John Shirley
Encyclopedia
John Shirley is an American fantasist, author of noir fiction, and science-fiction writer. Shirley is a prolific writer of novels and short stories, TV scripts and screenplays who has published over 30 books and 10 collections. His novels include The Other End, Bleak History, Crawlers, Demons, In Darkness Waiting, and seminal cyberpunk works City Come A-Walkin', and the A Song Called Youth trilogy of Eclipse, Eclipse Penumbra, and Eclipse Corona. His collections include the Bram Stoker and International Horror Guild award-winning Black Butterflies and Living Shadows: Stories: New & Pre-owned. He also writes for screen (The Crow) and television. As a musician Shirley has fronted his own bands and written lyrics for Blue Öyster Cult and others.
and grew up largely in the vicinity of Portland, Oregon
. He was lead singer of the punk band Sado-Nation, in 1978, and the post-punk funk-rock band Obsession, on Celluloid Records, while living in New York City
and Paris, France, in the 1980s, and was later in the band the Panther Moderns. He's also written 18 song lyrics recorded by the Blue Oyster Cult
. He currently lives in the San Francisco Bay
area. John Shirley has three sons, twins Byron and Perry, now 27 and Julian, a Bay Area-based underground rapper and recording artist, 24 years-old. He is married to Michelina Shirley.
science fiction
novels, such as the A Song Called Youth trilogy, City Come A-Walkin and Black Glass, as well as his suspense (as in his novels Spider Moon and The Brigade), horror novels and stories (eg, Demons and Crawlers) and horror
film work. His best known script work is the film The Crow
, for which he was the initial writer, before David Schow reworked the script. He also wrote scripts for Deep Space Nine
and Poltergeist: The Legacy
. Authors David Agranoff and Nancy Collins
and editor/critic Paula Guran cite his intense, expressionistic early horror novels, such as Dracula In Love and Cellars as an influence on the splatterpunk
movement in horror, and the subsequent "bizarro" movement. Appreciation of John Shirley as an author of dark fiction was amplified by a January 2008 The New York Times
review, by critic Terrence Rafferty
, of Shirley's story-collection Living Shadows
which said in part:
Shirley's cyberpunk
novels are City Come A-Walkin and the A Song Called Youth trilogy. Avant-slipstream critic Larry McCaffery
called him "a postmodern Edgar Allen Poe." Bruce Sterling
has cited Shirley's early story collection Heatseeker as being a seminal cyberpunk work in itself. Several stories in Heatseeker were particularly seminal, including Sleepwalkers, which, in just one example, probably provided the inspiration for William Gibson
's "meat puppets" in Neuromancer. Gibson acknowledged Shirley's influence in an introduction to Shirley's City Come A-Walkin. Shirley's story collection, made up of increasingly bizarre stories, the whimsically titled Really, Really, Really, Really Weird Stories has developed a cult status.
William Gibson, the author of Neuromancer
, collaborated with Shirley on short stories—as did fellow cyberpunks Bruce Sterling
and Rudy Rucker
. Shirley's lyricism, wealth of ideas and imagination, crossover pioneering, and street-level honesty have been praised by other writers including Clive Barker
, Peter Straub
, Roger Zelazny
, Marc Laidlaw
, and A. A. Attanasio
. His more surreal work, as in A Splendid Chaos showed how it was possible to describe the indescribable with a paradoxical believability and impeccable internal logic no matter how bizarre the subject matter. Shirley's personal experiences as a recovering drug addict and punk rocker brought real verisimilitude to his darker, urban-tinctured writing.
In recent years Shirley has written "tie-in novels" and novelizations, such as Constantine, based on the Keanu Reaves movie, and the best-seller Bioshock: Rapture,(Tor, 2011), a novel providing a prequel to the Bioshock
videogame story. He also wrote the apocalyptic, politically charged novel, The Other End which, according to the author's website, takes the apocalypse away from the Christian Right and gives Judgment Day to Liberals to do with as they please. This reflects his tendency to create fantasy entertainment which is also political satire, or spiritual allegory. E.g., Demons, in which it is discovered that industry has deliberately caused deaths by cancer as part of a vast secret program of human sacrifice. 2007 saw the release of a new story collection, Living Shadows, from Prime Books. His novel of dark urban fantasy set in a slightly futuristic New York, Bleak History, was published by Simon & Schuster/Pocket Books in 2009. In August 2011 Underland Press
will publish In Extremis: The Most Extreme Stories of John Shirley and in winter 2011 Prime Books is slated to publish a near future apocalyptic political allegory, the novel Everything Is Broken.
