Kurt R. A. Giambastiani
Encyclopedia
Kurt Robert Achilles Giambastiani (born December 4, 1958) is a novelist whose works blend elements of science fiction
, fantasy
, adventure
, and romance
. Giambastiani's work is also usually imbued with a strong historical context, resulting in many of his novels being classified as alternate history, historical fantasy
, or historical fiction
.
, Giambastiani first embarked on a career in music. He studied classical music at San Francisco State University
before transferring to the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance
in Jerusalem, Israel. He moved to Seattle, Washington
in 1984.
Upon returning to the United States from Israel, he spent several years as a violist with regional orchestras, including five years as principal violist with the Bellevue Philharmonic in Washington State. At the same time, Giambastiani built a second career as a software developer.
Giambastiani switched from music to writing in the early 1990s, concentrating on short stories in science fiction and fantasy. After several publications of his short fiction, he turned to novels and, in 2001, debuted with The Year the Cloud Fell, the first volume in his Fallen Cloud Saga, which was a finalist for the Endeavour Award
.
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...
, fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
, adventure
Adventure novel
The adventure novel is a genre of novels that has adventure, an exciting undertaking involving risk and physical danger, as its main theme.-History:...
, and romance
Romance novel
The romance novel is a literary genre developed in Western culture, mainly in English-speaking countries. Novels in this genre place their primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Through the late...
. Giambastiani's work is also usually imbued with a strong historical context, resulting in many of his novels being classified as alternate history, historical fantasy
Historical fantasy
Historical fantasy is a sub-genre of fantasy and related to historical fiction, which makes use of specific elements of real world history. It is used as an umbrella term for the sword and sorcery genre and sometimes, if fantasy is involved, the sword-and-sandal genre too...
, or 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...
.
Biography
Born in San Rafael, CaliforniaSan Rafael, California
San Rafael is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area...
, Giambastiani first embarked on a career in music. He studied classical music at San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...
before transferring to the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance
Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance
The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance , founded in 1958 as the Rubin Academy of Music, is located on the Givat Ram campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.-History:...
in Jerusalem, Israel. He moved to Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
in 1984.
Upon returning to the United States from Israel, he spent several years as a violist with regional orchestras, including five years as principal violist with the Bellevue Philharmonic in Washington State. At the same time, Giambastiani built a second career as a software developer.
Giambastiani switched from music to writing in the early 1990s, concentrating on short stories in science fiction and fantasy. After several publications of his short fiction, he turned to novels and, in 2001, debuted with The Year the Cloud Fell, the first volume in his Fallen Cloud Saga, which was a finalist for the Endeavour Award
Endeavour Award
The Endeavour Award, announced annually at OryCon in Portland, Oregon, is awarded to a distinguished science fiction or fantasy book written by a Pacific Northwest author or authors and published in the previous year....
.
Series novels
- The Fallen Cloud Saga
- The Year the Cloud Fell (2001) Roc BooksRoc BooksRoc Books is a fantasy imprint of Penguin Group, as part of their New American Library. The imprint was launched in April 1990 after Penguin Chairman, Peter Mayer, asked John Silbersack, the editor in chief of New American Library's science fiction program, to launch a new imprint that would draw...
(ISBN 9780451458216) - The Spirit of Thunder (2002) Roc BooksRoc BooksRoc Books is a fantasy imprint of Penguin Group, as part of their New American Library. The imprint was launched in April 1990 after Penguin Chairman, Peter Mayer, asked John Silbersack, the editor in chief of New American Library's science fiction program, to launch a new imprint that would draw...
(ISBN 9780451458704) - Shadow of the Storm (2003) Roc BooksRoc BooksRoc Books is a fantasy imprint of Penguin Group, as part of their New American Library. The imprint was launched in April 1990 after Penguin Chairman, Peter Mayer, asked John Silbersack, the editor in chief of New American Library's science fiction program, to launch a new imprint that would draw...
(ISBN 9780451459169) - From the Heart of the Storm (2004) Roc BooksRoc BooksRoc Books is a fantasy imprint of Penguin Group, as part of their New American Library. The imprint was launched in April 1990 after Penguin Chairman, Peter Mayer, asked John Silbersack, the editor in chief of New American Library's science fiction program, to launch a new imprint that would draw...
(ISBN 9780451459558)
- The Year the Cloud Fell (2001) Roc Books
- The Ploughman Chronicles
- Ploughman's Son (2005) Mouse Road Press (ISBN 9781411637795)
- Ploughman King (2006) Mouse Road Press (ISBN 9781411642546)
Standalone novels
- Dreams of the Desert Wind (2004) Fairwood PressFairwood PressFairwood Press is a small press publishing company, specializing in speculative fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. It was founded by Patrick and Honna Swenson and is currently located in Kent, Washington....
(ISBN 9780974657332) - Unraveling Time (2006) Mouse Road Press (ISBN 9781847289476)
Short works
- "Sum of the Angles" (Vision, 1991)
- "Supplanter" (Science Fiction Review, Winter 1991)
- "Veiled Glimpses" (Midnight Zoo, 1992)
- "Still Falling" (Air Fish, Catseye Books, 1993)
- "Spencer's Peace" (DragonDragon (magazine)Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
, March 1994) - "Bio-Dome" (Year 2000 1995)
- "Intaglio" (Tomorrow, Oct 1995)
- "Of Light and Color" (Talebones, Fall 1997)
- "Long Distance" (Talebones, Fall 1998)
- "Ploughman's Son" (MZB's Fantasy Magazine 1999)
- "The Duenna" (Bygone Days, 2002)
- "The Revitalization of Emily" (Oceans of the Mind 2002)
- "Destrier's Will" (Bygone Days, 2004)
- "The Text" (Oceans of the Mind, 2004)
External links
- Kurt R.A. Giambastiani's official website
- Kurt R.A. Giambastiani's IBList entry
- OSFCI's Endeavour Award
- Short story online: "Spencer's Peace"
- Short story online: "Intaglio"
- Excerpt from Unraveling Time
- Excerpt from Dreams of the Desert Wind
- Excerpt from Ploughman's Son
- Excerpt from The Year the Cloud Fell
- Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance
- San Francisco State University