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Barrington J. Bayley

バリントン・J・ベイリー

Barinton J. Beirī

Aliases: P. F. Woods / Michael Barrington / Mike Barrington
Pen Names: P. F. Woods（Early pseudonym used for submissions (e.g. New Worlds)）, Michael Barrington（Used for some collaborations (with Michael Moorcock)）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1937-04-09 （Birmingham, England）
Died
2008-10-14 age 71
Nationality
United Kingdom
Languages
English
Residence History
Birmingham (birth) → Shropshire (childhood and later residence) → London (period of varied employments) → Dublin (period of residence)

Career

Occupations
Writer, Science fiction author
Active Years
1954-2008
Influenced By
A. E. van Vogt, Charles L. Harness, Michael Moorcock, Ian Watson, Donald A. Wollheim
Influenced
Bruce Sterling

Awards

Seiun Award (Best Overseas Long Work)
1984
Work: The Garments of Caean
Category: 海外長編部門
Organization: Japan SF Fan Groups Association (Seiun Award)
Result: 受賞
Seiun Award (Best Overseas Long Work)
1985
Work: The Zen Gun
Category: 海外長編部門
Organization: Japan SF Fan Groups Association (Seiun Award)
Result: 受賞
Seiun Award (Best Overseas Long Work)
1990
Work: Collision with Chronus
Category: 海外長編部門
Organization: Japan SF Fan Groups Association (Seiun Award)
Result: 受賞
BSFA Award (Short Fiction)
1996
Work: A Crab Must Try
Category: 短篇部門
Organization: British Science Fiction Association
Result: 受賞
Philip K. Dick Award
1983
Work: The Zen Gun
Organization: Philip K. Dick Award Committee
Result: ノミネート

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Star Virus

1970 Science fiction (space opera / speculative)

Expanded from a novella; contains large-scale speculative and strange ideas about time and space.

exploration of spacewild imagination
Translations
  • The Star Virus (translated by Nozomi Omori)

Collision with Chronus

1973 Science fiction (time SF)

A novel centered on the bold idea of colliding timelines.

timeparadox
Translations
  • Collision with Chronus (translated by Nozomi Omori)

The Garments of Caean

1976 Science fiction (philosophical SF)

A novel that dramatizes the philosophical premise 'clothes make the person' with bizarre inventions and ideas.

identitymatter and self
Translations
  • The Garments of Caean (translated by Wataru Fuyukawa; new translation by Nozomi Omori available)

The Zen Gun

1983 Science fiction (speculative / weird SF)

A novel with a unique premise about weapons and thought; was nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award.

weapons and ideasreligious/philosophical motifs
Translations
  • The Zen Gun (translated by Akinobu Sakai)

The Soul of the Robot

1974 Science fiction (robot SF)

A novel in a series featuring Jasperodas, a robot endowed with free will.

robotsfree will
Translations
  • The Soul of the Robot (translated by Nozomi Omori)

God-Gun (short story collection)

2016 Short story collection

A Japan-original short story collection containing representative and previously untranslated works.

fantastical ideasconceptual SF experiments

Bibliography

  • The Star Virus (1970)
  • Collision with Chronus (1973)
  • The Fall of Chronopolis (1974)
  • The Soul of the Robot (1974)
  • The Garments of Caean (1976)
  • The Grand Wheel (1977)
  • The Knights of the Limits (1978)
  • The Zen Gun (1983)
  • The Rod of Light (1985)
  • Eye of Terror (2000)
  • The Great Hydration (2002)
  • The Sinners of Erspia (2002)
  • The Seed of Evil (short stories, 1979)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
speculative/quirky SFwidescreen baroquemetaphysical space opera
Recurring Motifs
time and paradoxbizarre gadgetsrobots and free willclothing/appearance and identity

Health

  • colorectal cancer
    2008（合併症で死去）
    Died in 2008 due to complications of colorectal cancer; no further new works after that date.

Legacy

Recognized for imaginative, idea-driven SF often described as 'widescreen baroque'. Commercial success was limited in his lifetime, but he was reevaluated in the 2000s with reprints and posthumous publications. Influenced writers such as Bruce Sterling.

Archives

  • Materials recorded in international authority databases (VIAF, ISNI, LOC, NDL, etc.)

Quotes

  • Bayley is a model of the true spirit of science fiction — a near-perfect exemplar.
    Source: Bruce Sterling (foreword to a Japanese edition; comment in introductions) (1989)

Trivia

  • Debuted in 1954 with the short story "Combat's End."
  • Served in the Royal Air Force from 1955 to 1957.
  • Published under pseudonyms such as P. F. Woods and Michael Barrington.
  • Was involved in a royalty dispute and subsequent legal action after the 1979 publication of The Seed of Evil.
  • Published a Warhammer 40,000 tie-in novel (Eye of Terror) in 2000, which helped trigger renewed interest and reprints.