Walter Jon Williams
Walter Jon Williams (born October 28, 1953) is an American writer, primarily of science fiction. Previously he wrote nautical adventure fiction under the name Jon Williams, in particular, ''Privateers and Gentlemen'' (1981–1984), a series of historical novels set during the Age of Sail. Career Writing as Jon Williams, he designed the war game ''Tradition of Victory'' and role-playing game ''Promotions and Prizes'', which were republished by Fantasy Games Unlimited as '' Heart of Oak'' (1982) and '' Privateers and Gentlemen'' (1983). A role-playing game sourcebook for ''Cyberpunk'' called '' Hardwired'' (1989) was licensed by R. Talsorian Games, based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Williams. Williams was born in Duluth, Minnesota and graduated from the University of New Mexico, where he received his BA degree in 1975. He currently lives in Valencia County, New Mexico, about 22 miles south of Albuquerque. In 2006, Williams founded the Taos Toolbox, a two-week writer's ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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:Template:Infobox Writer/doc
Infobox writer may be used to summarize information about a person who is a writer/author (includes screenwriters). If the writer-specific fields here are not needed, consider using the more general ; other infoboxes there can be found in :People and person infobox templates. This template may also be used as a module (or sub-template) of ; see WikiProject Infoboxes/embed for guidance on such usage. Syntax The infobox may be added by pasting the template as shown below into an article. All fields are optional. Any unused parameter names can be left blank or omitted. Parameters Please remove any parameters from an article's infobox that are unlikely to be used. All parameters are optional. Unless otherwise specified, if a parameter has multiple values, they should be comma-separated using the template: : which produces: : , language= If any of the individual values contain commas already, add to use semi-colons as separators: : which produces: : , pseu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Comedy Of Manners
In English literature, the term comedy of manners (also anti-sentimental comedy) describes a genre of realistic, satirical comedy that questions and comments upon the manners and social conventions of a greatly sophisticated, artificial society. The satire of fashion, manners, and outlook on life of the social classes, is realised with stock characters, such as the braggart soldier of Ancient Greek comedy, and the fop and the rake of English Restoration comedy. The clever plot of a comedy of manners (usually a scandal) is secondary to the social commentary thematically presented through the witty dialogue of the characters, e.g. '' The Importance of Being Earnest'' (1895), by Oscar Wilde, which satirises the sexual hypocrisies of Victorian morality. The comedy-of-manners genre originated in the New Comedy period (325–260 BC) of Classical Greece (510–323 BC), and is known from fragments of works by the playwright Menander, whose style of writing, elaborate plots, and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Aristoi (novel)
''Aristoi'' is a 1992 science fiction novel by American writer Walter Jon Williams. Overview {{Overly detailed, section, details=, date=October 2024 The novel describes the Logarchy, a technologically advanced human society which has spread across half the galaxy. It involves a rigid hierarchy of social classes, based on examinations. The supreme class, the " Aristoi", are given the ultimate responsibility: that of managing nanotechnology. The Aristoi (and some others) can split their minds into ''daimones'', or "limited personalities", all which can operate as independent mental entities guided by the will of the main 'self' of the Aristos. There are several rituals designed to bring the main personality into contact with his own ''daimones'' and establish organization and control among them. In virtual reality, deployed through an implanted brain-computer interface, these selves can even be manifested as distinct individuals. The daimones can work on various projects indepe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Angel Station (novel)
''Angel Station'' is a 1990 cyberpunk space opera science fiction novel by Walter Jon Williams Walter Jon Williams (born October 28, 1953) is an American writer, primarily of science fiction. Previously he wrote nautical adventure fiction under the name Jon Williams, in particular, ''Privateers and Gentlemen'' (1981–1984), a series of hi .... Plot introduction Using faster-than-light technology based on captured singularities, the human race has colonized dozens of star systems. Ubu Roy and his sister Beautiful Maria are down-on-their-luck traders on the edge of human space. In a last-ditch effort to make money to pay their debts and repair their aging spacecraft, they are reduced to searching uncharted space for singularities to capture and sell. In a rare stroke of luck, Ubu and Maria happen upon an alien spacecraft and make humanity's first contact with an alien race. As chance would have it, the alien ship is also in dire economic straits. The alien technology is st ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Philip K
Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularized the name include List of kings of Macedonia, kings of Macedonia and one of the apostles of early Christianity. ''Philip'' has #Philip in other languages, many alternative spellings. One derivation often used as a surname is Phillips (surname), Phillips. The original Greek spelling includes two Ps as seen in Philippides (other), Philippides and Philippos, which is possible due to the Greek endings following the two Ps. To end a word with such a double consonant—in Greek or in English—would, however, be incorrect. It has many diminutive (or even hypocorism, hypocoristic) forms including Phil, Philly (other)#People, Philly, Phillie, Lip (other), Lip, and Pip (other), Pip. There ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rogues (anthology)
''Rogues'' is a cross-genre anthology featuring 21 original short stories from various authors, edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois, and released on June 17, 2014. Of the book Martin said, "We’ve got something for everyone in ''Rogues'' … SF, mystery, historical fiction, epic fantasy, sword and sorcery, comedy, tragedy, crime stories, mainstream. And rogues, cads, scalawags, con men, thieves, and scoundrels of all descriptions. If you love Harry Flashman and Cugel the Clever, as I do, this is the book for you." Contents : “Everybody Loves a Rogue” (Introduction) by George R. R. Martin # “Tough Times All Over” by Joe Abercrombie In the city of Sipani, a package goes through multiple owners, each with a different viewpoint, starting with a courier who gets robbed. # “ What Do You Do?” by Gillian Flynn A nameless sex worker and fortune teller is hired to spiritually cleanse a wealthy woman's house but soon comes to believe she is in way over her h ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Alternate Reality Games
