Jack Alcott
Bewildering Stories biography
to Bewildering Stories bibliography
I’m special projects editor at The Journal News, a daily based in Westchester County, New York, where I head up a team of reporters that has gained notice for investigations into government corruption, PCB-contamination of the Hudson River, and structural problems on the Tappan Zee Bridge.
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A number of years ago, while reading the Viking Portable Poe, I noticed that a chronology at the front of the book included a brief mention that Poe had attended West Point from 1830-31. Intrigued, I tried to find out more but discovered that not much was known about Poe’s short stay at the military academy — except that he was ejected after a court martial.
That’s right, the father of modern horror, mystery and (arguably) science fiction was kicked out of West Point, and nobody knows exactly why — or what the hell happened. Until now, that is, and Grim Legion fills in where the historical record leaves off.
On another note, while Grim Legion is for the most part a mystery/thriller, it is informed to some extent by my lifelong love of science fiction. My dad was a pioneering computer engineer at IBM in the 50s and 60s and he subscribed to Astounding and later Analog, so there were always dozens of these great John W. Campbell magazines lying around, with others in storage under the rafters. Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein, Sturgeon — the pantheon... I grew up with giants in the attic.
P.S. Here’s a link to a column of mine about Dylan, Marilyn and the space aliens.
Copyright © 2006 by Jack Alcott
