Burke, Jonathan
Entry updated 10 July 2023. Tagged: Fan.
Working name for most of his sf of UK author John Burke (1922-2011), who wrote sf and fantasy under his own name (much of his short sf is so signed) as well as J F Burke and Robert Miall, and who used various other pseudonyms for non-fantastic work. He was active in Fandom in the 1930s (see The Fantast; The Futurian; The Satellite), only beginning to publish sf proper with "Chessboard" for New Worlds in January 1953. Prior to this he had made an early sale to Tales of Wonder with "Before the Flood", though the magazine ceased in 1942 before this could be published; his actual professional debut was the horror tale "The Lost Child" (1952 Magpie). Burke's first novel, Swift Summer (1949) as by J F Burke is a marginal fantasy of some slight interest, as is The Outward Walls (1951). His sf novels, which tend to the routine, do deal competently enough with a variety of themes, from Parallel Worlds in The Echoing Worlds (1954) to Evolution in Twilight of Reason (1954), though without excessive energy; Deep Freeze (1955) faces an all-female world with the return of the male (see Women in SF); the protagonist of Pursuit through Time: A Modern Novel of Science and Imagination (1956) attempts to prevent a worldwide dictatorship through Time Travel into the past, where he hopes to prevent the tyrant's birth. Burke also wrote Ties as by Robert Miall, notably of Moon Zero Two (1969) and the 1970s television series UFO [see Checklist below]. In later years, almost always as John Burke, he edited Horror anthologies, novelized film and television productions, and continued to write supernatural fiction, much of which was assembled in We've Been Waiting For You and Other Tales of Unease (coll 2002). [JC/DRL]
John Frederick Burke
born Rye, Sussex: 8 March 1922
died Kirkcudbright, Scotland: 20 September 2011
works
series
Hammer Horror
- The Hammer Horror Omnibus (London: Pan Books, 1966) as John Burke [coll: tie: stories from films: Hammer Horror: pb/McGinn]
- The Second Hammer Horror Film Omnibus (London: Pan Books, 1967) as John Burke [coll: tie: stories from films: Hammer Horror: pb/]
UFO
- UFO (London: Pan Books, 1970) as Robert Miall [tie: novelizing the television series UFO: UFO: pb/]
- UFO-1: Flesh Hunters (New York: Warner Books, 1973) as by Robert Miall [tie: vt of the above: novelizing the television series UFO: UFO: pb/]
- UFO 2 (London: Pan Books, 1971) as by Robert Miall [tie: novelizing the television series UFO: UFO: pb/]
- UFO-2: Sporting Blood (New York: Warner Books, 1973) as Robert Miall [tie: vt of the above: novelizing the television series UFO: UFO: pb/]
Dr Caspian, Psychic Investigator
- The Devil's Footsteps (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1976) [Dr Caspian, Psychic Investigator: hb/James Campus]
- The Black Charade: A Dr Caspian Story (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1977) as John Burke [Dr Caspian, Psychic Investigator: hb/Grant Bradford]
- Ladygrove: The Third Adventure of Dr Caspian and Bronwen (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1978) as John Burke [Dr Caspian, Psychic Investigator: hb/]
individual titles
- Swift Summer (London: Werner Laurie, 1949) as J F Burke [hb/]
- The Outward Walls (London: Werner Laurie, 1951) as J F Burke [hb/]
- The Dark Gateway (London: Hamilton and Co (Stafford) Ltd/Panther Books, 1953) [hb/John Richards]
- The Echoing Worlds (London: Hamilton and Co (Stafford) Ltd/Panther Books, 1954) [hb/John Richards]
- Twilight of Reason (London: Hamilton and Co (Stafford) Ltd/Panther Books, 1954) [hb/John Richards]
- Hotel Cosmos (Hamilton and Co (Stafford) Ltd/Panther Books, 1954) [hb/John Richards]
- Pattern of Shadows (London: Museum Press, 1954) [hb/]
- Deep Freeze (London: Hamilton and Co (Stafford) Ltd/Panther Books, 1955) [hb/Ron Turner]
- Revolt of the Humans (London: Hamilton and Co (Stafford) Ltd/Panther Books, 1954) [hb/John Richards]
- Pursuit through Time: A Modern Novel of Science and Imagination (London: Ward, Lock and Co, 1956) [in the publisher's Modern Novels of Science and Imagination series: hb/Ron Turner]
- Privilege (London: Pan Books, 1967) [tie: novelizing the film Privilege: pb/]
- Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Story of the Film (London: Pan Books, 1968) as John Burke [tie: novelizing the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) (see Ian Fleming): pb/]
- Moon Zero Two (London: Pan Books, 1969) as John Burke [tie: novelizing the film Moon Zero Two (1969): pb/]
- Expo 80 (London: Cassell, 1972) as John Burke [hb/]
- The Nightmare Whisperers (Rockville, Maryland: Wildside Press, 2012) as by John Burke [pb/]
collections
- Alien Landscapes: Science Fiction Stories (Museum Press, 1955) [coll: pb/]
- Exodus from Elysium (Sydney, New South Wales: Horwitz Books, 1965) [coll: pb/]
- Dr Terror's House of Horrors (London: Pan Books, 1965) as John Burke [coll: tie: novelizing the film: pb/]
- We've Been Waiting for You and Other Tales of Unease (Ashcroft, British Columbia: Ash-Tree Press, 2002) as John Burke [coll: hb/Jason Van Hollander]
- The Old Man of the Stars (Rockville, Maryland: Wildside Press, 2011) as by John Burke [coll: pb/]
nonfiction
- The Sorcerers (Hornsea, East Yorkshire: PS Publishing, 2013) as John Burke [nonfiction: relating to the film The Sorcerers including the full original script: edited by Johnny Mains: hb/photographic]
works as editor
- Tales of Unease (London: Pan Books, 1966) as John Burke [anth: Tales of Unease: pb/]
- More Tales of Unease (London: Pan Books, 1969) as John Burke [anth: Tales of Unease: pb/]
- New Tales of Unease (London: Pan Books, 1976) as John Burke [anth: Tales of Unease: pb/]
links
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