Andrew Harman is a science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 and fantasy fiction author from the UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. His novels bear titles that pun

Pun

The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...

 on other famous works. Each work reflects its playful title, having a plot matching the work to which it alludes, with a humorous twist.

Many of his novels are set in the fictional UK town of Camford, which is a hybridisation of the two university towns of Oxford

Oxford

The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...

 and Cambridge

Cambridge

The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...

.

His books are published under the Orbit imprint in the UK.

Andrew Harman studied biochemistry

Biochemistry

Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...

 at the University of York

University of York

The University of York , is an academic institution located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the campus university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, covering a wide range of subjects...

, being a member of Wentworth College

Wentworth College

Wentworth College is a college of the University of York, named after Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford. Originally opened in 1972, since 2002 it has had the distinction of being the only college exclusively housing postgraduate students; though postgraduates can be resident in all colleges...

.

He was inspired to become a better writer when a superior at work told him "this isn't your best writing."

Firkin series

• The Sorcerer's Appendix (1993)
• The Frogs of War (1994)
• The Tome Tunnel (1994)
• Fahrenheit 666 (1995)
• One Hundred And One Damnations (1995)

Standalone novels

• The Scrying Game (1996)
• The Deity Dozen (1996)
• A Midsummer Night's Gene
  A Midsummer Night's Gene
  A Midsummer Night's Gene is a sci-fi parody novel of Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream. This Andrew Harman farce, published in 1997 by Random House, reflects the plot of the original play....
  
  (1997)
• It Came from On High (1998) aka Beyond Belief
• The Suburban Salamander Incident (1999)
• Talonspotting (2000)

Note: Beyond Belief (1998), which shows up in various Internet booklists, does not seem to exist.

External links