Richard Bessière
Henri Richard Bessière (1923 – 22 December 2011) was a French author of science fiction and espionage novels. His œuvre, particularly abundant, was published primarily by publisher Fleuve Noir.[1] Bessière was one of the leading authors of publisher Fleuve Noir's popular imprints Anticipation and Espionnage.
Bessière was born and died at Béziers - a year after his death, his home town announced that a street would be named in his honour.[2] His first science fiction series (1951–54) featured the Conquérants de l’Univers [Conquerors Of The Universe], a band of Earthmen led by professor Bénac, the inventor of a spaceship called Meteor, who explore the Solar System. Bessière's most popular series featured the adventures of American journalist Sydney Gordon, his ditzy wife Margaret, his catastrophe-prone son, Bud, and his scientist friends, Archie and Gloria Brent. The series began with serious tales of alien or extra-dimensional invasions, but eventually took a satirical turn. Bessière's other popular series involved the hard-boiled adventures of Dan Seymour, a futuristic James Bond.
Bessière also made his mark on French science fiction through a number of non-connected novels that featured an original blend of horror and science fiction. Monstrous aliens threatening to take over mankind were featured in Escale chez les Vivants [Stop-Over Among The Living] (1960); evil entities from beyond human ken whose only weakness was sound invaded Earth in Les Maîtres du Silence [The Masters Of Silence] (1965); Cette Lueur Qui Venait Des Ténèbres [That Light Which Came From The Dark] (1967) featured ghastly body-snatching parasites. The ultimately doomed reconquest of a post-cataclysmic Earth ruled by mutants and deadly lifeforms, was the subject of Légion Alpha (1961), Les Sept Anneaux de Rhéa [The Seven Rings Of Rhea] (1962), in which Earth was described as seven concentric spheres with Hell at its core, and Les Jardins de l’Apocalypse [The Gardens Of The Apocalypse] (1963). Les Marteaux de Vulcain [The Hammers Of Vulcan] (1969) described a nightmarish planet where survival was all but impossible.
Bessière also wrote almost a hundred spy thrillers for the Espionnage imprint of Fleuve Noir under the pseudonym of F.-H. Ribes. Many of these starred a hero called Gérard Lecomte.
Translations
[edit]Les Sept Anneaux de Rhéa and Les Jardins de l’Apocalypse have been translated by Brian Stableford and published as The Gardens of the Apocalypse (2010) ISBN 978-1-935558-68-2
References
[edit]- ^ Midi Libre. "L'écrivain Richard Bessière est mort". Midilibre.fr. Retrieved 2011-12-26.
- ^ Midi Libre. "Béziers s'apprêtre à rendre hommage à l'écrivain Richard Bessière". Midilibre.fr. Retrieved 2012-12-25.
Notes
[edit]Source: Some of the information contained in this article was taken from:
