Part XXII: Blaylock/Powers/Jackson/Hilton/Okorafor/Grossman/Cady/Gabaldon/Levin

[Coír Draoi Ceítien]

Masters of Fantasy: Part XXII

Some of these people I've been wanting to get to for a long time, so I'm excited to finally get there. If there's one thing I love as much as classic and influential fantasy, it's original fantasy, and I hope that you find these names as original as I do. So let's get right to it.



JAMES P. BLAYLOCK (1950- )

Born and raised in California, James P. Blaylock was mentored by legendary sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick alongside fellow up-and-coming writers Tim Powers and K. W. Jeter, becoming one of the original creators of the steampunk movement. Inspired by Verne, Wells, Stevenson, Doyle, and Dickens, his most notable contributions to speculative fiction include the Balumnia fantasy trilogy (The Elfin Ship, The Disappearing Dwarf, and The Stone Giant) and a loosely connected steampunk series of novels made up of The Digging Leviathan, Homunculus, Lord Kelvin's Machine, Zeuglodon, The Aylesford Skull, and Beneath London, in addition to several novellas and short story collections. His personal style is one of "fabulism" – fantastic stories set in the present day, shot through with humor.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Blaylock)
Encyclopedia of Fantasy (http://sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?nm=blaylock_james_p)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/blaylock_james_p)
Official website (https://jamespblaylock.com/)
Great Science-Fiction & Fantasy Works: James P. Blaylock (http://greatsfandf.com/AUTHORS/JamesBlaylock.php)
Black Gate – Three Men and a Dog: The Elfin Ship by James P. Blaylock (https://www.blackgate.com/2014/09/23/three-men-and-a-dog-the-elfin-ship-by-james-p-blaylock/)
Black Gate – Return of the Master Cheeser: The Disappearing Dwarf by James P. Blaylock (https://www.blackgate.com/2015/04/07/return-of-the-master-cheeser-the-disappearing-dwarf-by-james-p-blaylock/)
Black Gate – Return to Balumnia: The Stone Giant by James P. Blaylock (https://www.blackgate.com/2016/08/09/return-to-balumnia-the-stone-giant-by-james-p-blaylock/)



TIM POWERS (1952- )

After dabbling in science fiction for two novels, Tim Powers made his mark mixing sci-fi and fantasy with "secret histories" – stories in which major historical events are revealed to have an occult background underlying them. The Drawing of the Dark, in which the 1529 Siege of Vienna is a cover for a climactic battle between Eastern and Western spiritual powers, was his first major novel, followed by the massive success of The Anubis Gates, a time travel story considered one of the defining texts of steampunk; Caribbean piracy (On Stranger Tides), Romantic poetry (The Stress of Her Regard), Las Vegas poker players (Last Call), Cold War espionage (Declare), Einstein's theories (Three Days to Never), and Hollywood mansions (Medusa's Web) are just some of the many other story germs that he has used to wildly profitable ends. Powers is one of the most respected, original modern fantasy authors in the new millennium, a pure joy to discover.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Powers)
Encyclopedia of Fantasy (http://sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?nm=powers_tim)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/powers_tim)
Official website (http://www.theworksoftimpowers.com/)
TV Tropes (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/TimPowers)
The Guardian – Tim Powers: "I Don't Have to Make Anything Up" (https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/jun/03/tim-powers-i-dont-have-to-make-anything-up)
Black Gate – The Drawing of the Dark by Tim Powers (https://www.blackgate.com/2014/07/08/the-drawing-of-the-dark-by-tim-powers/)
Tor.com – Jo Walton: As Neat as It Gets: Tim Powers's The Anubis Gates (https://www.tor.com/2009/03/13/as-neat-as-it-gets-tim-powerss-the-anubis-gates/)
Tor.com – Time Travel and the Tempest: Three Days to Never by Tim Powers (https://www.tor.com/2013/01/10/time-travel-and-the-tempest-three-days-to-never-by-tim-powers/)
Tor.com – Lost in Hollywood: Medusa's Web by Tim Powers (https://www.tor.com/2016/01/18/book-reviews-medusas-web-by-tim-powers/)



SHIRLEY JACKSON (1916-1965)

A solitary child while growing up, Shirley Jackson found her creative release by writing, by which she would become one of the most famous literary figures in American letters. She first came to public attention with "The Lottery", a short story of a seemingly ordinary American town with a dark secret, followed by well-received psychological novels such as The Bird's Nest and The Sundial. Her greatest success would be The Haunting of Hill House, one of the greatest haunted house novels ever written, considered to be a milestone in the development of written horror. Her personal life, in the meantime, would slowly deteriorate due to her own personal psychological problems, and she would die of heart failure three years after publishing her final completed work, the Gothic mystery We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Her influence extends to such luminaries as Neil Gaiman, Richard Matheson, and Stephen King, and in 2007, an award in her name for superior achievement in the dark fantastic was established.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_Jackson)
Encyclopedia of Fantasy (http://sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?nm=jackson_shirley)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/jackson_shirley)
Official website (http://shirleyjackson.org/)
The New Yorker – The Haunted Mind of Shirley Jackson (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/10/17/the-haunted-mind-of-shirley-jackson)
The New York Times: Archives – Obituary of Shirley Jackson (https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/1214.html)
Black Gate – Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House (https://www.blackgate.com/2013/02/05/shirley-jacksons-the-haunting-of-hill-house/)
Black Gate – We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson (https://www.blackgate.com/2015/09/15/we-have-always-lived-in-the-castle-by-shirley-jackson/)
Tor.com – The Haunted Houses and Haunted Psyches of Shirley Jackson (https://www.tor.com/2017/10/03/the-haunted-houses-and-haunted-psyches-of-shirley-jackson/)
Tor.com – Whatever Walked There, Walked Alone: The Haunting of Shirley Jackson by Shirley Jackson (https://www.tor.com/2016/12/06/whatever-walked-there-walked-alone-the-haunting-of-hill-house-by-shirley-jackson/)



JAMES HILTON (1900-1954)

Son of the headmaster of Walthamstow's Chapel End School in England, James Hilton was a bestselling author of his day, remembered primarily for sentimental mainstream novels such as Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Random Harvest, We Are Not Alone, and So Well Remembered. His sole excursion into fantasy and science fiction is perhaps his best remembered novel, Lost Horizon, an adventure story in which a British consul discovers the hidden Tibetan lamasery of Shangri-La, where the inhabitants have achieved longevity of life as well as peace of mind. It is generally thought to be one of the first mass market paperback bestsellers in America and was later made into a successful film by Frank Capra in 1937.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Hilton_(novelist))
Encyclopedia of Fantasy (http://sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?nm=hilton_james)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/hilton_james)
The James Hilton Society (http://www.jameshiltonsociety.co.uk/)
The SF Site – Review of Lost Horizon (https://www.sfsite.com/~silverag/hilton.html)



NNEDI OKORAFOR (1974- )

After her athletic career was derailed by complications due to scoliosis, Nigerian-American Nnedimma Nkemdili Okorafor turned to writing seriously at a close friend's suggestion. Her first books, The Shadow Speaker and Zahrah the Windseeker, were for young adults but were nevertheless critically acclaimed, and her first adult novel, Who Fears Death, won the World Fantasy Award in 2011; further works include the Binti trilogy (Binti, Binti: Home, and Binti: The Night Masquerade), the children's book Long Juju Man, the young adult novel Akata Witch, and the science fiction novel Lagoon. In addition, he was also hired by Marvel Comics to continue their Black Panther series. Mrs. Okorafor is one of the leading figures in Afrofuturism, blending her West African heritage with her American life for stories of greater diversity.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nnedi_Okorafor)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/okorafor_nnedi)
Official website (http://www.nnedi.com/)
The University Daily Kansan – Author Nnedi Okorafor Talks Origins of Storytelling Career at Liberty Hall (http://www.kansan.com/arts_and_culture/author-nnedi-okorafor-talks-origins-of-storytelling-career-at-liberty/article_ed6d09c2-e464-11e8-bf4a-4bc3eb43119c.html)
The New York Times – Nnedi Okorafor and the Fantasy Genre She Is Helping Redefine (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/06/books/ya-fantasy-diverse-akata-warrior.html)
The Chicago Tribune – Nnedi Okorafor Talks Words, Career, "Black Panther" and C2E2 (https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-ent-nnedi-okorafor-c2e2-interview-20180319-story.html)
Shondaland – The Marvelous Nnedi Okorafor (https://www.shondaland.com/inspire/books/a19564695/the-marvelous-nnedi-okorafor/)
The Guardian – "So Many Different Types of Strange": How Nnedi Okorafor Is Changing the Face of Sci-Fi (https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/sep/18/so-many-different-types-of-strange-how-nnedi-okorafor-is-changing-the-face-of-sci-fi)
Tor.com – Hope and Vengeance in Post-Apocalyptic Sudan: Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor (https://www.tor.com/2017/11/07/hope-and-vengeance-in-post-apocalyptic-sudan-who-fears-death-by-nnedi-okorafor/)
Tor.com – Nnedi Okorafor's Lagoon Makes the Alien Seem Familiar (https://www.tor.com/2018/01/11/nnedi-okorafors-lagoon-makes-the-alien-seem-familiar/)
Tor.com – "There Is Juju in This Book": Exploring Nnedi Okorafor's Akata Witch Series (https://www.tor.com/2017/10/17/there-is-juju-in-this-book-exploring-nnedi-okorafors-akata-witch-series/)
Tor.com – Of Jellyfish, Otjize, and Afrofuturism: Binti by Nnedi Okorafor (https://www.tor.com/2015/09/21/of-jellyfish-otjize-and-afrofuturism-binti-by-nnedi-okorafor/)



