Barrington J. Bayley was an English 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...

 writer.

Bayley was born in Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

 and educated in Newport, Shropshire

Newport, Shropshire

Newport is a market town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. It lies some north of Telford and some west of Stafford sitting on the Shropshire/Staffordshire border...

. He worked a number of jobs before joining the Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 in 1955; his first published story, "Combat's End", had seen print the year before in Vargo Statten Magazine.

In the 1960s, Bayley's short stories featured regularly in New Worlds

New Worlds (magazine)

New Worlds was a British science fiction magazine which was first published professionally in 1946. For 25 years it was widely considered the leading science fiction magazine in Britain, publishing 201 issues up to 1971...

magazine and then later in various New Worlds paperback anthologies, becoming friends with New Worlds editor Michael Moorcock

Michael Moorcock

Michael John Moorcock is an English writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published a number of literary novels....

 and joining science fiction's New Wave

New Wave (science fiction)

New Wave is a term applied to science fiction produced in the 1960s and 1970s and characterized by a high degree of experimentation, both in form and in content, a "literary" or artistic sensibility, and a focus on "soft" as opposed to hard science. The term "New Wave" is borrowed from the French...

 movement. His first book, Star Virus, was followed by more than a dozen other novels; his downbeat, gloomy approach to novel writing has been cited as influential on the likes of M. John Harrison

M. John Harrison

M. John Harrison , known as Mike Harrison, is an English author and critic. His work includes the Viriconium sequence of novels and short stories, , Climbers , and the Kefahuchi Tract series which begins with Light . He currently resides in London.-Early years:Harrison was born in Rugby,...

, Brian Stableford

Brian Stableford

Brian Michael Stableford is a British science fiction writer who has published more than 70 novels. His earlier books were published as by Brian M. Stableford, but more recent ones have dropped the middle initial and appeared under the name Brian Stableford...

 and Bruce Sterling

Bruce Sterling

Michael Bruce Sterling is an American science fiction author, best known for his novels and his work on the Mirrorshades anthology, which helped define the cyberpunk genre.-Writings:...

.

Bayley died of complications from bowel cancer on October 14, 2008.

Novels

• The Rod of Light (1958)
• The Star Virus (1964)
• Annihilation Factor (1964)
• Empire of Two Worlds (1972)
• Collision Course (aka Collision with Chronos) (1973)
• The Fall of Chronopolis (1974)
• The Soul of the Robot (1974)
• The Garments of Caean (1976)
• The Grand Wheel (1977)
• Star Winds (1978)
• The Pillars of Eternity (1982)
• The Zen Gun (1983)
• The Forest of Peldain (1985)
• Warhammer 40K: Eye of Terror (1999)
• Sinners Of Erspia (2002)
• The Great Hydration (2002)
• Age of Adventure (2002)

Short stories

• "Combat's End" (1954)
• "The Bargain" (1955)
• "Cold Death" (1955)
• "Kindly Travellers" (1955)
• "Last Post" (1955)
• "Martyrs Appointed" (1955)
• "Fugitive" (1956)
• "The Reluctant Death" (1956)
• "Consolidation" (1959)
• "The Tank" (1961)
• "The Big Sound" (1962)
• "Double Time" (1962)
• "The Radius Riders" (1962)
• "The Ship That Sailed the Ocean of Space" (1962)
• "Natural Defence" (1963)
• "Return Visit" (1963)
• "Solo Flight" (1963)
• "Farewell, Dear Brother" (1964)
• "Integrity" (1964)
• "The Patch" (1964)
• "The Ship of Disaster" (1965)
• "Catspaw" (1965)
• "The Countenance" (1965)
• "All the King's Men" (1965)
• "Reactionary" (1965)
• "Aid to Nothing" (1967)
• "Exit From City 5" (1971)
• "The Four-Color Problem" (1971)
• "The Exploration of Space" (1972)
• "Man In Transit" (1972)
• "An Overload" (1973)
• "Me and My Antronoscope" (1973)
• "Mutation Planet" (1973)
• "The Seed of Evil" (1973)
• "Maladjustment" (1974)
• "The Bees of Knowledge" (1975)
• "The Cabinet of Oliver Naylor" (1976)
• "The Problem of Morley's Emission" (1978)
• "Rome Vindicated" (1978)
• "The God Gun" (1979)
• "The Infinite Searchlight" (1979)
• "Life Trap" (1979)
• "Perfect Love" (1979)
• "Sporting with the Chid" (1979)
• "Wizard Wazo's Revenge" (1979)
• "The Forever Racket" (1980)
• "The Ur-Plant" (1983)
• "Escapist Literature" (1985)
• "When They Asked Him What Happens" (1988)
• "Cling to the Curvature!" (1989)
• "The Death of Arlett" (1989)
• "Death Ship" (1989)
• "Tommy Atkins" (1989)
• "Culture Shock" (1990)
• "Galimatias" (1990)
• "The Phobeya" (1990)
• "Light" (1991)
• "The Remembrance" (1991)
• "Doctor Pintar in the Mythology Isles" (1992)
• "Don't Leave Me" (1992)
• "Quiddity Wars" (1992)
• "Teatray in the Sky" (1992)
• "Why Live? Dream!" (1992)
• "The Way into the Wendy House" (1993)
• "Gnostic Endings: Flight to the Hypercosmos" (1994)
• "Love in Backspace" (1994)
• "On the Ledge" (1994)
• "Get Out of Here" (1995)
• "The Island of Dr. Romeau" (1995)
• "A Crab Must Try" (1996)
• "The Crear" (1996)
• "Children of the Emperor" (1998)
• "The Lives of Ferag Lion-Wolf" (1999)
• "Battle of the Archeosaurs" (2000)
• "Hive Fleet Horror" (2000)
• "Planet of the Stercorasaurs" (2000)
• "The Revolt of the Mobiles" (2000)
• "Sky Tower" (2000)
• "The Worms of Hess" (2000)
• "It Was a Lover and His Lass" (2001)

External links

• Astounding World of Barrington J. Bayley Fan Site
• Annihilation Factotum Overview by Rhys Hughes
  Rhys Hughes
  Rhys Henry Hughes , is a Welsh writer and essayist.Born in Cardiff, Hughes is a prolific short story writer with an eclectic mix of influences, which include Italo Calvino, Milorad Pavić, Jorge Luis Borges, Stanisław Lem, Flann O'Brien, Felipe Alfau, Donald Barthelme and Jack Vance...