Jennison, John W
Entry updated 18 March 2024. Tagged: Author.
(1911-1980) UK author, one of several who became active as mass-producers of genre fiction for UK paperback houses and who remained reticent about personal details during their careers. From about 1945 to the year in which it is thought he may have died, Jennison seems to have written over 100 novels under at least forty pseudonyms, mostly thrillers and Westerns; he began to publish routine but occasionally engaging sf with two novels as Edgar Rees Kennedy, Conquerors of Venus (1951) and The Mystery Planet (1952). Working for Curtis Warren, he then published: under the House Name Neil Charles, Para-Robot (1952); under the Gill Hunt name, Station 7 (1952) and Zero Field (1952); and under the King Lang name, Spaceline (1952).
After Invasion from Space (1954) as Matthew C Bradford and The Yellow Planet (1954) as by George Sheldon Browne, however, he ceased producing sf for some time, returning in the mid-1960s with the marginal Supercar in the Black Diamond Trail (1965) as Jennison. Generally as John Theydon, a name he had used since 1946 for non-sf tales, he then published a sequence of Stingray television Ties beginning with Stingray (1965); a sequence of Thunderbirds television Ties beginning with Thunderbirds (1966) and Thunderbirds: Lost World (1966), a Lost World tale under his own name; and a sequence of Captain Scarlet television Ties (see Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons) – Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (1967; vt Captain Scarlet 1989) and Captain Scarlet and the Silent Saboteur (1967). Jennison's last known sf books, again as Theydon, were ties to a further Gerry Anderson television series, The Secret Service: The Secret Service: The Destroyer (1969) and The Secret Service: The VIP (1969), featuring rays that act as Disintegrators or cause Miniaturization. [JC]
John William Jennison
born London: 1 July 1911
died Exmouth, Devon: 8 April 1980
works
early singletons
- Conquerors of Venus (London: Edwin Self, 1951) as by Edgar Rees Kennedy [pb/Ron Turner]
- The Mystery Planet (London: Edwin Self, 1952) as by Edgar Rees Kennedy [pb/Terry Maloney]
- Para-Robot (London: Curtis Warren, 1952) as by Neil Charles [pb/Ray Theobald]
- Station 7 (London: Curtis Warren, 1952) as by Gill Hunt [pb/Ray Theobald]
- Zero Field (London: Curtis Warren, 1952) as by Gill Hunt [pb/Ray Theobald]
- Spaceline (London: Curtis Warren, 1952) as by King Lang [pb/Ray Theobald]
- Invasion from Space (London: Atlantic Book Co, 1954) as by Matthew C Bradford [pb/Ray Theobald]
- The Yellow Planet (London: Edwin Self, 1954) as by George Sheldon Browne [pb/Ron Turner]
series
Stingray
- Stingray (London: Armada, 1965) as by John Theydon [tie to Stingray: Stingray: pb/Peter Archer]
- Stingray: Danger in the Deep (London: Armada, 1965) [tie to Stingray: Stingray: pb/]
- Stingray and the Monster (London: Armada, 1966) as by John Theydon [tie to Stingray: Stingray: pb/Peter Archer]
Thunderbirds
- Thunderbirds (London: Armada, 1966) as by John Theydon [tie to Thunderbirds: Thunderbirds: pb/Peter Archer]
- Calling Thunderbirds (London: Armada, 1966) as by John Theydon [tie to Thunderbirds: Thunderbirds: pb/Peter Archer]
- Thunderbirds: Ring of Fire (London: Armada, 1966) as by John Theydon [tie to Thunderbirds: Thunderbirds: pb/Peter Archer]
- Thunderbirds: Lost World (London: World Distributors (Manchester) Ltd, 1966) [tie to Thunderbirds: Thunderbirds: hb/R H Smethurst]
- Lady Penelope: The Albanian Affair (London: Armada, 1967) as by John Theydon [tie to Thunderbirds: Thunderbirds: pb/]
Captain Scarlet
- Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (London: Armada, 1967) as by John Theydon [tie to Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons: Captain Scarlet: pb/]
- Captain Scarlet (London: Titan, 1989) as by John Theydon [tie to Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons: vt of the above: Captain Scarlet: pb/]
- Captain Scarlet and the Silent Saboteur (London: Armada, 1967) as by John Theydon [tie to Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons: Captain Scarlet: pb/]
- The Angels and the Creeping Enemy (London: Armada, 1968) as by John Theydon [tie to Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons: Captain Scarlet: pb/]
Secret Service
- The Secret Service: The Destroyer (London: Armada, 1969) as by John Theydon [tie to the Television series: Secret Service: pb/]
- The Secret Service: The VIP (London: Armada, 1969) as by John Theydon [tie to the Television series: Secret Service: pb/]
later singletons
- Supercar on the Black Diamond Trail (London: World Distributors (Manchester) Ltd, 1965) [chap: hb/Stewart]
links
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