LEV GROSSMAN (1969- )

Lev Grossman came from a very productive family, graduating from Harvard with a degree in literature and eventually becoming a book critic and technology writer for Time, as well as contributing to several other periodicals such as The New York Times, Wired, Salon, and The Wall Street Journal. After mixed success with two science fiction novels, he took a shot at fantasy with The Magicians, in which a young man named Quentin Coldwater is admitted to a secret college for sorcery in upstate New York, all the while discovering that the magic land in his favorite childhood book is frighteningly real; two sequels followed – The Magician King and The Magician's Land. The trilogy has received great critical acclaim, allowing Grossman to pursue writing full-time, and as of this writing, he is working on a King Arthur novel entitled The Bright Sword. Hailed as one of the brightest new voices in fantasy, his career will be followed with great interest.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lev_Grossman)
Official website (http://levgrossman.com/)
Tor.com – Not an Escapist Fantasy: The Magicians by Lev Grossman (https://www.tor.com/2011/08/03/the-magicians-by-lev-grossman/)
Tor.com – "What If Harry Potter Were a Reader?": SDCC Spotlight on Lev Grossman (https://www.tor.com/2015/07/14/what-if-harry-potter-were-a-reader-sdcc-spotlight-on-lev-grossman/)
Vox.com – Novelist Lev Grossman on Why James Joyce's Dublin Matches J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth (https://www.vox.com/2018/2/7/16978880/lev-grossman-the-magicians-interview)
NPR – Morally Complex "Magicians" Recasts Potter's World (https://www.npr.org/2009/08/11/111751056/morally-complex-magicians-recasts-potters-world)
The Atlantic – Confronting Reality by Reading Fantasy (https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/08/going-home-with-cs-lewis/375560/)
Conceptual Fiction – The Magicians (http://www.conceptualfiction.com/the_magicians.html)



JACK CADY (1932-2004)

Though he conscientiously objected to the Korean War, Jack Cady fulfilled his services in the Maine Coast Guard, after which he held numerous jobs before turning to teaching creative writing, first at the University of Washington, then finally at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma. He is best remembered as a fantasist and horror writer, highly appraised for his short stories, including the Nebula Award-winning "The Night We Buried Road Dog." The Well, about a man confronting the ghosts of his past in an ancestral house believed to have trapped the Devil, is considered a horror classic, and further speculative tales include The Jonah Watch, McDowell's Ghost, The Man Who Could Make Things Vanish, The Off Season, The Hauntings of Hood Canal, and Rules of '48. He is highly regarded both by his students and by other writers who followed after him.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Cady)
Realms of Night – Jack Cady (http://realmsofnight.com/2017/04/23/jack-cady/)
The Seattle Times – Obituary of Jack Cady (http://old.seattletimes.com/html/obituaries/2001838641_cadyobit17.html)
The Port Townsend Leader – Obituary of Jack Cady (http://www.ptleader.com/obituary-noted-author-jack-cady-has-finished-his-best-work/article_0056487c-3dd6-5eae-8273-5768995f9da4.html)
Skulls in the Stars – Review of The Well (https://skullsinthestars.com/2014/04/28/jack-cadys-the-well/)
Tor.com – Jack Cady's Rules of '48: Ghosts of the Past ( https://www.tor.com/2010/01/02/jack-cadys-rules-of-48-ghosts-of-the-past/ )
Black Gate – A Few Thoughts on Jack Cady's The Off Season (https://www.blackgate.com/2015/10/01/a-few-thoughts-on-jack-cadys-the-off-season/)



