David Zindell (born November 28, 1952) is an American science fiction and fantasy epics writer.

David Zindell
Born (1952-11-28) November 28, 1952 (age 71)
Toledo, Ohio, U.S.
OccupationFiction writer
EducationUniversity of Colorado Boulder (BA)
GenreSpeculative fiction
Website
davidzindell.com

Writing career

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Zindell's first published story was "The Dreamer's Sleep" in Fantasy Book in 1984. His novelette Shanidar, which shared a background with his first novel Neverness, won the Writers of the Future contest in 1985. He followed Neverness with a sequel trilogy called A Requiem for Homo Sapiens.

Zindell's fantasy series The Ea Cycle has as a theme the evolution of consciousness, through the method of fantasy. The plot concerns a prince named Valashu Elahad searching for a relic called the Lightstone to stop the immortal Morjin, Lord of Lies, who seeks to create a world filled with madness.

In 2015 he published Splendor, a nonfiction book, and in 2017 he published The Idiot Gods, a novel told from the point of view of intelligent killer whales.

Style and themes

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John Clute wrote that Zindell was a "romantic, ambitious, and skilled" writer.[1] Zindell has described his style as an attempt to communicate the connectedness of things, the connection between mysticism and evolution, and the possibilities of life,[2] and his fiction as an attempt to heal false dichotomies such as materialism and spirituality.[3]

Personal life

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Zindell was born in Toledo, Ohio, and resides today in Boulder, Colorado, where he works as a test coach;[4] he received a BA in mathematics and minored in anthropology at the University of Colorado at Boulder.[5]

Publications

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Neverness Universe

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Ea Cycle

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  • The Lightstone (London: Harper Voyager, August 2001); also published as two volumes, The Ninth Kingdom and The Silver Sword (Voyager, 2002)
  • The Lightstone, revised edition (Tor Books, June 2006) – first American ed. of volume one
  • The Silver Sword (Tor, 2007) – American sequel
  • The Lord of Lies (Voyager, 2003); US ed., Tor, 2008
  • Black Jade (Voyager, 2005); not released in U.S.
  • The Diamond Warriors (Voyager, 2007); not released in U.S.

Other novels

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  • The Orca's Song (originally published as The Idiot Gods, Harper Voyager, July 2017)

Other short stories

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  • "The Dreamer's Sleep", Fantasy Book, December 1984
  • "Caverns", Interzone (UK), Winter 1985/86
  • "When the Rose Is Dead", Full Spectrum 3, June 1991

Essays

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  • Read This (1994)
  • Splendor (Bhodi Books, 2015)

References

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  1. ^ Clute, John: The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, page 1368. Orbit, 1993
  2. ^ "Storms of Numbers, Chalices of Light: an interview with David Zindell". infinityplus.co.uk. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  3. ^ "David Zindell: Back to Roots". Locus.com. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  4. ^ "Colorado Test Prep for SAT, ACT, GRE, and GMAT". davidzindellcoaching.com. Retrieved 2017-06-17.[title missing]
  5. ^ Charles N. Brown. "David Zindell: Back to Roots" (excerpt), Locus 44:6, No. 473 (June 2000). Retrieved 2000-09-07.
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