Charles Sheffield
Encyclopedia
Charles Sheffield was an English
-born mathematician, physicist and science fiction
author. He had been a President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America
and of the American Astronautical Society
.
His novel The Web Between the Worlds, featuring the construction of a space elevator
, was published almost simultaneously with Arthur C. Clarke
's novel on the subject, The Fountains of Paradise
, a coincidence that amused them both.
For several consecutive years he was the chief scientist of Earth Satellite Corporation, a company analysing remote sensing
satellite data. This resulted in many technical papers and two popular non-fiction books, Earthwatch and Man on Earth
, both collections of false colour and enhanced images of Earth from space.
He won the Nebula
and Hugo
awards for his novelette "Georgia on My Mind
" and the 1992 John W. Campbell
Memorial Award for his novel Brother to Dragons.
Sheffield was Toastmaster
at BucConeer, the 1998 World Science Fiction Convention in Baltimore
.
He had been writing a column for the Baen Books
web site; his last column concerned the discovery of the brain tumour that led to his death.
In response to the traumatic grief from the death of his wife Sarah to cancer (in 1977), he began a second career as a prominent science fiction author, winning both the prestigious Nebula and Hugo awards and serving as President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (1984–1986). He maintained two successful careers, consulting for various scientific corporations while earning fame for his "Hard SF
". Sheffield was known to note that "the world was really too interesting to let alone." During this period he lived in Washington, DC, and met and married Linda Zall, a fellow scientist, and had two daughters, Elizabeth Rose and Victoria Jane.
At the time of his death, he was married to writer Nancy Kress
, and living with his children in Silver Spring, MD.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
-born mathematician, physicist and 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. He had been a President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, or SFWA is a nonprofit association of professional science fiction and fantasy writers. It was founded in 1965 by Damon Knight under the name Science Fiction Writers of America, Inc. and it retains the acronym SFWA after a very brief use of the SFFWA...
and of the American Astronautical Society
American Astronautical Society
Formed in 1954, the American Astronautical Society is an independent scientific and technical group in the United States dedicated to the advancement of space science and exploration. AAS supports NASA's Vision for Space Exploration and is a member of the Coalition for Space Exploration and the...
.
His novel The Web Between the Worlds, featuring the construction of a space elevator
Space elevator
A space elevator, also known as a geostationary orbital tether or a beanstalk, is a proposed non-rocket spacelaunch structure...
, was published almost simultaneously with Arthur C. Clarke
Arthur C. Clarke
Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...
's novel on the subject, The Fountains of Paradise
The Fountains of Paradise
The Fountains of Paradise is a Hugo and Nebula Award–winning 1979 novel by Arthur C. Clarke. Set in the 22nd century, it describes the construction of a space elevator. This "orbital tower" is a giant structure rising from the ground and linking with a satellite in geostationary orbit at the...
, a coincidence that amused them both.
For several consecutive years he was the chief scientist of Earth Satellite Corporation, a company analysing remote sensing
Remote sensing
Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon, without making physical contact with the object. In modern usage, the term generally refers to the use of aerial sensor technologies to detect and classify objects on Earth by means of propagated signals Remote sensing...
satellite data. This resulted in many technical papers and two popular non-fiction books, Earthwatch and Man on Earth
Man on Earth
Man on Earth is a four-part British documentary television series presented by Tony Robinson. The programme documents the effects of climate change across 200,000 years of human history. The series premiered 7 December 2009 on Channel 4 with 1.4 million viewers. Accompanying Robinson to help...
, both collections of false colour and enhanced images of Earth from space.
He won the Nebula
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 Hugo
Hugo Award
The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
awards for his novelette "Georgia on My Mind
Georgia On My Mind (novelette)
"Georgia on My Mind" is a novelette by Charles Sheffield which won both the Hugo Award for Best Novelette and the Nebula Award in 1994....
" and the 1992 John W. Campbell
John W. Campbell
John Wood Campbell, Jr. was an influential figure in American science fiction. As editor of Astounding Science Fiction , from late 1937 until his death, he is generally credited with shaping the so-called Golden Age of Science Fiction.Isaac Asimov called Campbell "the most powerful force in...
Memorial Award for his novel Brother to Dragons.
Sheffield was Toastmaster
Toastmaster
Toastmaster is a general term, prevalent in the United States in the middle 20th century, referring to a person in charge of the proceedings of a public speaking event. The toastmaster is typically charged with organization of the event, arranging the order of speakers, introducing one or more of...
at BucConeer, the 1998 World Science Fiction Convention in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
.
He had been writing a column for the Baen Books
Baen Books
Baen Books is an American publishing company established in 1983 by long time science fiction publisher and editor Jim Baen. It is a science fiction and fantasy publishing house that emphasizes space opera, hard science fiction, military science fiction, and fantasy...
web site; his last column concerned the discovery of the brain tumour that led to his death.
Personal life
Charles Sheffield attended St. John's College Cambridge where he graduated with a Double First in Mathematics and Physics. During his studies he met and later married his first wife, Sarah Sanderson, whose death in 1977 was the catalyst for his writing career. The two of them had a son, Charles Christopher, and his first daughter, Ann Elizabeth. The family soon after moved to America where Sheffield began working in the field of practical physics, a career that would lead him to a consultancy with NASA and the role of chief scientist at the Earth Satellite Corporation in Washington.In response to the traumatic grief from the death of his wife Sarah to cancer (in 1977), he began a second career as a prominent science fiction author, winning both the prestigious Nebula and Hugo awards and serving as President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (1984–1986). He maintained two successful careers, consulting for various scientific corporations while earning fame for his "Hard SF
Hard science fiction
Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by an emphasis on scientific or technical detail, or on scientific accuracy, or on both. The term was first used in print in 1957 by P. Schuyler Miller in a review of John W. Campbell, Jr.'s Islands of Space in Astounding Science...
". Sheffield was known to note that "the world was really too interesting to let alone." During this period he lived in Washington, DC, and met and married Linda Zall, a fellow scientist, and had two daughters, Elizabeth Rose and Victoria Jane.
At the time of his death, he was married to writer Nancy Kress
Nancy Kress
Nancy Kress is an American science fiction writer. She began writing in 1976 but has achieved her greatest notice since the publication of her Hugo and Nebula-winning 1991 novella "Beggars in Spain" which was later expanded into a novel with the same title...
, and living with his children in Silver Spring, MD.
Novels
- The Web Between The Worlds (1979)
- My Brother's Keeper (1982)
- The Selkie (1982) (with David BischoffDavid BischoffDavid F. Bischoff is an American science fiction and television writer.-General Background:Born in Washington D.C. and now living in Eugene, Oregon, Bischoff writes science fiction books, short stories, and scripts for television...
) - The McAndrew Chronicles (1983) - A collection of linked stories, partially sequel to The Web Between The Worlds
- Between the Strokes of NightBetween the Strokes of NightBetween the Strokes of Night is a Science Fiction novel by Charles Sheffield. The story is divided in two vastly separated time periods: the near future of 2010, and the far future of 29,000 AD...
(1985) - The Nimrod HuntNimrod HuntNimrod Hunt is a science fiction novel by Charles Sheffield. The story takes place hundreds of years in the future, with humanity having extensively colonized surrounding space, including beyond the solar system. Humans have encountered three extraterrestrial races, which although all bizarrely...
(1986, revised as The Mind Pool, 1993) - Trader's World (1988)
- Brother to Dragons (1992) - Won the John W. Campbell Memorial AwardCampbell award (best novel)The John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel for best science fiction novel was created in 1973 by writers and critics Harry Harrison and Brian W. Aldiss to honor Campbell's name...
- Cold as Ice (1992)
- Godspeed (1993)
- The Mind Pool (1993)
- The Judas Cross (1994) - With David Bischoff
- The Ganymede ClubThe Ganymede ClubThe Ganymede Club is a science fiction novel by Charles Sheffield, published in 1995. The story's mystery unravels in the same universe that Sheffield created for Cold as Ice, shortly after humanity begins colonisation of the solar system.-Setting:...
