George Turner (writer)
Encyclopedia
George Reginald Turner was an Australia
n writer and critic, best known for the science fiction
novels written in the later part of his career. He was notable for being a "late bloomer" in science fiction (by the field's standards). His first SF story and novel appeared in 1978, when he was in his early sixties. By this point, however, he had already achieved considerable success as a mainstream novelist, including a Miles Franklin Award
, and as a literary critic.
. He served in the Australian Imperial Forces during the Second World War. Subsequently he worked in a variety of fields, including as an employment officer, as a technician in the textile industry, and was a reviewer of science fiction the Melbourne Newspaper The Age
. Prior to writing science fiction, he had a well established reputation as mainstream literary fiction writer, his most productive period being from 1959 to 1967, during which he published five novels. Two of these were award winning, The Cupboard Under the Stairs (1962), being awarded the Miles Franklin Award
, Australia's highest literary honour, and The Lame Dog Man (1967) being awarded the Commonwealth Literary Fund Award.
During the 1970s, he gained considerable reputation for his meticulous and well-considered reviews and criticism of science fiction
, among his first critical publications in the field being in SF fan magazine SF Commentary, edited by Bruce Gillespie
. In 1977 he edited The View from the Edge, an anthology of tales produced by participants in a Melbourne writers' workshop, which he ran with science fiction authors Vonda McIntyre
and Christopher Priest. Over a decade after his previous publication of a full length work of fiction, he published 'Beloved Son' (1978), his first science fiction novel. An extract from the novel had previously been published as "The Lindley Mentascripts" in Science Fiction: A Review of Speculative Literature 1 in June 1977. Before his death he published six more science fiction novels.
and their invariably earnest approach to moral and social issues. In such novels as Drowning Towers and Genetic Soldier he displayed a gloomy vision of global warming
's future ramifications. The former novel won an Arthur C. Clarke Award
. Much of his work has a strongly "Australian" feel, and it sometimes incorporates references to the Aboriginal peoples of his country. Despite his late start, at death he was arguably one of the elder statesmen of Australian science fiction.
Turner's first science fiction novel, Beloved Son (1978), was followed by two related works, Vaneglory (1981) and Yesterday's Men (1983), comprising the Ethical Culture series. While they did not form a coherent trilogy, they were set in the same future, plagued by the problems of both a nuclear holocaust and the ravages of ill-advised experimentation with genetic food crops and epidemics caused by mutated viruses. Vaneglory introduced perhaps his most memorable creation, the Children of Time, a secret society of mutant human beings who are virtually immortal and have certain advanced mental skills. Unlike similar fictional creations however they do not control human destiny- their cynical and self-absorbed personalities make it difficult for them to care much about humanity or co-operate in planning its future.
His next published novel The Sea and the Summer (1987) (published in the United States as Drowning Towers (1988)), was his most successful, being shortlisted for the Nebula Award
and winning the Arthur C. Clarke Award
in 1988. It was based on a short story "The Fittest" published in 1985 in Urban Fantasies edited by Russell Blackford
and David King. A work of science fiction realism, It concerned a future historian, writing a historical novel about a near future Melbourne, beset by the problems of climate change, unemployment caused by excessive automation, the collapse of the monetary system and the division of society into elite communities segregated from impoverished masses. Turner concluded the novel with a personal reflection on the urgency of giving serious consideration to social and environmental issues highlighted by the narrative .
His next two novels were both political thrillers set in the near future. Brainchild (1991) and The Destiny Makers (1993). Brainchild focused on journalist commissioned to investigate a genetic experiment that had led to varieties of humans beings with superior intelligence. Part of the novel was formed from the short story "On the Nursery Floor" (1985).
Genetic Soldier (1994) shared the timeline of The Destiny Makers. Subsequent to the events of that novel, the crew of a starship sent to explore for habitable planets, return to find themselves at odds with the inhabitants of the Earth, who have evolved in a more ecologically harmonious direction in their absence, and ostracise them for their incompatibility with a society determined by rigid genetic specialisation. The novel drew some inspiration from Turner's short story "Shut The Door When You Go Out" which dealt with a similar scenario .
George Turner was named as a Guest of Honor for Aussiecon Three, the 1999 World Science Fiction Convention held in Melbourne, but died before the event.
