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(1913-1990) US-born UK author, son of Conrad Aiken (1889-1973) [see The Encyclopedia of Fantasy under links below] and brother of Joan Aiken and Jane Aiken Hodge (1917-2009). John Aiken published his first sf story, "Camouflage", in Astounding for April 1943, in the Probability Zero sequence of short-shorts (see Flash Fiction); though his first sizeable effort was "Dragon's Teeth" in New Worlds #3 for October 1947; he did not remain active in the field. He published two sf novels with Robert Hale Limited, The Lid Off (1969) and World Well Lost (fixup 1970 as John Paget; as Aiken 1971). The latter, based on his 1940s New Worlds stories, describes with some energy a conflict between a totalitarian Earth and free-minded colonists in the system of Alpha Centauri. Conrad Aiken, Our Father (1989) with Joan Aiken and Jane Aiken Hodge, is a revealing memoir. [JC/MA]
born Cambridge, Massachusetts: 10 October 1913
died Rye, Sussex: 12 August 1990
works
nonfiction
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Entry from The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (2011-current) edited by John Clute and David Langford.
Accessed 18:49 pm on 9 July 2025.
<https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/aiken_john>