LLEWELLYN, Edward

   Working name of Welsh-born Canadian writer and doctor Edward Llewellyn-Thomas (1917-1984), who held professorships variously in pharmacology, medicine, electrical engineering and psychology. Most of his work is set loosely in the same universe, with his first 3 novels - The Douglas Convolution (1979 US), The Bright Companion (1980 US) and Preludeto Chaos (1983 US) - constituting a trilogy about a 22nd-century Earth suffering from widespread female infertility. The muscularly told first volume follows the arrival in this world, via TIME TRAVEL, of an ingenious mathematician, who proves invaluable to the Order of fertile women; the second presents a tour of the world dominated by this Order; the third is a weak prequel. In Salvage and Destroy (1984 US) EL moved into SPACE OPERA, though genetics continues to play a role in a complex plotinvolving two immortal species of aliens, one of which becomes involved with Earth. Fugitive in Transit (1985 US) similarly confronts humans with representatives of galactic civilization, in this case the Galactic Transit Authority, which is chasing the woman who has discovered astargate. Word-Bringer (1986) presents its protagonist with the discovery - familiar to readers of Clifford D. SIMAK - that aliens have left onEarth a device which spreads knowledge for free, engendering all sorts of scientific advances. Though he did not seem destined to become a major writer in the field, EL's tales are literate, numerate and attractively marked by their frequent use of active and personable WOMEN as protagonists.

   JC

   See also: CANADA; ESP; LINGUISTICS.