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S. M. Stirling

BornSeptember 30, 1953 (1953-09-30) (age 54)
Metz, France
OccupationWriter
NationalityAmerica
Writing period1980s–present
GenresScience fiction, fantasy, alternate history
Official website

Stephen Michael Stirling is a French-born Canadian-American science fiction and fantasy author. Events 1399 - Henry IV is proclaimed King of England. 1744 - France and Spain defeat the Year 1953 ( MCMLIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Metz (mɛs in French) is a city in the northeast of France, capital of the Lorraine région and Préfecture This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Employment is a Contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. Nationality is a relationship between a Person and their State of Origin, Culture, association Affiliation and/or Loyalty The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The 1980s was the decade spanning from January 1 1980 to December 31 1989. A literary genre is a category of literary composition Genres may be determined by Literary technique, tone, Content, or even (as in the case of fiction Fantasy is a Genre that uses magic and other Supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting Alternate history or alternative history is a subgenre of Speculative fiction (or Science fiction) and Historical fiction This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Fantasy is a Genre that uses magic and other Supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting

His novels are generally conflict-driven and often describe military situations and militaristic cultures. Militarism is the belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or In addition to his books' military, adventure & exploration focus, he often describes societies with cultural values significantly different from modern western views. One of his recurring topics is the influence of the culture on an individual's outlook and values, with a particular emphasis on the idea that most people and societies consider themselves (mostly) moral.

Stirling also has a fascination with technological development, and frequently turns to explorations of this within the context of many of his novels. The Draka (see below) for instance, chose and faced a different imperative in their conquest of Africa, and turned earlier to breech-loading firearms and steam power than the rest of the Western World. The stranded islanders of Nantucket must try to rebuild their technological base once the island is stranded in 1250 BC, while the dazed survivors of the 'Change' now face a world where electricity, firearms, and internal combustion no longer work.

In the past he has frequently collaborated with other authors, including David Drake, Jerry Pournelle, Anne McCaffrey and Raymond E. Feist. David Drake (born September 24, 1945) is an author of Science fiction and Fantasy literature Jerry Eugene Pournelle (born August 7, 1933) is an American Science fiction Writer, Essayist and Journalist Anne Inez McCaffrey (born April 1, 1926) is an American Science fiction Author best known for her Dragonriders Raymond Elias Feist (born 1945 Los Angeles California) is an American Author who primarily writes fantasy fiction

Stirling is probably best-known for his Draka series of alternate history novels and the more recent Island in the Sea of Time time travel/alternate history trilogy and Emberverse series. Alternate history or alternative history is a subgenre of Speculative fiction (or Science fiction) and Historical fiction This article details time travel itself For other uses see Time Traveler. Alternate history or alternative history is a subgenre of Speculative fiction (or Science fiction) and Historical fiction His novels Go Tell The Spartans and Prince of Sparta are set in Jerry Pournelle's "CoDominium" future history. The Prince is a Science fiction compilation by Jerry Pournelle and S The fictional CoDominium universe is a Future history (now alternate history) setting for the books in the CoDominium Series by Jerry Pournelle.

Contents

Personal

Stirling was born in Metz, France on September 30, 1953 -- then the site of a Royal Canadian Air Force base -- to an English mother and Canadian father. Metz (mɛs in French) is a city in the northeast of France, capital of the Lorraine région and Préfecture This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Events 1399 - Henry IV is proclaimed King of England. 1744 - France and Spain defeat the Year 1953 ( MCMLIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. He has lived in several countries and currently resides in the United States in New Mexico with his wife Jan. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the New Mexico ( is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States of America.

Stirling, along with Eric Flint, was tuckerized as a Secret Service agent in John Birmingham's alternate history WWII novel Weapons of Choice (2004). Eric Flint (born 1947 is an American Alternate history and Fantasy author, editor, and e-publisher. Tuckerization is the act of using a person's name in an original story as an in-joke (e John Birmingham (born 7 August 1964 is an Australian author Birmingham was born in Liverpool, England and migrated to Australia with his parents in Alternate history or alternative history is a subgenre of Speculative fiction (or Science fiction) and Historical fiction World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Weapons of Choice is the first novel of the Axis of Time alternate history trilogy written by John Birmingham.

