Part XXI: J. Finney/Matheson/Straub/Borges/Sturgeon/Samatar/G. W. Wilson/Grass

[Coír Draoi Ceítien]

Masters of Fantasy: Part XXI

This next batch is predominantly made up of some of the great names in fantastic fiction, plus a couple of relative newcomers you should keep your eye on. There's no overarching theme amongst them, it's just some really good writers. So here we go!



JACK FINNEY (1911-1995)

Walter Braden "Jack" Finney began his career in 1943 with a story supportive of the war effort, and, from that point onward, he would establish himself as one of the slickest thriller writers of the age. While his entire body of work is notable, two novels in particular stand out, especially to fans of speculative fiction. The first, The Body Snatchers (appropriately retitled Invasion of the Body Snatchers after the success of the film), is one of the most popular (and frequently filmed) alien invasion stories, a haunting tale of slow terror and paranoia in which extraterrestrial seed pods quietly begin to assimilate a small California town as emotionless duplicates of the residents, and only a young doctor and his girlfriend must attempt to thwart them. The second is Time and Again, in which an advertising agent in New York City is recruited into a government project seeking to achieve time travel through hypnotic means; he finds himself in 1882, where he becomes torn between the impending present and the idyllic satisfaction of the past. Finney's work remains highly regarded, as he won the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1987.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Finney)
Encyclopedia of Fantasy (http://sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?nm=finney_jack)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/finney_jack)
The New York Times: Archives – Obituary of Jack Finney (https://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/17/nyregion/jack-finney-84-sci-fi-author-of-time-travel-tales-dies.html)
NPR.org – The Sad Lesson of Body Snatchers: People Change (https://www.npr.org/2011/10/17/141416427/the-sad-lesson-of-body-snatchers-people-change)
Tor.com – Time Travel Times Two: Jack Finney's Time and Again (https://www.tor.com/2009/03/17/time-travel-times-two-jack-finneys-time-and-again/)



RICHARD MATHESON (1926-2013)

For over half a century, Richard Matheson blazed trails in the horror, science fiction, and fantasy genres, becoming one of the most respected practitioners and a precursor to figures such as Stephen King and Steven Spielberg. His work includes numerous short stories for various magazines and screenplays for television shows like The Twilight Zone, which rank among the very best of their kind. His novels include such groundbreaking classics such as I Am Legend, the story of the last man on earth's grueling survival against the hordes of the undead, which both revitalized the vampire subgenre and prefigured the notorious zombie apocalypse. Other famous fabulations followed such as The Shrinking Man (filmed as The Incredible Shrinking Man); A Stir of Echoes; Hell House; Bid Time Return (filmed as Somewhere in Time); and What Dreams May Come. He ranks as a giant in several halls of fame and should not be passed up, as his importance to the development of speculative fiction cannot be overstated.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Matheson)
Encyclopedia of Fantasy (http://sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?nm=matheson_richard)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/matheson_richard)
The New York Times – Obituary of Richard Matheson (https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/26/books/richard-matheson-writer-of-haunted-science-fiction-and-horror-dies-at-87.html)
Conceptual Fiction – The Scariest of Them All: A Tribute to Richard Matheson (http://www.conceptualfiction.com/richard_matheson.html)
Conceptual Fiction – What Dreams May Come (http://www.conceptualfiction.com/what_dreams_may_come.html)
Tor.com – Matthew R. Bradley: Richard Matheson – Storyteller (https://www.tor.com/series/richard-mathesonstoryteller/)
Tor.com – Terror on a Deadline: Remembering Richard Matheson (https://www.tor.com/2016/02/20/richard-matheson-on-this-day/)
Sci-Fi Station: Richard Matheson (http://www.scifistation.com/matheson/matheson_index.html)



PETER STRAUB (1943-2022)

Peter Straub, a Milwaukee native, has made a substantial career out of writing literary horror, combining the tropes of terror with the artistic integrity of mainstream writing, becoming as respected in the field as Stephen King. He began with nonsupernatural mainstream novels before writing the gothic novel Julia, further dabbling in horror with If You Could See Me Now, and finally achieving bestselling success with Ghost Story. Further works in the same vein include Shadowland, Floating Dragon, and a collaboration with Stephen King, The Talisman. His next shift in tone came with the loosely connected Blue Rose Trilogy (Koko, Mystery, and The Throat), followed by other thrillers before returning to collaborating again with Stephen King in a sequel to their first work, Black House. He has won numerous literary awards in the field, bringing a respectability where it is greatly needed.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Straub)
Encyclopedia of Fantasy (http://sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?nm=straub_peter)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/straub_peter)
Official website (http://peterstraub.net/)
Tor.com – Where to Start with the Works of Peter Straub (https://www.tor.com/2015/07/10/where-to-start-with-the-works-of-peter-straub/)



