GARIS, Howard R(oger)

(1873-1962)

   US writer known mainly for such work outside the sf field as his Uncle Wiggily series, whose 15,000 episodes were widely syndicated. For the Edward STRATEMEYER Syndicate he wrote, under the house pseudonymRoy ROCKWOOD and according to plot outlines from Stratemeyer, the first 6 vols of the Great Marvel series: Through the Air to the North Pole (1906), Under the Ocean to the South Pole (1907), Five Thousand Miles Underground(1908), Through Space to Mars (1910), Lost on the Moon (1911) and On a Torn-Away World (1913); 3 later volumes are of unknown authorship. These tales were of considerable imaginative power, not emulated by his contributions to the TOM SWIFT series, for which he wrote - again to Stratemeyer synopses - the first 35 (of 38) episodes under the house nameVictor APPLETON, from Tom Swift and his Motor-Cycle, or Fun and Adventure on the Road (1910) to HRG's last, Tom Swift and his Giant Magnet, or Bringing up the Lost Submarine (1932). (R. REGINALD's Science Fiction andFantasy Literature: A Checklist, 1700-1974 (1979) gives all 35 titles.)

   JC/EFB

   Other works: Many juveniles, including Tom of the Fire Cave (1927); the Rocket Riders books, Rocket Riders Across the Ice, or Racing against Time (1933), Rocket Riders over the Desert, or Seeking the Lost City (1933), Rocket Riders in Stormy Seas, or Trailing the Treasure Divers(1933) and Rocket Riders in the Air, or A Chase in the Clouds (1934).