NEWMAN, Bernard

(1897-1968)

   UK writer, mostly of espionage thrillers (some as by Don Betteridge) and detective mysteries, the two genres being perhaps most successfully combined in Maginot Line Murder (1939). The entertainment value of his sf is somewhat minimal, as he used the form primarily to provide platforms for his arguments about WAR, WEAPONS and the political nature of peace. In Armoured Doves (1931) SCIENTISTS combine to end war, as does the hero of Secret Weapon (1941), whose invention of an atomic bomb ends WWII; later, in The Flying Saucer (1948), the same scientist continues his peace campaign by creating an imaginary Martian threat against the world. BN, who appears as himself in this book, acknowledged that its source was Andre MAUROIS's Le Chapitre Suivant (1927 chap; trans as The Next Chapter 1928 chap UK). Further novels combining politics and future-war themes include Shoot! (1949), The Blue Ants: The First Authentic Account of the Russian-Chinese War of 1970 (1962) and Draw theDragon's Teeth (1967). The Wishful Think (1954) is a borderline-sf story about politicized ESP.

   JC

   Other works: The Cavalry Went Through (1930); Hosanna (1933); The Boy who Could Fly (1967).