Mac Tonnies was an American author and blogger whose work focused on futurology

Futurology

Futures studies is the study of postulating possible, probable, and preferable futures and the worldviews and myths that underlie them. There is a debate as to whether this discipline is an art or science. In general, it can be considered as a branch under the more general scope of the field of...

, transhumanism

Transhumanism

Transhumanism, often abbreviated as H+ or h+, is an international intellectual and cultural movement that affirms the possibility and desirability of fundamentally transforming the human condition by developing and making widely available technologies to eliminate aging and to greatly enhance human...

 and paranormal topics. Tonnies grew up in Independence, Missouri, and attended William Chrisman High School

William Chrisman High School

William Chrisman High School is a high school located in Independence, Missouri as part of the Independence School District. The school was founded in 1888 and was originally known as Independence High School. The first building was located at the intersection of Pleasant and Truman Road, the...

 and Ottawa University

Ottawa University

Ottawa University is a private, non-profit, faith-based liberal arts college located in Ottawa, Kansas. It was founded in 1865 and is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA...

. He lived in Kansas City, Missouri. Tonnies had an active online presence and a "small, but devoted" readership, but supported himself by working at Starbucks and other nine-to-five jobs. In 2009 he died of cardiac arrhythmia at the age of 34.

Books

His first book, a collection of science fiction short stories titled Illumined Black, was published by Phantom Press Publications in 1995, when Tonnies was in college. It carried a cover blurb by 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 was positively reviewed 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...

. His second book, After the Martian Apocalypse, was published by Simon & Schuster in 2004. His last book, The Cryptoterrestrials, was published posthumously by Anomalist Books in 2010.

Other media

In 2007 the play Doing Time, which he co-wrote with Canadian filmmaker Paul Kimball, premiered in Halifax, Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

.

His blog, "Posthuman blues" was described by The Pitch as "one of Kansas City's best blogs, filled with well-written, intelligent takes on offbeat news items and humorous rants from a left-leaning political perspective."

He appeared on Coast to Coast AM

Coast to Coast AM

Coast to Coast AM is a North American late-night syndicated radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics, but most frequently ones that relate to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. It was created by Art Bell and is distributed by Premiere Radio Networks. The program currently...

in September 2009.

External links

• Posthuman Blues Tonnies' blog
• InfoMonkey Review of Doing Time