Michael G. Coney
Encyclopedia
Michael Greatrex Coney (September 28, 1932 - November 4, 2005) was a British science fiction
writer who spent the later half of his life in Canada
. Born in Birmingham, England
on September 28, 1932, he moved to Victoria
, British Columbia
in 1972. He died at the age 73 of pleural mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs, on November 4, 2005 at the Saanich Peninsula Hospital palliative care unit.
The stories do also tie in with the cultural concerns of the time:
Another of Coney's themes is small isolated communities - The Hero of Downways, Winter's Children and Fang, the Gnome. In Syzygy the inhabitants of a small town, a fairly recent settlement on an alien planet, struggle to survive the hidden dangers of the planet's ecosystem; in Brontomek! the same characters a few years later face a wholly human threat from a multicorporate. A different perspective is seen in ‘‘Hello Summer, Goodbye’’ - an adventure/mystery among people who are not quite human, on a planet rather like Earth, but with significant differences. It is generally agreed to be his best novel and a particularly fine example of the coming-of-age genre. I Remember Pallahaxi, a previously unpublished sequel to Hello Summer Goodbye, appeared posthumously in 2007.
Brontomek! received the British Science Fiction Association award for best novel of 1976. He was nominated for a Nebula Award
in 1995 for his novelette, Tea and Hamsters.
An interesting feature of his work is how few of his female characters are unsympathetic : even the intimidating Mrs. Earnshaw, one of the dominating characters in Syzygy and Brontomek!, is essentially likeable.
The Celestial Steam Locomotive and Gods of the Greataway are two parts of a single tale, Cat Karina, Fang, the Gnome and King of the Scepter'd Isle are independent stories set in the same framework.
Brontomek! is set on the same world as Syzygy (and has many of the same characters) and is also loosely linked to Mirror Image and Charisma.
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 who spent the later half of his life in Canada
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...
. Born in Birmingham, England
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
on September 28, 1932, he moved to Victoria
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
in 1972. He died at the age 73 of pleural mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs, on November 4, 2005 at the Saanich Peninsula Hospital palliative care unit.
Assessment
Settings and themes of Coney's books vary between the different novels. A common element is that you follow rather ordinary people who are buffeted by forces beyond their strength, and mostly not much concerned with them. Most SF gives the superior powers to the leading characters, or has them acquire it during the course of the tale. Coney avoided this, and cleverly satirised it in The Hero of Downways.The stories do also tie in with the cultural concerns of the time:
- His first novel, Mirror Image (1972), neatly intensified the American genre's Cold War focus on impostors and secret invaders; in this case the "amorphs", who are indistinguishable from us, are themselves convinced that they are human.
- After a first rush of dystopian tales, however, Coney began to shift his ground... his most successful later work - The Celestial Steam Locomotive and Gods of the Greataway - could almost be set on a transfigured Vancouver Island.
Another of Coney's themes is small isolated communities - The Hero of Downways, Winter's Children and Fang, the Gnome. In Syzygy the inhabitants of a small town, a fairly recent settlement on an alien planet, struggle to survive the hidden dangers of the planet's ecosystem; in Brontomek! the same characters a few years later face a wholly human threat from a multicorporate. A different perspective is seen in ‘‘Hello Summer, Goodbye’’ - an adventure/mystery among people who are not quite human, on a planet rather like Earth, but with significant differences. It is generally agreed to be his best novel and a particularly fine example of the coming-of-age genre. I Remember Pallahaxi, a previously unpublished sequel to Hello Summer Goodbye, appeared posthumously in 2007.
Brontomek! received the British Science Fiction Association award for best novel of 1976. He was nominated for a 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...
in 1995 for his novelette, Tea and Hamsters.
An interesting feature of his work is how few of his female characters are unsympathetic : even the intimidating Mrs. Earnshaw, one of the dominating characters in Syzygy and Brontomek!, is essentially likeable.
Novels
- Mirror Image, 1972
- Syzygy, 1973
- Friends Come in Boxes, 1973
- The Hero of Downways, 1973
- Winter's Children, 1974
- Monitor Found in Orbit, 1974
- The Jaws that Bite, the Claws that Catch, 1974. (UK title, The Girl with a Symphony in her Fingers)
- Hello Summer, Goodbye in UK, aka. Rax in USA, aka Pallahaxi Tide in Canada 1975
- Charisma, 1975
- Brontomek!, 1976
- The Ultimate Jungle, 1979
- Neptune's Cauldron, 1981
- Cat Karina, 1982
- The Celestial Steam Locomotive, 1983
- Gods of the Greataway, 1984
- Fang, the Gnome, 1988
- King of the Scepter'd Isle, 1989
- A Tomcat Called Sabrina, 1992
- No Place for a Sealion, 1992
- I Remember Pallaxahi, 2007 (sequel to Hello Summer, Goodbye — published posthumously)
The Celestial Steam Locomotive and Gods of the Greataway are two parts of a single tale, Cat Karina, Fang, the Gnome and King of the Scepter'd Isle are independent stories set in the same framework.
