Avram Davidson (April 23, 1923 – May 8, 1993) was an American writer of

fantasy fiction Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

, science fiction, and

crime fiction Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, crime novel, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives or fiction that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professiona ...

, as well as the author of many stories that do not fit into a genre niche. He won a

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) and chosen by its members. The award is administered by th ...

and three

World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous ann ...

s in the science fiction and fantasy genre, a World Fantasy Life Achievement award, and an ''Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'' short story award and an

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards hon ...

in the mystery genre. Davidson edited '' The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'' from 1962 to 1964. His last novel '' The Boss in the Wall: A Treatise on the House Devil'' was completed by Grania Davis and was a

Nebula Award The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA), a nonprofit association of pr ...

finalist in 1998. ''

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (''SFE'') is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo Award, Hugo, Locus Award, Locus and BSFA Award, British SF Awards. Two print editions appea ...

'' says "he is perhaps sf's most explicitly literary author".

Biography

Davidson was born in 1923 in

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...

, to

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

parents. He served as a Navy hospital corpsman (medic) with the Marine Corps in the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and began his writing career as a

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

ic scholar around 1950. As reported at the time in the February 20, 1962, Yonkers daily, the '' Herald Statesman'', Rabbi Arnold Weinberger officiated at his wedding to Miss Grania Kaiman, which took place at the home of Damon Knight. This made his conversion to Tenrikyo in the 1970s unexpected. Although he had a reputation for being quick to anger, Davidson was known among his friends for his generosity. His peripatetic life and career may have been due to a disinclination to finish what he began. His reputation among science fiction and fantasy readers peaked in the 1960s, after which he had a coterie of fans who (as with R. A. Lafferty) kept his reputation alive, especially after his death. He was a member of the

Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America The Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America or SAGA was an informal group of American people, American fantasy authors active from the 1960s through the 1980s, noted for their contributions to the "Sword and sorcery, Sword and Sorcery" kind of ...

(SAGA), a loose-knit group of

Heroic Fantasy Sword and sorcery (S&S), or heroic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of romance, magic, and the supernatural are also often present. Unlike works of ...

authors founded in the 1960s, some of whose works were anthologized in Lin Carter's '' Flashing Swords!'' anthologies. While editing '' The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'' he lived in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, and later in

British Honduras British Honduras was a Crown colony on the east coast of Central America — specifically located on the southern edge of the Yucatan Peninsula from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony — renamed Belize from June 1973

(now renamed

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

). He lived in a rural district of Novato, in northern

Marin County, California Marin County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat a ...

, in 1970, but later moved closer to San Francisco. He lived in a small house in Sausalito, at the southern end of Marin County next to San Francisco in 1971 and 1972, and it was there fans and friends were welcomed. He worked for a short time in the late 1970s as a creative writing instructor at the

University of Texas at El Paso The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public university, public research university in El Paso, Texas, United States. Founded in 1913 as the State School of Mines and Metallurgy, it is the third oldest academic component of the Univers ...

. In his later years, he lived in

Washington state Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

, including a brief stay in the Veterans' Home in Bremerton. He died in his tiny apartment in Bremerton on May 8, 1993, aged 70. A memorial service was held in Gasworks Park in Seattle. He was survived by his son Ethan and his ex-wife Grania Davis, who continued to edit and release his unpublished works until her own death.

Fiction and articles

Davidson wrote many stories for fiction magazines beginning in the 1950s, after publishing his first fiction in '' Commentary'' and other Jewish intellectual magazines. Davidson was active in science fiction fandom from his teens. Two of his novels were nominated for a Nebula Award: ''Rogue Dragon'' (1965) and ''Virgil in Averno'' (1987).https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ch.cgi?501 Retrieved 24 May 2024. The latter follows ''The Phoenix and the Mirror'' (1969), a sequence about Vergil Magus, the magician that medieval legend made out of the Roman poet

