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Jan Matzal (3 August 1881 inValašské Klobouky,Moravia - 3 September 1961 inPrague), known under pen namesJ. M. Troska andJan Merfort, was aCzech writer.
After his studies Jan Matzal worked in theŠkoda Works and other industrial companies. DuringWorld War I he was sent to the front because of attempt[citation needed] to cover up a sabotage by factory workers. After the war Matzal lived inYugoslavia (1921-1926), then returned toCzechoslovakia. He obtained a disability pension at the age of 49 after a lifetime of living withMénière's disease. During years 1932–1949, he spent his time by writing.
He published his first novel,Boží soud (1935, about village life), under the pen name Jan Merfort. Later (1936 – 1943) he used the pen name J. M. Troska (Troska meansa ruin inCzech, to point out his physical suffering) and published mostlyscience fiction novels. In these novels Matzal freely ignored rules of physics, used very simple and naïve language, and employed dramatic situations and many new ideas of his time (powerful robots, huge underground cities constructed inside aHollow Earth, nuclear weapons, automatically guided missiles, interplanetary travels, cosmic empires, aliens and telepathy). His books were very popular among children and teenagers: they are similar to fairy tales, where characters are crystal clear and the good always wins.
The books were illustrated byZdeněk Burian (covers) andJiří Wowk. Some of his books were reprinted in 1960–70 (illustrated byMiloš Novák) and 1990–2000 (illustrated byTeodor Rotrekl).
A main-belt asteroid17776 Troska discovered in 1998 by Czech astronomerPetr Pravec from theOndřejov Observatory was named after the writer.[1] The name was chosen at the meeting of sci-fi fansAvalcon inChotěboř on May 5, 2001.[2][permanent dead link]
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