George Oliver Smith (April 9, 1911 – May 27, 1981) (also known by the pseudonym Wesley Long) was an American science fiction author. He is not to be confused with

George H. Smith George Hamilton Smith (February 10, 1949 – April 8, 2022) was an American author, editor, educator, and speaker, known for his writings on atheism and libertarianism. Biography Smith grew up mostly in Tucson, Arizona, and attended the Unive ...

, another American science fiction author.

Biography

Smith was an active contributor to ''

Astounding Science Fiction ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William C ...

'' during the

Golden Age of Science Fiction The first Golden Age of Science Fiction, often recognized in the United States as the period from 1938 to 1946, was an era during which the science fiction genre gained wide public attention and many classic science fiction stories were published. ...

in the 1940s. His collaboration with the magazine's editor,

John W. Campbell, Jr. John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

was interrupted when Campbell's first wife, Doña, left him in 1949 and married Smith. Smith continued regularly publishing science fiction novels and stories until 1960. His output greatly diminished in the 1960s and 1970s when he had a job that required his undivided attention. He was given the

First Fandom Hall of Fame award First Fandom Hall of Fame is an annual award for contributions to the field of science fiction dating back more than 30 years. Contributions can be as a fan, writer, editor, artist, agent, or any combination of the five. It is awarded by First Fa ...

in 1980. He was a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the

Trap Door Spiders The Trap Door Spiders are a literary male-only eating, drinking, and arguing society in New York City, with a membership historically composed of notable science fiction personalities. The name is a reference to the reclusive habits of the trapdo ...

, which served as the basis of

Isaac Asimov yi, יצחק אזימאװ , birth_date = , birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR , spouse = , relatives = , children = 2 , death_date = , death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. , nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...

's fictional group of mystery solvers the

Black Widowers The Black Widowers is a fictional men-only dining club created by Isaac Asimov for a series of sixty-six mystery stories that he started writing in 1971. Most of the stories were first published in ''Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'', though a few ...

Writing career

Smith wrote mainly about outer space, with such works as ''Operation Interstellar'' (1950), ''Lost in Space'' (1959), and ''Troubled Star'' (1957). He is remembered chiefly for his

Venus Equilateral The Venus Equilateral series is a set of 13 science fiction short stories by American writer George O. Smith, concerning the Venus Equilateral Relay Station, an interplanetary communications hub located at the Lagrangian point of the Sun-Venus ...

series of short stories about a communications station in outer space. Most of the stories were collected in ''

'' (1947), which was later expanded with the remaining three stories as ''The Complete Venus Equilateral'' (1976). His novel '' The Fourth "R"'' (1959) – re-published as ''The Brain Machine'' (1968) – was a digression from his focus on outer space, and an examination of a

child prodigy A child prodigy is defined in psychology research literature as a person under the age of ten who produces meaningful output in some domain at the level of an adult expert. The term is also applied more broadly to young people who are extraor ...

Bibliography

* ''Trouble'' (magazine publication 1946) * ''

'' (1947) (expanded as ''The Complete Venus Equilateral'' in 1976) * '' Pattern for Conquest'' (magazine publication 1946, book publication 1949) * ''

Nomad A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the po ...

'' (1950) * ''Operation Interstellar'' (1950) * ''Dark Recess'' (magazine publication 1951) * ''Hellflower'' (1953) * ''

Highways in Hiding ''Highways in Hiding'' is a science fiction novel by American writer George O. Smith. It was published in 1956 by Gnome Press in an edition of 4,000 copies. The novel was originally serialized in the magazine ''Imagination'' in 1955. An abridge ...

'' (magazine publication 1955, book publication 1956, abridged as ''Space Plague'' in 1957) * ''Troubled Star'' (magazine publication 1953, book publication 1957) * ''Fire in the Heavens'' (1958) * ''

Path of Unreason ''Path of Unreason'' is a science fiction novel by American writer George O. Smith. It was published in 1958 by Gnome Press in an edition of 5,000 copies, of which only 3,000 were bound. The novel is an expansion of Smith's story "The Kingdom of ...

'' (1958) * ''Instinct'' (1959) * ''The Undetected'' (1959) * '' The Fourth "R"'' (1959, reprinted as ''The Brain Machine'' in 1968) * ''

Lost in Space ''Lost in Space'' is an American science fiction television series, created and produced by Irwin Allen, which originally aired between 1965 and 1968 on CBS. The series was inspired by the 1812 novel ''The Swiss Family Robinson.'' The series fo ...

'' (1959) * ''The Troublemakers'' (1960) * ''Amateur in Chancery'' (1961) * ''The Luck of Magnitudes'' (1962) * ''Understanding'' (1967) * ''Worlds of George O.'' (1982)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, George O. 20th-century American novelists American male novelists American science fiction writers 1911 births 1981 deaths American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers