Hughes, Denis
Entry updated 9 January 2023. Tagged: Author.
(1917-2008) UK author who published some sf under his own name, but who wrote most of his paperback originals – principally for Curtis Warren – under a variety of pseudonyms. These included Marvin Ashton, Ray Barry, George Sheldon Brown, Dee Carter, John Lane, Grant Malcolm, G R Melde, Russell Rey and William Rogersohn, and the House Names Berl Cameron, Neil Charles, Lee Elliot, Marco Garron and its variant spelling Marco Garon, Gill Hunt, Von Kellar, Brad Kent, Rand Le Page, Van Reed and Arn Romilus. About fifty of his novels were published between 1949 and 1954; a further (very short) title appeared in 1955. He was among the most prolific of those British writers similarly engaged; like John S Glasby and the even more prolific R L Fanthorpe, Hughes made use of a wide range of sf themes with considerable invention, especially on some of his later fantasy stories, which often feature allegorical and/or dream sequences; but the books themselves were slackly written, albeit with some improvement over the years. The Rex Brandon sequence as by Marco Garon (see Macro Garron) comes precariously close to Edgar Rice Burroughs's Tarzan. The general carelessness of Hughes's writing was entirely understandable given the conditions under which he worked: Curtis Warren allowed him only three to four weeks per novel, with no time for second drafts. As his entire sf corpus can in a sense be seen as having been written at one go, titles are given in the Checklist below under the relevant pseudonyms, which are placed in alphabetical order. Irving Heine, author of a single title, was formerly thought to be a Hughes pseudonym but this seems not to be the case.
Hughes was reticent about revealing personal information; relatively little is known of his life. During his period of sweat-shop employment for Curtis Warren he was also writing Westerns [not listed below] under the name Ken Kester for the London publisher Herbert Jenkins, where he was allowed time for longer, better-crafted work that appeared in hardback form. After the collapse of Curtis Warren, Hughes switched to scripting Comics stories for D C Thomson and others from 1954 to 1988, appearing (chiefly with World War Two tales) in Eagle, Hotspur, Bullet, Wizard, Hornet, Victor and Warlord; owing to the demands of this work he ceased to write full-length novels. [JC/DRL/SH]
see also: E R Royce.
Denis Talbot Hughes
born London: 30 November 1917
died Chichester, Sussex: 15 January 2008
works
series
Rex Brandon
This sequence of jungle fantasies was loosely derived from Tarzan.
- Jungle Allies (London: Curtis Warren, 1951) as by Marco Garon [Rex Brandon: pb/]
- Death Warriors (London: Curtis Warren, 1951) as by Marco Garon [Rex Brandon: pb/]
- Black Fury (London: Curtis Warren, 1951) as by Marco Garon [Rex Brandon: pb/]
- White Gold (London: Curtis Warren, 1951) as by Marco Garon [Rex Brandon: pb/]
- Black Sport (London: Curtis Warren, 1951) as by Marco Garon [Rex Brandon: pb/]
- Bush Claws (London: Curtis Warren, 1951) as by Marco Garon [Rex Brandon: pb/]
- Silent River (London: Curtis Warren, 1951) as by Marco Garon [Rex Brandon: pb/]
- Veldt Warriors (London: Curtis Warren, 1951) as by Marco Garon [Rex Brandon: pb/]
- Leopard God (London: Curtis Warren, 1952) as by Marco Garon [Rex Brandon: pb/]
- Snake Valley (London: Curtis Warren, 1952) as by Marco Garon [Rex Brandon: pb/]
- Fire Tribes (London: Curtis Warren, 1952) as by Marco Garon [Rex Brandon: pb/]
- Mountain Gold (London: Curtis Warren, 1952) as by Marco Garron (sic) [Rex Brandon: pb/]
individual titles
Hughes titles are listed first, followed by others in alphabetical order of pseudonyms.