Biography
"George Turner: A Life" by Judith Raphael Buckrich, Melbourne University Press, 1999.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n writer and critic, best known for the 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...
novels written in the later part of his career. He was notable for being a "late bloomer" in science fiction (by the field's standards). His first SF story and novel appeared in 1978, when he was in his early sixties. By this point, however, he had already achieved considerable success as a mainstream novelist, including a Miles Franklin Award
Miles Franklin Award
The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize for the best Australian ‘published novel or play portraying Australian life in any of its phases’. The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin , who is best known for writing the Australian classic My Brilliant Career ...
, and as a literary critic.
Biography
Turner was born and educated in MelbourneMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. He served in the Australian Imperial Forces during the Second World War. Subsequently he worked in a variety of fields, including as an employment officer, as a technician in the textile industry, and was a reviewer of science fiction the Melbourne Newspaper The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
. Prior to writing science fiction, he had a well established reputation as mainstream literary fiction writer, his most productive period being from 1959 to 1967, during which he published five novels. Two of these were award winning, The Cupboard Under the Stairs (1962), being awarded the Miles Franklin Award
Miles Franklin Award
The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize for the best Australian ‘published novel or play portraying Australian life in any of its phases’. The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin , who is best known for writing the Australian classic My Brilliant Career ...
, Australia's highest literary honour, and The Lame Dog Man (1967) being awarded the Commonwealth Literary Fund Award.
During the 1970s, he gained considerable reputation for his meticulous and well-considered reviews and criticism of 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...
, among his first critical publications in the field being in SF fan magazine SF Commentary, edited by Bruce Gillespie
Bruce Gillespie
Bruce Gillespie is a prominent Australian science fiction fan best known for his long-running sf fanzine SF Commentary. Along with Carey Handfield and Rob Gerrand, he was a founding editor of Norstrilia Press, which published Greg Egan's first novel.He was fan guest of honor at Aussiecon 3, the...
. In 1977 he edited The View from the Edge, an anthology of tales produced by participants in a Melbourne writers' workshop, which he ran with science fiction authors Vonda McIntyre
Vonda McIntyre
Vonda Neel McIntyre is an American science fiction author.-Biography:Vonda N. McIntyre, daughter of H. Neel and Vonda B. Keith McIntyre, earned a degree in biology from the University of Washington in 1970. That same year, she attended the Clarion Writers Workshop, founded at the Clarion...
and Christopher Priest. Over a decade after his previous publication of a full length work of fiction, he published 'Beloved Son' (1978), his first science fiction novel. An extract from the novel had previously been published as "The Lindley Mentascripts" in Science Fiction: A Review of Speculative Literature 1 in June 1977. Before his death he published six more science fiction novels.
Science Fiction
Turner's science fiction narratives are remarkable for their detailed extrapolationExtrapolation
In mathematics, extrapolation is the process of constructing new data points. It is similar to the process of interpolation, which constructs new points between known points, but the results of extrapolations are often less meaningful, and are subject to greater uncertainty. It may also mean...
and their invariably earnest approach to moral and social issues. In such novels as Drowning Towers and Genetic Soldier he displayed a gloomy vision of global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
's future ramifications. The former novel won an Arthur C. Clarke Award
Arthur C. Clarke Award
The Arthur C. Clarke Award is a British award given for the best science fiction novel first published in the United Kingdom during the previous year. The award was established with a grant from Arthur C. Clarke and the first prize was awarded in 1987...
. Much of his work has a strongly "Australian" feel, and it sometimes incorporates references to the Aboriginal peoples of his country. Despite his late start, at death he was arguably one of the elder statesmen of Australian science fiction.
Turner's first science fiction novel, Beloved Son (1978), was followed by two related works, Vaneglory (1981) and Yesterday's Men (1983), comprising the Ethical Culture series. While they did not form a coherent trilogy, they were set in the same future, plagued by the problems of both a nuclear holocaust and the ravages of ill-advised experimentation with genetic food crops and epidemics caused by mutated viruses. Vaneglory introduced perhaps his most memorable creation, the Children of Time, a secret society of mutant human beings who are virtually immortal and have certain advanced mental skills. Unlike similar fictional creations however they do not control human destiny- their cynical and self-absorbed personalities make it difficult for them to care much about humanity or co-operate in planning its future.
