RUSSO, Richard Paul

(1954-)

   US writer who began publishing sf with "Firebird Suite" for AMZ in 1981. His first novel, Inner Eclipse (1988), is a strongly atmospheric tale, illuminated by striking visual images, which describes a search for ALIEN intelligence on a jungle world whose major industry is the export ofan extremely dangerous recreational drug. The protagonist, an empath who wants to abandon humanity (to whose violence and hypocrisy his talent bares him) in favour of the aliens, in the end achieves an ambiguous redemption. Subterranean Gallery (1989), which won the 1990 PHILIP K. DICK AWARD, is set in a city full of dropouts and underground artists in aNEAR FUTURE USA filled with analogues of and references to the present (abortion has been banned; the country is fighting a Vietnam-style war in Central America; police fly "dragoncubs" which resemble helicopters and use "stunclubs" rather than nightsticks) and tells a convincing and richly characterized story of a man's search for meaning in creativity. At his best, RPR is a major exponent of "Humanist sf", a writer who uses relatively conventional settings as a backdrop against which to portray the failures and triumphs of solid, believable people.RPR should not be confused with Richard (Anthony) Russo (1946-), editor of Dreams are Wiser than Men (anth 1987).

   NT

   Other works: Destroying Angel (1992), a near-future fantasy.