Richard A. Knaak (born May 28, 1961) is the

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

of ''

Dragonlance ''Dragonlance'' is a shared universe created by Laura and Tracy Hickman, and expanded by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis under the direction of TSR, Inc. into a series of fantasy novels. The Hickmans conceived ''Dragonlance'' while driving i ...

'' novels, '' Dragonrealm'', six novels for

Blizzard Entertainment Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher based in Irvine, California, and a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard. Originally founded in 1991, the company is best known for producing the h ...

's '' Diablo'' series, and ten works in the

Warcraft ''Warcraft'' is a franchise of video games, novels, and other media created by Blizzard Entertainment. The series is made up of six core games: '' Warcraft: Orcs & Humans'', '' Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness'', '' Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos ...

universe. He has also written five non-series fantasy books.

Early life and education

Richard Allen Knaak was born May 28, 1961, in Chicago, Illinois, to James Richard Knaak and Anna Maria (Trappen) Knaak. He attended the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...

, studying chemistry at first,http://www.richardaknaak.com/Bio.html and subsequently

rhetoric Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse ( trivium) along with grammar and logic/ dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or w ...

, and earned a bachelor's degree in 1984. He worked as a warehouseman, resume writer, and office clerk before becoming a full-time freelance writer in 1988.

Career

After reading

Andre Norton Andre Alice Norton (born Alice Mary Norton, February 17, 1912 – March 17, 2005) was an American writer of science fiction and fantasy, who also wrote works of historical and contemporary fiction. She wrote primarily under the pen na ...

's ''Storm over Warlock'', he became a fan of fantasy and science fiction. He eventually sold his first

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

in 1986, and it was published in 1987. His

titles include ''

The Legend of Huma ''The Legend of Huma'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Richard A. Knaak, the first in the Heroes Sextet of Dragonlance novels. It was based on characters and settings from Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman's ''Dragonlance Chronicles'' seri ...

'', ''Reavers of the Blood Sea'', ''

Kaz the Minotaur ''Kaz the Minotaur'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Richard A. Knaak, set in the world of Dragonlance, and based on the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game. It is the first novel in the "Heroes II" series. It was published in paperb ...

'', '' Land of the Minotaurs'', and ''The Citadel'', in addition to short stories in various anthologies. He also wrote the ten-volume Dragonrealm series, and the first Dragonrealm story, "Firedrake," helped him get his first Dragonlance project. He has also written several stand-alone volumes, including the contemporary fantasies ''Frostwing'', ''King of the Grey'', and ''Dutchman'', plus the heroic adventure ''The Janus Mask''. He has also worked on novels based in the worlds of the computer games ''Warcraft'' and ''Diablo''. Knaak lists

Roger Zelazny Roger Joseph Zelazny (May 13, 1937 – June 14, 1995) was an American fantasy and science fiction writer known for his short stories and novels, best known for '' The Chronicles of Amber''. He won the Nebula Award three times (out of 14 nominatio ...

Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American writer, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Best known for creating the characters Tarzan (who appeared in ...

, and

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

as major influences, and has even listed a few of his favorite fellow authors, those being

Robert E. Howard Robert Ervin Howard (January 22, 1906 – June 11, 1936) was an American writer who wrote pulp magazine, pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. He created the character Conan the Barbarian and is regarded as the father of the sword and sor ...

Glen Cook Glen Charles Cook (born July 9, 1944) is an American writer of fantasy and science fiction, known for '' The Black Company'' and '' Garrett P.I.'' fantasy series. Biography Cook was born in New York City.L. Sprague de Camp Lyon Sprague de Camp (; November 27, 1907 – November 6, 2000) was an American author of science fiction, Fantasy literature, fantasy and non-fiction literature. In a career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, both novels and works of ...

Lawrence Watt-Evans Lawrence Watt-Evans (born 1954) is one of the pseudonyms of American science fiction and fantasy author Lawrence Watt Evans (another pseudonym, used primarily for science fiction, is Nathan Archer). Biography Born in Arlington, Massachusetts, as ...

Harry Turtledove Harry Norman Turtledove (born June 14, 1949) is an American author who is best known for his work in the genres of alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and mystery fiction. He is a student of history and completed his ...

Jennifer Roberson Jennifer Mitchell Roberson (born October 26, 1953) is an American author of fantasy and historical literature. Personal life Roberson has lived in Arizona since 1957. Though she grew up in Phoenix, the author lived in Flagstaff for 12 years ...

