AUSTIN, F(rederick) Britten

(1885-1941)

   UK writer and WWII army captain, most noted for his collections of stories illustrating problems for UK military security arising in future WARS from new weaponry and tactics: In Action: Studies of War (coll 1913) and The War-God Walks Again (coll 1926). The latter volume is occasionally eloquent. FBA also wrote several volumes of linked stories, each comprising a kind of anthropological romance telling the development of a significant aspect of Man's history through the ages; examples are A Saga of the Sea (coll of linked stories 1929), where a ship's history is told, and A Saga of the Sword (coll of linked stories 1928). The first and last stories of each of these collections tend to infringe upon sf material and concerns. Other works, some marginal sf: Battlewrack (coll 1917); According to Orders (coll 1918); On the Borderland (coll 1922); Under the Lens (coll 1924); Thirteen (coll 1925US); When Mankind was Young (coll of linked stories 1930); Tomorrow (coll c1930) The Red Flag (coll of linked stories 1932), the final tale of which is set in 1977.

   See also: ORIGIN OF MAN.