Pseudonym used by UK writer David McIlwain (1921-1981) for his sf; two other pseudonyms, Richard Rayner and Robert Wade, were used for detective thrillers. Maine was one of the relatively few but extremely active UK fans before World War Two, and in 1938 published his first story, "The Mirror", in his Fanzine The Satellite, which he edited with Jonathan Burke. His first novel was Spaceways: A Story of the Very Near Future (1953; vt Spaceways Satellite 1958), based on his own BBC Radio play Spaceways (1952); it was filmed as Spaceways (1953). Also developed from a script, in this case his own screenplay for Timeslip (1955; vt The Atomic Man), is Maine's The Isotope Man (1957), which begins his only series, the Mike Delaney books, the other volumes in which are Subterfuge (1959) and Never Let Up (1964). Like most of his sf, these have a leaning towards thriller-like plots and a disinclination to argue too closely scientific pinnings that are often shaky, as in Escapement (1956; vt The Man Who Couldn't Sleep 1958), a weak Mad Scientist tale involving manipulated dreams which was subsequently filmed as The Electronic Monster (1957; vt The Dream Machine). The looseness of Maine's grasp of science is particularly visible in stories featuring Hard-SF themes like Space Flight, as in High Vacuum (1957). In Calculated Risk (1960) Time Travellers from the future come back to the present in an attempt to prevent a devastating nuclear war which had created a Ruined Earth. Sometimes lightly, sometimes with gravity, Maine's numerous books touch on a variety of sf themes from Rockets to Sociology, but generally without more than fitfully illuminating them; he was determinedly an author of middle-of-the-road Genre SF, and as such was successful. His finest novel is generally thought to be The Mind of Mr Soames (1961), a story of a man who does not reach consciousness until the age of thirty, and of the arguments about how best to educate him. The moral issues are dealt with quite sensitively, without the easy recourse to Paranoia that marks a contemporary title like The Darkest of Nights (1962; vt Survival Margin 1968; rev vt The Big Death 1978). The book was filmed as The Mind of Mr Soames (1969). [JC/PN]

see also: Antigravity; Clones; Disaster; Medicine; Money; Moon.

David McIlwain

born Liverpool, England: 21 January 1921

died London: 30 November 1981

works

series

Mike Delaney

• The Isotope Man (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1957) [tie: novelizing the film Timeslip: Mike Delaney: hb/Martin Kaye]
• Subterfuge (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1959) [Mike Delaney: hb/]
• Never Let Up (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1964) [Mike Delaney: hb/John Woodcock]

individual titles

• Spaceways: A Story of the Very Near Future (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1953) [tie: novelizing the 1952 Radio play: also novelizing the film Spaceways: hb/uncredited]
  • Spaceways Satellite (New York: Avalon Books, 1958) [vt of the above: hb/Ric Binkley]
• Timeliner: A Story of Time and Space (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1955) [hb/Lawrence S Kamp]
• Crisis 2000 (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1955) [hb/nonpictorial]
• Escapement (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1956) [hb/Martin Kaye]
  • The Man Who Couldn't Sleep (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: J B Lippincott, 1958) [vt of the above: hb/Ray Pollack]
• High Vacuum (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1957) [hb/Martin Kaye]
• World without Men (New York: Ace Books, 1958) [pb/Ed Emshwiller]
  • Alph (New York: Ballantine Books, 1972) [rev vt of the above: pb/Brad Holland]
• The Tide Went Out (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1958) [hb/]
  • Thirst! (London: Sphere Books, 1977) [rev vt of the above: pb/]
• Count-Down (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1960) [first published in 1958 in Amazing as "The Big Count-Down": hb/Martin Kaye]
  • Fire Past the Future (New York: Ballantine Books, 1959) [vt of the above: pb/Richard Powers]
• Calculated Risk (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1960) [hb/Martin Kaye]
• He Owned the World (New York: Ballantine Books, 1960) [pb/Richard Powers]
  • The Man Who Owned the World (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1961) [vt of the above: hb/Martin Kaye]
• The Mind of Mr Soames (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1961) [hb/Martin Kaye]
• The Darkest of Nights (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1962) [hb/John Woodcock]
  • Survival Margin (Greenwich, Connecticut: Fawcett Gold Medal, 1968) [vt of the above: pb/]
  • The Big Death (London: Sphere Books, 1978) [rev vt of the above: pb/]
• B.E.A.S.T.: Biological Evolutionary Animal Simulation Test (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1966) [hb/Studio Stead]
• The Random Factor (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1971) [hb/]

links

Previous versions of this entry

• 01/01/2005
• 21/12/2011
• 20/08/2012
• 09/09/2012