An alternate reality game (ARG) is an interactive networked narrative that uses the real world as a platform and employs transmedia storytelling to deliver a story that may be altered by players' ideas or actions. The form is defined by intense player involvement with a story that takes place in real time and evolves according to players' responses. It is shaped by characters that are actively controlled by the game's designers, as opposed to being controlled by an AI as in a computer or console video game. Players interact directly with characters in the game, solve plot-based challenges and puzzles, and collaborate as a community to analyze the story and coordinate real-life, online activities and AI. ARGs generally utilize multimedia, such as telephones and mail, but rely on the Internet as the central binding medium. ARGs tend to be free to play, with costs absorbed either through supporting products (e.g., collectible puzzle cards fund Perplex City) or through promoti ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Crowdsourcing
Crowdsourcing involves a large group of dispersed participants contributing or producing goods or services—including ideas, votes, micro-tasks, and finances—for payment or as volunteers. Contemporary crowdsourcing often involves digital platforms to attract and divide work between participants to achieve a cumulative result. Crowdsourcing is not limited to online activity, however, and there are various historical examples of crowdsourcing. The word crowdsourcing is a portmanteau of "crowd" and "outsourcing". In contrast to outsourcing, crowdsourcing usually involves less specific and more public groups of participants. Advantages of using crowdsourcing include lowered costs, improved speed, improved quality, increased flexibility, and/or increased scalability of the work, as well as promoting diversity. Crowdsourcing methods include competitions, virtual labor markets, open online collaboration and data donation. Some forms of crowdsourcing, such as in "idea competiti ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Space Opera
Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes Space warfare in science fiction, space warfare, with use of melodramatic, risk-taking space adventures, relationships, and chivalric romance. Set mainly or entirely in outer space, it features technological and social advancements (or lack thereof) in faster-than-light travel, Weapons in science fiction, futuristic weapons, and sophisticated technology, on a backdrop of galactic empires and interstellar wars with Extraterrestrials in fiction, fictional aliens, often in fictional galaxies. The term does not refer to opera, opera music, but instead originally referred to the melodrama, scope, and formulaic stories of operas, much as used in "horse opera", a 1930s phrase for a clichéd and formulaic Western film, and "soap opera", a melodramatic domestic drama. Space operas emerged in the 1930s and continue to be produced in literature, film, comics, television, video games and board games. An early film which was based ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Military Science Fiction
Military science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction and military fiction that depicts the use of science fiction technology, including spaceships and science fiction weapons, weapons, for military purposes and usually principal characters who are members of a military organization, usually during a war; occurring sometimes in outer space or on a different planet or planets. It exists in a range of media, including literature, comics, film, television and video games. A detailed description of the conflict, belligerents (which may involve extraterrestrials), tactics and weapons used for it, and the role of a military service and the individual members of that military organization form the basis for a typical work of military science fiction. The stories often use features of actual past or current Earth conflicts, with countries being replaced by planets or galaxies with similar characteristics, battleships replaced by space battleships, small arms and artillery replaced b ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dread Empire's Fall
''Dread Empire's Fall'' is a space opera novel series, written since 2002 by the American author Walter Jon Williams. Setting and synopsis The ''Dread Empire's Fall'' series is set in a future in which the powerful Shaa species thousands of years ago conquered several other intelligent species, including humanity; imposing on them their inflexible set of laws known as "the Praxis". When the last living Shaa dies, the species they conquered first, the Naxids, attempts to appoint itself rulers of the former Shaa empire. A civil war erupts when the other species resist them, including the protagonists, Terran (human) naval officers Caroline Sula and Gareth Martinez. Since the Shaa empire stopped expanding long ago and its military was largely occupied by training and suppressing the occasional mutiny or revolt, its strategic and tactical doctrines have become matters of rigid, unchanging tradition. To stop the Naxids, the other species must practice innovation and creativity, somethin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hugo Award
The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) and chosen by its members. The award is administered by the Worldcon#World Science Fiction Society, World Science Fiction Society. It is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine ''Amazing Stories''. Hugos were first given in 1953, at the 11th World Science Fiction Convention, and have been awarded every year since 1955. In 2010, Wired (magazine), ''Wired'' called the Hugo "the premier award in the science fiction genre", while ''The Guardian'' has called it the most important science fiction award alongside the Nebula Award. The awards originally covered seven categories, but have expanded to seventeen categories of written and dramatic works over the years. The winners receive a trophy consisting of a stylized rocket ship on a base. The design of the tro ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |