Roland C. Wagner (6 September 1960 – 5 August 2012) was a French writer of humorous science fiction. Since his professional debut in 1981, he had written around one hundred novellas and around fifty novels. He was the only writer to have received the

Prix Rosny-Aîné The Prix Rosny-Aîné is a literary prize for French science fiction. It has been awarded annually since 1980 in two categories: best novel and best short fiction. Best Novel Winners *1980 : Michel Jeury, for ''Le territoire humain'' *1981 : M ...

seven times, as well as many other awards.

Biography

Roland Wagner was born in

Bab El Oued Bab El Oued is a neighbourhood in Algiers, the capital of Algeria, along the coast north of the city centre. As of 2008, the population of the commune of Bab El Oued was 64,732. History During the existence of French Algeria, Bab El Oued was esta ...

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

during the

Algerian War of Independence The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...

. After the war, his family left Algeria like many ''

Pieds-Noirs The (; ; : ) are an ethno-cultural group of people of French and other European descent who were born in Algeria during the period of French colonial rule from 1830 to 1962. Many of them departed for mainland France during and after the ...

'' and settled in

Clamart Clamart () is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. The town is divided into two parts, separated by a forest: ''bas Clamart'', the historical centre, and ''petit Clamart'' with urban ...

. Throughout his youth, Wagner was an avid reader of ''

Fleuve Noir Anticipation ''Fleuve Noir Anticipation'' was a science fiction collection by , a French publishing company owned now by Editis, which encompassed 2001 novels published from 1951 to 1997. Intended for a broad audience, ''Anticipation'' was originally conceived ...

'' and other science-fiction stories. He began writing his own stories at age 15. In 1981, he won the

for his short story ''Faire-part''. He was killed in an automobile accident on 5 August 2012.

Major works

''Histoire d'un futur''

''Les Futurs Mystères de Paris'' ("The Future Mysteries of Paris") features a "transparent" (not exactly invisible) private detective. Starting with ''La Balle du néant'' ("The Bullet From Nowhere"), this cycle has nine titles (up to ''

Mine de rien ''Mine de rien'' is a French Comedy directed by Mathias Mlekuz, released in 2020. Plot In a small town in northern France, a long-running mine is closing work, leaving dozens of people without jobs. Not giving up, following the relocation of t ...

'', 2006) inside a larger set, including ''Le Chant du cosmos'' ("The Song of the Cosmos"), a far-future tale which describes a mental game inspired by Go.

''Rêves de Gloire''

''Rêves de Gloire'' (''Dreams of Glory'') is an

alternate history Alternate history (also referred to as alternative history, allohistory, althist, or simply A.H.) is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which one or more historical events have occurred but are resolved differently than in actual history. As ...

of Algeria with several

divergence point Alternate history (also referred to as alternative history, allohistory, althist, or simply A.H.) is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which one or more historical events have occurred but are resolved differently than in actual history. As ...

s. One of them is the assassination of

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

before the

Évian Accords The Évian Accords were a set of declarations between the French Government and the Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic on 18 March 1962 in Évian-les-Bains which outlined the agreements for Algeria's Independence alongside coope ...

.Onbooks – About Rêves de Gloire
by

Norman Spinrad Norman Richard Spinrad (born September 15, 1940) is an American science fiction author, essayist, and critic. His fiction has won the Prix Apollo Award, Prix Apollo and been nominated for numerous awards, including the Hugo Award and multiple N ...

Asimov's Science Fiction ''Asimov's Science Fiction'' is an American science fiction magazine edited by Sheila Williams and published by Dell Magazines, which is owned by Penny Press. It was launched as a quarterly by Davis Publications in 1977, after obtaining Isaac ...

5 April 2012

Other works

Roland C. Wagner had written under multiple pseudonyms, including Richard Wolfram and Red Deff. ''La Saison de la sorcière'' ("Season of the Witch", 2003) takes place in France with extremely high-level police security, which is invaded by the United States. The novel received the

Bob Morane Prize Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surname) *Bob (dog), a dog that received the Dickin Medal for bravery in World War II *Bob the ...

and the

in 2004. ''Le Temps du voyage'' ("Trip Time", 2005) is a

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, i ...

in the mood of

Jack Vance John Holbrook Vance (August 28, 1916 – May 26, 2013) was an American mystery, fantasy, and science fiction writer. He also wrote several mystery novels under pen names, including Ellery Queen. Vance won the World Fantasy Award for Life Ach ...

. He had also written an

biography of

H. P. Lovecraft Howard Phillips Lovecraft (, ; August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American writer of Weird fiction, weird, Science fiction, science, fantasy, and horror fiction. He is best known for his creation of the Cthulhu Mythos. Born in Provi ...

under the title ''HPL (1890–1991)'' which has been translated in English, and several

pastiche A pastiche () is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking ...

s of famous science fiction authors. For example, his '' Three Laws of Robotic Sexuality '' parodies

Isaac Asimov Isaac Asimov ( ; – April 6, 1992) was an Russian-born American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. H ...

's robot stories.

Other activities

Music

He also wrote lyrics for rock bands, and is a member of the acid punk group

Brain Damage Brain injury (BI) is the destruction or degeneration of brain cells. Brain injuries occur due to a wide range of internal and external factors. In general, brain damage refers to significant, undiscriminating trauma-induced damage. A common ...

, active since 1977.

Awards and honors

Asteroid

428102 Rolandwagner 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. Evolution of the Hi ...

, discovered by astronomer

Bernard Christophe This is a list of minor-planet discoverers credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of one or several minor planets (such as near-Earth and main-belt asteroids, Jupiter trojans and distant objects). , the discovery of 612,011 num ...

at Saint-Sulpice Observatory in 2006, was named in his memory. The official was published by the

Minor Planet Center The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Funct ...

on 2 February 2017 ().

Selected bibliography (novels)

* ''Le Serpent d'angoisse'' (1987) * ''Poupée aux yeux morts'' (1988) (alternate title: ''L'Œil du fouinain'') * ''Le paysage déchiré'' (1989) * ''Les derniers jours de mai'' (1989) * ''Les Psychopompes de Klash'' (1990) * ''La Sinsé gravite au 21'' (1991) * ''Cette crédille qui nous ronge'' (1991) * ''La Balle du néant'' (1996) * ''Les Ravisseurs quantiques'' (1996) * ''L'Odyssée de l'espèce'' (1997) * ''L'Aube incertaine'' (1997) * ''Tekrock'' (1999) * ''Le Chant du Cosmos'' (1999) * ''Tøøns'' (2000) * ''Musique de l'énergie'' (2000 – short story collection) * ''Babaluma'' (2002) * ''Kali Yuga'' (2003) * ''La Saison de la sorcière'' (2003) * ''Le Temps du voyage'' (2005) * ''Pax Americana'' (2005) * ''L.G.M.'' (2006) * ''Mine de rien'' (2006) * ''Rêves de Gloire'' (2011)

References

External links

List of publications at ''L'Atalante''
(in English)

(in French)
Du pays de la peur
(his musical & political blog, in French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Wagner, Roland C. 1960 births 2012 deaths People from Bab El Oued Pieds-noirs French science fiction writers German–French translators French male novelists 20th-century French novelists 20th-century French translators French speculative fiction translators 20th-century French male writers French male non-fiction writers