EASTON, Thomas A(twood)

(1944-)

   US critic, writer and biology teacher (he holds a PhD in theoretical biology) who is best known for the Reference Library book-review column he has written for ASF since 1979, where he covers a wide range of titles with strict fairness, though not often granted the room to delve deep. His first story was "Next" for Adam in 1974, and he has since published at least 50 tales in magazines, sometimes as Sam Atwood. His sf novels Sparrowhawk (1990), Greenhouse (1991), Woodsman (1992), A Tower of the Gods (1993) and Seeds of Destiny (1994) all focus on an Earth rather mechanically dominated by a biological revolution, with genimals - genetically engineered animals - replacing cars and indeed almost anything imaginable; by the fifth volume, the bioengineering Gypsies have been driven into space by the Engineers, who are machine-oriented, and a conflict between the two principles - it is one common to late-century sf - begins to wage throughout the galaxy. Reversals of this sort are generally effected for purposes of SATIRE, but it is clear that for TAE the perils and pleasures of the invention have been sufficient.

   JC