CARR, John F(rancis)

(1944-)

   US writer who began publishing sf with The Ophidian Conspiracy (1976), an unpretentious SPACE OPERA which demonstrated considerable imagination but a stylistic gaucheness; both characteristics mark his subsequent novels, The Pain Gain (1977) and Carnifax Mardi Gras (1982 Fantasy Book as "Dance of the Dwarfs"; exp 1982), though the latter shows a saving exuberance. Memorial work on H. Beam PIPER resulted in his editing The Worlds of H. Beam Piper (coll 1983) and writing a continuation in novel form of Piper's Paratime Police/Lord Kalvan sequence, Great King's War * (1985) with Roland J. GREEN.From the beginning of the 1980s, most frequently in association with Jerry POURNELLE, JFC has been most active as an editor. With Pournelle, he edited (not always with title-page credit) Black Holes (anth 1978); the Endless Frontier sequence, comprising The Endless Frontier (anth 1979), Volume 2 (anth 1985) and Cities in Space (anth 1991); The Survival of Freedom (anth 1981); the There Will Be War sequence of military ANTHOLOGIES, comprising There Will Be War (anth 1983), Vol II: Men of War (anth 1984), Vol III: Blood and Iron (anth 1984), Vol IV: Day of the Tyrant (anth 1985), Vol V: Warrior (anth 1986), Vol VI: Guns of Darkness (anth 1987), Vol VII: Call to Battle (anth 1988), Vol VIII: Armageddon! (anth 1989) and Vol IX: After Armageddon (anth 1990); The Science Fiction Yearbook (anth 1985) with Jim BAEN and Pournelle; the Far Frontiers original anthology series, with Baen and Pournelle (JFC uncredited), comprising Far Frontiers (anth 1985), \#2 (anth 1985), \#3 (anth 1985), \#4 (anth 1986), \#5 (anth 1986), \#6 (anth 1986) and \#7 (anth 1986); and the Imperial Stars reprint anthologies, Imperial Stars, Vol 1: The Stars at War (anth 1986), Vol 2: Republic and Empire (anth 1987) and Vol 3: the Crash of Empire (anth 1989).Also with Pournelle, JFC created and edited the War World sequence of SHARED-WORLD anthologies: War World, Volume 1: The Burning Eye * (anth 1988) with Roland J. Green, Volume 2: Death's Head Rebellion * (anth 1990) with Green, and Volume 3: Sauron Dominion * (anth 1991); Codominium: Revolt on War World * (anth 1992) is set prior to the main sequence. These volumes, which carry Pournelle's CoDominium sequence into broader waters, have proved one of the more effective examples of a shared-world enterprise. As editor of the SFWA BULLETIN (1978-80), JFC devoted an entire issue (vol 14, \#3) to a series of studies of "Science-Fiction Future Histories".

   JC

   See also: HISTORY IN SF; WAR.