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(1873-1946) US author of travel books and novels, many of the latter being historical tales set in California. In his later years he became interested in Spiritualism, believed he was in contact with his dead wife, and wrote some books about the other world, including The Unobstructed Universe (1940) and two sequels. Of sf interest is the Percy Darrow sequence. The Mystery (1907) with Samuel Hopkins Adams is a complicated tale involving an abandoned ship on the high seas, and the mysterious "celestium", an Invention with Basilisk characteristics, which the mutineers (who have stolen it) do not know has the effect of making anyone under its influence jump into the sea. In The Sign at Six (15 October-15 November 1910 Popular Magazine as "The City of Dread"; 1912) by White alone, Percy Darrow, the investigative protagonist of the previous book, uncovers a Mad Scientist who threatens to freeze New York with his "nullifier".
Of White's moderately numerous adventures set in Africa, most of which unusually express some concern for that continent's disappearing wildlife, Back of Beyond (1927) is a genuine Lost Race tale clearly indebted to H Rider Haggard, featuring Ancient Egyptians and a clairvoyant Black man; and a white girl who is rescued. [JC/PN]
see also: Stardate.
born Grand Rapids, Michigan: 12 March 1873
died Hillsborough, California: 18 September 1946
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Entry from The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction edited by John Clute, David Langford, Peter Nicholls and Graham Sleight.
Accessed 22:32 pm on 26 April 2024.
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