author
David Wright O'Brien
1918–1944
A fast-rising pulp writer of fantasy and science fiction, he published dozens of stories in the early 1940s before his life was cut short during World War II. His work carries the brisk, imaginative energy of the classic magazine era.
1 Audiobook
Rats in the Belfry
by David Wright O'Brien
About the author
Born on January 1, 1918, David Wright O'Brien was an American fantasy and science fiction writer from Chicago. He was the nephew of Farnsworth Wright, the longtime editor of Weird Tales, and he broke into print at a young age when his first story, Truth Is a Plague!, appeared in the February 1940 issue of Amazing Stories.
Over a remarkably short career, he became a prolific contributor to pulp magazines, especially Amazing Stories and Fantastic Adventures. Reference sources credit him with publishing more than fifty stories in just a few years, making him one of the busy, energetic voices of wartime-era popular fiction.
O'Brien's career and life ended tragically early. He died on December 11, 1944, while serving in World War II, leaving behind a body of work that still appeals to readers interested in classic pulp adventure, fantasy, and science fiction.