Mark W. Tiedemann
Encyclopedia
Mark W. Tiedemann is an American
science fiction
and detective fiction
author. He has written novels set in Isaac Asimov
's Robot universe, and within his own original universe, known as the Secantis Sequence.
In spring 2005 he was named president of the Missouri Center for the Book, which is the Missouri state adjunct program to the Library of Congress
Center for the Book.
, Worlds of If, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
, though none were accepted for publication.
Upon entering high school, he discovered photography, which became his primary career. Writing still attracted his interest though, and in 1978 he completed a novel, Random Factor, though it was never published. He then wrote several more novels. In 1980, he met his future partner, Donna, who encouraged him to pursue his passion for writing. He met with limited success, with three short stories published before 1988, in small press magazines, the most notable of which was Reveleven, published by Scott Edelman
in Edelman's magazine Last Wave in 1986. Tiedemann then applied to and was accepted by the Clarion SF Writers Workshop In the summer of 1988, he attended Clarion with instructors Tim Powers
, Lisa Goldstein
, Samuel R. Delany
, Kim Stanley Robinson
, Kate Wilhelm
, and Damon Knight
. That workshop produced writers such as Kelley Eskridge
, Nicola Griffith
, and Peg Kerr
, and within a year, Tiedemann began selling short stories. His first major sale was Targets, sold to Gardner Dozois
, editor of Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. Several more quickly followed.
His next novel, Compass Reach, was shortlisted for the Philip K. Dick Award. This first in his Secantis Sequence, the novel approaches an interstellar empire from the perspective of the underclass, the main characters being so-called Freeriders---essentially hobos who stow away on translight ships and maintain a loose but widespread community. The novel deals with questions of class, material wealth, identity boundaries, and control, in the face of an expanding human presence that must deal with truly alien species. The novel ends with the principle polity, the Pan Humana, descending into civil war. The next novel in the series, Metal of Night, deals with that civil war, but from the standpoint of the victims and deals with issues of costs and consequence. The third Secantis novel, Peace and Memory, takes place some 80 years after the civil war and considers questions of self determination, identity, and the parameters of appropriate political growth.
These three novels, plus a number of short stories, are constructed in such a way as to offer multiple possibilities for future stories, none of which share common characters, only a common background. Meisha Merlin Publishing
published the novels.
Another novel, Remains, from BenBella Publishing, is separate from his Secantis universe. Remains is more of a "planetary romance", the action taking place within the confines of the Solar System. The novel was shortlisted for the James Tiptree Jr. Award in 2006.
's Robot series
, between the novels The Robots of Dawn
and Robots and Empire
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
and detective fiction
Detective fiction
Detective fiction is a sub-genre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator , either professional or amateur, investigates a crime, often murder.-In ancient literature:...
author. He has written novels set in Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
's Robot universe, and within his own original universe, known as the Secantis Sequence.
In spring 2005 he was named president of the Missouri Center for the Book, which is the Missouri state adjunct program to the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
Center for the Book.
Biography
Born to Henry and Donna Tiedemann, Mark W. Tiedemann grew up an only child. He wrote several short stories, a few of which he submitted to major SF magazines of the day such as GalaxyGalaxy
A galaxy is a massive, gravitationally bound system that consists of stars and stellar remnants, an interstellar medium of gas and dust, and an important but poorly understood component tentatively dubbed dark matter. The word galaxy is derived from the Greek galaxias , literally "milky", a...
, Worlds of If, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction is a digest-size American fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House and then by Fantasy House. Both were subsidiaries of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Publications, which took over as publisher in 1958. Spilogale, Inc...
, though none were accepted for publication.
Upon entering high school, he discovered photography, which became his primary career. Writing still attracted his interest though, and in 1978 he completed a novel, Random Factor, though it was never published. He then wrote several more novels. In 1980, he met his future partner, Donna, who encouraged him to pursue his passion for writing. He met with limited success, with three short stories published before 1988, in small press magazines, the most notable of which was Reveleven, published by Scott Edelman
Scott Edelman
Scott Edelman is an American science fiction, fantasy, and horror writer and editor. He became the editor of SCI FI Magazine in 2002, and has edited the channel's online magazine Science Fiction Weekly since 2000.He was the founding and only editor of the science fiction magazine Science Fiction...
in Edelman's magazine Last Wave in 1986. Tiedemann then applied to and was accepted by the Clarion SF Writers Workshop In the summer of 1988, he attended Clarion with instructors Tim Powers
Tim Powers
Timothy Thomas "Tim" Powers is an American science fiction and fantasy author. Powers has won the World Fantasy Award twice for his critically acclaimed novels Last Call and Declare...
, Lisa Goldstein
Lisa Goldstein
Lisa Goldstein is a Nebula, Hugo, and World Fantasy Award nominated fantasy and science fiction writer. Her 1982 novel The Red Magician won the American Book Award for best paperback novel, and was praised by Philip K. Dick shortly before his death...
, Samuel R. Delany
Samuel R. Delany
Samuel Ray Delany, Jr., also known as "Chip" is an American author, professor and literary critic. His work includes a number of novels, many in the science fiction genre, as well as memoir, criticism, and essays on sexuality and society.His science fiction novels include Babel-17, The Einstein...