JORGE LUIS BORGES (1899-1986)

Raised in a bilingual home on Shakespeare and Schopenhauer, Jorge Luis Borges grew from a lad with little formal education and few benefits to the most beloved writer in Argentina, drawing on fable and fabulism to create a sense of wonder and imagination even in the midst of his own early-onset blindness. His best-known works include the short story collections Ficcones and The Aleph, featuring such stories as "The Aleph", "The Secret Miracle", "Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius", "The Library of Babel", "Funes, the Memorious", and others, tackling themes of infinity, theology, mathematics, and science. Vindicated by the eruption of Latin American writers in subsequent years, he remains one of the original creators of magic realism.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorge_Luis_Borges)
Encyclopedia of Fantasy (http://sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?nm=borges_jorge_luis)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/borges_jorge_luis)
Encyclopedia Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jorge-Luis-Borges)
The Modern World (https://web.archive.org/web/20101130011634/http://themodernword.com/borges/index.html)
New World Encyclopedia (http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Jorge_Luis_Borges)
The Paris Review – The Art of Fiction, No. 39: Jorge Luis Borges (https://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/4331/jorge-luis-borges-the-art-of-fiction-no-39-jorge-luis-borges)
The New York Times: Archives – Obituary of Jorge Luis Borges ()
TV Tropes ([url=https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/JorgeLuisBorges]]https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/JorgeLuisBorges])
TV Tropes (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/JorgeLuisBorges)
Conceptual Fiction – Ficciones (http://www.conceptualfiction.com/ficciones.html)



THEODORE STURGEON (1918-1985)

Born Edward Hamilton Waldo, Theodore Sturgeon was one of the most respected and prolific writers of the Golden Age of science fiction, although his output also covered fantasy, horror, and mystery. Not much known by the general public, his influence on later writers is considered quite significant. He wrote over 200 short stories, which were considered his best work but that's not to say that his novels were of any less quality, which include The Dreaming Jewels, More Than Human, Venus Plus X, and Some of Your Blood. He is also well remembered as a screenwriter for Star Trek and for coining "Sturgeon's Law": "Ninety percent of [science fiction] is crud, but then, ninety percent of everything is crud."

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Sturgeon)
Encyclopedia of Fantasy (http://sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?nm=sturgeon_theodore)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/sturgeon_theodore)
The Theodore Sturgeon Page (http://www.physics.emory.edu/faculty/weeks//misc/sturgeon.html)
The Theodore Sturgeon Literary Trust (http://theodoresturgeontrust.com/)



SOFIA SAMATAR (1971- )

An American educator of Somali heritage, Sofia Samatar started out as a language instructor in Sudan and Egypt before turning to writing fiction in 2012. Her acclaimed stories have been featured several genre magazines, and her first novel, A Stranger in Olondria – a tale of a pepper merchant's son and a young girl's ghost in a far-off kingdom on the brink of war – was an immediate success, winning both the World Fantasy Award and the British Fantasy Award as well as nominated for the Nebula and Locus Awards. A relative newcomer to the genre, she also published two short story collections, Monster Portraits and Tender, and a sequel to her first novel, The Winged Histories.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia_Samatar)
Official website (http://www.sofiasamatar.com/)
L.A. Times – Sofia Samatar on the Many Influences on Her Fantasy Novel, The Winged Histories (http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-sofia-samatar-the-winged-histories-20160315-story.html)
Tor.com – The Powerful Acts of Writing and Reading: A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar (https://www.tor.com/2013/05/14/review-a-stranger-in-olondria-by-sofia-samatar/)
Tor.com – Expanding Olondria: The Winged Histories by Sofia Samatar (https://www.tor.com/2016/03/14/book-reviews-the-winged-histories-by-sofia-samatar/)
Literary Hub – Sofia Samatar on Kafka, Binge-Writing and the Search for Monsters (https://lithub.com/sofia-samatar-on-kafka-binge-writing-and-the-search-for-monsters/)
Post45 – Interview with Sofia Samatar (http://post45.research.yale.edu/2014/12/interview-sofia-samatar/)
Uncanny.com – Interview with Sofia Samatar (https://uncannymagazine.com/article/interview-sofia-samatar/)
Medium.com – Q&A with Sofia Samatar (https://medium.com/@theoffingmag/q-a-with-sofia-samatar-author-of-an-account-of-the-land-of-witches-797211675f04)
Black Fox Literary Magazine – A Conversation with Sofia Samatar (http://www.blackfoxlitmag.com/2014/12/22/a-conversation-with-sofia-samatar/)



G. WILLOW WILSON (1982- )

Having grown up with an appreciation of comics, Gwendolyn Willow Wilson, who converted to Islam while attending Boston University, moved from journalism to graphic novels with Cairo, illustrated by M. K. Perker, eventually coming to work on several ongoing titles for both Marvel and DC; her most notable success in the field bay be the creation of the Kamala Khan, a Muslim-American teenager who becomes the new Ms. Marvel, which has been extremely well-received. Her first novel, Alif the Unseen, is a fantasy about an Arab computer hacker who discovers a mysterious book that may change the fate of information technology; it won the World Fantasy Award in 2013 and garnered considerable praise. Her second novel, The Bird King, follows a concubine in the end of the era of Muslim Spain who must protect her closest friend – a mapmaker who can draw maps of places unheard of. Mrs. Wilson is one of the rising new stars of fantasy fiction and the comics industry, well worth any fan's time.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._Willow_Wilson)
Official website (http://gwillowwilson.com/)
Little Village Magazine – Ms. Marvel Author G. Willow Wilson Discusses Faith, Gender and the Comics Industry (https://littlevillagemag.com/g-willow-wilson-ms-marvel-author-iowa-city-book-festival/)
Alif the Unseen – Official Website (http://aliftheunseen.com/)
The Guardian – Alif the Unseen: Speculative Fiction Meets the Arab Spring (https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/dec/13/alif-the-unseen-g-willow-wilson)
Vulture.com – Meet G. Willow Wilson, the Muslim Woman Revolutionizing Superhero Comics (https://www.vulture.com/2014/03/g-willow-wilson-ms-marvel-kamala-khan-interview.html)



GÜNTER GRASS (1927-2015)

Günter Grass was conscripted into the Waffen-SS some time after leaving his parents' home, them was taken as a prisoner of war by the Allied forces, before turning to sculpture and stonemasonry to earn a living. Eventually, he would turn his artistic talents to writing, becoming one of the leading figures in postwar German literature with the publication of his classic magic realist text The Tin Drum, about a boy who refuses to grow up physically and lives through several historic events; it was followed by two more works, Cat and Mouse and Dog Years, to collective form the Danzig Trilogy. Other books such as The Flounder and The Rat continue a mix of fairytale and social criticism which would earn Grass the Nobel Price in Literature in 1999. His work has been both praised and criticized, and he remains important in understanding Germany in the latter half of the 20th century.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Günter_Grass)
Encyclopedia of Fantasy (http://sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?nm=grass_gunter)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/grass_gunter)
Encyclopedia Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gunter-Grass)
The New York Times – Obituary of Günter Grass (https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/14/world/europe/gunter-grass-german-novelist-dies-at-87.html)
The Guardian – Günter Grass: The Man Who Broke the Silence (https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/apr/18/gunter-grass-tributes-man-broke-silence)
The Guardian – Hans Kundnani: Günter Grass Personified Germany's Difficult Relationship with Its Nazi Past (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/apr/14/gunter-grass-personified-germanys-relationship-nazi-past)
Slate.com – Günter Grass, Reconsidered (https://slate.com/culture/2007/07/gunter-grass-reconsidered.html)
The Paris Review – The Art of Fiction, No. 124: Günter Grass (https://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/2191/gunter-grass-the-art-of-fiction-no-124-gunter-grass)
Conceptual Fiction – The Tin Drum (http://www.conceptualfiction.com/the_tin_drum.html)



That's all for now, so stay tuned for the next set. As always, comments and discussions are appreciated, even encouraged, and the forum topic can be found here: http://www.lostpathway.com/index.php/topic,16.0.html#forum