DARLTON, Clark

   Pseudonym of German writer, translator and editor Walter Ernsting (1920-); he has also written as F. MacPatterson. In the 1950s he edited the German Utopia-Magazin (launched 1955), providing it with much original and translated material. In 1957 he began a series of sf publications, Terra-Sonderband, and was one of the founding editors and writers, with K. -H. SCHEER, of the PERRY RHODAN series of SPACE OPERAS from 1961. Over 1600 of these booklets had appeared, on a weekly basis, by mid-1992; a slightly expurgated series of English-language translations began with Enterprise Stardust (trans 1969 US) and continued through 141 further instalments to Phantom Horde (trans 1979 US).

   JC/PN

   See also: GERMANY.