Hill, Douglas
Entry updated 12 September 2022. Tagged: Author, Editor.
(1935-2007) Canadian-born author and editor, in the UK from 1959; in 2007 he was run over by a bus. Most of his early books were nonfiction, The Supernatural (1965) with Pat Williams, and Magic and Superstition (1968) being of interest to a genre audience. His involvement in sf and fantasy began through his editing of anthologies like Window on the Future: Science Fiction Stories (anth 1966), Way of the Werewolf: An Anthology of Horror Stories (anth 1966) and The Shape of Sex to Come (anth 1978), concerning Sex in sf; he served as Associate Editor of New Worlds in 1967-1968.
Hill began his main career as an author of Children's SF and Young Adult tales with Coyote the Trickster (1975) with Gail Robinson. Several series ensued: the Last Legionary sequence of Space Operas – Galactic Warlord (1979), Deathwing over Veynaa (1980), Day of the Starwind (1980), Planet of the Warlord (1982) and Young Legionary: The Earlier Adventures of Keill Randor (1982), all but the last (a prequel) being assembled as The Last Legionary Quartet (omni 1985) – which builds effectively on an interplanetary revenge quest; the Huntsman sequence – comprising The Huntsman (1982), Warriors of the Wasteland (1983) and Alien Citadel (1984) – set on an Earth enslaved by Alien invaders; the ColSec sequence – Exiles of ColSec (1984), The Caves of Klydor (1984) and ColSec Rebellion (1985) – whose young protagonists strive for freedom after being shipwrecked on an unknown planet and the Cade sequence, Cade: 1: Galaxy's Edge (1996) and Cade: The Moons of Lannamur (1996). His only adult sf series, comprising The Fraxilly Fracas (1989) and The Colloghi Conspiracy (1990), is also Space Opera – as is the Apotheosis Trilogy, comprising The Lightless Dome (1993) and The Leafless Forest (1994) (the third volume, The Limitless Bridge, was announced but never appeared) – and share with his juveniles an engaging briskness, though psychological depths tended to remain unplumbed. [JC]
Douglas Arthur Hill
born Brandon, Manitoba, Canada: 6 April 1935
died Palmers Green, London: 21 June 2007
works
series
Last Legionary
- Galactic Warlord (London: Victor Gollancz, 1979) [Last Legionary: hb/Lon Goddard]
- Deathwing over Veynaa (London: Victor Gollancz, 1980) [Last Legionary: hb/David Smee]
- Day of the Starwind (London: Victor Gollancz, 1980) [Last Legionary: hb/David Smee]
- Planet of the Warlord (London: Victor Gollancz, 1982) [Last Legionary: hb/David Smee]
- The Last Legionary Quartet (London: Pan Books, 1985) [omni: of the above four: Last Legionary: pb/Tony Roberts]
- Young Legionary: The Earlier Adventures of Keill Randor (London: Victor Gollancz, 1982) [Last Legionary: hb/Stephen Marchesi]
Huntsman
- The Huntsman (London: Heinemann, 1982) [Huntsman: hb/Terry Oakes]
- Warriors of the Wasteland (London: Heinemann, 1983) [Huntsman: hb/Terry Oakes]
- Alien Citadel (London: Heinemann, 1984) [Huntsman: hb/Terry Oakes]
ColSec
- Exiles of ColSec (London: Victor Gollancz, 1984) [ColSec: hb/Allan Craddock]
- The Caves of Klydor (London: Victor Gollancz, 1984) [ColSec: hb/Allan Craddock]
- ColSec Rebellion (London: Victor Gollancz, 1985) [ColSec: hb/Allan Craddock]
Talents
- Blade of the Poisoner (London: Victor Gollancz, 1987) [Talents: hb/]
- Master of Fiends (London: Victor Gollancz, 1987) [Talents: hb/Fred Gambino]
Fraxilly
- The Fraxilly Fracas (London: Victor Gollancz, 1989) [Fraxilly: hb/John Higgins]
- The Colloghi Conspiracy (London: Victor Gollancz, 1990) [Fraxilly: hb/John Higgins]
Apotheosis
- The Lightless Dome (London: Pan Books, 1993) [Apotheosis: pb/Duncan Storr]
- The Leafless Forest (London: Pan Books, 1994) [Apotheosis: pb/Duncan Storr]
Cade
- Cade: 1: Galaxy's Edge (London: Bantam UK, 1996) [Cade: pb/Larry Rostant]
- Cade: The Moons of Lannamur (London: Bantam UK, 1996) [Cade: pb/Larry Rostant]
individual titles
- The Exploits of Hercules (London: Macmillan/Piccolo, 1978) [pb/Tom Barling]
- Have Your Own Extra-Terrestrial Adventure (London: Sparrow, 1983) [chap: pb/]
- World of the Stiks (London: Bantam UK, 1994) [pb/John Avon]
- Malcolm and the Cloud-Stealer (London: Hippo, 1995) [pb/Paul Young]
works for younger children (selected)
- The Moon Monsters (London: Heinemann, 1984) [chap: hb/Jeremy Ford]
- Penelope's Pendant (London: Macmillan Children's Books, 1990) [hb/]
nonfiction (selected)
- The Supernatural (New York: New American Library, 1965) with Pat Williams [nonfiction: anth: pb/]
- Magic and Superstition (London: Paul Hamlyn, 1968) [nonfiction: anth: hb/]
works as editor
- Way of the Werewolf: An Anthology of Horror Stories (London: Panther, 1966) [anth: pb/Alan Manham]
- Window on the Future: Science Fiction Stories (London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1966) [anth: hb/]
- The Devil His Due: Science Fantasy Stories (London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1967) [anth: hb/Bernard Knight]
- Warlocks and Warriors: A Fantasy Anthology (London: Mayflower, 1971) [anth: pb/Josh Kirby]
- The Shape of Sex to Come (London: Pan Books, 1978) [anth: sf stories about Sex: pb/]
- Alien Worlds: Stories of Adventures on Other Planets (London: Heinemann, 1981) [anth: hb/Ian Craig]
- Planetfall (Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 1986) [anth: hb/]
links
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