Image of Edmond Hamilton

Timeline

Lifetime: 1904 - 1977 Passed: ≈ 47 years ago

Title

Writer

Country/Nationality

United States
Wikipedia

Edmond Hamilton

Edmond Moore Hamilton was an American writer of science fiction during the mid-twentieth century.

Born in Youngstown, Ohio, he was raised there and in nearby New Castle, Pennsylvania. Something of a child prodigy, he graduated from high school and entered Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania at the age of 14, but washed out at 17.

On December 31, 1946, Hamilton married fellow science fiction author and screenwriter Leigh Brackett in San Gabriel, California, and moved with her to Kinsman, Ohio. Afterward he would produce some of his best work including his novels The Star of Life (1947), The Valley of Creation (1948), City at World's End (1951) and The Haunted Stars (1960). In this more mature phase of his career, Hamilton moved away from the romantic and fantastic elements of his earlier fiction to create some unsentimental and realistic stories, such as "What's It Like Out There?" (Thrilling Wonder Stories, December 1952), his single most frequently-reprinted and anthologized work.

Though Hamilton and Leigh Brackett worked side by side for a quarter-century, they rarely shared the task of authorship; their single formal collaboration, Stark and the Star Kings, originally intended for Harlan Ellison's The Last Dangerous Visions, would not appear in print until 2005. It has been speculated that when Brackett temporarily abandoned science fiction for screenwriting in the early 1960s, Hamilton did an uncredited revision and expansion of two early Brackett stories, "Black Amazon of Mars" and "Queen of the Martian Catacombs" — revised texts were published as the novellas People of the Talisman and The Secret of Sinharat (1964).

Edmond Hamilton died in February 1977 in Lancaster, California, of complications following kidney surgery. In the year before his death, Toei Animation had launched production of an anime adaptation of his Captain Future novels and Tsuburaya Productions adapted Star Wolf into a tokusatsu series; both series were aired on Japanese television in 1978. The Captain Future adaptation was later exported to Europe, winning Hamilton a new and different fan base than the one that had acclaimed him half a century before, notably in France, Italy and Germany.

Joint interviews of Brackett and Hamilton by Dave Truesdale were published in Tangent (Summer 1976), and by Darrell Schweitzer in Amazing Stories (January 1978), — the latter published several months after Hamilton's death, but conducted "much earlier", Truesdale attributes to Schweitzer.

Books by Edmond Hamilton

Citadel of the Star Lords Cover image

Citadel of the Star Lords

Novel
Future Mankind Space Time Travel Invasion Earth

"Citadel of the Star Lords," is a time travel tale about a lonely aircraft and its pilot who are thrown into the future when they are caught in a nuclear blast over the Nevada desert. In this futuristic time, mankind has been reduced to Stone Age lev...

The World with a Thousand Moons Cover image

The World with a Thousand Moons

Science Fiction Novel
Adventure Thriller Planets Journey Experiences Imagination

It tells the story of a man who finds himself stranded on a strange and dangerous planet with a thousand moons. First published in 1942, "The World with a Thousand Moons" is a classic example of the space opera genre, featuring thrilling action sequ...

The Metal Giants Cover image

The Metal Giants

Science Fiction Novel
Revolution Adventure Thriller Explore Planets Investigative

It follows the adventures of a young engineer named Cliff Sutherland. When a new metal is discovered that can revolutionize the industry, Cliff is sent to investigate and ends up discovering something much more incredible than he could have ever imag...

The City at World's End Cover image

The City at World's End

Science Fiction Novel
Mystery Thriller Challenges Space Suspense Humanity Landscape Resilience Secret Twists

Readers are transported to the sleepy town of Middletown. Nestled in the serene hills of Connecticut, life is peaceful until an unforeseen catastrophe strikes. Unimaginable destruction rains down upon Earth when a cosmic disaster hurtles the entire t...

The Brain Cover image

The Brain

Science
Moral Dilemmas Challenges Suspense Technology Science Criminals Scientific Curiosity

Unleash the power of the mind in "The Brain," a captivating science fiction masterpiece by Edmond Hamilton. Venture into a world where cutting-edge science intersects with the depths of human consciousness. When brilliant scientist Jan Hendron create...

Forgotten World, by Edmond Hamilton Cover image

Forgotten World, by Edmond Hamilton

Science Fiction Novel
Love Mystery Space Opera Adventure Forest Loss Alien

In the heart of the impenetrable Amazon rainforest lies a secret beyond imagination—a "Forgotten World" awaiting discovery. Edmond Hamilton's enthralling science fiction novel catapults you into a riveting adventure. A team of daring explorers, drive...