DIANA GABALDON (1952- )

Diana Gabaldon's career originally began in marine biology before founding Science Software Quarterly while employed at Arizona State University. Deciding to attempt a novel simply for fun, she was set on making it historical until she caught a rerun of a Doctor Who episode; with the new idea of making it a time travel story, she spent considerable research on 18th century Scotland to write what would be the bestselling Outlander, in which a nurse in the postwar British Army of 1946 is mysteriously transported into the midst of the Scottish highlands of 1743, where she falls in love with a dashing young clansman and is eventually roped into the Jacobite Rebellion. The book proved immensely successful, with eight sequels (at present) following – Dragonfly in Amber, Voyager, Drums of Autumn, The Fiery Cross, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, An Echo on the Bone, Written in My Heart's Own Blood, and Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone. With a franchise spanning multiple media, she is one of the most popular authors on the market today.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_Gabaldon)
Official website (http://www.dianagabaldon.com/)
Faerie Magazine – An Interview with Diana Gabaldon (https://www.faeriemagazine.com/an-interview-with-diana-gabaldon/)
Outlandish Observations – Interview with Diana Gabaldon, Part 1 (http://www.outlandishobservations.com/2018/08/interview-with-diana-gabaldon-part-1.html)
Outlandish Observations – Interview with Diana Gabaldon, Part 2 (http://www.outlandishobservations.com/2018/08/interview-with-diana-gabaldon-part-2.html)



IRA LEVIN (1929-2007)

After his college education, Ira Levin's career began with writing training films, radio plays, and scripts for television, eventually turning to Broadway; his best-known work for the stage is the comedy thriller Deathtrap. His first novel, A Kiss Before Dying, was a highly regarded mystery, but his greatest success came with Rosemary's Baby, a suspense-horror story in which a young woman comes to believe that the residents of her apartment complex may have sinister, apocalyptic plans for her newborn son; it is generally credited for kicking off what would become the horror boom of the 70's and 80's. His other works would rely on science fiction concepts and social commentary for suspense, such as dystopia (This Perfect Day), feminism (The Stepford Wives), and cloning (The Boys from Brazil). His influence on horror and suspense can still be felt to this day, although he might not totally approve of it.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ira_Levin)
Encyclopedia of Fantasy (http://sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?nm=levin_ira)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/levin_ira)
Official website (http://iralevin.org/)
The Guardian – Obituary of Ira Levin (https://www.theguardian.com/news/2007/nov/15/guardianobituaries.booksobituaries)
The New York Times – Obituary of Ira Levin (https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/14/books/14levin.html)
The Sun – Obituary of Ira Levin (https://www.nysun.com/obituaries/ira-levin-78-revived-horror-in-rosemarys-baby/66439/)
The Criterion Collection – "Stuck with Satan": Ira Levin on the Origins of Rosemary's Baby (https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/2541--stuck-with-satan-ira-levin-on-the-origins-of-rosemary-s-baby)
Bustle.com – Ira Levin's Feminist Horror Novels Are Still Terrifying Because Women's Rights Are Still Under Attack (https://www.bustle.com/p/ira-levins-feminist-horror-novels-are-still-terrifying-because-womens-rights-are-still-under-attack-12145315)



Another set done. I really hope you all are enjoying this so far. If there's anything that you would like to see or have me change up, feel free to let me know. I'd love to have some new material to deal with. Comments and discussions are always welcome, and the forum topic can be found here: http://www.lostpathway.com/index.php/topic,16.0.html#forum