DIBELL, Ansen

   Pseudonym of US writer Ann Dibble (1942-) whose sf sequence, the Strange and Fantastic History of the King of Kantmorie, comprises 3 PLANETARY ROMANCE tales-Pursuit of the Screamer (1978), Circle, Crescent, Star (1981) and Summerfair (1982)-set in a world inhabited by GENETICALLY ENGINEERED races in exile from a forgotten galactic civilization, along with a dying group of CLONES; and intimately affected by an organic COMPUTER named Shai which (or who) eventually offers the protagonist the opportunity of space flight. The outcome of the sequence is unclear, as is its ultimate success as a work of art; the release of its 2 final volumes, Tidestorm Limit and The Sun of Return, might resolve these issues, and help establish the Fantastic History as a significant contribution to the genre.

   JC