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Dozois, Gardner

(1947-2018) US author, anthologist and, from 1985 (with the January 1986 issue) to 2004, editor of Asimov's Science Fiction, winning fifteen Hugos between 1988 and 2004 for his work as editor, and the equivalent Locus award from 1996 to 2004; he was married to Susan Casper until her death in 2017. He began publishing sf in September 1966 with "The Empty Man" for If, but it was not until after military service (in which he worked as a military journalist) that he began producing such stories as "A Special Kind of Morning" (in New Dimensions 1, anth 1971, ed Robert Silverberg) and "Chains of the Sea" (in Chains of the Sea, anth 1972, ed Robert Silverberg), which made him a figure of some note in the latter-day US New Wave, though he was subject to some misapplied criticism of his "pessimism" and general lack of interest in storytelling; both stories are included in The Visible Man (coll 1977), which assembles his best early work, and reappear in Geodesic Dreams: The Best Short Fiction of Gardner Dozois (coll 1992). The Peacemaker (August 1983 Asimov's; 1991 chap) won a Nebula for 1983 and "Morning Child" (January 1984 Omni) a Nebula for 1984. A later volume, Strange Days: Fabulous Journeys with Gardner Dozois (coll 2001), also reassembles work from his modestly prolific earlier career and additionally includes stories like "A Knight of Ghosts and Shadows" (October/November 1999 Asimov's), a complex and disturbing late meditation on Singularity and upon what it takes to make a man any more.

His first novel, Nightmare Blue (1975) with George Alec Effinger, a fast-paced adventure, demonstrates a dangerous facility on both authors' parts. Much more important – and less "professional" – was his first solo novel, Strangers (in New Dimensions IV, anth 1974, ed Robert Silverberg; exp 1978), an intense and well-told love story between a human male and an Alien female, set on her home planet, in a Galaxy humans signally do not dominate; her death from bearing his child is biologically inevitable (the plot's derivation from Philip José Farmer's The Lovers [August 1952 Startling; exp 1961] can be seen as homage) and stems from a mutual incomprehension rooted in culture and the intrinsic solitude of beings (see also Biology; Exogamy; Sex). Never a hugely prolific author, though fluently competent as an editor, Dozois collaborated frequently with associates in the writing of stories, many of which are assembled in Slow Dancing through Time (coll 1990) with Susan Casper, Jack Dann, Jack C Haldeman II and Michael Swanwick.

Dozois wrote considerable sf criticism, and in The Fiction of James Tiptree, Jr (as intro to 10,000 Light Years from Home [1976 reprint coll] by James Tiptree Jr; 1977 chap) he constructed an analysis which was not to be disqualified by Alice Sheldon's subsequent revelation that she was Tiptree. His nonfiction anthology, Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy: Twenty Dynamic Essays by Today's Top Professionals (anth 1991; rev 1997) co-edited with Tina Lee, Stanley Schmidt, Ian Randal Strock and Sheila Williams, extols dynamic professionalism. But perhaps more important were his fiction Anthologies, intelligently edited and of continuing interest, beginning with A Day in the Life: A Science Fiction Anthology (anth 1972), Future Power: A Science Fiction Anthology (anth 1976) with Jack Dann, and Another World: A Science Fiction Anthology (anth 1977).

Subsequent anthologies, almost invariably dedicated to particular themes, include the long Magic Tales sequence, all edited with Dann, beginning with Aliens! (anth 1980) [see Checklist below for full series]. Later singleton anthologies include Ripper! (anth 1988; vt Jack the Ripper 1988) with Susan Casper; a long sequence of anthologies taken from Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, beginning with The Best of Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine (anth 1988), and The Legend Book of Science Fiction (anth 1991; vt Modern Classics of Science Fiction 1992), all later volumes being edited with Sheila Williams; Modern Classic Short Novels of Science Fiction (anth 1994) and The Good Old Stuff: Adventure Sf in the Grand Tradition (anth 1998) and The Good New Stuff: Adventure Sf in the Grand Tradition (anth 1999), both assembled as The Good Stuff (omni 1999); and The New Space Opera (anth 2007) with Jonathan Strahan, a large assembly of original work by many of the authors who hugely reinvigorated traditional Space Opera by setting their immensely more complex dramas in venues where – as the editors argue – "Space opera was no longer looking to go out and take over the universe: it was looking to survive."

In 1977 Dozois took over an ongoing year's-best anthology from Lester del Rey and edited several volumes of Best Science Fiction Stories of the Year, beginning with Sixth Annual Collection (anth 1977). After the termination of this series in 1981, he launched a further ongoing sequence, The Year's Best Science Fiction, beginning with The Year's Best Science Fiction: First Annual Collection (anth 1984), which continued into the twenty-first century; each volume is massive, with an extensive introduction by Dozois reviewing the relevant year in sf, and the series remains the default presentation of its material. Two further reprint anthologies – The Best of the Best: 20 Years of the Year's Best Science Fiction (anth 2005) and The Best of the Best, Volume 2: 20 Years of the Best Short Science Fiction Novels (anth 2007) – constitute perhaps the definitive showcasing of Dozois's formative take on the sf field, primarily in his capacities as editor over the past 30 years. Of his later Original Anthologies, Songs of the Dying Earth (anth 2009) with George R R Martin, a volume of original stories written in homage to Jack Vance, also stands out (see Sequels by Other Hands). Two further anthologies, Old Mars (anth 2013) and Old Venus (anth 2015) both with George R R Martin, assemble new stories set in traditional sf and Science Fantasy Planetary Romance versions of Mars and Venus commonly used they were discovered to be lifeless; these tales can be understood as being set in Alternate Worlds or, because of their self-conscious referentiality, as Recursive SF. The standalone The Book of Swords (anth 2017) and The Book of Magic (anth 2018) each won a Locus Award as best anthology; Dozois also won this award in the best editor category in 2019.

It may be that Dozois's main contribution to sf – including a maturely realistic sense of the nature of the worlds he honoured both in his creative work and in his edited books – was technical: his remarkable capacity to select (and to edit) work that is both exciting to read and adult on reflection. But over and above that, his abiding contributions to the field seem from the first to have been fuelled by his deep love for the field, not uncritical but unfaltering. He was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2011 and received a posthumous Hugo as best editor (short form) in 2019. [JC]

see also: Conceptual Breakthrough; Critical and Historical Works About SF; Cyberpunk; History of SF; Invisibility; Omni; Parasitism and Symbiosis; Pollution; Sharecrop.

Gardner Raymond Dozois

born Salem, Massachusetts: 23 July 1947

died Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 27 May 2018

works

collections and stories

nonfiction

works as editor

Magic Tales

Best Science Fiction Stories of the Year

The Year's Best Science Fiction

Asimov's Anthologies

Future Earths

The Good Stuff

The New Space Opera

individual titles

about the author

links

Entry from The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (2011-current) edited by John Clute and David Langford.
Accessed 05:40 am on 10 October 2024.
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