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Biography
Donald Eugene D'Ammassa (born April 24, 1946) is an American fantasy, science fiction and horror reviewer and author. He is chiefly known for his numerous reviews, written over a period of more than thirty years. He writes as Don D'Ammassa.
Writing career
D'Ammassa first made a name for himself as a fan writer in the 1970s; he was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer for 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1986, and his fanzine Mythologies was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Fanzine for 1977 and 1985. His career as both critic and professional author began in the early 1980s. A long-time reviewer for Science Fiction Chronicle, his reviews have also appeared in other venues, and many are compiled on his website Critical Mass. According to John Clute, his assessments are "noted for ... fairness and generosity, and for the extremely wide range of texts he has covered." His wide-ranging knowledge of speculative and adventure fiction are reflected in his Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (2005), Encyclopedia of Fantasy and Horror Fiction (2006) and Encyclopedia of Adventure Fiction (2009).
As a short story writer of short fiction D'Ammassa has produced a substantial body of horror stories and relatively fewer science fiction and fantasy tales. His longer works are more evenly divided between these genres. His more recent novels "convey a sense that he is systematically traversing the worlds of twentieth century sf in order to pay tribute from a more recent perspective to the worlds and modes typical of the form."