Sohl, Jerry, 1913-2002

Jerry Sohl (1913–2002) was an American author of science fiction and suspense, though public information about him is limited and many details of his life remain little known. Five of his works are held in this collection: Brknk's Bounty, The Seventh Order, The Ultroom Error, The Hand, and The Elroom. Judging from their titles and their familiar themes, his writing often centers on technology out of control, unknown forces, and the human condition, and he was skilled at building suspense through tight plotting, combining science-fictional imagination with an atmosphere of suspense. These works show his concern with the ethics of technology and the boundaries of human nature, often using extraordinary situations to probe his characters' choices and fears. Although a fuller account of his life and complete body of work awaits more material, these works still offer readers a window into mid-twentieth-century American genre fiction.