Brontomek! is set on the same world as Syzygy (and has many of the same characters) and is also loosely linked to Mirror Image and Charisma.
Short stories
- The Angel of Marsh End, (nv) Amazing Winter 1995
- Bartholomew & Son (and the Fish-Girl) [Joe Sagar], (nv) New Writings in SF 27New Writings in SF 27New Writings in SF 27 is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Kenneth Bulmer, the sixth volume of nine he oversaw in the New Writings in SF series in succession to the series' originator, John Carnell. It was first published in hardcover by Sidgwick & Jackson in 1975, followed by...
, ed. Kenneth Bulmer, London: Sidgwick & Jackson 1975 - Belinda's Mother, (ss) Tesseracts 5, ed. Robert Runte & Yves Meynard, Edmonton: Tesseract Books 1996
- Beneath Still Waters, (nv) If January 1971
- The Bridge of the Scraw [Donald Lackland], (ss) F&SF July 1973
- The Bucca, (ss) TransVersions, Autumn 1994] [Number 1]
- Bulldog Drummond and the Grim Reaper, (nv) F&SF January 1996
- The Byrds, (ss) Changes, ed. Michael Bishop & Ian Watson, Ace 1983
- The Care and Killing of Your Doozle, (nv) Unpublished
- Catapult to the Stars [Joe Sagar], (nv) F&SF April 1977
- Catnap, (ss) Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine May 1997
- A Chimp of Few Words [Foss Creek], (nv) Scheduled to appear in Spectrum SF
- The Cinderella Machine [Joe Sagar], (nv) F&SF August 1976
- Crossing Pendhu Bridge, (nv) Unpublished
- Die, Lorelei [Joe Sagar], (nv) F&SF May 1993
- Discover a Latent Moses [from Winter's Children Gollancz, 1974], (nv) Galaxy April 1970
- Dorothy Past and Present, (ss) Crime Through Time II, ed. Miriam Grace Monfredo and Sharan Newman 1998
- An Entry in the Galactic Wildlife Encyclopedia, Copyright 2046, (vi) Drabble II: Double Century, ed. Rob Meades & David B. Wake, Beccon Publications 1990
- Esmeralda, (ss) Galaxy January 1972
- The Gateway to Now, (ss) F&SF July 1974
- The Girl With a Symphony in Her Fingers, (nv) Galaxy January 1974
- The Hand of Fair Lysette, (ss) Tales of the Round Table, ed. Mike Ashley, Past Times 1997
- Hold My Hand, My Love!, (nv) Worlds of Tomorrow Spring 1971
- The Hollow Where, (ss) New Writings in Horror and the Supernatural #1, ed. David A. Sutton, London: Sphere 1971
- The Hook, the Eye and the Whip [Joe Sagar], (nv) Galaxy March 1974
- In Search of Professor Greatrex, (ss) Pulsar #1, ed. George Hay, Penguin 1978
- A Judge of Men, (ss) Vision of Tomorrow December 1969
- Just an Old-Fashioned War Story, (ss) Ascents of Wonder, ed. David Gerrold, Popular Library 1977
- Lady Flamingo and the Shapecast Jennies, (ss) Unpublished
- The Manya [Donald Lackland], (ss) F&SF March 1973
- Mehitabel's Memories [Peninsula], (nv) Spectrum SF July 2001 [Number 6]
- Memories of Gwynneth, (as Jennifer Black) (ss) F&SF February 1986
- The Mind Prison, New Writings in SF 19New Writings in SF 19New Writings in SF 19 is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by John Carnell, the nineteenth volume in a series of thirty, of which he edited the first twenty-one...
, ed. John Carnell, London: Dobson 1971 - Monitor Found in Orbit, (ss) New Worlds Quarterly 2, ed. Michael Moorcock, London: Sphere 1971
- The Most Ancient Battle, (nv) Phantoms of the Night, ed. Richard Gilliam & Martin H. Greenberg, DAW 1996
- The Never Girl [fix-up Friends Come in Boxes Gollancz, 1975], (nv) If February 1973
- Oh, Valinda!, (nv) New Writings in SF 20New Writings in SF 20New Writings in SF 20 is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by John Carnell, the twentieth volume in a series of thirty, of which he edited the first twenty-one...