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

. Other

speculative fiction Speculative fiction is an umbrella term, umbrella genre of fiction that encompasses all the subgenres that depart from Realism (arts), realism, or strictly imitating everyday reality, instead presenting fantastical, supernatural, futuristic, or ...

includes the Peregrine novels, comic views of Europe shortly after the fall of Rome; the Jack Limekiller stories, about a Canadian living in an imaginary Central American country modelled after

during the 1960s; and the stories of Dr. Eszterhazy, an erudite

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...

ian figure living in the mythical Scythia-Pannonia-Transbalkania, the waning fourth-largest empire in Europe. Lesser known and uncollected during his lifetime are his mystery stories, which were assembled after his death as ''The Investigations of Avram Davidson''. These mystery stories frequently have a historical setting, and are intricately plotted. In addition, Davidson ghosted two Ellery Queen mysteries, ''And on the Eighth Day'' and ''The Fourth Side of the Triangle,'' and a true crime collection, ''Crimes and Chaos.'' Other noteworthy works are his collaborations. In ''Joyleg, A Folly'', written in collaboration with Ward Moore, a veteran of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

(and of the

Whiskey Rebellion The Whiskey Rebellion (also known as the Whiskey Insurrection) was a violent tax protest in the United States beginning in 1791 and ending in 1794 during the presidency of George Washington. The so-called "whiskey tax" was the first tax impo ...

) is found alive and very well in the

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

backwoods, having survived over the centuries by daily soaks in whisky of his own making to hilariously face the world of the 1960s. In ''Marco Polo and the Sleeping Beauty,'' co-written with Grania Davis, the background of Marco Polo's travels in the Mongol Empire is borrowed for an original story. After Davidson's death, Grania Davis also finished ''The Boss in the Wall'', a claustrophobic horror novel that bears little resemblance to the work of any other writer. Davidson also wrote dozens of short stories that defy classification, and the ''Adventures in Unhistory'' essays, which delve into puzzles such as the identity of

Prester John Prester John () was a mythical Christian patriarch, presbyter, and king. Stories popular in Europe in the 12th to the 17th centuries told of a Church of the East, Nestorian patriarch and king who was said to rule over a Christian state, Christian ...

and suggest solutions to them. His earlier historical essays were scrupulously researched, even when published by magazines just as happy to offer fiction as fact. Later essays were handicapped by a lack of resources in the libraries of the small towns where Davidson lived in the pre-Internet era, but are enlivened by the style and bold speculation. Davidson's work is marked by a strong interest in history, with his plots often turning on what at first might seem like minor events. His characterization is also unusually in-depth for fantasy, and is often enriched by his ear for unusual accents. Davidson's most obvious characteristics are his plotting and style. Very little may ''happen'' in a Davidson story, but he described it in detail. Hidden among the detail are facts or omissions that later become important to the outcome of the story. Especially in his later works, Davidson included elements that beginning writers are told to avoid, such as page-long sentences with half a dozen colons and semi-colons, or an apparently irrelevant digression in the opening pages of a story. He expects much from his readers, but delivers much to them.

Books

*Kar-Chee series **
Rogue Dragon
', Ace, 1965 ** '' The Kar-Chee Reign'', Ace Double, 1966 *Vergil Magus series (a

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

series set an alternate ancient Mediterranean world in which

harpies In Greek and Roman mythology, a harpy (plural harpies, , ; ) is a half-human and half-bird mythical creature, often believed to be a personification of storm winds. They feature in Homeric poems. Descriptions Harpies were generally depicted ...

basilisk In European bestiary, bestiaries and legends, a basilisk ( or ) is a legendary reptile reputed to be a Serpent symbolism, serpent king, who causes death to those who look into its eyes. According to the ''Natural History (Pliny), Naturalis Histo ...

s, and

satyr In Greek mythology, a satyr (, ), also known as a silenus or ''silenos'' ( ), and sileni (plural), is a male List of nature deities, nature spirit with ears and a tail resembling those of a horse, as well as a permanent, exaggerated erection. ...

s exist during the

Punic Wars The Punic Wars were a series of wars fought between the Roman Republic and the Ancient Carthage, Carthaginian Empire during the period 264 to 146BC. Three such wars took place, involving a total of forty-three years of warfare on both land and ...

