Gianluigi Zuddas (born 1943) is an Italian author and translator of
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
. His first novel, ''Amazon'', won a Premio Italia prize.
Early life
Zuddas was born at
Carpi, near
Modena, but moved to
Livorno with his family when he was very young. Many biographies list the latter as his birthplace. His father was a non-commissioned navy officer. He was a keen reader of
Salgari,
Zane Grey
Pearl Zane Grey (January 31, 1872 – October 23, 1939) was an American author and dentist. He is known for his popular adventure novels and stories associated with the Western genre in literature and the arts; he idealized the American fronti ...
and
Steinbeck as a child. He took a liking to
Frederik Pohl and
Robert Sheckley
Robert Sheckley (July 16, 1928 – December 9, 2005) was an American writer. First published in the science-fiction magazines of the 1950s, his many quick-witted stories and novels were famously unpredictable, absurdist, and broadly comical.
...
's sociological science fiction as well as
Jack Vance
John Holbrook Vance (August 28, 1916 – May 26, 2013) was an American mystery, fantasy, and science fiction writer. Though most of his work has been published under the name Jack Vance, he also wrote several mystery novels under pen names.
...
's stories in his early teens.
Literary career
He tried his hand at various jobs including metal worker, mechanic, a technician in medical radiology, and painter, before deciding for writing
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...
stories. His first novel, ''Amazon'', won a prize in Italy. After 1989, translation jobs did not leave much time for him to go on with his own writing. Despite this, in 2006 he released a novel entitled ''C'era una volta un computer'' ("There Was Once a Computer") which was featured in the sci-fi magazine ''
Urania
Urania ( ; grc, , Ouranía; modern Greek shortened name ''Ránia''; meaning "heavenly" or "of heaven") was, in Greek mythology, the muse of astronomy, and in later times, of Christian poetry. Urania is the goddess of astronomy and stars, he ...
'' the following year. In that novel, Zuddas reviewed, remade, and expanded on his previous story, "''Le armi della Lupa''.
In Zuddas' stories, the main character is usually female. His
Amazons are more realistic than the more fantastical ones that readers and movie-goers generally observe in other works.
Zuddas considers his Amazon stories as heroic fantasies. He prefers human-centered explanations over events and phenomena in which one attempts to locate extraterrestrial beings.
Works
Novels
* ''Amazon ''(1978)
*''Balthis, l'avventuriera ''(1983)
*''Le amazzoni del Sud ''(1983)
* ''Stella di Gondwana ''(1983)
* ''Le guerrieri degli abissi ''(1983)
*''Il volo dell'angelo ''(1984)
* ''Le armi della Lupa ''(1989)
* ''C'era una volta un computer (2006)
Short stories
*"L'amazzone e il sacerdote" (1979)
*"Per cercare Aurade" (1981)
*"Mitis degli Alicorni" (1982)
*"Babeeri" (1982)
*"Il ritorno di Lupa Bianca" (1984)
*"Luci di cristallo"(1985)
External links
Amazzoni e computer: Interview with Gianluigi Zuddas
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zuddas, Gianluigi
1943 births
Living people
People from Carpi, Emilia-Romagna
Italian science fiction writers
Italian male writers
Italian fantasy writers
Writers from the Province of Modena