''The Grand Wheel'' is the eighth

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

novel by

Barrington J. Bayley Barrington J. Bayley (9 April 1937 – 14 October 2008) was an English science fiction writer. Biography Bayley was born in Birmingham, England, and educated in Newport, Shropshire. He worked a number of jobs before joining the Royal Air Forc ...

. The novel follows Cheyne Scarne, a professor of "randomatics", as he is selected by the eponymous organization (which holds a galactic monopoly on games of chance) to represent humanity in a card game with infinitely varying rules. The name of the main character appears to be a reference to

John Scarne John Scarne (; March 4, 1903 – July 7, 1985) was an American magician and author who was particularly adept at playing card manipulation. He became known as an expert on cards and other games, and authored a number of popular books on cards, ...

Literary significance and reception

Rhys Hughes Rhys Henry Hughes (born 1966, Cardiff, Wales) is a Welsh fantasy writer and essayist. Career Born in Cardiff, Hughes has written in a variety of forms, from short stories to novels. His long novel ''Engelbrecht Again!'' is a sequel to Maur ...

, in his survey of Bayley's work, described ''The Grand Wheel'' as an "entertaining gambling novel" with a "seedy and elegant" atmosphere.

Colin Greenland Colin Greenland (born 17 May 1954) is a British science fiction writer, whose first story won the second prize in a 1982 Faber & Faber competition. His best-known novel is '' Take Back Plenty'' (1990), winner of both major British science ficti ...

, writing in '' Foundation 18'', received the novel negatively, saying that it had been produced for the market and "would have been old in 1957".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grand Wheel 1977 British novels 1977 science fiction novels Novels by Barrington J. Bayley DAW Books books English science fiction novels