His next published novel The Sea and the Summer (1987) (published in the United States as Drowning Towers (1988)), was his most successful, being shortlisted for the Nebula Award
Nebula Award
The Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...
and winning the Arthur C. Clarke Award
Arthur C. Clarke Award
The Arthur C. Clarke Award is a British award given for the best science fiction novel first published in the United Kingdom during the previous year. The award was established with a grant from Arthur C. Clarke and the first prize was awarded in 1987...
in 1988. It was based on a short story "The Fittest" published in 1985 in Urban Fantasies edited by Russell Blackford
Russell Blackford
Russell Blackford is an Australian writer, philosopher, and critic, based for many years in Melbourne, Victoria. He was born in Sydney, and grew up in Lake Macquarie district, near Newcastle, NSW. He moved to Melbourne in 1979, but returned to Newcastle to live and work in 2009.-Writing career:As a...
and David King. A work of science fiction realism, It concerned a future historian, writing a historical novel about a near future Melbourne, beset by the problems of climate change, unemployment caused by excessive automation, the collapse of the monetary system and the division of society into elite communities segregated from impoverished masses. Turner concluded the novel with a personal reflection on the urgency of giving serious consideration to social and environmental issues highlighted by the narrative .
His next two novels were both political thrillers set in the near future. Brainchild (1991) and The Destiny Makers (1993). Brainchild focused on journalist commissioned to investigate a genetic experiment that had led to varieties of humans beings with superior intelligence. Part of the novel was formed from the short story "On the Nursery Floor" (1985).
Genetic Soldier (1994) shared the timeline of The Destiny Makers. Subsequent to the events of that novel, the crew of a starship sent to explore for habitable planets, return to find themselves at odds with the inhabitants of the Earth, who have evolved in a more ecologically harmonious direction in their absence, and ostracise them for their incompatibility with a society determined by rigid genetic specialisation. The novel drew some inspiration from Turner's short story "Shut The Door When You Go Out" which dealt with a similar scenario .
George Turner was named as a Guest of Honor for Aussiecon Three, the 1999 World Science Fiction Convention held in Melbourne, but died before the event.
Novels and collections
- Young Man of Talent [vt Scobie: A Novel] (1959)
- A Stranger and Afraid (1961)
- The Cupboard Under the StairsThe Cupboard Under the StairsThe Cupboard Under the Stairs is a Miles Franklin Award winning novel by Australian author George Turner. This novel shared the award with The Well Dressed Explorer by Thea Astley....
(1962) - A Waste of Shame (1965)
- The Lame Dog Man (1967)
- Beloved Son (1978)
- Transit of Cassidy (1978)
- Vaneglory (1981)
- Yesterday's Men (1983)
- Drowning Towers [vt The Sea and the Summer] (1987)
- The Sea and Summer (1987)
- A Pursuit of Miracles (short story collection) (1990)
- Brain Child (1991)
- The Destiny Makers (1993)
- Genetic Soldier (1994)
- Down There in Darkness (1999)
Autobiography
- In the Heart or in the Head: An Essay in Time Travel, (1984)
Biography
"George Turner: A Life" by Judith Raphael Buckrich, Melbourne University Press, 1999.
Short fiction
- "And Now Doth Time Waste Me" (1998) in Dreaming Down-UnderDreaming Down-UnderDreaming Down-Under is a 1998 speculative fiction anthology edited by Jack Dann and Janeen Webb-Background:Dreaming Down-Under was first published in Australia in November 1998 by Voyager Books in trade paperback format....
(ed. Jack DannJack DannJack Dann is an American writer best known for his science fiction, an editor and a writing teacher, who has lived in Australia since 1994. He has published over seventy books, in the majority of cases as editor or co-editor of story anthologies in the science fiction, fantasy and horror genres...
, Janeen WebbJaneen WebbJaneen Webb is an Australian writer, critic, and editor working mainly in the field of science fiction and fantasy.-Biography:...
)
Awards
| Miles Franklin Award Miles Franklin Award The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize for the best Australian ‘published novel or play portraying Australian life in any of its phases’. The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin , who is best known for writing the Australian classic My Brilliant Career ... |
The Cupboard Under the Stairs, 1962 (joint winner) |
| Australian Science Fiction Achievement Award Ditmar Award The Ditmar Award has been awarded annually since 1969 at the Australian National Science Fiction Convention to recognise achievement in Australian science fiction and science fiction fandom... |
Beloved Son, 1979 |
| Arthur C Clarke Award | The Sea and Summer, 1988 |
| Commonwealth Writers' Prize Commonwealth Writers' Prize Commonwealth Writers is an initiative by the Commonwealth Foundation to unearth, develop and promote the best new fiction from across the Commonwealth. It's flagship are two literary awards and a website... South-East Asia and South Pacific Region, Best Book Award |
The Sea and Summer, 1988 |