(1921-1979) UK author of two sf novels remarkable for their clumsiness and their apparent ignorance of the basic laws of Physics. In Space Train (1962; vt The Claw 1973) a farmer builds a rocket-powered train which, as a consequence of sabotage, takes off into space. There he encounters interplanetary crabs before returning to Earth. Galaxies Ahead (1963) is similarly implausible, with space travellers attaining ridiculous longevity – over a million years – not through any Relativistic effect or Stasis Field but simply because "we were in an air-locked compartment and did not do anything but sleep for most of the time, thus conserving our energy . . ." [NT/DRL]
Terence Haile
born Birmingham, England: 22 June 1921
died Walsall: 19 January 1979
works
- Space Train
(London: Digit Books, 1962) [pb/] - The Claw (Sydney, New South Wales: Bill Ewington Books, 1973) [vt of the above: pb/]
- Galaxies Ahead (London: Digit Books, 1963) [pb/uncredited]
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