Dalmas, John

Entry updated 12 September 2022. Tagged: Author.

Pseudonym for all his fiction of US author John Robert Jones (1926-2017), whose first career was as a research ecologist for the US Forest Service, in which connection he published at least 20 pieces on ecology and high elevation forests. He began publishing work of genre interest with The Yngling (October-November 1969 Analog; fixup 1971; rev 1984), which, with its prequel, Homecoming (1984) – both assembled as The Orc Wars (omni 1992) – depicts a barbarian future whose history echoes that of the eponymous Norse kings of legend; eventually the hero of the saga leads his neo-Vikings south from the encroaching ice, though their ideal community is soon under threat; The Yngling and the Circle of Power (1992), a prequel, and The Yngling in Yamato (1994), conclude the project. In the Fanglith series – Fanglith (1985) and Return to Fanglith (1987) – the planet to which criminals are exiled turns out to be Earth; much of Dalmas's work similarly transforms Space-Opera venues into arenas where ironies (or the gods) have free play. In both The Reality Matrix (1986) and, with Rod Martin (1928-    ), The Playmasters (1986) this drift of implication becomes explicit. Touch the Stars: Emergence (1983) with Carl Martin [whom see for details; apparently Rod Martin's son] has a sequel by Martin alone published in 2014.

The Regiment sequence – whose central volumes are The Regiment (1987), The White Regiment (1990) and The Regiment's War (1993), all three being assembled as The Regiment (omni 2004) – focuses on a group of mercenaries from a military planet sent off to fight until they all die: as often in his work, they are players in others' games. The General's President (1988) interestingly assumes that a US civilian puppet-leader might convincingly fox his military backers. Much of Dalmas's later work – such as The Lizard War sequence, comprising The Lizard War (1989) and The Helverti Invasion (2003), about an Alien invasion – could be described as Military SF, featuring protagonists who are more often grunts than unconventional officers. On the other hand, The Second Coming (2004), one of his thematically varied singletons, portrays the Second Coming of God, who is incarnated this time round as a Black Canadian Cybernetics engineer. Though his work tended to veer teasingly close to the routine, Dalmas remained too various and lively to dismiss. [JC]

John Robert Jones

born Chicago, Illinois: 3 December 1926

died Ohio: 15 June 2017

works

series

Yngling/Nils Järnhand

• The Yngling (New York: Pyramid Books, 1971) [Yngling/Nils Järnhand: pb/Jeff Jones]
  • The Yngling (New York: Tor, 1984) [rev of the above: Yngling/Nils Järnhand: pb/James Gurney]
• Homecoming (New York: Tor, 1984) [Yngling/Nils Järnhand: pb/James Gurney]
  • The Orc Wars: The Yngling Saga, Books I & II (New York: Baen Books, 1992) [omni of the above two plus additional material: Yngling/Nils Järnhand: pb/Kelly Freas]
• The Yngling and the Circle of Power (New York: Baen Books, 1992) [Yngling/Nils Järnhand: pb/Darrell Sweet]
• The Yngling in Yamoto (New York: Baen Books, 1994) [Yngling/Nils Järnhand: pb/David Miller]

Fanglith

• Fanglith (New York: Baen Books, 1985) [Fanglith: pb/Kevin Johnson]
• Return to Fanglith (New York: Baen Books, 1987) [Fanglith: pb/David Mattingly]

The Regiment

• The Regiment (New York: Baen Books, 1987) [The Regiment: pb/David Mattingly]
• The White Regiment (New York: Baen Books, 1990) [The Regiment: pb/David Mattingly]
• The Kalif's War (New York: Baen Books, 1991) [The Regiment: pb/David Mattingly]
• The Regiment's War (New York: Baen Books, 1993) [The Regiment: pb/C W Kelly]
  • The Regiment (New York: Baen Books, 2004) [omni of the above plus The Regiment and The White Regiment: The Regiment: hb/Gary Ruddell]
• The Three-Cornered War (New York: Baen Books, 1998) [The Regiment: pb/David Mattingly]

The Lizard War

• The Lizard War (New York: Baen Books, 1989) [The Lizard War: pb/David Mattingly]
• The Helverti Invasion (New York: Baen Books, 2003) [The Lizard War: pb/Bob Eggleton]

Lion of Farside

• The Lion of Farside (New York: Baen Books, 1995) [The Lion of Farside: pb/Paul Alexander]
• The Bavarian Gate (New York: Baen Books, 1996) [The Lion of Farside: pb/Paul Alexander]
• The Lion Returns (New York: Baen Books, 1999) [The Lion of Farside: pb/Larry Elmore]

individual titles

• The Varkaus Conspiracy (New York: Tor, 1983) [pb/Artifact]
• Touch the Stars: Emergence (New York: Tor, 1983) with Carl Martin [Touch the Stars: pb/Vincent Di Fate]
• The Scroll of Man (New York: Tor, 1985) [pb/Ramos]
• The Walkaway Clause (New York: Tor, 1986) [pb/Tom Kidd]
• The Reality Matrix (New York: Baen Books, 1986) [pb/David Mattingly]
• The Playmasters (New York: Baen Books, 1986) with Rod Martin (1928-    ) [pb/Stephen Hickman]
• The General's President (New York: Baen Books, 1988) [pb/Alan Gutierrez]
• The Lantern of God (New York: Baen Books, 1989) [pb/Larry Elmore]
• Soldiers (New York: Baen Books, 2001) [pb/David Mattingly]
• The Second Coming (New York: Baen Books, 2004) [pb/Larry Elmore]

collections

• The Puppet Master (New York: Baen Books, 2001) [coll: comprising title novel plus two stories: pb/Gary Ruddell]
• Otherwhens, Otherwheres: Favorite Tales (no place given: Silver Dragon Books, 2002) [coll: pb/Brian Vigue]

links

• Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Picture Gallery

previous versions of this entry

• Internet Archive