MANN, (Anthony) Phillip

(1942-)

   UK-born writer resident in NEW ZEALAND from 1969. His career as a theatre director, translation copy-polisher, drama teacher and university Reader in Drama brings to his writing a strong visual and structural sense. His first sf publication, The Eye of the Queen (1982 UK), is an accomplished novel of First Contact between humans and theenigmatic Pe-Ellians. The Gardener diptych - Master of Paxwax (1986 UK) and The Fall of the Families (1987 UK) - describes a warring human society and the downfall of its hegemony over various planets. In Pioneers (1988 UK), his best novel to date, genetically engineered explorers come toterms with being human. Wulfsyarn: A Mosaic (1990 UK) is a character study of a failed starship captain, Wilberfoss, narrated by an autoscribe; and the Land Fit for Heroes sequence - comprising to date Escape to the Wild Wood (1993 UK) and Stand Alone Stan (1994 UK) - is set in an ALTERNATEWORLD version of a 20th century Britain still ruled by the Romans. PM has written 3 fantasy plays for children as well as short stories and a humorous sf RADIO play, "The Gospel According to Mickey Mouse" (broadcast 1990). He consciously uses his skill at portraying ALIEN species andenvironments to display human vanity and hubris without being didactic and with an underlying respect for life.

   MMacL

   See also: SOCIOLOGY.