Harry Clement Stubbs (May 30, 1922 – October 29, 2003), better known by thepen nameHal Clement, was anAmericanscience fiction writer and a leader of thehard science fiction subgenre. He also painted astronomically oriented artworks under the nameGeorge Richard.[2]
From 1949 to 1953, Clement's first three novels were two-, three-, and four-partAstounding serials under Campbell:Needle (Doubleday, 1950),Iceworld (Gnome Press, 1953), andMission of Gravity (1954), his best-known novel, published by Doubleday's Science Fiction Book Club (established 1953). The latter novel features a land and sea expedition across thesuperjovian planetMesklin to recover a stranded scientific probe. The natives of Mesklin arecentipede-like intelligent beings about 50 centimeters long. Various episodes hinge on the fact that Mesklin's fast rotational speed causes it to be considerably deformed from the spherical, with effective surface gravity that varies from approximately 3gn at the equator to approximately 700gn at the poles.
Clement's article "Whirligig World" describes his approach to writing a science fiction story:
Writing a science fiction story is fun, not work. ... the fun ... lies in treating the whole thing as a game.... [T]he rules must be quite simple. They are; for the reader of a science-fiction story, they consist of finding as many as possible of the author's statements or implications which conflict with the facts as science currently understands them. For the author, the rule is to make as few such slips as he possibly can... Certain exceptions are made [e.g., to allow travel faster than the speed of light], but fair play demands that all such matters be mentioned as early as possible in the story...
Clement was a frequent guest at science fiction conventions, especially in the eastern United States, where he usually presented talks and slide shows about writing and astronomy.
Clement died in his sleep in Massachusetts at theMilton Hospital on October 29, 2003, at age 81.[7]
Clement has been honored several times for his cumulative contributions including 1998 Hall of Fame induction, when Clement andFrederik Pohl were the fifth and sixth living persons[a] honored, and the 1999 SFWA Grand Master Award.[3][4][5]
For the 1945 short story "Uncommon Sense" he received a 50-yearRetro Hugo Award at the 1996World Science Fiction Convention.Mission of Gravity, first published as a serial during 1953, was named best foreign novel by the Spanish Science Fiction Association in 1994 and it was a finalist for a 50-year Retro Hugo Award in 2004.[5]
EditorSam Merwin Jr. added 10,000 words to Clement's novella "Planetfall" for its publication in the February 1957 issue ofSatellite Science Fiction as "Planet for Plunder".Clement's short story "Hot Planet" took the cover of the August 1963 issue ofGalaxy Science Fiction.
"Proof" (June 1942). Short story. Published inAstounding. Collected inThe Essential Hal Clement Volume 2,Possible Worlds of Science Fiction (1951),SF: Author's Choice 2 (1970),Where Do We Go From Here? (1971),The Great SF Stories 4 (1942) (1980),First Voyages (1981),The Golden Years of Science Fiction (Second Series) (1983),Encounters (1988),Ascent of Wonder (1994) andWondrous Beginnings (2003).
Impediment (August 1942). Novelette. Published inAstounding. Collected inNatives of Space,The Best of Hal Clement andThe Essential Hal Clement Volume 2.
Avenue of Escape (November 1942). Published inAstounding's series Probability Zero. Collected inThe Essential Hal Clement Volume 2.
"Attitude" (September 1943). Novella. Published inAstounding. Collected inThe Essential Hal Clement Volume 2 andTravellers of Space (1951).
Technical Error" (January 1944). Novelette. Published inAstounding. Collected inNatives of Space,The Best of Hal Clement andThe Essential Hal Clement Volume 2.
"Trojan Fall" (June 1944). Short story. Published inAstounding. Collected inSmall Changes.
"Critical Factor" (1953). Short story not included in any of the Hal Clement's compilations. Published inStar Science Fiction Stories #2Archived 2015-03-11 at theWayback Machine (1953). Collected inTitan 4 (1977) andThe Road to Science Fiction #3: From Heinlein to here (1979).
"Ground" (December 1953). Short story not included in any of the Hal Clement's compilations. Published inScience Fiction Adventures.
"Planet for Plunder" (February 1957). Published inSatellite SF jointly with Sam Merwin Jr. A previous version of "Planetfall". Collected inMen of the Morning Star/Planet for Plunder.
"The Lunar Lichen" (February 1960). Novelette not included in any of the Hal Clement's compilations. Published inFuture Science Fiction. Collected inThe Time Trap/The Lunar Lichen.
"The Green World" (May 1963). Novella not included in any of the Hal Clement's compilations. Published inIf. Collected inThe Moon is Hell!/The Green World.
"The Foundling Stars" (August 1966). Short story. Published inIf. Collected inSmall Changes andThe Second If Reader of Science Fiction (1968).
"The Mechanic" (September 1966). Novelette. Published inAnalog. Collected inSmall Changes,The Essential Hal Clement Volume 2 andAnalog: Writers’ Choice, Volume II (1984).
"Bulge" (September 1968). Novelette. Published inIf. Collected inSmall Changes andThe Essential Hal Clement Volume 2.
'"Planetfall" (1972). Original version of "Planet for Plunder" (1957). Published inStrange Tomorrows (1972). Collected inThe Essential Hal Clement Volume 2.
"Lecture Demonstration" (1973). Short story from the Mesklin Series (ofMission of Gravity fame). Published in the bookAstounding (1973). Collected inThe Essential Hal Clement Volume 3,Heavy Planet andMission of GravityArchived 2015-09-19 at theWayback Machine (1978).