(1995) - Higher EducationHigher Education (novel)Higher Education is a 1995 science fiction novel by Charles Sheffield and Jerry Pournelle. It is the first in a series, published by Tor Books in their Jupiter line.-Plot introduction:...
(1995) - The Billion Dollar BoyThe Billion Dollar BoyThe Billion Dollar Boy is a 1997 science fiction novel by Charles Sheffield. The story takes place centuries in the future where asteroid mining is a major industry. Earth's population is 14 billion, most live in poverty...
(1997) - Putting Up Roots (1997)
- Tomorrow and TomorrowTomorrow and TomorrowTomorrow and Tomorrow is a 1997 science fiction novel by Charles Sheffield. The book starts in approximately the year 2020 and follows the extremely protracted adventures of Drake Merlin, in his obsessive quest to save his wife from a terminal brain disease, over the course of eons...
(1997) - Aftermath (1998)
- The Cyborg from EarthThe Cyborg from EarthThe Cyborg from Earth is a 1998 science fiction novel by Charles Sheffield. It is the fourth in a series of unrelated stories, published by Tor Books in their Jupiter line.-Plot introduction:...
(1998) - Starfire (1999)
- The Spheres of Heaven (2001)
- Dark as Day (2002)
- The Amazing Dr. Darwin (2002)
The Proteus Universe
- Sight of Proteus (1978)
- Proteus Unbound (1989)
- Proteus in the UnderworldProteus in the UnderworldProteus In The Underworld is a science fiction novel by Charles Sheffield. The book is set in the same universe as his previous works Proteus Unbound and Sight of Proteus , although it stands on its own and can be enjoyed regardless of familiarity with Sheffield's other novels.- Technological...
(1995)
The Heritage Universe
- SummertideSummertideSummertide is a science fiction novel by Charles Sheffield written within the Heritage Universe. The story takes place millennia in the future, with humans having extensively colonized our spiral arm of the Milky Way and having encountered a number of intelligent alien races...
(1990) (Book One) - DivergenceDivergence (novel)Divergence is a science fiction novel by Charles Sheffield written in the Heritage Universe series. This book is the sequel to Summertide. The book takes place millennia in the future when most of the Orion arm of the galaxy has been colonized by humans and other races...
(1991) (Book Two) - TranscendenceTranscendence (novel)Transcendence is a novel by Charles Sheffield in the Heritage Universe series. This book is the sequel to Divergence and Summertide. After discovering new artifacts in the previous books, the team gets together again this time to search for the Zardalu unwittingly unleashed upon the galaxy during...
(1992) (Book Three) - ConvergenceConvergence (novel)Convergence is a novel in the Heritage Universe series by American science-fiction writer Charles Sheffield. This book is a sequel to Transcendence.-Plot:...
(1997) (Book Four) - ResurgenceResurgence (novel)Resurgence is the finale of the Heritage Universe and the last book published by Charles Sheffield. Following the previous book in the series, Convergence, there are no more Builder artifacts left in the part of the galaxy explored by the four clades of the Orion Arm...
(2002) (Book Five)
Collections
- Vectors (1979)
- Hidden Variables (1981)
- Georgia On My Mind and Other Places (1995)
- The Compleat McAndrew (2001) - revised and expanded version of The McAndrew Chronicles
Short stories
- "Humanity Test" (1989)
- "The Double-Spiral Staircase" (1990?)
- "A Braver Thing" (1990)
- "Georgia on My MindGeorgia On My Mind (novelette)"Georgia on My Mind" is a novelette by Charles Sheffield which won both the Hugo Award for Best Novelette and the Nebula Award in 1994....
" (1993) (HugoHugo AwardThe Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
, NebulaNebula AwardThe 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...
) - "Tunicate, Tunicate, Wilt Thou Be Mine" (1989)
- "Dies Irae" (1985)
- "Brooks Too Broad For Leaping" (1998)
- "The Diamond Drill" (2002)
- "The Demon of E Staircase" (2003)