Martin Millar is a Scottish writer from Glasgow, now resident in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. He also writes the ''
Thraxas'' series of fantasy novels under the
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
Martin Scott.
The novels he writes as Martin Millar dwell on
urban decay
Urban decay (also known as urban rot, urban death or urban blight) is the sociological process by which a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude. There is no single process that leads to urban deca ...
and British
sub-culture
A subculture is a group of people within a culture that differentiates itself from the parent culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures develop their own norms and values regarding cultural, poli ...
s, and the impact these have on a range of characters, both realistic and supernatural. There are elements of
magical realism
Magical is the adjective for magic. It may also refer to:
* Magical (horse) (foaled 2015), Irish Thoroughbred racehorse
* "Magical" (song), released in 1985 by John Parr
* '' Magical: Disney's New Nighttime Spectacular of Magical Celebrations'', ...
, and the feeling that the boundary between real life and the supernatural is not very thick. Some of them are set in
Brixton
Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th centu ...
, Millar's one-time place of residence; many are at least semi-autobiographical, and ''Love and Peace with Melody Paradise'' and ''Suzy, Led Zeppelin and Me'' both feature Millar himself as a character.
As Martin Scott, his Thraxas novels are a fusion of traditional
high fantasy
High fantasy, or epic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy defined by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its characters, themes, or plot. Brian Stableford, ''The A to Z of Fantasy Literature'', (p. 198), Scarecrow Press, ...
and
pulp noir
Pulp noir is a subgenre influenced by various " noir" genres, as well as (as implied by its name) pulp fiction genres; particularly the hard-boiled genres which help give rise to film noir. Pulp noir is marked by its use of classic noir techniques ...
thrillers
Thriller is a genre of fiction, having numerous, often overlapping subgenres. Thrillers are characterized and defined by the moods they elicit, giving viewers heightened feelings of suspense, excitement, surprise, anticipation and anxiety. S ...
.
In 2000, he won the
World Fantasy Award
The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous ann ...
for best novel with his book ''Thraxas''.
Bibliography
Novels
*''Milk, Sulphate and Alby Starvation'' 1987
*''Lux the Poet'' 1988
*''Ruby & The Stone Age Diet'' 1989
*''The Good Fairies of New York'' 1992
*''Dreams of Sex and Stage Diving'' 1994
*''Love and Peace with Melody Paradise'' 1998
*''Suzy, Led Zeppelin and Me'' 2002
*''Lonely Werewolf Girl'' 2007
*''Curse of the Wolf Girl'' 2010 (US) (UK) originally titled ''Queen Vex''
*''The Anxiety of Kalix the Werewolf'' 2013
*''The Goddess of Buttercups and Daisies'' 2015
*''Kink Me Honey 2016''
*''Supercute Futures 2018''
*''Simulation Bleed 2020''
*''Supercute Second Future 2022''
Collections
*''The Collected Martin Millar'' 1998
Contains Lux the Poet, Ruby and the Stone Age Diet and The Good Fairies of New York.
Graphic novels
*''Lux and Alby Sign on and Save the Universe'' (with
Simon Fraser) 1999
Novelisation for film
*''Tank Girl'' 1994
Dramatisation
*''Emma'' based on
Emma by
Jane Austen (with
Doon MacKichan
Sarah Doon Mackichan (; born August 1962) is a British actress, comedian and writer. She co-created, wrote and performed in the double Emmy award winning '' Smack the Pony''. She frequently collaborates with Armando Iannucci and Steve Coogan, ...
) 2001
Short stories included in
*''Disco Biscuits''
*''Disco 2000''
Novels under the name Martin Scott
*''
Thraxas'' (winner of the 2000
World Fantasy Award
The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous ann ...
)
*''Thraxas and the Warrior Monks''
*''Thraxas at the Races''
*''Thraxas and the Elvish Isles''
*''Thraxas and the Sorcerers''
*''Thraxas and the Dance of Death''
*''Thraxas at War''
*''Thraxas Under Siege''
*''Thraxas and the Ice Dragon''
*''Thraxas and the Oracle''
*''Thraxas of Turai''
*''Thraxas meets his Enemies''
References
External links
Author's websiteAuthor's blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Millar, Martin
1959 births
Living people
Scottish novelists
World Fantasy Award-winning writers
Writers from Glasgow
Scottish male novelists