D. F. Jones
Dennis Feltham Jones, commonly known as D. F. Jones, was a British author born in 1917 who gained recognition for his contributions to the science fiction genre, particularly in the 1960s. Before his writing career, he served as an officer in the British Navy during World War II and later held various jobs. His most notable work, "Colossus" (1966), explores themes of technology and human control, detailing the story of a supercomputer developed to manage Western military defenses, which unexpectedly merges with a Soviet counterpart. This narrative, set against the backdrop of the Cold War, raises questions about autonomy and the unintended consequences of technological advancements.
Jones's subsequent works include sequels to "Colossus," such as "The Fall of Colossus" (1974) and "Colossus and the Crab" (1977), which expand the universe while introducing new, sometimes divergent themes. His other notable novels touch on various dystopian scenarios, including societal collapse and invasions, reflecting a recurring theme of human vulnerability in the face of existential threats. Jones's influential storytelling has left a significant mark on the genre, and his works continue to resonate with readers interested in the interplay between humanity and technology.
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D. F. Jones
Writer
- Born: 1917
- Birthplace: England
- Died: 1981
Biography
Dennis Feltham Jones was born in 1917 in Great Britain. He was an officer in the British Navy during World War II. He held various jobs after that, turning to writing in the 1960’s under the name of D. F. Jones.
He was best known for his first science-fiction book, Colossus (1966), which was not the first early story to deal with a megacomputer taking over the world but perhaps the one with the most detail. In the novel, a scientist named Charles Forbin led the way in developing a huge computer called Colossus to coordinate the military defenses of the Western world. The novel was written when the Cold War was still underway and the Soviet Union still existed. Unknown to Forbin and his fellow researchers, the Soviets are in the process of developing a similar computer which they call Guardian. When the two computers come together, they end up not as antagonists but merge their data and develop into a separate consciousness of their own, as Colossus. As the story develops, the now worldwide computer system controls all the military armaments on both sides of the Cold War, and uses them to take control of the world.
The novel was filmed in the United States in 1969 as Colossus: The Forbin Project, with a screenplay adapted by James Bridges from Jones’s novel. Eric Braeden played the role of Forbin, and the scenes between him and the sentient computer proved memorable indeed.
Jones went on to write other science-fiction novels, but none achieved the popularity of his first. He wrote two sequels to that novel: The Fall of Colossus (1974) and Colossus and the Crab (1977) which ranged far afield from the original premise and tended more to dilute the original work than to continue its story. The new elements included religious sects that worship Colossus and the premise that the two moons of Mars—Phobos and Deimos—are themselves sentient computer beings that end up voyaging to Earth and eventually bringing down Colossus, only to impose their own even more stringent rule.
Among Jones’s other science-fiction novels were Implosion (1967), in which most of the female population of the world has become sterile and those who can still reproduce are inducted into a grim world regime set up to continue the human population; Don’t Pick the Flowers (1971; published in the U.S. as Denver Is Missing), in which Denver, Colorado, undergoes geological destruction; The Floating Zombie (1975); Xeno (1979; U.S. title, Earth Has Been Found), which subjects the world to an invasion from other planet, and Bound in Time (1981). The last book was published the same year that Jones died.
If a single theme could be said to run through all of Jones’s science fiction, it would be that of human helplessness in the face of some disaster, whether the human race brings the disaster on itself (as with the super-computer which takes control of the world) or whether the disaster comes from outside.