Shirley's work ranges in tone from the surreal to the grittily naturalistic to the nightmarish. He is also a songwriter
and singer, having fronted numerous punk bands, including the New York
band Obsession, who were recorded by Celluloid Records
. He has written lyrics for Blue Öyster Cult
, such as several songs on the album Heaven Forbid
.
albums Heaven Forbid
and Curse of the Hidden Mirror
as well as the songs "Demon's Kiss"
and "The Horsemen Arrive"
from their soundtrack Bad Channels
. Their 1972 song "Transmaniacon MC"
was the inspiration for the book Transmaniacon.
In 2000, Shirley recorded several tracks with Tony and Paul DeStefano of Too Hip For The Room, and also appears on their Blue Öyster Cult
tribute album Don't Fear The Remake.
Biography
John Shirley was born in Houston, TexasHouston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
and grew up largely in the vicinity of Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. He was lead singer of the punk band Sado-Nation, in 1978, and the post-punk funk-rock band Obsession, on Celluloid Records, while living in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and Paris, France, in the 1980s, and was later in the band the Panther Moderns. He's also written 18 song lyrics recorded by the Blue Oyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult, often abbreviated BÖC, is an American rock band, most of whose members first came together in Long Island, NY in 1967 as the band Soft White Underbelly...
. He currently lives in the San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
area. John Shirley has three sons, twins Byron and Perry, now 27 and Julian, a Bay Area-based underground rapper and recording artist, 24 years-old. He is married to Michelina Shirley.
Career
John Shirley is known for his cyberpunkCyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novels, such as the A Song Called Youth trilogy, City Come A-Walkin and Black Glass, as well as his suspense (as in his novels Spider Moon and The Brigade), horror novels and stories (eg, Demons and Crawlers) and horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
film work. His best known script work is the film The Crow
The Crow (film)
The Crow is a 1994 American action film based on the 1989 comic book of the same name by James O'Barr. The film was written by David J. Schow and John Shirley, and directed by Alex Proyas...
, for which he was the initial writer, before David Schow reworked the script. He also wrote scripts for Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
and Poltergeist: The Legacy
Poltergeist: The Legacy
Poltergeist: The Legacy is a Canadian horror television series which ran from 1996 to 1999. The series tells the story of the members of a secret society known as the Legacy, and their efforts to protect humankind from occult dangers...
. Authors David Agranoff and Nancy Collins
Nancy A. Collins
Nancy A. Collins is a United States horror fiction writer best known for her series of vampire novels featuring her character Sonja Blue. Collins has alsowritten for comic books, including the Swamp Thing series, Jason Vs...
and editor/critic Paula Guran cite his intense, expressionistic early horror novels, such as Dracula In Love and Cellars as an influence on the splatterpunk
Splatterpunk
Splatterpunk—a term coined in 1986 by David J. Schow at the Twelfth World Fantasy Convention in Providence, Rhode Island—refers to a movement within horror fiction distinguished by its graphic, often gory, depiction of violence and "hyperintensive horror with no limits." It is regarded as a revolt...
movement in horror, and the subsequent "bizarro" movement. Appreciation of John Shirley as an author of dark fiction was amplified by a January 2008 The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
review, by critic Terrence Rafferty
Terrence Rafferty
Terrence Rafferty is a film critic, notably serving a regular post at The New Yorker during the 1990s. His writing has also appeared in Slate, The Atlantic Monthly, The Village Voice, The Nation, and The New York Times...
, of Shirley's story-collection Living Shadows
Living Shadows
Living Shadows is an autobiographical book authored by Aribam Syam Sharma published by Gauhati Cine Club in 2006. The book is a comprehensive description of the writer‘s life and aesthetic experiences attained during twenty-five years of Manipuri filmmaking. The first edition was released on...
which said in part:
Shirley's cyberpunk
Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...
novels are City Come A-Walkin and the A Song Called Youth trilogy. Avant-slipstream critic Larry McCaffery
Larry McCaffery
Lawrence F. "Larry" McCaffery Jr. is a literary critic, editor, and retired professor of English and Comparative Literature at San Diego State University...
called him "a postmodern Edgar Allen Poe." Bruce Sterling
Bruce Sterling
Michael Bruce Sterling is an American science fiction author, best known for his novels and his work on the Mirrorshades anthology, which helped define the cyberpunk genre.-Writings:...
has cited Shirley's early story collection Heatseeker as being a seminal cyberpunk work in itself. Several stories in Heatseeker were particularly seminal, including Sleepwalkers, which, in just one example, probably provided the inspiration for William Gibson
William Gibson
William Gibson is an American-Canadian science fiction author.William Gibson may also refer to:-Association football:*Will Gibson , Scottish footballer...
