T. L. Sherred
Encyclopedia
Thomas L. Sherred was an American
science fiction
writer.
Sherred was the author of a slim body of science fiction, consisting of a collection of stories, a novel, and the beginning of a novel that was completed by another author after Sherred's death in 1985. Sherred's stories were often set in Detroit and featured the down-to-earth laborers with whom the author was acquainted through his career in the automotive field where he advanced from tool rooms to technical writing and public relations. He published few works of fiction, but his novella
"E for Effort
" (1947) was voted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame
.
Algis Budrys
wrote, "With one story, "E for Effort", in the ASF [Astounding Science Fiction] of the wartime Forties, he handed the field such a knock that many old plinths are still loose in their sockets."
Sherred saw publication of his first novel, Alien Island, in 1970. A darkly humorous tale, Alien Island revolves around the devastating events that occur when aliens covertly inhabit Earth. Budrys found it disappointing, saying "It reads padded, uncoordinated, and unintentionally whimsical."
At his death in 1985, Sherred left an unfinished sequel to Alien Island, which author Lloyd Biggle, Jr.
, completed and published as Alien Main. Set on Earth some two hundred years after aliens nearly destroyed life on the planet, the novel finds descendants of the aliens returning to atone for the atrocities committed by their ancestors. They find that the inhabitants of Earth are now living in tribes, with no connections except for a common belief in a goddess, whose return they await. While reviewer Gerald Jonas deemed Alien Main "not very ambitious," he nevertheless found the work offers a "pleasant blend of surprise and predictability," concluding: "Books such as this are the nourishing bread and butter of science fiction."
His writing career ceased in 1971 after he suffered a mild stroke
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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.
Sherred was the author of a slim body of science fiction, consisting of a collection of stories, a novel, and the beginning of a novel that was completed by another author after Sherred's death in 1985. Sherred's stories were often set in Detroit and featured the down-to-earth laborers with whom the author was acquainted through his career in the automotive field where he advanced from tool rooms to technical writing and public relations. He published few works of fiction, but his novella
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
"E for Effort
E for Effort
"E for Effort" is a science-fiction novelette by T. L. Sherred, first published in 1947, about the consequences of a time viewer, a machine that projects images of the past...
" (1947) was voted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame
Science Fiction Hall of Fame
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame can refer to:*Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in Seattle, Washington, founded in 1994**The hall of fame located there...
.
Algis Budrys
Algis Budrys
Algis Budrys was a Lithuanian-American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He was also known under the pen names "Frank Mason", "Alger Rome", "John A. Sentry", "William Scarff", and "Paul Janvier."-Biography:...
wrote, "With one story, "E for Effort", in the ASF [Astounding Science Fiction] of the wartime Forties, he handed the field such a knock that many old plinths are still loose in their sockets."
Sherred saw publication of his first novel, Alien Island, in 1970. A darkly humorous tale, Alien Island revolves around the devastating events that occur when aliens covertly inhabit Earth. Budrys found it disappointing, saying "It reads padded, uncoordinated, and unintentionally whimsical."
At his death in 1985, Sherred left an unfinished sequel to Alien Island, which author Lloyd Biggle, Jr.
Lloyd Biggle, Jr.
Lloyd Biggle, Jr. , was a musician, author, and internationally known oral historian.-Biography:Biggle was born in 1923 in Waterloo, Iowa. He served in World War II as a communications sergeant in a rifle company of the 102nd Infantry Division; during the war, he was wounded twice...
, completed and published as Alien Main. Set on Earth some two hundred years after aliens nearly destroyed life on the planet, the novel finds descendants of the aliens returning to atone for the atrocities committed by their ancestors. They find that the inhabitants of Earth are now living in tribes, with no connections except for a common belief in a goddess, whose return they await. While reviewer Gerald Jonas deemed Alien Main "not very ambitious," he nevertheless found the work offers a "pleasant blend of surprise and predictability," concluding: "Books such as this are the nourishing bread and butter of science fiction."
His writing career ceased in 1971 after he suffered a mild stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
.