GARNETT, David S.

(1947-)

   UK writer with a BSc in economics, author of more than 50 books, many of them novels, in various genres and under various names. To differentiate himself from the elder David GARNETT he created a middle initial, and in the USA signed his early books Dav Garnett; he has published novels also as David Lee and David Ferring. Though his sf has always been action-oriented and dominated by SPACE-OPERA conventions, his first book, Mirror in the Sky (1969 US), guys those traditions with disillusioned but moderate spite; Stargonauts (1994) enjoyably broadens the assault into slapstick. His third novel, Time in Eclipse (1974) - written like its 1970s successors for ROBERT HALE LIMITED - is a comparatively ambitious effort set on a war-torn Earth whose guardian is an amnesiac obscurely bound to a vast COMPUTER. Much of his work is marred by haste, so that the anarchic subtexts pervading his most routine tales can seem unintended. Their subversiveness, however, is certainly deliberate. As editor, DSG was responsible for an original story anthology series, Zenith: The Best in New British Science Fiction (anth 1989) and Zenith 2: The Best in New British Science Fiction (anth 1990); when thesequence was terminated, he initiated - with the approval of Michael MOORCOCK - a new incarnation of NEW WORLDS, this time in anthology form,the sequence comprising New Worlds (anth 1991),New Worlds 2 (anth 1992), \#3 (anth 1993) and \#4 (anth 1994); further installments are unlikely. DSGalso ed The Orbit Science Fiction Yearbook 1 (anth 1988), \#2 (anth 1989) and \#3 (anth 1990), distinguished from other year's-best anthologies by its smaller size and greater concentration on critical material, each volume including essays on the sf scene by Brian W. ALDISS, John CLUTE and DSG himself.

   JC

   Other works: The Starseekers (1971 US); The Forgotten Dimension (1975); Phantom Universe (1975); Cosmic Carousel (coll 1976).As David Lee: Destiny Past (1974).As David Ferring: The Hills Have Eyes Part 2 * (1984), novelizing a horror film; the Konrad trilogy set in the Warhammer fantasy gaming world (GAMES WORKSHOP), comprising Konrad * (1990), Shadowbreed * (1991) and Warblade *(1993).

   See also: ANTHOLOGIES; GAME-WORLDS.