) ** '' The Phoenix and the Mirror'', Doubleday, 1969; issued in 1970 as ''The Phoenix and the Mirror or, The Enigmatic Speculum'' in the Ace Science Fiction Specials series **'' Vergil in Averno'', Doubleday, 1987 ** '' The Scarlet Fig; or Slowly through a Land of Stone''; Rose Press, 2005 * Peregrine series ** '' Peregrine: Primus'', Walker, 1971 ** '' Peregrine: Secundus'', Berkley, 1981 * Solo novels not part of a series ** '' Mutiny in Space'', Pyramid, 1964 ** '' Rork!'', Berkley, 1965 ** '' Masters of the Maze'', Pyramid, 1965 ** '' Clash of Star-Kings'', Ace Double, 1966 ** '' The Enemy of My Enemy'', Berkley, 1966 ** '' The Island Under the Earth'', original to the Ace Science Fiction Specials series, 1969 ** '' Ursus of Ultima Thule'', Avon, 1973 * With Ward Moore ** '' Joyleg'', Pyramid, 1962 * With Grania Davis ** '' Marco Polo and the Sleeping Beauty'', Baen, 1987 ** '' The Boss in the Wall, A Treatise on the House Devil'', Tachyon Publications, 1998 * Collections ** ''

Or All the Seas with Oysters "Or All the Seas with Oysters" is a science fiction short story by American writer Avram Davidson. It first appeared in the May 1958 issue of ''Galaxy Science Fiction'' and won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 1958. One of Davidson's best ...

'', Berkley, 1962 ** '' Crimes and Chaos, Regency, 1962 ** '' What Strange Stars and Skies'', Ace, 1965 ** '' Strange Seas and Shores'', Doubleday, 1971 ** '' The Enquiries of Doctor Eszterhazy'', Warner, 1975 ** '' The Redward Edward Papers'', Doubleday, 1978 ** '' The Best of Avram Davidson'', Doubleday, 1979 ** '' Collected Fantasies'', Berkley, 1982 ** '' The Adventures of Doctor Eszterhazy'', Owlswick, 1990 ** '' Adventures in Unhistory'', Owlswick, 1993 ** '' The Avram Davidson Treasury'', Tor, 1998 ** '' The Investigations of Avram Davidson'', Owlswick, 1999 ollected mystery stories** '' Everybody Has Somebody in Heaven'', Devora, 2000 ** '' The Other Nineteenth Century'', Tor, 2001 ** '' ¡Limekiller!'', Old Earth Books, 2003 *

Ellery Queen Ellery Queen is a pseudonym created in 1928 by the American detective fiction writers Frederic Dannay (1905–1982) and Manfred Bennington Lee (1905–1971). It is also the name of their main fictional detective, a mystery writer in New York City ...

books: mysteries written under the Ellery Queen name ** '' And on the Eighth Day'', Random House, 1964 ** '' The Fourth Side of the Triangle'', Random House, 1965

References

External links

WebsiteFan ClubBactra Review
– a brief appreciation of Davidson *
Biography from Embiid PublishingScience Fiction Encyclopedia entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, Avram 1923 births 1993 deaths 20th-century American novelists American fantasy writers United States Navy personnel of World War II American mystery writers American science fiction writers Edgar Award winners Hugo Award–winning writers Jewish American novelists People from Bremerton, Washington Writers from Yonkers, New York Place of birth missing American science fiction editors Tenrikyo people World Fantasy Award–winning writers Novelists from New York (state) Novelists from Washington (state) American male novelists American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers People from Novato, California 20th-century American male writers Novelists from California United States Navy corpsmen The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction people

Biography

Fiction and articles

Books

References

Further reading

External links