Dan Simmons

Dan Simmons
Born April 4, 1948 (1948-04-04) (age 63)
Peoria, Illinois
Occupation Novelist
Nationality American
Period 1983-present
Genres Science fiction, Horror and Fantasy
Notable work(s) Novel: Song of Kali (1985), Novel: Hyperion (1989)
www.dansimmons.com/index.html

Dan Simmons (born April 4, 1948 in Peoria, Illinois) is an American author most widely known for his Hugo Award-winning science fiction series, known as the Hyperion Cantos, and for his Locus-winning Ilium/Olympos cycle.

He spans genres such as science fiction, horror and fantasy, sometimes within the same novel: a typical example of Simmons' ability to intermingle genres is Song of Kali (1985), winner of World Fantasy Award.[1] He is also a respected author of mysteries and thrillers, some of which feature the continuing character Joe Kurtz.

Contents

Biography

Simmons received an A.B. in English from Wabash College in 1970, and, in 1971, a Masters in Education from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. He subsequently worked in elementary education until 1989.

He soon started to write short stories, although his career did not take off until 1982, when, through Harlan Ellison's help, his short story "The River Styx Runs Upstream" was published and awarded first prize in a Twilight Zone Magazine story competition. His first novel, Song of Kali, was released in 1985.

Horror fiction

Summer of Night (1991) recounts the childhood of a group of pre-teens who band together in the 1960s to defeat a centuries-old evil that terrorizes their hometown of Elm Haven, Illinois. The novel, which was praised by Stephen King, is similar to King's It in its focus on small town life, the corruption of innocence, the return of an ancient evil, and the responsibility for others that emerges with the transition from youth to adulthood.

In the sequel to Summer of Night, A Winter Haunting, Dale Stewart (one of the first book's protagonists, and now an adult), revisits his boyhood home to come to grips with mysteries that have disrupted his adult life. Children of the Night, another loose sequel, features a much older Mike O'Rourke, now a Roman Catholic priest, who is sent on a mission to investigate bizarre events in a European city. Another Summer of Night character, Dale's younger brother, Lawrence Stewart, appears as a minor character in Simmons' thriller Darwin's Blade, while the adult Cordie Cooke appears in Fires of Eden.

Soon after Summer of Night, Simmons, who had written mostly horror fiction, began to focus on writing science fiction, although in 2007 he returned with a work of historical fiction and horror, The Terror. In 2009 he also wrote a book, Drood, based on Charles Dickens' The Mystery of Edwin Drood.[2]

Science fiction

Simmons became famous in 1989 for Hyperion, winner of Hugo and Locus Awards for the best science fiction novel.[3] This novel deals with a space war, and is inspired in its structure by Boccaccio's Decameron and Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.

Many of his works have similarly strong ties with classic literature:

Movie adaptation

In January 2004, it was announced that the screenplay he wrote for his novels Ilium and Olympos would be made into a film by Digital Domain and Barnet Bain Films, with Simmons acting as executive producer. Ilium is described as an "epic tale that spans 5,000 years and sweeps across the entire solar system, including themes and characters from Homer's Iliad and Shakespeare's The Tempest." In July 2004, Ilium received a Locus Award for best science fiction novel of 2003.[4]

Scott Derrickson is set to direct "Hyperion Cantos" for Warner Bros. and GK Films. Trevor Sands is penning the script which will blend the first two cantos "Hyperion" and "The Fall of Hyperion" into one film.

His novel Drood is set to be adapted into a movie by Guillermo del Toro for Universal Pictures.

Works

Hyperion Cantos

  1. Hyperion (1989) – Hugo and Locus Awards winner, BSFA nominee, 1990;[3] Arthur C. Clarke Award nominee, 1992[5]
  2. The Fall of Hyperion (1990) – Nebula Award nominee, 1990;[3] BSFA and Locus Awards winner, Hugo Award nominee, 1991;[6]
  3. Endymion (1996) – Locus Award shortlist, 1997[7]
  4. The Rise of Endymion (1997) – Locus Award winner, Hugo Award nominee 1998[8]

Ilium/Olympos

  1. Ilium (2003) – Locus Award winner, Hugo Award nominee, 2004[4]
  2. Olympos (2005) – Locus Award shortlist, 2006[9]

Joe Kurtz

  1. Hardcase (2001)
  2. Hard Freeze (2002)
  3. Hard as Nails (2003)

Other books

Awards

Wins

Bram Stoker Award

British Fantasy Society Award

British Science Fiction Award

Hugo Award

International Horror Guild Award

Locus Award

Readercon Award

Science Fiction Chronicle Reader Awards

Seiun Award

World Fantasy Award

Nominations

Dan Simmons has been nominated on numerous occasions in a range of categories for his fiction, including the Arthur C. Clarke Award, Bram Stoker Award, British Fantasy Society Award, Hugo Award, Nebula Award, and World Fantasy Award. [1]

References

  1. ^ a b c "1986 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1986. Retrieved 2009-07-16. 
  2. ^ Gwinn, Mary Ann (February 15, 2009). "Q&A: Dan Simmons, author of "Drood"". The Seattle Times. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/books/2008737263_drood15.html. 
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "1990 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1990. Retrieved 2009-07-16. 
  4. ^ a b c "2004 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=2004. Retrieved 2009-07-16. 
  5. ^ a b "1992 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1992. Retrieved 2009-07-16. 
  6. ^ a b c "1991 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1991. Retrieved 2009-07-16. 
  7. ^ "1997 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1997. Retrieved 2009-07-16. 
  8. ^ a b "1998 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1998. Retrieved 2009-07-16. 
  9. ^ "2006 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=2006. Retrieved 2009-07-16. 
  10. ^ "1993 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1993. Retrieved 2009-07-16. 
  11. ^ "2003 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=2003. Retrieved 2009-07-16. 
  12. ^ Rafferty, Terrence (March 18, 2007). "Ice Men". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9803E3D61231F93BA25750C0A9619C8B63. Retrieved March 31, 2010. 
  13. ^ "2008 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=2008. Retrieved 2009-07-16. 

External links

The works of Dan Simmons
Hyperion Cantos
Hyperion (1989)  • The Fall of Hyperion (1990)  • Endymion (1996)  • The Rise of Endymion (1997)
Ilium/Olympos
Joe Kurtz
Other novels
(In chronological order)
Song of Kali  • Carrion Comfort  • Phases of Gravity  • Entropy's Bed at Midnight  • Summer of Night  • Children of the Night  • The Hollow Man  • Fires of Eden  • The Crook Factory  • Darwin's Blade  • A Winter Haunting  • The Terror  • Muse of Fire  • Drood  • Black Hills  • Flashback
Short story collections
Prayers to Broken Stones  • Summer Sketches  • Lovedeath  • Worlds Enough & Time