Chris Moriarty (born 1968) 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, ...

writer. She has lived in the U.S., Europe, Mexico and Southeast Asia. Before becoming a science fiction writer, she worked as a horse trainer, ranch hand, tourism industry employee, guide and environmental lawyer. She lives in Ithaca, New York. Moriarty is the author of a trilogy of

hard science fiction Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by concern for scientific accuracy and logic. The term was first used in print in 1957 by P. Schuyler Miller in a review of John W. Campbell's ''Islands of Space'' in the Novemb ...

novels set in a distant future where Earth has undergone ecological collapse. Most of humanity has migrated to various planets and space habitats, both in the

Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Sola ...

and around nearby stars such as

Barnard's Star Barnard's Star is a small red dwarf star in the constellation of Ophiuchus. At a distance of from Earth, it is the fourth-nearest-known individual star to the Sun after the three components of the Alpha Centauri system, and is the c ...

and

51 Pegasi 51 Pegasi (abbreviated 51 Peg), formally named Helvetios , is a Sun-like star located from Earth in the constellation of Pegasus. It was the first main-sequence star found to have an exoplanet (designated 51 Pegasi b, officially named ...

. The technologies feature cloning,

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

s, genetic constructs and use of a material referred to as " condensate" which allows instantaneous communication and teleportation. The trilogy has garnered significant critical acclaim, including nominations for the Philip K. Dick, John Campbell,

Spectrum A spectrum (: spectra or spectrums) is a set of related ideas, objects, or properties whose features overlap such that they blend to form a continuum. The word ''spectrum'' was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of co ...

, Prometheus, and

Lambda Lambda (; uppercase , lowercase ; , ''lám(b)da'') is the eleventh letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiced alveolar lateral approximant . In the system of Greek numerals, lambda has a value of 30. Lambda is derived from the Phoen ...

Awards. ''Spin Control'' won the 2007

Philip K. Dick Award The Philip K. Dick Award is an American science fiction award given annually at Norwescon and sponsored by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society and (since 2005) the Philip K. Dick Trust. Named after science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, ...

. Moriarty is also the author of two

young adult In medicine and the social sciences, a young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence, sometimes with some overlap. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages ...

fantasy novels, ''The Inquisitor's Apprentice'' and ''The Watcher in the Shadows''. Her young adult novels feature a Jewish main character and take place on the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...

in an alternate Gilded Age New York. ''The Inquisitor's Apprentice'' was one of Library Journal's Top Ten Children's Books of 2011. Both ''The Inquisitor's Apprentice'' and ''The Watcher in the Shadows'' have been book club selections for PJ Library's program to promote outstanding Jewish children's literature.

Bibliography

Novels

;''Spin'' series * ''Spin State'' (2003)

Bantam Spectra Bantam Spectra is the science fiction division of American publishing company Bantam Books, which is owned by Random House. According to their website, Spectra publishes "science fiction, fantasy, horror, and speculative novels from recogniza ...

* ''Spin Control'' (2006)

* ''Ghost Spin'' (2013)

;''The Inquisitor's Apprentice'' series *''The Inquisitor's Apprentice'' (2011)

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Company ( ; HMH) is an American publisher of textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, and reference works. The company is based in the Financial District, Boston, Boston Financial District. It was fo ...

*''The Watcher in the Shadows'' (2013)

Book reviews

External links

Chris Moriarty
official site * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moriarty, Chris 1968 births 21st-century American novelists American science fiction writers American women novelists Living people American women science fiction and fantasy writers 21st-century American women writers