In 1970 he travelled overland with a number of other SF fans from Australia to England, and from that point he called London home until his untimely death there in 2005.ĭuring his early years in the UK Brosnan continued his involvement in SF fandom and became well known for his non-fiction writing on SF, fantasy and horror films, which included regular film columns for the UK magazines “Starburst” and “Science Fiction Monthly”. John Brosnan was born in Perth in 1947 and lived there until the late 1960s when he followed his passion for science fiction to Sydney and became active in local fandom. Writing under his own name Brosnan is probably best known as a science fiction and fantasy novelist, but as “Harry Adam Knight”, “Simon Ian Childer” and “James Blackstone” he has also written highly entertaining horror thrillers in collaboration with Leroy Kettle and fellow Australian writer John Baxter. Want a few more titles? What about Carnosaur, Torched! and Bedlam?ĭoes it help if I mention that these novels are written by the authors Harry Adam Knight, Simon Ian Childer and James Blackstone? Not really? Okay, what if I admit that these names are actually all pseudonyms?īelieve it or not every single one of these horror novels was written, or at least partially written, by the Australian writer John Brosnan.

What I’m looking for is the Australian link… And beware of jumping to the conclusion that they’re all potboilers or schlock horror because you would be wrong.

What do horror novels with titles such as The Fungus, Slimer, Tendrils and Worm all have in common? Aside from the fact that they’re all UK paperback originals with garish covers, that is.

Slimer harry adam knight