's "meat puppets" in Neuromancer. Gibson acknowledged Shirley's influence in an introduction to Shirley's City Come A-Walkin. Shirley's story collection, made up of increasingly bizarre stories, the whimsically titled Really, Really, Really, Really Weird Stories has developed a cult status.
William Gibson, the author of Neuromancer
Neuromancer
Neuromancer is a 1984 novel by William Gibson, a seminal work in the cyberpunk genre and the first winner of the science-fiction "triple crown" — the Nebula Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, and the Hugo Award. It was Gibson's debut novel and the beginning of the Sprawl trilogy...
, collaborated with Shirley on short stories—as did fellow cyberpunks Bruce Sterling
Bruce Sterling
Michael Bruce Sterling is an American science fiction author, best known for his novels and his work on the Mirrorshades anthology, which helped define the cyberpunk genre.-Writings:...
and Rudy Rucker
Rudy Rucker
Rudolf von Bitter Rucker is an American mathematician, computer scientist, science fiction author, and philosopher, and is one of the founders of the cyberpunk literary movement. The author of both fiction and non-fiction, he is best known for the novels in the Ware Tetralogy, the first two of...
. Shirley's lyricism, wealth of ideas and imagination, crossover pioneering, and street-level honesty have been praised by other writers including Clive Barker
Clive Barker
Clive Barker is an English author, film director and visual artist best known for his work in both fantasy and horror fiction. Barker came to prominence in the mid-1980s with a series of short stories which established him as a leading young horror writer...
, Peter Straub
Peter Straub
Peter Francis Straub is an American author and poet, most famous for his work in the horror genre. His horror fiction has received numerous literary honors such as the Bram Stoker Award, World Fantasy Award, and International Horror Guild Award, placing him among the most-honored horror authors in...
, Roger Zelazny
Roger Zelazny
Roger Joseph Zelazny was an American writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels, best known for his The Chronicles of Amber series...
, Marc Laidlaw
Marc Laidlaw
Marc Laidlaw is an American writer of science fiction and horror and also a computer game designer with Valve Software. He is perhaps most famous for writing Dad's Nuke and The 37th Mandala, and for working on the popular Half-Life series.-Biography:Laidlaw was born in 1960 and raised in Laguna...
, and A. A. Attanasio
A. A. Attanasio
Alfred Angelo Attanasio, born on September 20, 1951 in Newark, New Jersey, is an author of fantasy and science fiction. His science-fiction novel Radix was nominated for the 1981 Nebula Award for Best Novel and was followed by three other novels, the four books, together, comprising the critically...
. His more surreal work, as in A Splendid Chaos showed how it was possible to describe the indescribable with a paradoxical believability and impeccable internal logic no matter how bizarre the subject matter. Shirley's personal experiences as a recovering drug addict and punk rocker brought real verisimilitude to his darker, urban-tinctured writing.
In recent years Shirley has written "tie-in novels" and novelizations, such as Constantine, based on the Keanu Reaves movie, and the best-seller Bioshock: Rapture,(Tor, 2011), a novel providing a prequel to the Bioshock
Bioshock
BioShock is a first-person shooter video game developed by 2K Boston and designed by Ken Levine. It was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 on August 21, 2007 in North America, and three days later in Europe and Australia. It became available on Steam on August 21, 2007...
videogame story. He also wrote the apocalyptic, politically charged novel, The Other End which, according to the author's website, takes the apocalypse away from the Christian Right and gives Judgment Day to Liberals to do with as they please. This reflects his tendency to create fantasy entertainment which is also political satire, or spiritual allegory. E.g., Demons, in which it is discovered that industry has deliberately caused deaths by cancer as part of a vast secret program of human sacrifice. 2007 saw the release of a new story collection, Living Shadows, from Prime Books. His novel of dark urban fantasy set in a slightly futuristic New York, Bleak History, was published by Simon & Schuster/Pocket Books in 2009. In August 2011 Underland Press
Underland Press
Underland Press is a publishing company owned by Victoria Blake. Victoria Blake is a writer and the former prose editor for Dark Horse Comics....
will publish In Extremis: The Most Extreme Stories of John Shirley and in winter 2011 Prime Books is slated to publish a near future apocalyptic political allegory, the novel Everything Is Broken.
