Eric Frank Russell

Clearly a man who loathed the pomposity and rigmarole of humanity's various forms of organisation, he generally took aim at authority in all its forms. His is the humour of the pantomime clown, and yet a deeper and more serious thread, in which the spiritual aspects of humanity's endeavours and aspirations shine through, runs through his work.

He was born in Sandhurst, Surrey into a military family. He served with the RAF during World War II and worked briefly as an engineer before taking up writing full-time. He was an active supporter of post-war science fiction and also a member of the Fortean Society. He won a Hugo Award in 1955 for his short story "Allamagoosa".

Russell's full-length works (some of which are collections of related stories) include

• Sinister Barrier (1939)
• Dreadful Sanctuary (1948)
• Sentinels from Space (also published as The Star Watchers, 1951)
• Three to Conquer (also published as Call Him Dead, 1955)
• Men, Martians and Machines (1955)
• Wasp (1957)
• Next of Kin (also published as The Space Willies, 1958)
• The Great Explosion (1962)
• With A Strange Device (1964)
• Somewhere a Voice (1965)

Russell also wrote many short stories and novellas.