Dennis L. McKiernan
Encyclopedia
Dennis Lester McKiernan, born 4 April 1932 (age 79), is an American
writer
best known for his high fantasy
The Iron Tower
. His genres include high fantasy
(set in various fictitious worlds), science fiction
, horror fiction
, and crime fiction
.
, where he lived until he served the U.S. Air Force for four years, stationed within US territory during the Korean War
. After military service, he attended the University of Missouri
and received a B.S.
in electrical engineering
in 1958 and an M.S.
in the same field from Duke University
in 1964. He worked as an engineer at AT&T
, initially at Western Electric
but soon at Bell Laboratories, from 1958 until 1989. In 1989, after early retirement from engineering, McKiernan began writing on a full-time basis.
In 1977, while riding his motorcycle
, McKiernan was hit by a car that had crossed the center-line, and he was confined to a bed, first in traction and then in a hip spica cast
, for many months. During his recuperation, he began a sequel to J. R. R. Tolkien
's The Lord of the Rings
. The publisher Doubleday showed an interest in his work and tried to obtain authorization from Tolkien's estate but was denied. Doubleday then asked McKiernan to rewrite his story, placing the characters in a different fictitious world, and also to write a prequel supporting it. The prequel, of necessity, resembles The Lord of the Rings; the decision of Doubleday to issue the work as a trilogy increased that resemblance; and some critics have seen McKiernan as simply imitating Tolkien's epic work. McKiernan has subsequently developed stories in the series that followed along a story line different from those that plausibly could have been taken by Tolkien.
McKiernan's Faery Series expands tales drawn from Andrew Lang's Fairy Books
, additionally tying the selected tales together with a larger plot.
McKiernan currently lives in Tucson, Arizona
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
best known for his high fantasy
High fantasy
High fantasy or epic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is set in invented or parallel worlds. High fantasy was brought to fruition through the work of authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, whose major fantasy works were published in the 1950s...
The Iron Tower
The Iron Tower
Dennis L. McKiernan's The Iron Tower is a high fantasy saga set in his world of Mithgar. Originally published as a trilogy , and later released as an omnibus , the work was amongst his first.-The Dark Tide:An unnaturally long and bitter winter has fallen over all of Mithgar, and there are rumors of...
. His genres include high fantasy
High fantasy
High fantasy or epic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is set in invented or parallel worlds. High fantasy was brought to fruition through the work of authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, whose major fantasy works were published in the 1950s...
(set in various fictitious worlds), science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
, horror fiction
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
, and crime fiction
Crime fiction
Crime fiction is the literary genre that fictionalizes crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred...
.
Biography
McKiernan was born in Moberly, MissouriMoberly, Missouri
Moberly is a city in Randolph County, Missouri, United States. According to the 2008 census bureau estimate, the population was 14,227. The city was incorporated 1868. The Moberly Micropolitan Statistical Area consists of Randolph County....
, where he lived until he served the U.S. Air Force for four years, stationed within US territory during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. After military service, he attended the University of Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
and received a B.S.
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in electrical engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
in 1958 and an M.S.
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
in the same field from Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
in 1964. He worked as an engineer at AT&T
American Telephone & Telegraph
AT&T Corp., originally American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American telecommunications company that provides voice, video, data, and Internet telecommunications and professional services to businesses, consumers, and government agencies. AT&T is the oldest telecommunications company...
, initially at Western Electric
Western Electric
Western Electric Company was an American electrical engineering company, the manufacturing arm of AT&T from 1881 to 1995. It was the scene of a number of technological innovations and also some seminal developments in industrial management...
but soon at Bell Laboratories, from 1958 until 1989. In 1989, after early retirement from engineering, McKiernan began writing on a full-time basis.
In 1977, while riding his motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
, McKiernan was hit by a car that had crossed the center-line, and he was confined to a bed, first in traction and then in a hip spica cast
Hip spica cast
A hip spica cast is a sort of orthopedic cast used to immobilize the hip or thigh. It is used to facilitate healing of injured hip joints or of fractured femurs.A hip spica includes the trunk of the body and one or more legs...
, for many months. During his recuperation, he began a sequel to J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
's The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
. The publisher Doubleday showed an interest in his work and tried to obtain authorization from Tolkien's estate but was denied. Doubleday then asked McKiernan to rewrite his story, placing the characters in a different fictitious world, and also to write a prequel supporting it. The prequel, of necessity, resembles The Lord of the Rings; the decision of Doubleday to issue the work as a trilogy increased that resemblance; and some critics have seen McKiernan as simply imitating Tolkien's epic work. McKiernan has subsequently developed stories in the series that followed along a story line different from those that plausibly could have been taken by Tolkien.
McKiernan's Faery Series expands tales drawn from Andrew Lang's Fairy Books
Andrew Lang's Fairy Books
Andrew Lang's Fairy Books — also known as Andrew Lang's "Coloured" Fairy Books or Andrew Lang's Fairy Books of Many Colors — are a series of twelve collections of fairy tales, published between 1889 and 1910...
