MILLER, P(eter) Schuyler

(1912-1974)

   US writer and critic; an MSc in chemistry, he did research for a time and for most of his career worked as a technical writer. He remains best known in the sf world for his book reviews in ASTOUNDING SCIENCE-FICTION, which first appeared in 1945 and became a regular monthlyfeature in Oct 1951, continuing until his death. He was not a particularly demanding critic, but his judgements were generally shrewd, his enthusiasm never waned, and his column's coverage was remarkably comprehensive. Largely as a by-product, he accumulated one of the largest private sfCOLLECTIONS; the annotated Catalogue of the Fantasy and Science Fiction Library of the Late P. Schuyler Miller (1977) was a useful bibliographical aid. In 1963 he was presented with a special HUGO for his reviewing.However, he began as an author of fiction, being one of the more popular and accomplished sf pulp writers of the 1930s; his first story was "The Red Plague" for Wonder Stories in 1930. He collaborated with PaulMcDermott and Walter Dennis on two connected stories, "Red Spot on Jupiter" (1931) and "Duel on the Asteroid" (1932), the first under the pseudonym Dennis McDermott, the second as by PSM and Dennis McDermott. Alicia in Blunderland (1933 Science Fiction Digest as by Nihil; coll oflinked stories 1983) presents a sequence of spoof tales with RECURSIVE-SF elements, several figures from early FANDOM being represented. Later stories of note included a TIME-PARADOX variant, "As Never Was" (1944), and "The Titan" (1934-5), a story whose (mild) sexual content made it unacceptable to the pulp magazines; MARVEL TALES, which published it, ceased publication before the last instalment, and the story was not printed entire until The Titan (coll 1952), which assembles most of PSM's better fiction. He also collaborated with L. Sprague DE CAMP on Genus Homo (1941 Super Science Stories; rev 1950), a novel set in the FAR FUTURE andfilled with satirical evolutionary marvels, for apes have taken over.

   MJE

   About the author: A Canticle for P. Schuyler Miller (1975 chap) by Sam MOSKOWITZ.

   See also: ALIENS; EVOLUTION; INVASION; MARS.