Gerald Allan Sohl Sr. (December 2, 1913 – November 4, 2002) was an American television scriptwriter and science fiction author who wrote for ''

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'' (as a

ghostwriter A ghostwriter is a person hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often h ...

for Charles Beaumont), ''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, airing on CBS and NBC, alternately, between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. Between 1962 ...

'', '' The Outer Limits'', '' Star Trek: The Original Series'' (once using the pseudonym "Nathan Butler"), and other shows. He wrote more than twenty novels as well as feature film scripts. He also wrote the nonfiction works ''Underhanded Chess'' and ''Underhanded Bridge'' in 1973.

Novels

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'' reviewer Villiers Gerson described his 1953 novel ''The Transcendent Man'' as "contain ngenough twists to afford the reader a few hours' entertainment" despite being "oversimplified in motivation." P. Schuyler Miller found the plot unconvincing. Gerson later panned Sohl's ''The Altered Ego'', saying "This wordy book lacks characterization, emotion, suspense, and interest." His 1955 ''

Point Ultimate A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...

'' is a piece of

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invasion literature Invasion literature (also the invasion novel or the future war genre) is a literary genre that was popular in the period between 1871 and the World War I, First World War (1914–1918). The invasion novel was first recognised as a literary genr ...

: in 1999, a faraway

future history A future history, imaginary history or anticipatory history is a fictional conjecture of the future used by authors of science fiction and other speculative fiction to construct a common background for stories. Sometimes the author publishes a t ...

at the time of writing, the US lies under a cruel

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occupation, reinforced by a deadly artificial disease which makes conquered Americans dependent on the conquerors for the injections that keep them alive. In '' The Time Dissolver'' (1957), a man and a woman wake one morning to find that they have lost all memory of the past eleven years, including how they met and became married.

Ghostwriting

As Charles Beaumont became increasingly ill from a mysterious brain illness, possibly

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or very early onset

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, and unable to write, Sohl ghostwrote three episodes of ''

'' for him. These were " The New Exhibit", " Queen of the Nile" and " Living Doll". Beaumont insisted on splitting the fees for each episode.

Bibliography

Novels

*''The Haploids'' (1952) *''The Transcendent Man'' (1953) *''Costigan's Needle'' (1953) *''The Altered Ego'' (1954) *''Point Ultimate'' (1955) *''The Mars Monopoly'' (1956) *''The Time Dissolver'' (1957) *''Prelude to Peril'' (1957) *''One Against Herculum'' (1959) *''The Odious Ones'' (1959) *''Night Slaves'' (1965) *''The Lemon Eaters'' (1967) *''The Anomaly'' (1971) *''The Spun Sugar Hole'' (1971) *''Dr. Josh'' (1973) (as by Nathan Butler) *''The Resurrection of Frank Borchard'' (1973) *''Mamelle'' (1974) (as by Nathan Butler) *''SuperManChu, Master of Kung Fu'' (1974) (as by Sean Mei Sullivan) *''Blow-Dry'' (1976) (as by Nathan Butler) *''I, Aleppo'' (1976) *''Mamelle, The Goddess'' (1977) (as by Nathan Butler) *''Death Sleep'' (1983) *''Kaheesh'' (1983) (as by Nathan Butler) *''Night Wind'' (1983) (as by Roberta Jean Mountjoy) *''Black Thunder'' (1983) (as by Roberta Jean Mountjoy)

Non-fiction

*''Underhanded Chess'' (1973) *''Underhanded Bridge'' (1973)

Filmography

Films

Television

References

External links

Obituary
on

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website * * * *
Jerry Sohl papers
at the

American Heritage Center The American Heritage Center is the University of Wyoming's repository of manuscripts, rare books, and the university archives. Its collections focus on Wyoming and the Rocky Mountain West (including politics, settlement, Native Americans, and W ...

20th-century American novelists American male novelists American science fiction writers 1913 births 2002 deaths American male short story writers American male screenwriters American male television writers American television writers 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters {{US-sf-writer-stub