(1914-1989) UK writer who began his activities in the sf world before World War Two as an active fan, a member of the British Interplanetary Society and editor of its Bulletin, and housemate of Arthur C Clarke. He published a horror story, "The Kosso" in Thrills (anth 1935) edited anonymously by Charles Birkin (1907-1986); his first sf story was "Lunar Lilliput", for Tales of Wonder, Spring 1938. War service interrupted his career for more than half a decade. His first and best-known novel, Four-Sided Triangle (November 1939 Amazing; exp 1949), is a love story in which a girl who is loved by two men is duplicated by the one she has refused, but unfortunately both clones are attracted to the same man; it was filmed as Four-Sided Triangle from a script cowritten by Paul Tabori. Temple then became active in the magazines for about a decade, continuing to produce at a moderate rate until about 1970, though it cannot be suggested that he built his post-World War Two career with anything like the energy of more famous colleagues like Clarke or John Wyndham, nor during this period were his book-length fictions remarkably distinguished. The Martin Magnus series of sf juveniles – Martin Magnus, Planet Rover (1954), Martin Magnus on Venus (1955) and Martin Magnus on Mars (1956) – was followed by some undistinguished sf adventures: The Automated Goliath (fixup 1962 dos), The Three Suns of Amara (July 1961 Science Fiction Adventures UK as "A Trek to Na-Abiza"; exp 1962 chap dos) and Battle on Venus (January 1953 Authentic as "Immortal's Playthings"; vt "Field of Battle" February 1953 Other Worlds; rev 1963 dos). His last two novels, however, are far more impressive. Shoot at the Moon (1966), which Parodies many of the more routine sf conventions concerning trips to the Moon and the gallery of characters usually involved, is a Ship-of-Fools extravaganza of some hilarity. The Fleshpots of Sansato (1968; cut 1970) is a remarkable Space Opera replete with interstellar agents, a corrupt city in the stars, and much symbolism. [JC]
Other works: The Dangerous Edge (1951), a crime novel; The True Book about Space Travel (1954; vt The Prentice-Hall Book about Space Travel 1955).
see also: Clones.
William Frederick Temple
born 1914
died 1989
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