Shirley's work ranges in tone from the surreal to the grittily naturalistic to the nightmarish. He is also a songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and singer, having fronted numerous punk bands, including the New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
band Obsession, who were recorded by Celluloid Records
Celluloid Records
Celluloid Records, a French/American record label, founded by Jean Georgakarakos operated from 1976 to 1989 in New York, and produced a series of eclectic and ground-breaking releases, particularly in the early to late 1980s, largely under the auspices of de facto in-house producer Bill...
. He has written lyrics for Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult, often abbreviated BÖC, is an American rock band, most of whose members first came together in Long Island, NY in 1967 as the band Soft White Underbelly...
, such as several songs on the album Heaven Forbid
Heaven Forbid
This article is about the Blue Öyster Cult album. For The Fray song, see How To Save A Life.Heaven Forbid is the eleventh studio album by the American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released in 1998. It was the band's first studio album in a decade...
.
Awards
Shirley's short story collection Black Butterflies won the following awards:- The Bram Stoker AwardBram Stoker AwardThe Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented by the Horror Writers Association for "superior achievement" in horror writing. The awards have been presented annually since 1987, and the winners are selected by ballot of the Active members of the HWA...
from the Horror Writers AssociationHorror Writers AssociationThe Horror Writers Association is a worldwide non-profit organization of professional writers and publishing professionals dedicated to promoting the interests of Horror and Dark Fantasy writers. It was formed in the 1980s with the help of many of the field's greats, including Joe Lansdale, Robert... - International Horror Guild AwardInternational Horror Guild AwardThe International Horror Guild Award is a recognition presented by the International Horror Guild to recognize the achievements of those who create in the field of horror and dark fantasy. Nancy A. Collins, the founder of the award, felt there was a need for an award granted by a large,...
- Selected as one of the best books of 1998 by Publishers WeeklyPublishers WeeklyPublishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
Novels
- Transmaniacon (1979)
- Dracula in Love (1979)
- City Come A-Walkin' (1980)
- Three-Ring Psychus (1980)
- The Brigade (1981)
- Cellars (1982)
- Several books in the Traveler series of post-apocalyptic men's adventureMen's adventureMen's adventure is a genre of magazines that had its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s. Catering to a male audience, these magazines featured glamour photography and lurid tales of adventure that typically featured wartime feats of daring, exotic travel or conflict with wild animals.These magazines are...
novels (as D. B. Drumm) - Several books in the Specialist series of mercenary/adventure men's adventureMen's adventureMen's adventure is a genre of magazines that had its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s. Catering to a male audience, these magazines featured glamour photography and lurid tales of adventure that typically featured wartime feats of daring, exotic travel or conflict with wild animals.These magazines are...
novels (as John Cutter) - A Song Called Youth Series (also known as Eclipse TrilogyEclipse TrilogyThe Eclipse Trilogy is a series of three science fiction English language cyberpunk novels by John Shirley, ....
):- Eclipse (1985)
- Eclipse Penumbra (1988)
- Eclipse Corona (1990)
- In Darkness Waiting (1988)
- Kamus of Kadizar: The Black Hole of Carcosa (1988)
- A Splendid Chaos (1988)
- Wetbones (1991)
- Silicon EmbraceSilicon EmbraceSilicon Embrace is a 1996 English language science fiction novel by John Shirley.Set in the near future, it tells the story of a group of dilettante journalists in the course of a Second American Civil War...
(1996) - "Demons" (2000, novella)
- "...And the Angel with Television Eyes" (2001, novella)
- "The View From Hell" (2001, novella)
- "Her Hunger" (2001, novella)
- Spider Moon (2002)
- Demons, a new version with sequel novel Undercurrents (2002)
- Crawlers (2003)
- Doom (2005, novelization of the film version of the Id SoftwareId SoftwareId Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack...
computer game) - ConstantineConstantine (film)Constantine is a 2005 American action horror film directed by Francis Lawrence as his directorial debut, starring Keanu Reeves as John Constantine, with Rachel Weisz, Shia LaBeouf, Tilda Swinton, and Djimon Hounsou...
(2005, novelisation of the film featuring the DC/Vertigo comicbook character) - John ConstantineJohn ConstantineJohn Constantine is a fictional character, an occult detective anti-hero in comic books published by DC Comics, mostly under the Vertigo imprint. The character first appeared in Swamp Thing #37 , and was created by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, John Totleben and Rick Veitch...
, Hellblazer: War Lord (2006, based on the comic book character, not the movie version) - Predator: Forever MidnightPredator (novel series)The Predator novels are an extension of the Predator franchise, the most recent are published by Dark Horse Comics under their DH Press imprint...
(2006, Predator series tie-in) - Batman: Dead WhiteDead White (Batman novel)Batman: Dead White is a novel set in the universe of DC Comics superhero Batman and was penned by cyberpunk/science fiction author John Shirley...
(2006, tie-in with Batman BeginsBatman BeginsBatman Begins is a 2005 American superhero action film based on the fictional DC Comics character Batman, directed by Christopher Nolan. It stars Christian Bale as Batman, along with Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Cillian Murphy, Morgan Freeman, Ken Watanabe, Tom Wilkinson,...
) - John ConstantineJohn ConstantineJohn Constantine is a fictional character, an occult detective anti-hero in comic books published by DC Comics, mostly under the Vertigo imprint. The character first appeared in Swamp Thing #37 , and was created by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, John Totleben and Rick Veitch...
, Hellblazer: Subterranean (2006) - The Other End (2007)
- Alien: Steel Egg (2007)
- Black Glass (2008)
- Bleak History (2009)
- BioShock Rapture (2011)
- Borderlands: The Fallen (2011)
Short story collections
- Heatseeker (1989)
- New Noir (1993)
- Boykissing Award of Excellence (2011)
- The Exploded Heart (1996)
- Black Butterflies (1998)
- Really, Really, Really, Really Weird Stories (1999)
- Darkness Divided (2001)
- Living Shadows (2007)
- In Extremis: The Most Extreme Short Stories of John Shirley (2011)
Nonfiction
- Gurdjieff - An Introduction to his Life and Ideas (2004) ISBN 1-58542-287-8
- Cognition Factor John Shirley expresses some personal ideas and philosophy in the smart movie Cognition Factor (2009).
Music
Shirley wrote most of the lyrics for Blue Öyster CultBlue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult, often abbreviated BÖC, is an American rock band, most of whose members first came together in Long Island, NY in 1967 as the band Soft White Underbelly...
albums Heaven Forbid
Heaven Forbid
This article is about the Blue Öyster Cult album. For The Fray song, see How To Save A Life.Heaven Forbid is the eleventh studio album by the American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released in 1998. It was the band's first studio album in a decade...
and Curse of the Hidden Mirror
Curse of the Hidden Mirror
Curse of the Hidden Mirror is the twelfth studio album by the American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released in 2001. The only single from the record was the poorly received "Pocket". Lackluster sales led to the band being dropped by their label, Sanctuary Records...
as well as the songs "Demon's Kiss"
Bad Channels
Bad Channels is the soundtrack album of the science fiction spoof film of the same name, It featuring songs by the bands Blue Öyster Cult, Fair Game and Sykotik Sinfoney, and released in 1992.-Track listing:...
and "The Horsemen Arrive"
Bad Channels
Bad Channels is the soundtrack album of the science fiction spoof film of the same name, It featuring songs by the bands Blue Öyster Cult, Fair Game and Sykotik Sinfoney, and released in 1992.-Track listing:...
from their soundtrack Bad Channels
Bad Channels
Bad Channels is the soundtrack album of the science fiction spoof film of the same name, It featuring songs by the bands Blue Öyster Cult, Fair Game and Sykotik Sinfoney, and released in 1992.-Track listing:...
. Their 1972 song "Transmaniacon MC"
Blue Öyster Cult (album)
Blue Öyster Cult is the eponymous debut album by hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released in January 1972 . The album featured songs such as "Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll," "Stairway to the Stars," and "Then Came the Last Days of May," all of which the band still plays regularly during its...
was the inspiration for the book Transmaniacon.
In 2000, Shirley recorded several tracks with Tony and Paul DeStefano of Too Hip For The Room, and also appears on their Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult, often abbreviated BÖC, is an American rock band, most of whose members first came together in Long Island, NY in 1967 as the band Soft White Underbelly...
tribute album Don't Fear The Remake.