, 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...
, Kate Wilhelm
Kate Wilhelm
Kate Wilhelm is an American writer whose works include science fiction, mystery, and fantasy.- Career :Wilhelm was born in Toledo, Ohio....
, and Damon Knight
Damon Knight
Damon Francis Knight was an American science fiction author, editor, critic and fan. His forte was short stories and he is widely acknowledged as having been a master of the genre.-Biography:...
. That workshop produced writers such as Kelley Eskridge
Kelley Eskridge
Kelley Eskridge is a writer of fiction and non-fiction. Her work is generally regarded as speculative fiction and is associated with the more literary edge of the category, as well as with the category of slipstream fiction....
, Nicola Griffith
Nicola Griffith
Nicola Griffith is a British science fiction author, editor and essayist. Griffith is a 1988 alumnus of the Michigan State University Clarion science fiction writing workshop and has won a Nebula Award, the James Tiptree, Jr Award, the World Fantasy Award and six Lambda Literary Awards. She also...
, and Peg Kerr
Peg Kerr
Peg Kerr is a US fantasy author.She was born in a suburb of Chicago and moved to Minnesota to attend St. Olaf College. She received an M.A. in English Literature in 1990, specializing in speculative fiction...
, and within a year, Tiedemann began selling short stories. His first major sale was Targets, sold to Gardner Dozois
Gardner Dozois
Gardner Raymond Dozois is an American science fiction author and editor. He was editor of Asimov's Science Fiction magazine from 1984 to 2004...
, editor of Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. Several more quickly followed.
His next novel, Compass Reach, was shortlisted for the Philip K. Dick Award. This first in his Secantis Sequence, the novel approaches an interstellar empire from the perspective of the underclass, the main characters being so-called Freeriders---essentially hobos who stow away on translight ships and maintain a loose but widespread community. The novel deals with questions of class, material wealth, identity boundaries, and control, in the face of an expanding human presence that must deal with truly alien species. The novel ends with the principle polity, the Pan Humana, descending into civil war. The next novel in the series, Metal of Night, deals with that civil war, but from the standpoint of the victims and deals with issues of costs and consequence. The third Secantis novel, Peace and Memory, takes place some 80 years after the civil war and considers questions of self determination, identity, and the parameters of appropriate political growth.
These three novels, plus a number of short stories, are constructed in such a way as to offer multiple possibilities for future stories, none of which share common characters, only a common background. Meisha Merlin Publishing
Meisha Merlin Publishing
Meisha Merlin Publishing was an independent publishing company founded in 1996 by former New York book editor Stephen Pagel and Kevin and Brian Murphy...
published the novels.
Another novel, Remains, from BenBella Publishing, is separate from his Secantis universe. Remains is more of a "planetary romance", the action taking place within the confines of the Solar System. The novel was shortlisted for the James Tiptree Jr. Award in 2006.
Standalone novels
- Extensions (chapbook) (1999)
- Realtime (2001)
- Of Stars And Shadows (2004)
- Remains (2005)
- Diva (chapbook) (2005)
The Secantis Sequence
- Compass Reach (2001)
- Metal of Night (2002)
- Peace & Memory (2003)
- Other Ways:Three Tales From The Secant (chapbook) (2005)
Isaac Asimov's Robots
This trilogy is set in the chronology of Isaac AsimovIsaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
's Robot series
Isaac Asimov's Robot Series
Isaac Asimov's Robot Series is a series of short stories and novels by Isaac Asimov featuring positronic robots.- Short stories :Most of Asimov's robot short stories are set in the first age of positronic robotics and space exploration...
, between the novels The Robots of Dawn
The Robots of Dawn
The Robots of Dawn is a "whodunit" science fiction novel by Isaac Asimov, first published in 1983. It is the third novel in Asimov's Robot series.It was nominated for both the Hugo and Locus Awards in 1984.- Plot summary :...
and Robots and Empire
Robots and Empire
Robots and Empire is science fiction novel written by the American author Isaac Asimov and published by Doubleday Books in 1985. It is part of Asimov's Robot series, consisting of many short stories and novels....
.
- Mirage (2000)
- Chimera (2001)
- Aurora (2002)
Terminator 2 (iBooks)
- Terminator 2: Hour of the Wolf (2004), a sequel to the New John Connor Chronicles trilogy by Russell BlackfordRussell BlackfordRussell Blackford is an Australian writer, philosopher, and critic, based for many years in Melbourne, Victoria. He was born in Sydney, and grew up in Lake Macquarie district, near Newcastle, NSW. He moved to Melbourne in 1979, but returned to Newcastle to live and work in 2009.-Writing career:As a...
. It is unrelated to the trilogy by S. M. StirlingS. M. StirlingStephen Michael Stirling is a French-born Canadian-American science fiction and fantasy author. Stirling is probably best known for his Draka series of alternate history novels and the more recent time travel/alternate history Nantucket series and Emberverse series.-Personal:Stirling was born on...
or novels by Aaron AllstonAaron AllstonAaron Allston is an American game designer and novelist of many science fiction books, notably Star Wars novels. His works as a game designer include game supplements for several role-playing games, several of which served to establish the basis for products and subsequent development of TSR's...
.