Philip Purser-Hallard

:"For the television critic see Philip Purser."Philip Purser-Hallard (born 1971 as Philip Hallard) is an author and scholar whose interests in science fiction and religion have been expressed both in fiction and non-fiction.

Purser-Hallard received his doctorate in English literature at Oxford University, during which time he was President and Society Poet of the Douglas Adams Society, and a founder member of a student comedy troupe called Cruel and Unusual Punishment. His DPhil thesis, entitled 'The Relationship Between Creator and Creature in Science Fiction', examines how British and American science fiction of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries examine the relationship between humanity and a putative creating deity through stories about the creation of sentient individuals by scientists, working from Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" through to recent authors like Bruce Sterling, William Gibson and Dan Simmons. He also has interests in eschatological science fiction, as seen in his first novel, "Of the City of the Saved...".

Purser-Hallard has given three talks at the liberal Christian Greenbelt festival, all on the intersections of science fiction and religious themes: " [http://www.infinitarian.com/gbsfatb.html Science Fiction as the Bible] " and " [http://www.infinitarian.com/gbtbasf.html The Bible as Science Fiction] " (2004), and " [http://www.infinitarian.com/gbsodw.html The Spirituality of "Doctor Who"] " (2005). He writes a regular column on science fiction and faith for Surefish, the ISP and webzine arm of Christian Aid.

Most of his published fiction to date has been set in shared universes with origins in Doctor Who licensed fiction.

His brother is the artist Nick Hallard.

Bibliography

Novels and novellas

* "Of the City of the Saved..." (Mad Norwegian Press 2004), a novel in the Faction Paradox series.
* "Predating the Predators", a novella (alongside others by Mags L Halliday and Kelly Hale) in "Professor Bernice Summerfield and the Vampire Curse" (Big Finish Productions, forthcoming in 2008), an anthology in the Bernice Summerfield range.
* "Nursery Politics", a novella (alongside others by Kate Orman and Jonathan Blum) in "Nobody's Children" (Big Finish Productions 2007), a Bernice Summerfield anthology.
* "Peculiar Lives" (Telos Publishing 2005), a novella in the Time Hunter series.

hort fiction

* "Future Relations" (co-written with Nick Wallace) and five pieces under the umbrella title "Perspectives" in "Collected Works" (Big Finish Productions 2006, edited by Wallace), a Bernice Summerfield anthology.
* "The Ruins of Time" in "" (Big Finish Productions 2006, edited by Simon Guerrier), a "Doctor Who" anthology .
* "The Long Midwinter" in "" (Big Finish Productions 2005, edited by Guerrier), a "Doctor Who" anthology .
* "Minions of the Moon" in "Wildthyme on Top" (Big Finish Productions 2005, edited by Paul Magrs).
* "Sex Secrets of the Robot Replicants" in "A Life Worth Living" (Big Finish Productions 2004, edited by Guerrier), a Bernice Summerfield anthology. "Sex Secrets of the Robot Replicants" was reprinted as a prelude to the novel "The Two Jasons" by Dave Stone (Big Finish Productions 2007).
* " [http://www.infinitarian.com/scapegoat.html Scapegoat] " in "Emerge" (Subway 2003, edited by Jane Campion and Jude Simpson), an anthology of poetry, prose and drama.
* Various entries in "The Book of the War" (Mad Norwegian Press 2002, edited by Lawrence Miles), an anthology in encyclopedia form belonging to the "Faction Paradox" series.

Criticism

* " [http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/sciencefiction/story/0,,1842816,00.html The Drugs Did Work] ", an article on Philip K. Dick, in "The Guardian" (12 August 2006).
* "Cybernetic godhead": the relationship between creator and creature in the science fiction of William Gibson", in the journal "ManuScript" (1999).

urefish columns

* [http://www.surefish.co.uk/faith/features/2006/231106_divine_invasions.htm "It's been unreal"]
* [http://www.surefish.co.uk/faith/features/050107_divine_invasions2.htm "Santa Claus conquers the Martians"]
* [http://www.surefish.co.uk/faith/features/290107_philip_p_hallard3.htm "Getting needlessly messianic"]
* [http://www.surefish.co.uk/faith/features/020307_philip_p_hallard4.htm "Through an Orbital Mirror, Darkly"]
* [http://www.surefish.co.uk/faith/features/300307_philip_p_hallard5.htm "The Shape of Kingdoms to Come"]
* [http://www.surefish.co.uk/faith/features/240407_philip_p_hallard6.htm "Back to reality"]
* [http://www.surefish.co.uk/faith/features/070607_philip_p_hallard7.htm "I baptised an alien!"]
* [http://www.surefish.co.uk/faith/features/050707_philip_p_hallard8.htm "Follow the Master"]
* [http://www.surefish.co.uk/faith/features/190707_philip_p_hallard9.htm "Apocalypse Now?"]
* [http://www.surefish.co.uk/faith/features/210807_philip_p_hallard_9.htm "Feeling Listless?"]
* [http://www.surefish.co.uk/faith/features/021007_philip_p_hallard_10.htm "Turning a prophet"]
* [http://www.surefish.co.uk/faith/features/081107_philip_p_hallard_11.htm "The Church Expectant"]
* [http://www.surefish.co.uk/faith/features/041207_philip_p_hallard_12.htm "Worstworld"]
* [http://www.surefish.co.uk/faith/features/311207_philip_p_hallard_13.htm "What If ..."]
* [http://www.surefish.co.uk/faith/features/210208_philip_p_hallard_14.htm "Heroes all"]
* [http://www.surefish.co.uk/faith/features/310308_philip_p_hallard_15.htm "Bad robot"]
* [http://www.surefish.co.uk/faith/features/240804_philip_p_hallard_16.htm "Time for a change"]
* [http://www.surefish.co.uk/faith/features/220508_philip_p_hallard_17.htm "Requiem for the Undead"]
* [http://www.surefish.co.uk/faith/features/260608_philip_p_hallard_18.htm "It's all in the mind"]
* [http://www.surefish.co.uk/faith/features/210708_philip_p_hallard_19.htm "Heavens above"]
* [http://www.surefish.co.uk/faith/features/190908_philip_p_hallard_20.htm "Master of the lists"]
* [http://www.surefish.co.uk/faith/features/250908_philip_p_hallard_21.htm "Fandom and fundies"]

External links

* [http://www.infinitarian.com/index.html Homepage]
* [http://www.surefish.co.uk/ Surefish]
* [http://www.madnorwegian.com/ Mad Norwegian Press]
* [http://www.telos.co.uk/ Telos Publishing]
* [http://www.bigfinish.com/ Big Finish Productions]
* [http://www.infinitarian.com/comedy.html Cruel and Unusual Punishment]
* [http://www.art.man.ac.uk/english/manuscript/home.html "ManuScript"]