, ed. John Carnell, London: Dobson 1972 - Penny on a Skyhorse, (ss) Galileo Double Issue 1979] [Number 11 & 12]
- Poppy Day [Joe Sagar], (nv) Spectrum SF February 2001 [Number 5]
- The Porcupine, (ss) Unpublished
- R26/5/PSY and I, (ss) New Writings in SF 16New Writings in SF 16New Writings in SF 16 is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by John Carnell, the sixteenth volume in a series of thirty, of which he edited the first twenty-one...
, ed. John Carnell, London: Dobson 1969 - The Sharks of Pentreath, (ss) Galaxy February 1971
- Shout of the Storm Riders, (ss) TransVersions, Winter 1996] [Number 6]
- Sixth Sense, (ss) Vision of Tomorrow August 1969
- The Small Penance of Lady Disdain, (nv) Hotel Andromeda, ed. Jack L. Chalker, Ace 1994
- Snow Princess [inc. in Winter's Children Gollancz, 1974], (nv) Galaxy January 1971
- Sophie's Spyglass, (ss) F&SF February 1993 the USS. monitor was used in the battle of the boston tea party
- Sparklebugs, Holly and Love, (ss) F&SF December 1977
- Starthinker 9, (ss) Andromeda 1, ed. Peter Weston, London: Futura 1976
- The Summer Sweet, the Winter Wild, (ss) Interfaces, ed. Ursula K. Le GuinUrsula K. Le GuinUrsula Kroeber Le Guin is an American author. She has written novels, poetry, children's books, essays, and short stories, notably in fantasy and science fiction...
& Virginia KiddVirginia KiddVirginia Kidd was an American literary agent, writer and editor, particularly influential in science fiction and related fields. She represented some of science fiction's most important authors, including Ursula K. Le Guin, R.A. Lafferty, Anne McCaffrey, and Gene Wolfe...
, Ace 1980 - Susanna, Susanna! [inc. in Charisma], (ss) F&SF November 1972
- Suspicion, (ss) Crime Through Time III, ed. Sharan Newman and Anne Perry 2000
- Suzy is Something Special, (nv) The Last Dangerous Visions, ed. Harlon Ellison] [Unpublished]
- Symbiote, (ss) New Writings in SF 15New Writings in SF 15New Writings in SF 15 is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by John Carnell, the fifteenth volume in a series of thirty, of which he edited the first twenty-one...
, ed. John Carnell, London: Dobson 1969 - Tea and Hamsters [Foss Creek], (nv) F&SF January 1995
- The Tertiary Justification, (nv) New Writings in SF 21New Writings in SF 21New Writings in SF 21 is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by John Carnell, the last volume he oversaw in the New Writings in SF prior to his decease; later volumes in the series were issued under the editorship of Kenneth Bulmer. It was first published in hardcover by Sidgwick &...
, ed. John Carnell, London: Sidgwick & Jackson 1972 - Thank You for the Music, (ar) Foundation #32 1984
- Those Good Old Days of Liquid Fuel [Joe Sagar], (nv) F&SF January 1976
- Trading Post, (ss) SF Digest 1976] [Number 1]
- The Trees of Terpsichore Three, (with Eric Brown)(nv) Spectrum SF May 2002
- Troubleshooter, (ss) If May 1970
- The True Worth of Ruth Villiers, (ss) New Writings in SF 17New Writings in SF 17New Writings in SF 17 is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by John Carnell, the seventeenth volume in a series of thirty, of which he edited the first twenty-one...
, ed. John Carnell, London: Dobson 1970 - Ultimatumbra, (ss) Vector Spring 1969 [Number 52]
- The Unsavory Episode of Mrs. Hector Powell-Challenger, (ss) Monitor Found in Orbit, (co) DAW 1974
- Werewolves in Sheep's Clothing [Foss Creek], (nv) F&SF September 1996
- What Are Little Girls Made Of?, (ss) TransVersions, Spring 1998] [Number 8/9]
- Whatever Became of the McGowans?, (ss) Galaxy May 1970
- A Woman and Her Friend [inc. in Friends Come in Boxes], (nv) If March 1973
Awards and nominations
- British Science Fiction Association Award 1977 for Brontomek!
- Best Novelette Nebula AwardNebula 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...
1995 nomination - Tea and Hamsters - 5 Aurora AwardAurora AwardThe Prix Aurora Awards are given out annually for the best Canadian science fiction and fantasy literary works, artworks, fan activities from that year, and are awarded in both English and French...
nominations
External links
- A bibliography, in PDF
- Another bibliography, with cover illustrations.
- A page devoted to Michael Coney Includes some unpublished work.
- Obituary in the Victoria Times Colonist.
- Obituary in The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
- Obituary by John Clute
- An interview given near the end of his life
- A tribute at Lonely Cry
- The True Worth of Ruth Villiers, a short story by Michael G. Coney, reproduced with permission on Cordula's Web