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David G. Compton

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David Guy Compton
Born(1930-08-19)19 August 1930
London, England
Died10 November 2023(2023-11-10) (aged 93)
Maine, U.S.

David Guy Compton (19 August 1930 – 10 November 2023) was a British author who wrote science fiction under the name D. G. Compton. He used the name Guy Compton for his earlier crime novels and the pseudonym Frances Lynch for his Gothic novels. He also wrote short stories, radio plays, and a non-fiction book on stammering, its causes and cures.

Biography

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Compton was born in London on 19 August 1930, as the son of actor Gerald Cross and actress Nuna Davey. His first published book was the 1962 crime novel Too Many Murderers. His 1970 novel The Steel Crocodile was nominated for the Nebula Award, and his 1974 novel The Continuous Katherine Mortenhoe was filmed as Death Watch by Bertrand Tavernier in 1979.[1]

The 1983 film Brainstorm was very similar in content to Compton's 1968 novel Synthajoy.

In Science Fiction: History, Science, Vision, Robert Scholes and Eric S. Rabkin write:[2]

Compton's work is informed by an acute and subtle moral sense which avoids the extremes of satire and sentiment while compelling us to see the world ethically...he succeeds superbly in preserving certain traditional fictional values and human values in works of genuine science fiction.

Compton was named the 2007 Author Emeritus by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

Compton died on 10 November 2023, in Maine, United States, where he lived. He was 93.[3][4]

Bibliography

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As Guy Compton:

  • Too Many Murderers (1962)
  • Medium for Murder (1963)
  • Dead on Cue (1964)
  • High Tide for Hanging (1965)
  • Disguise for a Dead Gentleman (1966)
  • And Murder Came Too (1967)

As D. G. Compton:

  • The Quality of Mercy (1965)
  • Farewell, Earth's Bliss (1966)
  • The Silent Multitude (1966)
  • Synthajoy (1968)
  • The Palace (1969) (non-SF)
  • The Steel Crocodile (1970) Alternate title: The Electric Crocodile
  • Chronocules (1971) Alternate titles: Chronicules and Hot Wireless Sets, Aspirin Tablets, the Sandpaper Slides of Used Matchboxes, and Something that Might have been Castor Oil
  • The Continuous Katherine Mortenhoe (1974) Alternate titles: The Unsleeping Eye (U.S. title, DAW Books, 1974), and Death Watch (U.S. Death Watch film title and book tie-ins)
  • The Missionaries (1975)
  • A Usual Lunacy (1978)
  • Windows (1979)
  • Ascendancies (1980)
  • Scudder's Game (1988)
  • Ragnarok (1991), with John Gribbin
  • Nomansland (1993)
  • Stammering: its nature, history, causes and cures (1993) (non-fiction)
  • Justice City (1994)
  • Back of Town Blues (1996)
  • Die Herren von Talojz (1997) German translation only

As Frances Lynch:

  • Twice Ten Thousand Miles (1974)
  • The Fine and Handsome Captain (1975)
  • Stranger at the Wedding (1976)
  • A Dangerous Magic (1978)
  • In the House of Dark Music (1979)

References

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  1. ^ "In 'The Continuous Katherine Mortenhoe,' Death is a Reality Show". The Atlantic. 7 July 2016.
  2. ^ Scholes, Robert; Rabkin, Eric S. (1977). Science Fiction: History, Science, Fiction. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. p. 83. ISBN 978-0-19-502174-5.
  3. ^ "Facebook Announcement by Arrowhead SF Foundation/Virginia Kidd House". Facebook.
  4. ^ "D.G. Compton (1930–2023)". Locus Magazine. 28 November 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
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