Pseudonym of US author Shirley Nikolaisen (? - ), who began to publish work of genre interest with "Magma Wave" in Galaxy for July 1975, but who was primarily associated over her relatively short active career with Analog, where the stories assembled as Captain Empirical (coll of linked stories 1979) first appeared. The protagonist, Captain Schuster, shifts from water-bound ships to a Spaceship patrolling the Outer Planets on behalf of a large company, assiduously solving problems, dealing with pesky Feminists, handling bureaucrats and other criminals with some savagery. The Light Bearer (1980), set on an Arabian Nights planet under the observation of a Spaceship from the stars, is an exercise in Medieval Futurism; women, once again, who in this case compete for the attentions of the eponymous prince, are given supporting roles. [JC]
Shirley Nikolaisen
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