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R. DeWitt Miller (1910–1958)

Author of The Mars Monopoly / The Man Who Lived Forever

8+ Works 103 Members 1 Review

About the Author

Works by R. DeWitt Miller

The Mars Monopoly / The Man Who Lived Forever (1956) — Author — 33 copies, 1 review
Forgotten Mysteries (2017) 28 copies
Stranger Than Life (1962) 23 copies
Swenson, Dispatcher (2017) 5 copies
The Man Who Lived Forever (1956) 5 copies

Associated Works

Adventures in Time and Space (1946) — Contributor, some editions — 609 copies, 8 reviews
More Adventures in Time and Space (1955) — Contributor — 77 copies, 1 review
Galaxy Science Fiction 1956 April, Vol. 11, No. 6 (1956) — Contributor — 9 copies
Astounding Stories 1937 10 (1937) — Contributor — 4 copies

Tagged

Common Knowledge

Canonical name
Miller, R. DeWitt
Legal name
Miller, Richard DeWitt
Birthdate
1910-01-22
Date of death
1958-06-03
Gender
male
Nationality
USA
Birthplace
California, USA
Place of death
Los Angeles, California, USA
Associated Place (for map)
California, USA

Members

Reviews

2 reviews
The Mars Monopoly (1956): In the 1960s, I recall reading complaints by early reviewers of SF about stories that were just westerns with spaceships. They didn't name names and I never saw it in the SF I read (Heinlein, Bradbury, Sturgeon, Asimov, ...). Perhaps this was the novel they meant. The Mars Monopoly mashes together several genres. It starts with a boys' adventure rocket race at the start. Then settles in for a western gold mining story on Mars, with uranium for gold. There's a touch show more of noir in the relationship between the two-fisted hero and the widow who runs the only bar in town. Mars is the Old West, with thinner air. Spaceships mechanically are no more complicated than 1950s cars. Martians are the mistreated Indians. Though written for adults, it's really a young adult book at best.

The Man Who Lived Forever is copyrighted 1956, but reads more like 1930s. According to the Internet SF Database, it was originally published in 1938 with just R. De Witt Miller as author. My guess is that Anna Hunger updated it with some skeevy sex. Nothing is explicit just people coming together and dropping their robes, but cringe-inducing because of the ambiguously described youth of the primary female involved. The premise is silly. It was realized that the science was the only hope for civilization but it had become too complicated to learn everything in one lifetime. Therefore, one person was chosen to be the Master, rejuvenated every thirty years with the life energy of a randomly selected member of the World Scientists.

Not recommended, except for SF historians
show less
½

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Statistics

Works
8
Also by
4
Members
103
Popularity
#185,854
Rating
3.9
Reviews
1
ISBNs
2

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