Swiniarski, S.A.

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Swiniarski, S.A.

(Steven Krane, S. Andrew Swann)

PERSONAL: Married. Education: Attended Cleveland State University.

ADDRESSES: Home—Cleveland, OH. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Writer.

MEMBER: Science Fiction Writers Association.

WRITINGS:

Raven, DAW Books (New York, NY), 1996.

The Flesh, the Blood, and the Fire, DAW Books (New York, NY), 1998.

Work represented in anthologies, including DAW 30th Anniversary Science Fiction Anthology, edited by Sheila Gilbert and Betsy Wollheim, DAW Books (New York, NY), 2002. Contributor to periodicals, including Amazing Stories.

AS S. ANDREW SWANN

Forests of the Night ("Moreau" series), DAW Books (New York, NY), 1993.

Emperors of the Twilight ("Moreau" series), DAW Books (New York, NY), 1994.

Spectres of the Dawn ("Moreau" series), DAW Books (New York, NY), 1994.

Profiteer ("Hostile Takeover," No. 1), DAW Books (New York, NY), 1995.

Partisan ("Hostile Takeover," No. 2), DAW Books (New York, NY), 1995.

Revolutionary ("Hostile Takeover," No. 3), DAW Books (New York, NY), 1996.

God's Dice, DAW Books (New York, NY), 1997.

Fearful Symmetry: The Return of Nohar Rajathsan, DAW Books (New York, NY), 1999.

Zimmerman's Algorithm, DAW Books (New York, NY), 2000.

The Dragons of the Cuyahoga ("Cleveland Portal" series), DAW Books (New York, NY), 2001.

Moreau Omnibus, DAW Books (New York, NY), 2003.

The Hostile Takeover Trilogy, DAW Books (New York, NY), 2004.

Broken Crescent, DAW Books (New York, NY), 2004.

The Dwarves of Whiskey Island ("Cleveland Portal" series), 2005.

Also author of a blog.

UNDER PSEUDONYM STEVEN KRANE

Teek, DAW Books (New York, NY), 1999.

The Omega Game, DAW Books (New York, NY), 2000.

Stranger Inside, DAW Books (New York, NY), 2003.

SIDELIGHTS: S.A. Swiniarski, who also writes under the name S. Andrew Swann and the pen name Steven Krane, was first published by DAW Books with his Forests of the Night. At that time he was studying to be a mechanical engineer, but he quickly became a full-time writer instead. By 1999 he had published nine novels, all science fiction or horror, and he had several more under contract. With the appearance of his third novel, Locus reviewer Carolyn Cushman said he "is turning out to be one of SF's best action-adventure writers."

Swiniarski's novels are all set in the near to not-so-near future, from the twenty-first century to the twenty-fourth. Some take place in Cleveland, the author's home town. His first three novels feature furry creatures—tigers, rabbits, jaguars, dogs, bears—known as "moreaus," all genetically engineered leftovers from an earlier wartime need. They are still animals, but they are equipped with human emotions and intellect, and all are treated by humans as second-class citizens. In Forests of the Night the hero is Nohar Rajasthan, a tiger who is a private investigator hired to solve a political murder. Assisting are Manny, the mongoose medical examiner; Angel, a rabbit; and Stephie, a female of the human variety. Nohar is tough and serious-minded but also sentimental, has a cat for a pet, and at one point wishes the engineers had provided his species with tear ducts. A Kliatt reviewer commented that the novel is written with "warmth, humor and intelligence."

In the second of the Moreau series, Emperors of the Twilight, a cast of moreaus is joined by Evi Isham, a female Frank (or "Frankenstein"), who is also biologically engineered. She is superhuman rather than animal, a species as hated by twenty-first century humans as the moreaus. Evi, an Agency operative on leave, is attacked by teams of assassins, and the Agency helpfully claims she died years ago. A Voice of Youth Advocates reviewer characterized Emperors of the Twilight as "an action-packed novel full of graphic, cinematic violence, and plot twists galore."

In Spectres of the Dawn the heroine is Angelica "Angel" Lopez, a rabbit whose short fling with a fox ends with his murder. The story is set in twenty-first century San Francisco, a town more tolerant of moreaus than most, but as Angel tracks down the killer, she becomes caught up in overlapping conspiracies. A Science Fiction Chronicle reviewer called it "an engaging, entertaining thriller" in an "unfortunately all too plausible repressive future."

Swiniarski, as Swann, next wrote three novels that form a tighter trilogy than the Moreau series. Under the series title "Hostile Takeover," the books include Profiteer, Partisan, and Revolutionary. In the twenty-fourth century, humans have occupied eighty-four worlds, and all of them are governed by the Terran Confederacy—except Bakunin. The Confederacy tries to knuckle Bakunin under but resistance is strong. Dominic Magnus spearheads the defense, hoping to hold on to his corporate empire, while his twin brother, Klaus, who is in charge of the Confederacy's covert operations, leads the attack.

The next few Swann books take different paths. God's Dice is the tale of psychologist Richard Brandon, whose recurring visions of a fantasy world called Midland lead him to conduct past life regression experiments on himself. He discovers Rocky, a veteran and down-and-out cop; Richie, a petty criminal; Rick, a struggling journalist; and Richard, a literary type. All four have the same vision of Midland, all four are versions of himself living in different worlds. They all end up in Midland, where four gods send them on a quest to save Midland from a fifth god, who has gone insane.

The world of mathematics is explored in Zimmerman's Algorithm, and in The Dragons of the Cuyahoga reporter Kline Maxwell becomes involved with elves and the FBI in investigating the story of a murdered dragon who dies as the result of a drain in a magical field.

Nate Black is the protagonist of Broken Crescent, a former hacker who is being threatened with exposure by stalkers in a universe that contains no computers, and in which Nate finds himself in a plot that blends technology with mythology. Kliatt reviewer Lesley Farmer felt that this story will appeal to computer types and that "linguists will enjoy the word play."

Other science fiction works by Swiniarski include Teek and Stranger Inside. As Steven Krane, he wrote Teek, the story of a "normal teen" named Allison Boyle, who finds out that her genetic heritage is anything but normal. Stranger Inside is set in a world where children are created using nanotechnology in order to send information from Earth into space. Jimmy Somerset has survived to reach the age of seventeen, while others have been destroyed through programmed burns. Now in foster care, Jimmy, who is beset with behavior problems, is sought out by Nate Adriano, who, like the government, is seeking the truth behind the plot that uses such children. Booklist reviewer Regina Schroeder described the story as "well-paced" and "classy." She wrote that it is not an invasion story, "but a form of exploration that is subtler and, in the long run, far more interesting."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, February 1, 2003, Regina Schroeder, review of Stranger Inside, p. 979.

Kliatt, November, 1993, review of Forests of the Night, p. 18; September, 2004, Leslie Farmer, review of Broken Crescent, p. 32.

Locus, August, 1994, Carolyn Cushman, review of Specters of the Dawn, p. 63; January, 2002, Sherry S. Hoy, review of The Dragons of the Cuyahoga, p. 20; July, 2003, Sherry S. Hoy, review of Stranger Inside, p. 32.

Science Fiction Chronicle, September, 1994, review of Specters of the Dawn, p. 38.

Voice of Youth Advocates, June, 1994, review of Emperors of the Twilight, p. 101.