GOLDIN, Stephen

(1947-)

   US writer, married to Kathleen SKY 1972-82. He began publishing sf with "The Girls on USSF 193" for If in 1965 and was runner-up for a NEBULA for Best Short Story with "The Last Ghost" (1971). His early novels- his first, Herds (1975 Canada), was like its immediate successors written for LASER BOOKS - were stereotyped adventures, and he was better known for an ongoing series of E.E. "Doc" SMITH spin-offs, the Family D'Alembert sequence. The first volume, The Imperial Stars * (1964 If; exp1976) was directly based on a Smith story about the members of a large family who spend their lives saving the Galaxy from a variety of threats; subsequent volumes - Stranglers' Moon * (1976), The Clockwork Traitor (1977), Getaway World * (1977), Appointment at Bloodstar * (1978; vt TheBloodstar Conspiracy 1978 UK), The Purity Plot * (1978), Planet of Treachery * (1982), Eclipsing Binaries * (1983), The Omicron Invasion * (1984) and Revolt of the Galaxy * (1985) - were derived from the initial premise. Aside from these, his later work is more varied. The Eternity Brigade (1980) is an interestingly nightmarish vision of warfare amongvarious mercenary soldiers whose personalities have been reincarnated (REINCARNATION). A World Called Solitude (1981) is a somewhat overburdeneddrama of identity. The light Rehumanization of Jade Darcy sequence, with Mary Mason, begins in Jade Darcy and the Affair of Honor (1988) at a cafecalled Rix's on an entrepot planet much like, one supposes, Morocco in 1942; the series continues with Jade Darcy and the Zen Pirates (1990). SGcannot be called an original force in sf, but he seldom violates his brief of providing well crafted entertainments. He has been editor of SFWA BULLETIN.

   JC

   Other works: Caravan (1975 Canada); Scavenger Hunt (1976 Canada) and its sequel, Finish Line (1976 Canada); Assault on the Gods (1977); Mindflight (1978); a Star Trek novel: Trek to Madworld * (1978); And Not Make Dreams Your Master (1981); The Business of Being a Writer (1982) with Kathleen SKY, nonfiction; the Parsina Saga, comprising Shrine of the Desert Mage (1988), The Storyteller and the Jann (1988) and Crystals of Air and Water (1989), fantasy.As Editor: SG anonymouslycollaborated with David GERROLD on several 1970s anthologies - Protostars (anth 1971), Generation: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction (anth 1972),Science Fiction Emphasis 1 (anth 1974), Alternities (anth 1974) and Ascents of Wonder (anth 1977). He also edited The Alien Condition (1973).

   See also: ALIENS; ESP; SPACE OPERA.