan Cawdor, Krysty Wroth and J.B. Dix, and delv ...

"

which launched the series was started in 1986 by Christopher Lowder, completed by James and published under the name

James Axler James Axler is a Collective pseudonym, house name used by the publishing company Gold Eagle Publishing, the action adventure series published by Harlequin Enterprises Ltd. The name was first used for the "Deathlands" series, which began in 1986 ...

. James then went on to write solely no fewer than 32 novels in this series, attracting a significant fandom, up to and includin
''Eclipse at Noon'
in 1995. Due to failing health, James was on that year forced to leave the series. He wrote one last novel
''Crucible of Time''
that appeared in 1998. He died in February 2000. After his death, "

" remained a " House name" which continued to be used by others. In general, "Deathlands" fans consider his books to be the best of the series.

References

External links

Author Profile at Piccadilly Publishing on the digital release of the Crow, Caleb Thorn, Herne the Hunter and Simon Rack series
* {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Laurence 1942 births 2000 deaths English science fiction writers 20th-century British novelists