Hoskins, Robert
Entry updated 12 September 2022. Tagged: Author, Editor.
(1933-1993) US editor and author who began publishing sf with "Feet of Clay" for If in February 1958 as by Phillip Hoskins. He worked as a literary agent 1967-1968, and served as senior editor with Lancer Books 1969-1972, where he published the Infinity anthology sequence [see Checklist; see also Infinity] for which he was perhaps best known. Several other anthologies also appeared before he published his first novel, Evil in the Family (1972) as by Grace Corren, which is a Time-Travel fantasy. The Shattered People (1975) is Far-Future sf, pitting a primitive culture against a technological civilization which has been exploiting it. The Stars sequence – Master of the Stars (1976), To Control the Stars (1977) and To Escape the Stars (1978) – is based loosely on an earlier story, "The Problem Makers" (August 1963 Galaxy), and describes a cluster of galactic civilizations connected by a system of ancient Stargates over a period of aeons. Legacy of the Stars (1979; 1981 under his own name) as by John Gregory is an sf adventure unconnected to the sequence. Hoskins's books made no claims to be anything more than entertaining action adventures. [PN/JC]
Robert Philip Hoskins
born Lyons Falls, New York: 26 May 1933
died near Albany, New York: 1 June 1993
works
series
Stars
- Master of the Stars (Toronto, Ontario: Laser Books, 1976) [Stars: pb/Kelly Freas]
- To Control the Stars (New York: Ballantine Books/Del Rey, 1977) [Stars: pb/Dean Ellis]
- To Escape the Stars (New York: Ballantine Books/Del Rey, 1978) [Stars: pb/Dean Ellis]
individual titles
- Evil in the Family (New York: Lancer Books, 1972) as by Grace Corren [pb/John Duillo]
- The Shattered People (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1975) [hb/Ladislav Svatos]
- Tomorrow's Son (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1977) [hb/Richard Mantel]
- The Island of Doctor Moreau (New York: Scholastic Book Services, 1978) as by Michael Kerr with H G Wells [tie to the original novel: pb/]
- Jack-in-the-Box Planet (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Westminster Press, 1978) [hb/Dorothy Alden Smith]
- The Attic Child (Los Angeles, California: Pinnacle Books, 1979) as by Grace Corren [pb/]
- Legacy of the Stars (New York: Leisure Books, 1979) as by John Gregory [pb/Attila Hejja]
- Legacy of the Stars (London: Robert Hale, 1981) as Robert Hoskins [reissue of the above under his own name: hb/]
- The Night Runner: The Gemini Run (New York: Charter Books, 1979) as by Michael Kerr [pb/]
works as editor
series
Infinity
- Infinity One: A Magazine of Speculative Fiction in Book Form (New York: Lancer Books, 1970) [anth: Infinity: pb/Jim Steranko]
- Infinity Two (New York: Lancer Books, 1971) [anth: Infinity: pb/Jim Steranko]
- Infinity Three (New York: Lancer Books, 1972) [anth: Infinity: pb/Jim Steranko]
- Infinity Four (New York: Lancer Books, 1972) [anth: Infinity: pb/]
- Infinity Five (New York: Lancer Books, 1973) [anth: Infinity: pb/]
Wondermakers
- Wondermakers: An Anthology of Classic Science Fiction (Greenwich, Connecticut: Fawcett Premier, 1973) [anth: Wondermakers: pb/]
- Wondermakers 2 (Greenwich, Connecticut: Fawcett Premier, 1974) [anth: Wondermakers: pb/FMA]
individual titles
- First Step Outward (New York: Dell Books, 1969) [anth: pb/John Berkey]
- The Stars Around Us: A Science Fiction Anthology (New York: New American Library/Signet Books, 1970) [anth: pb/Gene Szafran]
- Swords against Tomorrow (New York: New American Library/Signet Books, 1970) [anth: pb/Gene Szafran]
- The Far-Out People: A Science Fiction Anthology (New York: New American Library/Signet Books, 1971) [anth: pb/Gene Szafran]
- Tomorrow I: A Science Fiction Anthology (New York: New American Library/Signet Books, 1971) [anth: pb/David McCall Johnston]
- Strange Tomorrows (New York: Lancer Books, 1972) [anth: pb/Ron Walotsky]
- The Edge of Never: Classic and Contemporary Tales of the Supernatural (Greenwich, Connecticut: Fawcett Premier, 1973) [anth: pb/Larry Kresek]
- The Liberated Future (Greenwich, Connecticut: Fawcett Crest, 1974) [anth: pb/Oscar Liebman]
- The Future Now: Saving Tomorrow (Greenwich, Connecticut: Fawcett Crest, 1977) [anth: pb/Richard Powers]
- Against Tomorrow (Greenwich, Connecticut: Fawcett Crest, 1979) [anth: pb/]
links
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