- The Earth Invasion Battalion (London: Curtis Warren, 1950) [pb/George Ratcliffe]
- Murder by Telecopter (London: Curtis Warren, 1950) [pb/George Ratcliffe]
- Formula 695 (London: Curtis Warren, 1950) [pb/Terry Maloney]
- War Lords of Space (London: Curtis Warren, 1950) as by Dennis Hughes [this "pseudonym" is probably a publisher's error: pb/George Ratcliffe]
- Moon War (London: Curtis Warren, 1951) [pb/Ray Theobald]
as by Marvin Ashton
- People of Asa (London: Curtis Warren, 1953) as by Marvin Ashton [Lost Race: pb/Gordon C Davies]
as by Ray Barry
- Death Dimension (London: Curtis Warren, 1952) as by Ray Barry [pb/Ray Theobald]
- Blue Peril (London: Curtis Warren, 1952) as by Ray Barry [pb/Gordon C Davies]
- Gamma Product (London: Curtis Warren, 1952) as by Ray Barry [pb/Gordon C Davies]
- Humanoid Puppets (London: Curtis Warren, 1952) as by Ray Barry [pb/Ray Theobald]
- Ominous Folly (London: Curtis Warren, 1952) as by Ray Barry [pb/Ray Theobald]
as by George Sheldon Brown
- Destination Mars (London: Edwin Self, 1951) as by George Sheldon Brown [pb/Ron Turner]
- The Planetoid Peril (London: Edwin Self, 1951) as by George Sheldon Brown [pb/Terry Maloney]
as by Berl Cameron
- Lost Aeons (London: Curtis Warren, 1953) as by Berl Cameron [a House Name: pb/Gordon C Davies]
as by Dee Carter
- Blue Cordon (London: Curtis Warren, 1952) as by Dee Carter [pb/Ray Theobald]
- Chloroplasm (London: Curtis Warren, 1952) as by Dee Carter [pb/Gordon C Davies]
- Purple Islands (London: Curtis Warren, 1953) as by Dee Carter [pb/Gerald Facey]
as by Neil Charles
Neil Charles was a House Name of Curtis Warren.
- Twenty-Four Hours (London: Curtis Warren, 1952) as by Neil Charles [pb/Gordon C Davies]
- The Land of Esa (London: Curtis Warren, 1953) as by Neil Charles [pb/Ray Theobald]
- Beyond Zoaster (London: Curtis Warren, 1953) as by Neil Charles [pb/Gordon C Davies]
- Pre-Gargantua (London: Curtis Warren, 1953) as by Neil Charles [pb/Gordon C Davies]
- World of Gol (London: Curtis Warren, 1953) as by Neil Charles [pb/Gordon C Davies]
- Research Opta (London: Curtis Warren, 1953) as by Neil Charles [pb/Gordon C Davies]
as by Lee Elliot
- Bio-Muton (London: Curtis Warren, 1952) as by Lee Elliot [a House Name: pb/Gordon C Davies]
as by Marco Garon or Garron
See the Rex Brandon series above.
as by Gill Hunt
Gill Hunt was a House Name of Curtis Warren.
- Elektron Union (London: Curtis Warren, 1951) as by Gill Hunt [pb/Ray Theobald]
- Hostile Worlds (London: Curtis Warren, 1951) as by Gill Hunt [pb/Ray Theobald]
- Planet X (London: Curtis Warren, 1951) as by Gill Hunt [pb/Ray Theobald]
- Space Flight (London: Curtis Warren, 1951) as by Gill Hunt [pb/Ray Theobald]
- Spacial Ray (London: Curtis Warren, 1951) as by Gill Hunt [pb/Ray Theobald]
as by Von Kellar
- Ionic Barrier (London: Curtis Warren, 1953) as by Von Kellar [a House Name: pb/Gordon C Davies]
as by Brad Kent
Brad Kent was a House Name of Curtis Warren.
- Biology "A" (London: Curtis Warren, 1952) as by Brad Kent [pb/Gordon C Davies]
- The Fatal Law (London: Curtis Warren, 1952) as by Brad Kent [pb/Ray Theobald]
- Catalyst (London: Curtis Warren, 1952) as by Brad Kent [pb/Ray Theobald]
as by John Lane
- Maid of Thuro (London: Curtis Warren, 1952) as by John Lane [pb/Ray Theobald]
- Mammalia (London: Curtis Warren, 1953) as by John Lane [pb/Gordon C Davies]
as by Rand Le Page
- Asteroid Forma (London: Curtis Warren, 1953) as by Rand Le Page [a House Name: pb/Gordon C Davies]
as by Grant Malcolm
- Ray Ellis in The Green Mandarin Mystery (London: Curtis Warren, 1950) as by Grant Malcolm [pb/Ray Theobald]
as by G R Melde
- Pacific Adventure (London: Curtis Warren, 1954) as by G R Melde [pb/Gordon C Davies]
as by Van Reed
- House of Many Changes (London: Curtis Warren, 1952) as by Van Reed [a House Name: pb/Gordon C Davies]
as by Russell Rey
- The Queen People (London: Curtis Warren, 1952) as by Russell Rey [pb/Ray Theobald]
- Valley of Terror (London: Curtis Warren, 1953) as by Russell Rey [pb/Gordon C Davies]
as by William Rogersohn
- North Dimension (London: Brown Watson, 1954) as by William Rogersohn [pb/Leroi Osborne]
- Amiro (London: Brown Watson, 1954) as by William Rogersohn [pb/Leroi Osborne]
as by Arn Romilus
- Brain Palaeo (London: Curtis Warren, 1953) as by Arn Romilus [a House Name: pb/Gordon C Davies]
- Organic Destiny (London: Curtis Warren, 1954) as by Arn Romilus [a House Name: pb/Gordon C Davies]
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