David Zindell (born November 28, 1952) is an American

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

epics writer.

Writing career

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 Consciousness, at its simplest, is awareness of a state or object, either internal to oneself or in one's external environment. However, its nature has led to millennia of analyses, explanations, and debate among philosophers, scientists, an ...

, through the method of

. 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 sapient killer whales.

Style and themes

John Clute John Frederick Clute (born 12 September 1940) is a Canadian-born author and critic specializing in science fiction and fantasy literature who has lived in both England and the United States since 1969. He has been described as "an integral part ...

wrote that Zindell was a "romantic, ambitious, and skilled" writer.Clute, John: ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'', page 1368. Orbit, 1993 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, and his fiction as an attempt to heal false dichotomies such as materialism and spirituality.

Personal life

Zindell was born in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...

, and resides today in

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city in Boulder County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most ...

, where he works as a test coach; he received a BA in mathematics and minored in anthropology at the

University of Colorado at Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a Public university, public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a Federated state, state, it is the fla ...

.Charles N. Brown
"David Zindell: Back to Roots"
(excerpt), '' Locus'' 44:6, No. 473 (June 2000). Retrieved 2000-09-07.

Publications

Neverness universe

* "Shanidar", '' Writers of the Future'' (March 1985)
online reprint
at infinity plus * '' Neverness'' (New York: D. I. Fine, 1988) *'' A Requiem for Homo Sapiens'' (trilogy): ** ''The Broken God'' (HarperCollins, 1992); US ed., Bantam, 1994 ** ''The Wild'' ( Harper Voyager, 1995); US ed., Bantam, 1996 ** ''War in Heaven'' (Voyager, Bantam, 1998) * ''The Remembrancer's Tale'' (Harper Voyager, 2023)

Ea Cycle

* ''The Lightstone'' (London: Harper Voyager, August 2001), (

Tor Books Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles. History Tor was founded by Tom Doherty, ...

, June 2006), also published as two volumes, ''The Ninth Kingdom'' (June 2006) and ''The Silver Sword'' (Voyager, 2002, Tor, 2887) and again together as ''The Lightstone: The Complete Novel'' (2022) * ''Lord of Lies'' (Voyager, 2003); US ed., Tor, 2008 * ''Black Jade'' (Voyager, 2005); released in U.S. only as e-book * ''The Diamond Warriors'' (Voyager, 2007); released in U.S. only as e-book

Stand-alone novels

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

Short fiction

Collection

* ''Shanidar and Other Stories''

Individual short fiction

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

Nonfiction

* ''Read This'' (1994) * ''Splendor'' (Bhodi Books, 2015)

References

External links

*
David Zindell
on Goodreads

an interview on Infinity Plus * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zindell, David American fantasy writers American science fiction writers 1952 births Living people University of Colorado alumni Writers from Boulder, Colorado Writers from Toledo, Ohio American male essayists American male novelists American male short story writers 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers 20th-century American essayists 21st-century American essayists 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American short story writers Novelists from Ohio Novelists from Colorado