"Mistaken for Granted" (January/February 1974). Novella. Published inWorlds of If. Collected inThe Best of Hal Clement.
"The Logical Life" (1974). Second short story in the Laird Cunningham Series. Published inStellar #1 (1974). Collected inIntuit andThe Essential Hal Clement Volume 2.
"Question of Guilt" (1976). Novelette. Published inThe Year's Best Horror Stories: Series IV (1976). Collected inThe Best of Hal Clement.
"Longline" (1976). Novelette. Published inFaster than Light (1976). Collected inThe Essential Hal Clement Volume 2.
"Seasoning" (September/October 1978). Novelette set in Harlan Ellison'sMedea world. Not included in any of Hal Clement's compilations. Published inIASFM. Collected inMedea: Harlan's World (1985) andAliens and UFO's (1993).
"Status Symbol" (1987). Novelette, the last story in the Laird Cunningham Series. Published inIntuit. Collected inThe Essential Hal Clement Volume 2.
"Sortie" (spring/summer 1994). First part of the Sortie series. Novella not included in any of Hal Clement's compilations to date. Published inHarsh Mistress.
"Settlement" (fall/winter 1994). Second part of the Sortie series. Novella not included in any of Clement's compilations. Published inAbsolute Magnitude.
"Seismic Sidetrack" (spring 1995). Third part of the Sortie series. Novella not included in any of Hal Clement's compilations to date. Published inAbsolute Magnitude.
"Simile" (summer 1995). Fourth and last part of the Sortie series. Novella not included in any of Hal Clement's compilations. Published inAbsolute Magnitude.
"Under" (January 2000). Short story, last story in the 'Mesklin series. Published inAnalog. Collected inThe Essential Hal Clement Volume 3 andHeavy Planet.
"Office politics" (2003). Short story not included in any of Clement's compilations. Published inReadercon 15 Souvenir Book (This may be an article and not a fiction story)
Needle (1950),ISBN0-380-00635-9 (The first novel in the Needle series. Also published asFrom Outer Space. Published as young adult fiction although it includes abstract hard science fiction.)
Space Lash (1969), (reprint in paperback ofSmall Changes)
First Flights to the Moon (1970), ASIN B000BCHC4Y (anthology of short stories from others, edited by Hal Clement)
Star Light (1971),ISBN0-345-02361-7 (part of the Mesklin series, sequel toMission of Gravity. It also shares some characters withClose to Critical)
Ocean on Top (1973),ISBN1-4510-1057-5 (magazine publications in 1967)
Left of Africa (1976),ISBN0936414014 (historical novel for young adults, apparently limited to 750 copies[9])
Through the Eye of a Needle (1978),ISBN0-345-25850-9 (the second and last novel in the Needle series)
The Best of Hal Clement (1979),ISBN0345276892 (collection of 10 short stories, including all ofNatives of Space and two fromSmall Changes: "Uncommon Sense" and "Dust Rag")
Half Life (1999),ISBN0-312-86920-7 (Humanity is going extinct due to disease, scientists are sent to Titan in the faint hope of finding biochemical clues to a cure)
Men of the Morning Star/Planet for Plunder (2011),ISBN978-1-61287-018-2 (two novellas, the first by Edmond Hamilton and the second by Hal Clement and Sam Merwin Jr.)
The Moon is Hell!/The Green World (2012),ISBN978-1-61287-087-8 (two novellas, the first by John W. Campbell Jr. and the second by Hal Clement)
The Time Trap/The Lunar Lichen (2013),ISBN978-1-61287-142-4 (two novellas, the first by Henry Kuttner and the second by Hal Clement)
Hal Clement SF Gateway Omnibus (2014),ISBN978-0575110151 (collection of the novelsIceworld,Cycle of Fire andClose to Critical)
Probability Zero! (nov 1942). Published jointly with Malcolm Jameson, Harry Warner Jr., Dennis Tucker and P. Schuyler Miller inAstounding. AboutProbability Zero, Harry Harrison said in the John Campbell Memorial Anthology:[10]
"In the early 1940s, in Astounding, there was a small department called Probability Zero! that ran short-short stories. Or items. Or lies. Things. These things were usually funny and always impossible - echoing the description of the title."
Whirligig World (jun 1953). About how to write science fiction, and specifically, about how he wroteMission of Gravity. Published inAstounding. Collected inThe Essential Hal Clement Volume 3,Heavy Planet andMission of Gravity (1978).
Some Notes on Xi Bootis. Published by Advent Publishers.
Gravity insufficient (nov 1961). Published inAnalog Science Fact.
Chips on Distant Shoulders (1980). Published inThe Future at War Vol. 3.
Basic Concepts: Astrophysics, Geology (1985). About Harlan Ellison's worldMedea. Published inMedea: Harlan's World.
Second Thoughts (1985). About Harlan Ellison's worldMedea, jointly written with Poul Anderson, Thomas M. Disch, Larry Niven & Frederik Pohl. Published inMedea: Harlan's World.
The Home System (oct 1986). Published inAboriginal.
Intuition: The Guide Who Needs Steering (1987). Published inIntuit.
Hal Clement atLibrary of Congress, with 20 library catalog records (under 'Clement, Hal' and 'Clement, Hal, 1922–' without '2003', previous page of browse report)
