Stanley Evans (author)
Encyclopedia
Stanley Evans is a full-time Canadian writer who has been a soldier, a surveyor
, and deep-sea fisherman. He was born in England, immigrated to Canada in 1954 and currently resides in Victoria, British Columbia
. He began his career by writing articles for newspapers and magazines. He has written two plays that were produced at the Arts Club in Vancouver, and has published several novels. Since 2005, he has published annual novels in a mystery series featuring a Coast Salish
man as an investigator.
. He worked for some time as a deep-sea fisherman.
Two of his plays were produced at the Arts Club in Vancouver.
Evans has more recently written a series of mystery/crime fiction novels featuring Silas Seaweed, a Coast Salish
who is an investigator with the Victoria Police Department. His works have received critical praise. Published by TouchWood Editions, the series includes:
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
, and deep-sea fisherman. He was born in England, immigrated to Canada in 1954 and currently resides in Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
. He began his career by writing articles for newspapers and magazines. He has written two plays that were produced at the Arts Club in Vancouver, and has published several novels. Since 2005, he has published annual novels in a mystery series featuring a Coast Salish
Coast Salish
Coast Salish languages are a subgroup of the Salishan language family. These languages are spoken by First Nations or Native American peoples inhabiting the territory that is now the southwest coast of British Columbia around the Strait of Georgia and Washington state around Puget Sound...
man as an investigator.
Early life and education
Evans was born in England. After graduating from college, he worked as a college instructor. At the age of 23, he emigrated to Canada, where he has settled in Victoria, British ColumbiaVictoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
. He worked for some time as a deep-sea fisherman.
Career
He began his writing career by publishing stories in newspapers and magazines. Some drew from his experiences as a soldier and deep-sea fisherman.Two of his plays were produced at the Arts Club in Vancouver.
Works
These two novels featured Sergeant Decker, a British Columbia frontier law official.- Outlaw Gold (1996)
- Snow-Coming Moon (1997)
Evans has more recently written a series of mystery/crime fiction novels featuring Silas Seaweed, a Coast Salish
Coast Salish
Coast Salish languages are a subgroup of the Salishan language family. These languages are spoken by First Nations or Native American peoples inhabiting the territory that is now the southwest coast of British Columbia around the Strait of Georgia and Washington state around Puget Sound...
who is an investigator with the Victoria Police Department. His works have received critical praise. Published by TouchWood Editions, the series includes:
- Seaweed on the Street (2005)
- Seaweed on Ice (2006)
- Seaweed Under Water (2007), received the Monday Magazine Best Novel of 2007 award
- Seaweed on the Rocks (2008)
- Seaweed in the Soup (2009)
Critical reception
- "Victoria author Stanley Evans’ series protagonist, forty-year-old Coast SalishCoast SalishCoast Salish languages are a subgroup of the Salishan language family. These languages are spoken by First Nations or Native American peoples inhabiting the territory that is now the southwest coast of British Columbia around the Strait of Georgia and Washington state around Puget Sound...
hard-boiled street cop, Silas Seaweed, has a lot in common with others of his ilk–a taste for the sauce, an eye for the babes, a liking for rough justiceVigilanteA vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....
, a disdain for police bureaucrats, a sympathy for the underdog and as much independence as his feral catFeral catA feral cat is a descendant of a domesticated cat that has returned to the wild. It is distinguished from a stray cat, which is a pet cat that has been lost or abandoned, while feral cats are born in the wild; the offspring of a stray cat can be considered feral if born in the wild.In many parts of...
, PC, that he shares his one-man office with. But what sets Seaweed apart is his First Nation heritage, the off-beat characters that surround him, and his ability to call upon the traditions of his people’s distant past to solve crimes of the present. And despite Evans’ admissions that the Warrior Reserve where Seaweed lives and the Mohawt Bay Band of which Silas is a member do not exist, there is an authentic ring to each of the novels in the series that makes the settings, characters and stories significantly entertaining." M. Wayne Cunningham for MysteriousReviews.com
- "Makes great use of West Coast aboriginal mythology and religion… Let's hope Silas Seaweed returns." THE GLOBE AND MAIL
- "… written with strong plots … worth reading and lingering over." THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR
- "Silas Seaweed’s insouciant charm is infectious, Evans’ characters from the underbelly of society are superb and critical observations of Vancouver IslandVancouver IslandVancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
society are refreshingly candid and often revealing." ABCBookWorld.com
- "Among Canada's most exciting new crime fictionCrime fictionCrime fiction is the literary genre that fictionalizes crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred...
. They are written in clean, crisp prose...They capture that strange mix of natural beauty and rough-around-the-edges humanity that is the essence of Vancouver Island." CALGARY HERALD