John Russell Fearn (5 June 1908 — 18 September 1960) was a British writer, one of the first to appear in American pulp science fiction magazines. A prolific author, he published his novels also as Vargo Statten and with various pseudonyms including Thornton Ayre, Polton Cross, Geoffrey Armstrong, John Cotton, Dennis Clive, Ephriam Winiki, Astron Del Martia.
Career
Fearn was a prolific writer who wrote Westerns and crime fiction as well as science fiction. His writing appeared under numerous pseudonyms. He wrote series such as Adam Quirke, Clayton Drew, Golden Amazon, and Herbert. At times these drew on the pulp traditions of Edgar Rice Burroughs. His work received praise for its vividness, but criticism, being deemed "unpolished", with Arthur C. Clarke commenting in 1939 that "we must admire the magnificent, if undisciplined, fertility of his mind".
Personal life
Child of a cotton salesman and a secretary, Fearn worked initially for his father's firm, followed by work as a solicitor's clerk, fairground assistant, at a munitions factory, and as a cinema projectionist. He married writer Camilla Fegan in 1957. As well as writing he was involved in writing/acting in local plays and active in writers' groups. In 1938, he told Amazing Stories that he "likes broiling sunlight and heated rooms [and] smokes incessantly while he writes". During the Second World War, Fearn was chief projectionist at the Empire Cinema in Blackpool.
Bibliography
As himself
The Intelligence Gigantic (1933 Amazing Stories; 1943) Liners of Time (1935 Amazing Stories; 1947) and its sequel "Zagribud" (1937 Amazing Stories; cut variant title Science Metropolis as by Vargo Statten 1952) He Never Slept (1934 Astounding Stories; 1934) Nebula X (1946 as "The Multillionth Chance"; revised 1950) The Sun Makers (1937 as "Metamorphosis"; revised 1950) The Avenging Martian (1938 as "Red Heritage"; revised 1950) The Renegade Star (1938 as "The Blue Infinity"; revised 1951) The Inner Cosmos (1937 as "Worlds Within"; revised 1952) To the Ultimate (1936 as "Mathematica"; revised 1952) The Dust Destroyer (1934 as "The Man who Stopped the Dust"; revised 1953) The Arbiter (1947) The Gold of Akada (1951) Anjani the Mighty (1951) The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954 as by Vargo Statten) novelisation of 1954 film Slaves of Ijax (1947 chap) From Afar (1982 chap) No Grave Need I (1984 chap) The Slitherers (1984 chap)
Golden Amazon
The Golden Amazon (1939) The Amazon Fights Again (1940) The Golden Amazon Returns (1945; 1949 variant title The Deathless Amazon 1953 Canada)The Golden Amazon's Triumph (1946; 1953)The Amazon's Diamond Quest (1947 as "Diamond Quest"; 1953)Twin of the Amazon (1948; 1954)The Amazon Strikes Again (1948; 1954)Conquest of the Amazon (1949; 1973 chap)Lord of Atlantis (1949; 1991)Triangle of Power (1950)Amethyst City (1951)Daughter of Golden Amazon (1952)Quorne Returns (1952)The Central Intelligence (1953)The Cosmic Crusaders (1955)Parasite Planet (1955)World Out of Step (1956)The Shadow People (1957)Kingpin Planet (1957)World in Reverse (1958)Dwellers in Darkness (1958)World in Duplicate (1959)Lord of CreationDuel with ColossusStandstill Planet (1960)Ghost World (1961)Earth Divided (1961)Chameleon Planet (with Philip Harbottle)
Mars Quartet (Clayton Drew)Emperor of Mars (1950)Warrior of Mars (1950)Red Men of Mars (1950)Goddess of Mars (1950)