Misplaced Pages

Barrington J. Bayley (9 April 1937 – 14 October 2008) was an English science fiction writer.

Biography

Bayley was born in Birmingham, England, and educated in Newport, Shropshire. He worked a number of jobs before joining the Royal Air Force during 1955; his first published story, "Combat's End", had been printed the year before in Vargo Statten Magazine.

During the late 1950s, Bayley became friends and a frequent collaborator with Michael Moorcock on features, comics and short stories, chiefly for Fleetway Publications where he was also a regular writer of text stories, such as "The Astounding Jason Hyde" (reprinted by Rebellion Developments in 2022). He later wrote sf stories for New Worlds magazine and Moorcock, who described himself as "the dumb one in the partnership". He, Moorcock and J.G.Ballard met regularly and their discussions and theories led to the development of science fiction's New Wave. His short stories featured regularly in New Worlds and then later in various New Worlds paperback anthologies. His first book, The Star Virus, was followed by more than a dozen other novels; his downbeat, gloomy themes have been cited as influential on the likes of M. John Harrison, William S. Burroughs, Brian Stableford, Bruce Sterling, Iain Banks and Alastair Reynolds.

Bayley, who came to live at Donnington, Telford, died of complications from bowel cancer on 14 October 2008. During 2001, he had written an outline for a sequel to Eye of Terror, provisionally titled An Age of Adventure. The novel was unreleased at the time of his death but rumours and listings of copies have circulated, including claims of a 2002 release date and a page count of 288. The book still makes appearances in lists of his works, including the bibliography in the ebooks of Bayley's works released by the Gollancz SF Gateway. His literary estate is managed by Michael Moorcock.

Works

Bayley used the pseudonyms S. Barrington Bayley, P.F Woods, J. Barrington Bayley, Alan Aumbry, Michael Barrington, Simon Barclay, and John Diamond.

Novels

Collections

Short stories

• "Combat's End" (aka "Cosmic Combatants") (1954)
• "Cold Death" (1955)
• "Last Post" (1955)
• "Kindly Travellers" (1955)
• "The Bargain" (1955)
• "Martyrs Appointed" (1955)
• "Fugitive" (1956)
• "The Reluctant Death" (1956)
• "Consolidation" (1959)
• "Peace on Earth" (with Michael Moorcock) (1959)
• "The Tank" (1961)
• "The Radius Riders" (1962)
• "Double Time" (1962)
• "The Big Sound" (1962)
• "The Ship That Sailed the Ocean of Space" (aka "Fishing Trip") (1962)
• "Solo Flight" (1963)
• "Flux" (with Michael Moorcock) (1963)
• "Natural Defence" (1963)
• "Return Visit" (1963)
• "Farewell, Dear Brother" (1964)
• "The Countenance" (1964)
• "Integrity" (1964)
• "The Star Virus" (1964)
• "The Patch" (1964)
• "All the King's Men" (1965)
• "The Ship of Disaster" (1965)
• "Reactionary" (1965)
• "Catspaw" (1965)
• "A Taste of the Afterlife" (with Charles Platt) (1966)
• "Aid to Nothing" (1967)
• "The Four-Color Problem" (1971)
• "Exit From City 5" (1971)
• "Man in Transit" (1972)
• "The Exploration of Space" (1972)
• "The Seed of Evil" (1973)
• "Mutation Planet" (1973)
• "An Overload" (1973)
• "Me and My Antronoscope" (1973)
• "Maladjustment" (1974)
• "The Bees of Knowledge" (1975)
• "The Cabinet of Oliver Naylor" (1976)
• "The Problem of Morley's Emission" (1978)
• "Rome Vindicated" (1978)
• "Sporting with the Chid" (1979)
• "Life Trap" (1979)
• "Perfect Love" (1979)
• "The Infinite Searchlight" (1979)
• "Wizard Wazo's Revenge" (1979)
• "The God Gun" (1979)
• "The Forever Racket" (1980)
• "The Ur-Plant" (1983)
• "Escapist Literature" (1985)
• "When They Asked Him What Happens" (1988)
• "Death Ship" (1989)
• "Cling to the Curvature!" (1989)
• "Tommy Atkins" (1989)
• "The Death of Arlett" (1989)
• "The Phobeya" (with Sean Bayley) (1990)
• "Galimatias" (1990)
• "Culture Shock" (1990)
• "Light" (1991)
• "The Remembrance" (1991)
• "Don't Leave Me" (1992)
• "Doctor Pinter in the Mythology Isles" (1992)
• "Why Live? Dream!" (1992)
• "Quiddity Wars" (1992)
• "Teatray in the Sky" (1992)
• "This Way into the Wendy House" (1993)
• "Love in Backspace" (1994)
• "Gnostic Endings: Flight to the Hypercosmos" (1994)
• "On the Ledge" (1994)
• "Get Out of Here" (1995)
• "Duel Among the Wine Green Suns" (with Michael Moorcock) (1995)
• "The Island of Dr. Romeau" (1995)
• "A Crab Must Try" (1996)
• "The Crear" (1996)
• "Children of the Emperor" (Warhammer 40K) (1998)
• "The Lives of Ferag Lion-Wolf" (Warhammer 40K) (1999)
• "The Sky Tower" (2000)
• "Battle of the Archeosaurs" (Warhammer 40K) (2000)
• "Planet of the Stercorasaurs" (2000)
• "Hive Fleet Horror" (Warhammer 40K) (2000)
• "The Worms of Hess" (2000)
• "The Revolt of the Mobiles" (2000)
• "It Was a Lover and His Lass" (2001)
• "Domie" (2001)
• "The Multiplex Fixative" (2003)
• "Party Smart Card" (2006)
• "Formic Gender Disorder" (2008)