Laurell K. Hamilton Laurell Kaye Hamilton (born February 19, 1963) is an American fantasy and romance writer, who is best known as the author of two series of stories. Her ''New York Times''-bestselling '' Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter'' series centers on Anita Bla ...

, Harry Harrison, and Robert Sawyer.

Bibliography

''Dragonlance''

#Series ##''

'' (1988), ##''

'' (1990), ##'' Land of the Minotaurs'' (1996), ##''Reavers of the Blood Sea'' (1999), ##''The Citadel'' (2000), #Minotaur Wars ##''Night of Blood'' (2003), ##''Tides of Blood'' (2004), ##''Empire of Blood'' (2005), #Ogre Titans ##''The Black Talon'' (2007) ##''The Fire Rose'' (2008) ##''The Gargoyle King'' (2009)

''Dragonrealm''

##''Firedrake'' (1989), ##''Ice Dragon'' (1989), ##''Wolfhelm'' (1990), ##''Shadow Steed'' (1990), ##''The Crystal Dragon'' (1993), ##''Dragon Crown'' (1994), ##''The Horse King'' (1997), ##''Shade'' (2012) #Origins ##''The Shrouded Realm'' (1991), ##''Children of the Drake'' (1991), ##''Dragon Tome'' (1992), #The Turning War ##''Dragon Masters'' (2013) ##''The Gryphon Mage'' (2014) ##''The Horned Blade'' (2015) #PDF Series ##''Past Dancer'' (2002) ##''Dragon Master'' (2002) ##''Skins'' (2003) ##''A Wolf in the Fold'' (2003) ##''Storm Lord'' (2003) ##''The Still Lands'' (2004) ##''Game of Ghosts'' (2012)

''Diablo''

#Diablo series ##''

Legacy of Blood ''Legacy of Blood'' is the fourth studio album by American hip hop group Jedi Mind Tricks. It was released on August 24, 2004, via Babygrande Records. Production was handled by member Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind, with Chuck Wilson (multimedia e ...

'' (2001), ##'' The Kingdom of Shadow'' (2002), ##'' Moon of the Spider'' (2006), #

The Sin War ''The Sin War'' is the second album on a major record label by the Polish death metal Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniq ...

series ##''

Birthright Birthright is the concept of things being due to a person upon or by fact of their birth, or due to the order of their birth. These may include rights of citizenship based on the place where the person was born or the citizenship of their paren ...

'' (2006) ##'' Scales of the Serpent'' (2007) ##'' The Veiled Prophet'' (2007)

''Warcraft''

#Day/Night Of The Dragon ##''Day of the Dragon'' (2001), ##''Night of the Dragon'' (2008), #War of the Ancients ##''The Well of Eternity'' (2004), ##''The Demon Soul'' (2004), ##''The Sundering'' (2005), # Sunwell Trilogy ##''Dragon Hunt'' (2005), ##''Shadows of Ice'' (2006), ##''Ghostland'' (2007), #Shadow Wing ##''The Dragons of Outland'' (2008), ##''Nexus Point'' (2011), #Independent Books ##"''Stormrage''" (2010), ##"''Wolfheart''" (2011), #Dawn of the Aspects ##''Part 1'' (Feb 2013) ##''Part 2'' (Mar 2013) ##''Part 3'' (Apr 2013) ##''Part 4'' (May 2013) ##''Part 5'' (Jun 2013)

''Age of Conan''

#''The God in the Moon'' (2006), #''The Eye of Charon'' (2006), #''The Silent Enemy'' (2006),

''Pathfinder Tales''

#''Reaper's Eye'' (2016), ISBN 978-0-7653-8436-2

Independent

#''King of the Grey'' (1993), #''Frostwing'' (1995), #''The Janus Mask'' (1995), #''Dutchman'' (1996), #''Ruby Flames'' (1999), #''Beastmaster:Myth'' (2009) #''Dragon Mound: Book One of the Knight In Shadow Trilogy'' (2011) #''Black City Saint'' (2016) #''Black City Demon'' (2017) #''Rex Draconis'' (2018)

References

External links

Official site

Interviews on Blizzplanet
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Knaak, Richard A. 1961 births 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American novelists American fantasy writers American male novelists Living people People from Baxter County, Arkansas University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni