Douglas Arthur Hill was a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 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...

 author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

, editor

Editing

Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...

 and reviewer. He was born in Brandon, Manitoba

Brandon, Manitoba

Brandon is the second largest city in Manitoba, Canada, and is located in the southwestern area of the province. Brandon is the largest city in the Westman region of Manitoba. The city is located along the Assiniboine River. Spruce Woods Provincial Park and CFB Shilo are a relatively short distance...

, the son of a railroad engineer

Railroad engineer

A railroad engineer, locomotive engineer, train operator, train driver or engine driver is a person who drives a train on a railroad...

, and was raised in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan

Prince Albert, Saskatchewan

Prince Albert is the third-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. It is situated in the centre of the province on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River. The city is known as the "Gateway to the North" because it is the last major centre along the route to the resources of northern Saskatchewan...

. An avid 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...

 reader from an early age, he studied English at the University of Saskatchewan

University of Saskatchewan

The University of Saskatchewan is a Canadian public research university, founded in 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. An "Act to establish and incorporate a University for the Province of Saskatchewan" was passed by the...

 (where he earned an Honours B.A.

Bachelor's degree

A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...

 in 1957) and at the University of Toronto

University of Toronto

The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...

. He married fellow writer and U. of S. alumna Gail Robinson in 1958; they moved to Britain

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...

 in 1959, where he worked as a freelance writer and editor for Aldus Books. In 1967–1968 he served as Assistant Editor of the controversial 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...

science fiction magazine

Science fiction magazine

A science fiction magazine is a publication that offers primarily science fiction, either in a hard copy periodical format or on the Internet....

 under 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....

.

A lifetime leftist, he served from 1971 to 1984 as the Literary Editor of the socialist

Democratic socialism

Democratic socialism is a description used by various socialist movements and organizations to emphasize the democratic character of their political orientation...

 weekly Tribune

Tribune (magazine)

Tribune is a democratic socialist weekly, founded in 1937 published in London. It is independent but supports the Labour Party from the left...

(a position once held by George Orwell

George Orwell

Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...

), where he regularly reviewed science fiction despite the continued refusal of the literary world to take it seriously. Before starting to write fiction in 1978, he wrote many books on history, science and folklore. Using the pseudonym Martin Hillman, he also worked as an editor of several anthologies, among them Window on the Future (1966), The Shape of Sex to Come (1978), Out of Time (1984), and Hidden Turnings (1988). He is probably best known for his Galactic Warlord (The Last Legionary) quartet of novel

Novel

A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

s, supposedly produced as the result of a challenge by a publisher to Hill's complaints about the lack of good science fiction for younger readers.

Hill and his wife had one child, a son. They were divorced in 1978. He lived in Wood Green

Wood Green

Wood Green is a district in north London, England, located in the London Borough of Haringey. It is situated north of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of the metropolitan centres in Greater London.-History:...

, London, and died in London after being struck by a bus at a zebra crossing

Zebra crossing

A zebra crossing is a type of pedestrian crossing used in many places around the world. Its distinguishing feature is alternating dark and light stripes on the road surface, from which it derives its name. A zebra crossing typically gives extra rights of way to pedestrians.The use of zebra...

. His death occurred one day after he completed his last trilogy, the Demon Stalkers.

Last Legionary

Last Legionary

The Last Legionary series is a series of five books written by Douglas Hill. The books are Young Legionary, Planet of the Warlord, Day of the Starwind, Deathwing Over Veynaa and Galactic Warlord. The series which has been described as a simplified version of E. E...

 

1. Galactic Warlord (1979), ISBN 0-575-02663-4
2. Deathwing Over Veynaa (1980), ISBN 0-575-02779-7
3. Day of the Starwind (1980), ISBN 0-575-02917-X
4. Planet of the Warlord (1981), ISBN 0-575-03009-7
5. Young Legionary (1982), ISBN 0-575-03201-4

Young Legionary is chronologically the first in the series.

Huntsman

1. The Huntsman (1982), ISBN 0-434-94284-7
2. Warriors of the Wasteland (1983), ISBN 0-434-94283-9
3. Alien Citadel (1984), ISBN 0-434-94282-0

Colsec

1. Exiles of Colsec (1984), ISBN 0-575-03348-7
2. The Caves of Klydor (1984), ISBN 0-575-03413-0
3. Colsec Rebellion (1985), ISBN 0-575-03610-9

Poisoner

1. Blade of the Poisoner (1987), ISBN 0-575-03954-X
2. Master of Fiends (1987), ISBN 0-575-04095-5

Del Curb, Cosmic Courier

1. The Fraxilly Fracas (1989), ISBN 0-575-04403-9
2. The Colloghi Conspiracy (1990), ISBN 0-575-04579-5

Apotheosis

1. The Lightless Dome (1993), ISBN 0-330-32770-4
2. The Leafless Forest (1994), ISBN 0-330-32960-X
3. The Limitless Bridge (1996), ISBN 0-330-33842-0

Cade

1. Galaxy's Edge (1996), ISBN 0-553-50334-0
2. The Moons of Lannamur (1996), ISBN 0-553-50330-8
3. The Phantom Planet (1997), ISBN 0-553-50331-6

Other novels

• The Exploits of Hercules (1978), ISBN 0-330-25448-0
• The Illustrated Faerie Queene (1980), ISBN 0-88225-297-6
• Have Your Own Extraterrestrial Adventure (1983), ISBN 0-09-930700-6
• The Moon Monsters (1984), ISBN 0-434-93024-5
• How Jennifer (and Speckle) Saved the Earth (1986), ISBN 0-434-93036-9
• Goblin Party (1988), ISBN 0-575-04338-5
• Penelope's Pendant (1990), ISBN 0-333-51318-5
• The Tale of Trellie the Troog (1991), ISBN 0-563-34781-3
• The Unicorn Dream (1992), ISBN 0-434-97674-1
• The Voyage of MudJack (1993), ISBN 0-416-18819-2
• Penelope's Protest (1994), ISBN 0-330-32727-5
• World of the Stiks (1994), ISBN 0-553-40655-8
• Penelope's Peril (1994), ISBN 0-330-33302-X
• The Magical Tree-castle (1995), ISBN 0-434-96727-0
• Malcolm and the Cloud-Stealer (1995), ISBN 0-590-55917-6
• Fireball and the Hero (1995), ISBN 0-416-19123-1
• The Dragon Charmer (1997), ISBN 0-340-68741-X
• Space Girls Don't Cry (1998), ISBN 0-7497-3244-X
• Alien Deeps (2000), ISBN 1-902260-55-4
• Melleron's Monsters (2000), ISBN 0-19-919270-7
• Melleron's Magic (2001), ISBN 0-19-919271-5
• Monster Maze (2001), ISBN 1-84299-006-3
• Star Dragon (2002), ISBN 1-84299-046-2

Anthologies edited

• Window on the Future (1966)
• Way of the Werewolf (1966)
• The Devil His Due (1967)
• Warlocks and Warriors (1971)
• The Shape of Sex to Come (1978), ISBN 0-330-25091-4
• Alien Worlds (1980), ISBN 0-434-94285-5
• Planetfall (1986), ISBN 0-19-278113-8

Non-fiction

• The Supernatural (1965)
• The Opening of the Canadian West (1967)
• Magic and Superstition (1968)
• John Keats (1968), ISBN 0-249-43968-9
• Regency London (1969), ISBN 0-356-02568-3
• A Hundred Years of Georgian London (1970), ISBN 0-356-03264-7
• Return from the Dead (1970), ISBN 0-356-03463-1
• Fortune Telling (1972), ISBN 0-600-32835-X
• The Scots to Canada (1972), ISBN 0-85614-016-3
• The English to New England (1975), ISBN 0-85614-021-X
• Tribune 40 (1977)
• Bridging a Continent (1981, as "Martin Hillman")
• Witch and Wizard (1997), ISBN 0-7513-6106-2

Anthologies containing stories by Douglas Hill

• Hidden Turnings (1989), ISBN 0-416-11272-2, ed. Diana Wynne Jones
  Diana Wynne Jones
  Diana Wynne Jones was a British writer, principally of fantasy novels for children and adults, as well as a small amount of non-fiction...
  
  
• Space Stories (1996), ISBN 1-85487-451-9, ed. Mike Ashley
  Mike Ashley (writer)
  Michael Ashley is a British bibliographer, author and editor of science fiction, mystery, and fantasy.He edits the long-running Mammoth Book series of short story anthologies, each arranged around a particular theme in mystery, fantasy, or science fiction...
  
  

See also

• Keill Randor
  Keill Randor
  Keill Randor is a fictional character, the protagonist of Douglas Hill's science fiction quintet for young adults, The Last Legionary. He is the last surviving inhabitant of a planet named Moros....
  
  , the main character in the Last Legionary series.

External links

• Obituary in The Independent
  The Independent
  The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
  
  
• Obituary in The Guardian
  The Guardian
  The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
  
  
• 1995 profile of Hill