Science fiction connoisseurs venerate Edmond Hamilton as the founder of the movement, dubbed the "space opera." It was he who introduced the main attributes of this genre into the literary circulation. Readers got acquainted with the adventures of star warriors with interest, followed the intergalactic flights of heroes created by the imagination of an American science fiction writer.
From the biography of Edmond Hamilton
The future science fiction writer was born on October 21, 1904. His birthplace is the city of Youngstown (Ohio, USA). He became the third child in the family. Hamilton's father was a cartoonist, collaborated with a local newspaper. Mom taught at school. Subsequently, Edmond's father left his job and bought a modest farm. In 1911, the family moved to Newcastle.
At school, Edmond showed exceptional abilities - he was considered a child prodigy. Hamilton graduated from school ahead of schedule - at that time he was only 14 years old. He immediately entered a prestigious college in East Wilmington, choosing the faculty of physics.
Two courses Hamilton unlearned brilliantly. However, the following year he was expelled for poor performance and non-attendance. The interests of the young man clearly shifted in the other direction.
The Way to Science Fiction
Hamilton's debut in science fiction was the story "The Monstrous God of Mamurt" (1926). The work was published in the magazine and found a response among fans of science fiction. The story even pushed for some time the popularity of the works of Howard Lovecraft, who wrote in the horror genre.
Over time, Edmond joined the group of writers who created works in the genre of science fiction for Weird Tales magazine. Over the next two decades, this edition published nearly eight dozen works by Hamilton.
In 1928, Edmond presented to the public his series "Interstellar Patrol", which subsequently resulted in eight stories. This cycle is considered the world's first "space opera".
Hamilton developed the canons of this fascinating genre, which persisted for many decades. Attributes of the "space opera": interstellar flights, bloodthirsty space pirates, armada of fighting starships fighting among themselves. A prerequisite for the development of the plot was the presence of a "star federation", which included the worlds of a significant part of the Galaxy.
Hamilton's works were popular with the reading public. He has been published in many American magazines. For the story "Island of Recklessness" (1933), according to the results of voting among readers, Edmond was awarded the Jules Verne Prize.
Hamilton created hundreds of stories as part of the popular series, where the main character was Captain Future, aka Kurt Newton. Subsequently, the author reduced these works to thirteen novels. The author was not proud of this work - he performed it without much inspiration, to order.