Stirling often posts to Usenet, message boards and blogs, often with the handle "joatsimeon". Usenet, a Portmanteau of "user" and "network" is a world-wide distributed Internet discussion system Users in a Computing context refers to one who uses a computer system [1] (One of his books, The City Who Fought, has characters named Joat and Simeon. )

The Lords of Creation

What if Mars and Venus really were inhabitable and inhabited, as in many SF stories from the early sixties and before? In this alternate history series Mars and Venus were terraformed a long time ago and "seeded" with Earth life, including several different [sic] human species. The VENUS ( V ictoria E xperimental N etwork U nder the S ea project is a cabled sea floor observatory operated by the University Alternate history or alternative history is a subgenre of Speculative fiction (or Science fiction) and Historical fiction The terraforming (literally "Earth-shaping" of a Planet, moon, or other body is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying its On Earth everything is the same until the start of space exploration, but then the Cold War dampens down into a real, collaborative space race which overtakes the military budgets of both superpowers. Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the

The vast investment in interplanetary exploration has changed this alternate history deeply, in ways mentioned in passing, including the close alliance of the United States, Great Britain and the Dominions; but there are other changes: The Suez invasion receives American support and succeeds, and there is no Sino-Soviet split in 1959. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands A dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of autonomous polities under sovereign authority within the British Empire and The Sino-Soviet split was a gradual divergence of diplomatic ties between the People's Republic of China (PRC and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR The Cold War, including the Vietnam War, The Soviet Union does not collapse, and there are two competing space efforts: the Sino-Soviet alliance and the US-Commonwealth alliance. Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, or the Vietnam Conflict, occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The European Union is led by France, since the United Kingdom did not join it, but their space effort is considerably behind the others. The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Sky People is set on Venus, while its sequel In the Courts of the Crimson Kings is set on Mars.

Nantucket series

In Island in the Sea of Time the island of Nantucket is transported by an unknown phenomenon (called "The Event" in the series) back in time into the Bronze Age circa 1250s BC (corresponding to the late Heroic Age of Greek mythology). The Sky People is a 2006 Science fiction novel by American writer S In the Courts of the Crimson Kings is a 2008 Alternate history, Science fiction novel by American writer S The term Bronze Age refers to a period in human cultural development when the most advanced Metalworking (at least in systematic and widespread use included techniques for The Heroic Age was the period of Greek mythological history that lay between the purely divine events of the Theogony and Titanomachy and the advent of historical Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and Heroes the nature of the world and the origins and significance The trilogy describes the conflict between the different factions of the island's population—some trying to dominate the world for their own benefit, others trying to better it, while most just want to survive, work hard, and claw their way back to something approaching their pre-Event way of life.

As the series progresses, it becomes clear to Nantucket's scaled-down Government that sitting back and reinventing isolationism will only profit those renegades who, under the leadership of ex-Coast Guard lieutenant William Walker (inspired directly by William Walker), have fled the island to live like gods amongst the Bronze Age peoples of Europe and the Middle East. William Walker ( May 8, 1824 &ndash September 12, 1860) was an American filibuster, adventurer and Mercenary Walker—who, unfortunately, is as smart as he is callous—exploits the 'magic' of gunpowder, iron-forging, and the spinning-jenny to build up an empire of his own, one that will inevitably conquer the entire world unless the people of Nantucket build an army, a navy, and a set of foreign alliances of their own and take the fight to Walker. Gunpowder is a an explosive mixture of Sulfur, Charcoal and Potassium nitrate (also known as saltpetre/saltpeter that burns rapidly producing volumes Forging is the term for shaping metal by using localized compressive forces The spinning jenny is a multi- Spool Spinning wheel. It was invented circa 1764 by James Hargreaves in Stanhill, near Blackburn

By the end of the third book, Nantucket is the dominant member of a sizable and expanding network of allies, rather reminiscent of the British Empire (though Britain itself is called "Alba" in the novel, one of Nantucket's protectorates and a source of "warrior tribes" to be enrolled as mercenaries in its armies), and the Nantucketars ("Eagle-People", "Islanders", "Nan-Tukh-Tar", etc. The British Empire was the largest empire in history and for over a century was the foremost global power. In International law, a protectorate is a autonomous territory that is "protected" by a stronger state or entity hense the protector which engages to protect ) seem well on their way to re-enacting the United States's Manifest Destiny three thousand years early. Manifest Destiny was the belief that the United States was destined to expand from the Atlantic seaboard to the Pacific Ocean.

Nantucket has 'Outport' colonies spanning the globe, with bases in the Caribbean, Argentina, the Azores, South Africa, Zanzibar, Madagascar, Mauritius, Bombay, etc. ; basically, anywhere there is a good harbour situated close to existing or future trading routes, the Republic is on the scene. The Alban Alliance rules the British Isles where Walker initially tried to carve out his empire, and are a close ally, a source of labour and military recruits, and, as its people absorb more of the New Learning, look like being at the heart of a very early Industrial Revolution. Babylon, Hittite Empire and Mitanni (a vassal of Babylon), are also allies, though how long that will last now that they have arms industries of their own is anyone's guess, even with an Islander military officer married to Babylon's ambitious young king. Babylon was a City-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which can be found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq Hittites is the conventional English-language term for an ancient people who spoke an Indo-European language and established a kingdom centered in Hattusa Mitanni ( Hittite cuneiform, also Mittani) or Hanigalbat ( Assyrian Hanigalbat Khanigalbat cuneiform) At the end of the third book, the allies are already laying plans for carving up the Caucasus and Persia between them.

Other major powers:

Minor powers include:

There also appears to be a threat growing out in Central Asia, where Walker's lone surviving heir and a convoy of mostly Achaean rejectionists have chosen to carve out a new empire in the Ferghanna region, far, far away from the reach of Islander naval power. Central Asia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east and from southern Russia in the north to northern Pakistan in the south Fergana or Farghana ( Uzbek: Farg'ona, Persian فرغانه, UniPers "Farqāna", Russian: Фергана

The series consists of three books:

The Emberverse series

Dies the Fire (2004) shows the effects on the planet—a world Nantucket left—of something called "The Change". Island in the Sea of Time is the first out of the three novels of the Nantucket series by S Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) Events 86 BC - Lucius Cornelius Sulla, at the head of a Roman Republic army enters in Athens, removing the Tyrant Against the Tide of Years is the second out of the three novels of the Nantucket series by S Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) Events 305 - Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman Emperor. On the Oceans of Eternity is the last of the three novels of the Nantucket series by S 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. Events 527 - Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne Dies the Fire is a post-apocalyptic 2004 novel by Alternate history author S "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " "July 1st" redirects here For the Ayumi Hamasaki song see H (song. Electricity, guns, explosives, internal combustion engines and steam power no longer work. A gun is a particular Weapon that propels Projectiles The projectile is generally fired through a hollow tube known as the gun's barrel. An explosive material is a material that either is chemically or otherwise Energetically unstable or produces a sudden expansion of the material usually accompanied The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the Combustion of Fuel and an Oxidizer (typically air occurs in a confined space called a A steam engine is a Heat engine that performs Mechanical work using Steam as its Working fluid. The series mostly deals with the Willamette Valley area of Oregon, with some description of the United Kingdom. The Willamette Valley () is the region in northwest Oregon in the United States that surrounds the Willamette River as it proceeds northward from its emergence The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located After describing how people in those places survive the loss of 200 years of technological progress (no power, no food, no weapons), the primary focus of this series turns to a conflict between a Portland-based neo-feudal dictatorship created by a sociopathic history professor, and the free communities of the Willamette Valley, most notably the Wiccan Clan Mackenzie and a group led by a former Marine, the Bearkillers. Portland is a city located in the Northwestern United States, near the Confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers Feudalism, a term first used in the early modern period (17th century in its most classic sense refers to a Medieval Europe Political system composed A dictatorship is usually defined as an autocratic Form of government in which the Government is ruled by a Dictator. Sociopathy is a loosely-defined term that may be used to refer to Psychopathy Antisocial personality disorder Dissocial The Willamette Valley () is the region in northwest Oregon in the United States that surrounds the Willamette River as it proceeds northward from its emergence

A second tetralogy, set 22 years after the Change, is in progress:

Recent information from Stirling indicates that ' Montival ' is the name by which the west coast region comes to be known. The Protector's War is a 2005 Science fiction novel written by S Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 3114 BC - According to the Proleptic Julian calendar the current era in the Maya Long Count Calendar started A Meeting at Corvallis is a 2006 Science fiction novel by S M Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1590 - Alexander Farnese 's army forces Henry IV of France to raise the siege of Paris. A tetralogy is a compound work that is made up of four ( Numerical prefix tetra-) distinct works The Sunrise Lands is a post-apocalyptic 2007 novel by Alternate history author S Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 476 - Romulus Augustus, last emperor of the Western Roman Empire, is deposed when Odoacer proclaims himself The Scourge of God (2008 is an post-apocalyptic 2008 novel by Alternate history author S 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 44 BC - Pharaoh Cleopatra VII of Egypt declares her son co-ruler as Ptolemy XV Caesarion. The sample chapters for "The Sunrise Lands" listed on Stirling's website indicate the possibility of the second series giving some sort of explanation for the event/change. A vision from a major character's trip to Nantucket potentially includes Swindapa, a major character from the Nantucket trilogy.

A duology for a later period is planned:

Fifth Millennium series

Stirling at GAFilk, January 2007. Photo by Brenda Sutton.
Stirling at GAFilk, January 2007. Photo by Brenda Sutton.

These are a collection of post-holocaust fantasy novels, in which civilization was destroyed (probably by a nuclear war) in something near our present time and new civilizations have grown to take their place. Fantasy is a Genre that uses magic and other Supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting The novels are set in about the year AD 5000. 5000 may refer to The last year of the 5th millennium. 5000 (number There are elements of magic or psionics present, but they are fairly low powered, while technology is approximately at the level of the historical middle ages. Magic, sometimes known as sorcery, is a Conceptual system that asserts human ability to control the natural world (including events objects people and Psionics is the study and/or practice of using the mind to induce paranormal phenomena Two additional novels in this series (Lion's Heart and Lion's Soul both by Karen Wehrstein) overlap these novels but were not authored or co-authored by Stirling. Shadow's Daughter by Shirley Meier is also part of the series.

Draka series

Main article: The Domination

The Draka novels postulate a dystopian slave-holding militaristic (white) African empire founded by British Loyalists who escaped to South Africa after the American Revolution rather than to Canada (as in our history). The Domination is a Dystopian alternate history series by S M A dystopia (from the Greek δυσ- and τόπος alternatively cacotopia, kakotopia, cackotopia, or anti-utopia) is the vision of a society As a social-economic system slavery is a legal institution under which a Person (called "a slave" is compelled to work for another This article concerns Loyalists in the American Revolution. For information on the role of those Loyalists in Canadian history after their emigration see United Empire Ancient history The Bushmen See also Ancient History of South Africa Some three million years ago Ape -human-like Hominids In this article the inhabitants of the thirteen colonies that supported the American Revolution are primarily referred to as "Americans" with occasional references to "Patriots" They were later joined by French Royalist emigrés, Icelandic refugees, and demobbed veterans of the Napoleonic Wars, then by tens of thousands of defeated Confederates after the American Civil War. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Iceland, officially the Republic of Iceland ( ( Ísland or Lýðveldið Ísland ( The Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815 involved Napoleon's French Empire and a shifting set of European allies and opposing coalitions The Confederate States of America (also called the Confederacy, the Confederate States, and CSA) formed as the government set up from 1861 Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South Stirling provides a timeline for its historical development through the 19th and 20th centuries, first as the Crown Colony of Drakia (for Francis Drake), gradually breaking away from British control to become the Dominion, then the Domination, of the Draka. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar The twentieth century of the Common Era began on Sir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral, (c 1540 &ndash 27 January 1595 was an English Privateer, navigator, Slaver, and politician A dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of autonomous polities under sovereign authority within the British Empire and The Draka culture is remarkable for combining a strictly race- and class-based hierarchical society with near-complete gender-equality (including female soldiers in integrated military units in combat roles). The Draka are greatly outnumbered by their slaves, and quite ruthless in maintaining their rule. Compared to current western society, nudity and sexuality are much less taboo among Draka. Nudity is the state of wearing no Clothing. The term' "nudity" can also occasionally be used to refer to wearing significantly less clothing than expected Generally speaking human sexuality is how people experience and express themselves as sexual beings A taboo is a strong Social prohibition (or ban) against words objects actions or discussions that are considered undesirable or offensive by a group culture

As a result of the intense manpower pressures stemming from their conquest of Africa through the 19th century, all Draka are liable for service in the military/security forces, and the Draka-only Citizen Force is by far the deadliest and most advanced military machine on the planet. But there are never enough Draka (only 30 million or so at the start of World War 2) to go around, and the bulk of the Domination's Armed Forces are made up of "Janissary" Legions recruited from the Serf population. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The Janissaries (derived from Ottoman Turkish ينيچرى ( yeniçeri) meaning "new soldier" comprised Infantry units that formed The Citizen Force provides the élite cutting edge, while the "Janissaries" are the cannon fodder. Cannon Fodder is a short series of two War (and later Science fiction) themed action Computer and video games developed by Sensible

Stirling frequently uses the Draka and other villains as point-of-view characters, leading to complaints that he has some sympathy with them. Marching Through Georgia is the first of four books of SM Stirling's Alternate history series The Domination. He is known to be dismayed by this analysis of his work. He describes the Draka series as dystopias based on "suppos[ing that] everything had turned out as badly as possible, these last few centuries". A dystopia (from the Greek δυσ- and τόπος alternatively cacotopia, kakotopia, cackotopia, or anti-utopia) is the vision of a society [2] The title page of his novel Conquistador has the quotation (variously attributed to Larry Niven or Robert Heinlein) "There is a technical term for someone who confuses the opinions of a character in a book with those of the author. Laurence van Cott Niven (born April 30, 1938 Los Angeles California) is a US Science fiction author. Robert Anson Heinlein (July 7 1907 – May 8 1988 was an American Novelist and Science fiction Writer. That term is idiot. "

General series

Main article: The General series

These books are loosely based on the life of Belisarius, the great Byzantine general, but set on a colony planet with roughly late 19th century technology. The General (also known as the Raj Whitehall series after the lead character is a set of Military science fiction books written by S Flavius Belisarius (Βελισάριος (505(? – 565 was one of the greatest Generals of the Byzantine Empire and one of the most acclaimed generals in history They are currently available in omnibus editions (2005).

with David Drake

Falkenberg's Legion series

The first two volumes in this series, "Falkenberg's Legion" and "Prince of Mercenaries", were solely the work of Jerry Pournelle. David Drake (born September 24, 1945) is an author of Science fiction and Fantasy literature Jerry Eugene Pournelle (born August 7, 1933) is an American Science fiction Writer, Essayist and Journalist In 2002, all four Falkenberg books, including the two listed below, were published in a single volume, The Prince. The Prince is a Science fiction compilation by Jerry Pournelle and S The Falkenberg books are part of the larger "CoDominium" series, which also includes The Mote in God's Eye and The Gripping Hand by Pournelle and Larry Niven. The fictional CoDominium universe is a Future history (now alternate history) setting for the books in the CoDominium Series by Jerry Pournelle. The Mote in God's Eye, by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, is a Science fiction Novel that was first published in 1974 The Gripping Hand is a 1993 novel by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. Laurence van Cott Niven (born April 30, 1938 Los Angeles California) is a US Science fiction author. Stirling's books in this series are popular with many Western soldiers for their portrayal of the mechanics of an ideologically driven insurgency.

with Jerry Pournelle

Other Novels

Belonging to series by other authors

Flight Engineer series

with James Doohan

Terminator 2 series

Not part of any series:

External links

SciFan is an Online Database for fans of Science fiction and Fantasy Books. Glenn Harlan Reynolds (born 1960) is Beauchamp Brogan Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Tennessee, and is best known for his
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