References

1. ^ "About Barrington J Bayley". Fantastic Fiction. FantasticFiction. 12 October 2008. Archived from the original on 5 October 2008. Retrieved 16 October 2008.
2. Lindroos, Juha (July 1998). "Barrington Bayley: Zen Master of Modern Space Opera". Astounding Worlds of Barrington Bayley. Archived from the original on 19 October 2008. Retrieved 16 October 2008.
3. Moorcock, Michael (31 January 2002). "Fantastic Metropolis » The Bayley-Moorcock Letters". Archived from the original on 30 June 2007. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
4. ^ "Obituary: Barrington J. Bayley". Locus Online. Locus Publications. 15 October 2008. Archived from the original on 19 October 2008. Retrieved 16 October 2008.
5. Clute, John (1993). "Bayley, Barrington J.". In Clute, John; Nicholls, Peter (eds.). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (2nd ed.). St. Martin's Press.
6. "Sporting with the Chid". Teahouse on the Tracks. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
7. ^ Dickins, Gordon (1980). A Literary Guide To Shropshire. Shropshire Libraries, Shrewsbury. pp. 25, 29. ISBN 0-903802-13-9.
8. "Barrington J. Bayley: 'An Age of Adventure'". Astounding Worlds of Barrington J. Bayley. Retrieved 2 February 2013.

External links

• Barrington J. Bayley at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Astounding World of Barrington J. Bayley Fan Site
• Annihilation Factotum Overview by Rhys Hughes
• Three Stories by Barrington Bayley - The Infinite Searchlight, The God Gun and Mutation Planet hosted online with the author's permission
• Barrington J. Bayley at Library of Congress, with 5 library catalogue records

• 1937 births
• 2008 deaths
• 20th-century English novelists
• 20th-century English male writers
• 21st-century English novelists
• 21st-century English male writers
• English male novelists
• Deaths from colorectal cancer in England
• English science fiction writers
• People educated at Adams' Grammar School
• Writers from Birmingham, West Midlands