Stephen Michael Stirling (born September 30, 1953) is a Canadian-American

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 ...

and

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 ...

author who was born in France. Stirling is well known for his Draka series of

alternate history Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, alte ...

novels and his later

time travel Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a ...

/alternate history Nantucket series and Emberverse series.

Early life and education

Stirling was born on September 30, 1953, in

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...

, France—then the site of a

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

base—to an English mother and Canadian father. He has lived in several countries and currently resides in the United States in

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

with his wife Jan. Stirling, along with

Eric Flint Eric Flint (February 6, 1947 – July 17, 2022) was an American author, editor, and e-publisher. The majority of his main works are alternate history science fiction, but he also wrote humorous fantasy adventures. His works have been listed ...

, was tuckerized as a

Secret Service A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. Fo ...

agent in

John Birmingham John Birmingham (born 7 August 1964) is a British-born Australian author, known for the 1994 memoir ''He Died with a Felafel in His Hand'', and his ''Axis of Time'' trilogy. Early life and education Birmingham was born in Liverpool, United ...

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

novel ''Weapons of Choice'' (2004).

Career

Stirling's novels are generally conflict-driven and often describe military situations and

militaristic Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values. It may also imply the glorification of the mili ...

cultures. In addition to his books' military, adventure, and exploration focus, he often describes societies with cultural values significantly different from modern Western views. One of his recurring topics is the influence of the culture on an individual's outlook and values, with an emphasis on the idea that most people and societies consider themselves moral. Stirling frequently explores technological development within the context of many of his novels. The Draka, for instance, choose and face a different imperative in their conquest of Africa, and turn earlier to

breech-loading A breechloader is a firearm in which the user loads the ammunition (cartridge or shell) via the rear (breech) end of its barrel, as opposed to a muzzleloader, which loads ammunition via the front ( muzzle). Modern firearms are generally breech ...

firearms and steam power than the rest of the Western world. The stranded islanders of the Nantucket series try to rebuild their technological base once the island is thrown back in time to 1250 BC, while the survivors of the "Change" now face a world where electricity, firearms, and internal combustion no longer work. Stirling also tends to write strong female characters who have prominent roles within the story. In the past, he has frequently collaborated with other authors, including

David Drake David A. Drake (born September 24, 1945) is an American author of science fiction and fantasy literature. A Vietnam War veteran who has worked as a lawyer, he is now a writer in the military science fiction genre. Biography Drake graduated Ph ...

Jerry Pournelle Jerry Eugene Pournelle (; August 7, 1933 – September 8, 2017) was an American scientist in the area of operations research and human factors research, a science fiction writer, essayist, journalist, and one of the first bloggers. In the 1960s ...

Anne McCaffrey Anne Inez McCaffrey (1 April 1926 – 21 November 2011) was an American-Irish writer known for the ''Dragonriders of Pern'' science fiction series. She was the first woman to win a Hugo Award for fiction (Best Novella, ''Weyr Search'', 19 ...

, and

Raymond E. Feist Raymond Elias Feist (; born Raymond Elias Gonzales III; December 21, 1945) is an American fantasy fiction author who wrote ''The Riftwar Cycle'', a series of novels and short stories. His books have been translated into multiple languages and ha ...

Bibliography

References

External links

* * *
Stirling, S M
on ''

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (SFE) is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo Award, Hugo, Locus Award, Locus and BSFA Award, British SF Awards. Two print editions appeared ...

''
Interview with Peter Hodges

Dragon Page Podcasts Interview with Stirling
* - Magazine column discussing various titles by Stirling, including the Draka trilogy, the Nantucket trilogy, ''The Peshawar Lancers'', and ''The Sky People''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Stirling, S.M. 1953 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American alternate history writers American fantasy writers American male novelists American science fiction writers American people of English descent Canadian fantasy writers Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian science fiction writers Writers from New Mexico Steampunk writers 20th-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian novelists Canadian male novelists Canadian alternative history writers 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers