Kathleen Ann Goonan
Encyclopedia
Kathleen Ann Goonan is an American science fiction
writer. Several of her books have been nominated for the Nebula Award
. Her debut novel
Queen City Jazz was a New York Times
Notable Book of the Year, and her novel In War Times was chosen by the American Library Association
as Best Science Fiction Novel for their 2008 reading list. In July 2008, In War Times won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel
. Her most recent novel, This Shared Dream was released in July 2011 by Tor Books
.
She was born in Cincinnati, OH, the setting of her first novel, and at age eight moved to Hawaii, the setting for her second novel, while her father worked for the Navy for two years. She currently divides her time between the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee
and the Florida Keys
with her husband, Joseph Mansy, who she married in 1977.
She has a degree in English Literature and Philosophy from Virginia Polytechnic Institute, and following graduation, received an Association Montessori Internationale teaching certification from the Montessori Institute in Washington, D.C., and then opened a Montessori school in Knoxville. Following a later move to Hawaii, she became a full-time writer. She is currently a visiting professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology
.
Kathleen Goonan's style is dense and textured, and she is influenced by literature as a whole, particularly American literature, and not just genre science fiction. Her background is in teaching, which got her interested in science. She tends to work from popular science texts, back towards the original sources when researching her books, and filters it through highly literate writing.
She is a great lover of Jazz
and music in general, and peppers her tales with references to (and reincarnations of) the likes of Duke Ellington
, Charlie Parker
, and Sun Ra
. Her work rewards the careful reader with passages of great descriptive power and beauty. In this, Goonan's body of work provides one of the best examples of the literary value of modern science fiction.
Her first novel Queen City Jazz was published in 1994 to critical acclaim including from cyberpunk
sf writer William Gibson
who described it as "An unforgettable vision of America transfigured by a new and utterly apocalyptic technology." It was a New York Times Notable Book for 1994 and a finalist in 1998 for the British Science Fiction Association Award. It became the first book in what she would later call her Nanotech Quartet. Because of Gibson's praise, her work has sometimes grouped with cyberpunk
. However, she deals little with computers in her novels, and her characters, such as Verity, the protagonist of Queen City Jazz, are positive and sometimes heroic, while cyberpunk concerns itself with anti-heroes. This has led to some SF critics dubbing a new sub-genre called "nanopunk"
While her second novel 1996's The Bones of Time featured some elements of nanotechnology
science within it, it is not part of the Quartet, and was not centered around these ideas. Instead it mixes Hawaiian mythology with a spy thriller type chase through Asia centered on the cloning
of one of Hawaii's native rulers. This novel was an Arthur C Clarke Award finalist.
Mississippi Blues followed in 1997 as a direct sequel to Queen City Jazz following the further adventures of her main character Verity along a Mississippi River
radically changed by malfunctioning nanotech. It is somewhat of a tribute to the great American author Mark Twain
who appears in the book as two separate characters who have been programmed with nanotech into believing they are him. This novel won the Hall of Fame Darrel Award in conjunction with her short story "The Bride of Elvis" for their contribution to speculative fiction
set in the Mid-South of America.
Crescent City Rhapsody was published in 2000 as a prequel, explaining how the world of Queen City Jazz came about as a the U.S. government conspired to sweep in nanotechnology that was not tested for possible side effects. It was a finalist for the Nebula Award
, and received high praise from her peers including such genre authors as Joe Haldeman
, Greg Bear
, Gregory Benford
, and Stephen R. Donaldson
. Much of the novel takes place in New Orleans, and it is particularly haunting to read today as the book ends with the levees breaking and the city flooding, penned 5 years before Hurricane Katrina
struck.
Light Music, published in 2002, concludes the Nanotech Quartet. This novel looks at the further evolution of humanity under the influence of "bionan", and ties it in with an alien presence apparently responsible for "El Silencio", the great radio silence of Crescent City Rhapsody that paved the way for the nanotech takeover. Light Music received a starred review in Booklist
and was also reviewed in the New York Times. Once more, other science fiction authors spoke highly of her work including Kim Stanley Robinson
, David Brin
, and, again, William Gibson.
In War Times, published in 2007, is set in World War II. This novel represents a major departure from her nanotech novels, mixing elements of historical fiction
with the alternate history sub-genre of science fiction. There is no mention of nanotech in the book, though it does deal with other technology both real and theoretical throughout the novel. Published by science fiction publisher Tor Books
who have published the rest of her novels as well, In War Times is centered around secret technologies used during the war and extrapolates on what might have happened if some of those had surpassed atomic tech and created a lasting peace instead of a Cold War. Without ever using the specific term, Goonan clearly considers the concept of the multiverse
first postulated by American philosopher and psychologist William James
in 1895 and now a serious theory within physics. This novel was chosen by the American Library Association
as Best Science Fiction Novel for their 2008 reading list. It also was the winner of the 2008 John W. Campbell Memorial Award
.
Ms. Goonan's newest novel, This Shared Dream, published in 2011, continues the story from In War Times. The three Dance children are now adults and coping with being seemingly abandoned by their parents. All three are disturbed by memories of a reality that existed in place of their world. Jill, the eldest daughter, even remembers the disappearance of their mother while preventing the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Key characters from In War Time make appearances in This Shared Dream while trying to thwart the machinations of an unseen enemy bent on using the Hadntz Device to alter history for their ends. This Shared Dream received a glowing review by Michael Dirda
of the The Washington Post
.
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...
writer. Several of her books have been nominated for the Nebula Award
Nebula Award
The Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...
. Her debut novel
Debut novel
A debut novel is the first novel an author publishes. Debut novels are the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to publish in the future...
Queen City Jazz was a New York Times
The New York Times Book Review
The New York Times Book Review is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to The New York Times in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely read book review publications in the industry. The offices are located near Times Square in New York...
Notable Book of the Year, and her novel In War Times was chosen by the American Library Association
American Library Association
The American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
as Best Science Fiction Novel for their 2008 reading list. In July 2008, In War Times won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel
John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel
The John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel for best science fiction novel was created in 1973 by writers and critics Harry Harrison and Brian W. Aldiss to honor Campbell's name...
. Her most recent novel, This Shared Dream was released in July 2011 by Tor Books
Tor Books
Tor Books is one of two imprints of Tom Doherty Associates LLC, based in New York City. It is noted for its science fiction and fantasy titles. Tom Doherty Associates also publishes mainstream fiction, mystery, and occasional military history titles under its Forge imprint. The company was founded...
.
She was born in Cincinnati, OH, the setting of her first novel, and at age eight moved to Hawaii, the setting for her second novel, while her father worked for the Navy for two years. She currently divides her time between the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
and the Florida Keys
Florida Keys
The Florida Keys are a coral archipelago in southeast United States. They begin at the southeastern tip of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry...
with her husband, Joseph Mansy, who she married in 1977.
She has a degree in English Literature and Philosophy from Virginia Polytechnic Institute, and following graduation, received an Association Montessori Internationale teaching certification from the Montessori Institute in Washington, D.C., and then opened a Montessori school in Knoxville. Following a later move to Hawaii, she became a full-time writer. She is currently a visiting professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
.
Fiction
She is best known for novels which give snapshots taken at different times of a world where na and biotechnologies ("bionan") produce deep changes in humans and their habitat. She explores themes of cultural and social change and catastrophe.Kathleen Goonan's style is dense and textured, and she is influenced by literature as a whole, particularly American literature, and not just genre science fiction. Her background is in teaching, which got her interested in science. She tends to work from popular science texts, back towards the original sources when researching her books, and filters it through highly literate writing.
She is a great lover of Jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and music in general, and peppers her tales with references to (and reincarnations of) the likes of Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
, Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
, and Sun Ra
Sun Ra
Sun Ra was a prolific jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his "cosmic philosophy," musical compositions and performances. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama...
. Her work rewards the careful reader with passages of great descriptive power and beauty. In this, Goonan's body of work provides one of the best examples of the literary value of modern science fiction.
Her first novel Queen City Jazz was published in 1994 to critical acclaim including from 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...
sf writer 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...
who described it as "An unforgettable vision of America transfigured by a new and utterly apocalyptic technology." It was a New York Times Notable Book for 1994 and a finalist in 1998 for the British Science Fiction Association Award. It became the first book in what she would later call her Nanotech Quartet. Because of Gibson's praise, her work has sometimes grouped with 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...
. However, she deals little with computers in her novels, and her characters, such as Verity, the protagonist of Queen City Jazz, are positive and sometimes heroic, while cyberpunk concerns itself with anti-heroes. This has led to some SF critics dubbing a new sub-genre called "nanopunk"
While her second novel 1996's The Bones of Time featured some elements of nanotechnology
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...
science within it, it is not part of the Quartet, and was not centered around these ideas. Instead it mixes Hawaiian mythology with a spy thriller type chase through Asia centered on the cloning
Cloning
Cloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
of one of Hawaii's native rulers. This novel was an Arthur C Clarke Award finalist.
Mississippi Blues followed in 1997 as a direct sequel to Queen City Jazz following the further adventures of her main character Verity along a Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
radically changed by malfunctioning nanotech. It is somewhat of a tribute to the great American author Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
who appears in the book as two separate characters who have been programmed with nanotech into believing they are him. This novel won the Hall of Fame Darrel Award in conjunction with her short story "The Bride of Elvis" for their contribution to speculative fiction
Speculative fiction
Speculative fiction is an umbrella term encompassing the more fantastical fiction genres, specifically science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian and dystopian fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, and alternate history in literature as well as...
set in the Mid-South of America.
Crescent City Rhapsody was published in 2000 as a prequel, explaining how the world of Queen City Jazz came about as a the U.S. government conspired to sweep in nanotechnology that was not tested for possible side effects. It was a finalist for the Nebula Award
Nebula Award
The Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...
, and received high praise from her peers including such genre authors as Joe Haldeman
Joe Haldeman
Joe William Haldeman is an American science fiction author.-Life :Haldeman was born June 9, 1943 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. His family traveled and he lived in Puerto Rico, New Orleans, Washington, D.C., Bethesda, Maryland and Anchorage, Alaska as a child. Haldeman married Mary Gay Potter, known...
, Greg Bear
Greg Bear
Gregory Dale Bear is an American science fiction and mainstream author. His work has covered themes of galactic conflict , artificial universes , consciousness and cultural practices , and accelerated evolution...
, Gregory Benford
Gregory Benford
Gregory Benford is an American science fiction author and astrophysicist who is on the faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine...
, and Stephen R. Donaldson
Stephen R. Donaldson
Stephen Reeder Donaldson is an American fantasy, science fiction and mystery novelist, most famous for his Thomas Covenant series...
. Much of the novel takes place in New Orleans, and it is particularly haunting to read today as the book ends with the levees breaking and the city flooding, penned 5 years before Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
struck.
Light Music, published in 2002, concludes the Nanotech Quartet. This novel looks at the further evolution of humanity under the influence of "bionan", and ties it in with an alien presence apparently responsible for "El Silencio", the great radio silence of Crescent City Rhapsody that paved the way for the nanotech takeover. Light Music received a starred review in Booklist
Booklist
Booklist is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. It is geared toward libraries and booksellers and is available in print or online...
and was also reviewed in the New York Times. Once more, other science fiction authors spoke highly of her work including Kim Stanley Robinson
Kim Stanley Robinson
Kim Stanley Robinson is an American science fiction writer known for his award-winning Mars trilogy. His work delves into ecological and sociological themes regularly, and many of his novels appear to be the direct result of his own scientific fascinations, such as the fifteen years of research...
, David Brin
David Brin
Glen David Brin, Ph.D. is an American scientist and award-winning author of science fiction. He has received the Hugo, Locus, Campbell and Nebula Awards.-Biography:...
, and, again, William Gibson.
In War Times, published in 2007, is set in World War II. This novel represents a major departure from her nanotech novels, mixing elements of historical fiction
Historical fiction
Historical fiction tells a story that is set in the past. That setting is usually real and drawn from history, and often contains actual historical persons, but the principal characters tend to be fictional...
with the alternate history sub-genre of science fiction. There is no mention of nanotech in the book, though it does deal with other technology both real and theoretical throughout the novel. Published by science fiction publisher Tor Books
Tor Books
Tor Books is one of two imprints of Tom Doherty Associates LLC, based in New York City. It is noted for its science fiction and fantasy titles. Tom Doherty Associates also publishes mainstream fiction, mystery, and occasional military history titles under its Forge imprint. The company was founded...
who have published the rest of her novels as well, In War Times is centered around secret technologies used during the war and extrapolates on what might have happened if some of those had surpassed atomic tech and created a lasting peace instead of a Cold War. Without ever using the specific term, Goonan clearly considers the concept of the multiverse
Multiverse
The multiverse is the hypothetical set of multiple possible universes that together comprise all of reality.Multiverse may also refer to:-In fiction:* Multiverse , the fictional multiverse used by DC Comics...
first postulated by American philosopher and psychologist William James
William James
William James was a pioneering American psychologist and philosopher who was trained as a physician. He wrote influential books on the young science of psychology, educational psychology, psychology of religious experience and mysticism, and on the philosophy of pragmatism...
in 1895 and now a serious theory within physics. This novel was chosen by the American Library Association
American Library Association
The American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
as Best Science Fiction Novel for their 2008 reading list. It also was the winner of the 2008 John W. Campbell Memorial Award
John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel
The John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel for best science fiction novel was created in 1973 by writers and critics Harry Harrison and Brian W. Aldiss to honor Campbell's name...
.
Ms. Goonan's newest novel, This Shared Dream, published in 2011, continues the story from In War Times. The three Dance children are now adults and coping with being seemingly abandoned by their parents. All three are disturbed by memories of a reality that existed in place of their world. Jill, the eldest daughter, even remembers the disappearance of their mother while preventing the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Key characters from In War Time make appearances in This Shared Dream while trying to thwart the machinations of an unseen enemy bent on using the Hadntz Device to alter history for their ends. This Shared Dream received a glowing review by Michael Dirda
Michael Dirda
Michael Dirda , a Fulbright Fellowship recipient, is a Pulitzer Prize–winning book critic for the Washington Post.-Career:Having studied at Oberlin College for his undergraduate degree, Dirda took a Ph.D. from Cornell University in comparative literature. In 1978 Dirda started writing for the...
of the The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
.
Nanotech Quartet
- Queen City Jazz
- Mississippi Blues
- Crescent City Rhapsody
- Light Music
Essays
- Science Fiction and All That Jazz
- The Biological Century and the Future of Science Fiction
- Consciousness and Literature: A writer's view