, additionally tying the selected tales together with a larger plot.
McKiernan currently lives in Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
.
Mithgar series
- The Iron TowerThe Iron TowerDennis L. McKiernan's The Iron Tower is a high fantasy saga set in his world of Mithgar. Originally published as a trilogy , and later released as an omnibus , the work was amongst his first.-The Dark Tide:An unnaturally long and bitter winter has fallen over all of Mithgar, and there are rumors of...
(Omnibus edition 2000)- The Dark Tide (1984)
- Shadows of Doom (1984)
- The Darkest Day (1984)
- The Silver Call (Omnibus edition 2001)
- Trek to Kraggen-Cor (1986)
- The Brega Path (1986)
- Dragondoom (1990)
- Tales from the One-Eyed Crow: The Vulgmaster (short story adapted as a graphic novel by David Keller and Alex NiñoAlex NiñoAlex Niño is a Filipino comic book artist best known for his work for the American publishers DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and Warren Publishing, and in Heavy Metal magazine.-Early life and career:...
) (1991) - The Eye of the Hunter (1992)
- Voyage of the Fox Rider (1993)
- Tales of Mithgar (1994)
- The Dragonstone (1996)
- Hèl's Crucible Duology
- Into the Forge (1997)
- Into the Fire (1998)
- Silver Wolf, Black Falcon (2000)
- Red Slippers: More Tales of Mithgar (2004)
- City of Jade (2008)
Faery Series
- Once Upon a Winter's Night (2001)
- Once Upon a Summer Day (2005)
- Once Upon an Autumn Eve (2006)
- Once Upon a Spring Morn (October 2006)
- Once Upon a Dreadful Time (October 2007)
Anthologized short stories
- “The Ornament” in The Magic of Christmas (1990) edited by John Silbersack and Christopher Schelling
- “Straw into Gold: Part II” with Mark A. Kreighbaum in Dragon Fantastic (1992) edited by Rosalind M. Greenberg, Martin H. GreenbergMartin H. GreenbergMartin Harry Greenberg was an American speculative fiction anthologist and writer.-Biography:Dr. Martin H. Greenberg was born March 1, 1941, to Max and Mae Greenberg in South Miami Beach, Florida...
and Tad WilliamsTad WilliamsRobert Paul "Tad" Williams, born in San Jose, California, is the author of several fantasy and science fiction novels, including Tailchaser's Song, the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series, the Otherland series, and The War of the Flowers.... - “The Halfling House” in After the King (1992) edited by Martin H. Greenberg
- “The Source of It All” in Alien Pregnant by Elvis (1994) edited by Esther M. Friesner
- “Alas, Me Bleedin…” in Weird Tales from Shakespeare (1994) edited by Katharine KerrKatharine KerrKatharine Kerr is a science fiction and fantasy novelist, best known for her series of Celtic-influenced high fantasy novels set in the fictional land of Deverry.- Biography :...
and Martin H. Greenberg - “The Sorcerer's Apprentice” in The Shimmering Door (1996) edited by Katharine Kerr
- “I Sing the Dark Riders” in Elf Fantastic (1997) edited by Martin H. Greenberg
- “The Lesser of…” in Highwaymen: Robbers & Rogues (1997) edited by Jennifer RobersonJennifer RobersonJennifer Mitchell Roberson is an author of fantasy and historical literature.Roberson has lived in Arizona since 1957. She grew up in Phoenix, but in 1999 relocated to Flagstaff. She obtained a Bachelor of Science in journalism from Northern Arizona University in 1982 as an adult student...
- “In the Service of Mages” in Wizard Fantastic (1997) edited by Martin H. Greenberg
- “Of Tides and Time” in Wizard Fantastic (1997) edited by Martin H. Greenberg
- “The Divine Comedy” in Olympus (1998) edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Bruce D. Arthurs
- “Final Conquest” in Legends: Tales from the Eternal Archives #1 (1999) edited by Margaret WeisMargaret WeisMargaret Edith Weis is a fantasy novelist who, along with Tracy Hickman, is one of the original creators of the Dragonlance game world and has written numerous novels and short stories set in fantastic worlds.-Early life:Margaret Weis was born in 1948 in Independence, Missouri, and later attended...
- “Darkness” in 999: New Stories of Horror and Suspense (1999) edited by Al SarrantonioAl SarrantonioAl Sarrantonio is an American horror and science fiction author who has published, over the past thirty-five years, more than forty-five books and eighty short stories...
- “For the Life of Sheila Morgan” in Spell Fantastic (2000) edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Larry Segriff
- “Perfidy” in Treachery and Treason (2000) edited by Laura Anne GilmanLaura Anne GilmanLaura Anne Gilman is an American fantasy author.-Biography:Laura Anne Gilman was born in 1967 in suburban New Jersey. She received a Liberal Arts education from the Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York, and was inducted into the Phi Alpha Theta honors society...
and Jennifer Heddle - “A Tower with No Doors” in Flights: Extreme Visions of Fantasy (2004) edited by Al Sarrantonio