Stephen Marley (writer)
Encyclopedia
Stephen Marley is a British
author and video game designer, best known for his Chia Black Dragon
series. He was born in Derby
of Irish
parents and was educated in Bemrose School
in Derby and at Nottingham
. He graduated in Social Anthropology
in 1971 in London
, gained an M.Sc in the Sociology of Science in 1973 and worked on his Ph.D on ancient Chinese science while lecturing in Manchester
. He gave up an academic career and took up writing full-time in 1985. From 1995 onwards he has also followed a parallel career in video games. In one game he designed on PlayStation
, Martian Gothic
, he voice directed, among others, Fenella Fielding
and Julie Peasgood
.
He has had seven novels published and recently completed a religious/political thriller, provisionally titled The Heresy. His third novel, Mortal Mask, was acclaimed a 'masterpiece' in the Clute/Grant The Encyclopedia of Fantasy
.
According to reports his favourite film is A Taste of Honey
, favourite television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, favourite novel William Golding
's Free Fall
and his favourite breed of dog is the boxer
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
author and video game designer, best known for his Chia Black Dragon
Chia Black Dragon
Chia Black Dragon is the eponymous anti-hero of a dark fantasy series of novels written by Stephen Marley. Chia is identified in the novels as "The most dangerous woman in the history of man". The term "Chinese Gothic" was coined to describe the world of Chia Black Dragon.-Character overview:Chia...
series. He was born in Derby
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
of Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
parents and was educated in Bemrose School
Bemrose School
Bemrose School , was a grammar school for boys in Derby, England, until 1975, when it became a comprehensive. It became comprehensive in 1989. There were a few difficult years as the school worked to establish itself as an all ability school for Derby. It became a Foundation School and then a...
in Derby and at Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
. He graduated in Social Anthropology
Social anthropology
Social Anthropology is one of the four or five branches of anthropology that studies how contemporary human beings behave in social groups. Practitioners of social anthropology investigate, often through long-term, intensive field studies , the social organization of a particular person: customs,...
in 1971 in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, gained an M.Sc in the Sociology of Science in 1973 and worked on his Ph.D on ancient Chinese science while lecturing in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. He gave up an academic career and took up writing full-time in 1985. From 1995 onwards he has also followed a parallel career in video games. In one game he designed on PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
, Martian Gothic
Martian Gothic: Unification
Martian Gothic: Unification is a survival horror game for the PlayStation and PC. It was developed by Creative Reality and published by Take-Two Interactive. Programmers Neil Dodwell and Martin Wong, designer Stephen Marley, animator David Dew, modelers Julian Holtom and Paul Oglesby, and music &...
, he voice directed, among others, Fenella Fielding
Fenella Fielding
Fenella Fielding — "England's first lady of the double entendre" — is an English actress, popular in the 1950s and 1960s. She is known for her seductive image and distinctively husky voice.-Family:...
and Julie Peasgood
Julie Peasgood
Julie May Peasgood is an English actress, television presenter, author and voice over artist known for her distinctive voice. She attended Grimsby's Wintringham School as a student. She is best known for her role as Fran Pearson in the television soap Brookside...
.
He has had seven novels published and recently completed a religious/political thriller, provisionally titled The Heresy. His third novel, Mortal Mask, was acclaimed a 'masterpiece' in the Clute/Grant The Encyclopedia of Fantasy
The Encyclopedia of Fantasy
The Encyclopedia of Fantasy is a 1997 reference work on fantasy, edited by John Clute and John Grant. Other contributors include Mike Ashley, Neil Gaiman, Diana Wynne Jones, David Langford, Sam J. Lundwall, Michael Scott Rohan, Brian Stableford and Lisa Tuttle.The book was well-received upon...
.
According to reports his favourite film is A Taste of Honey
A Taste of Honey (film)
A Taste of Honey is a 1961 British film adaptation of the play of the same name by Shelagh Delaney. Delaney adapted the screenplay herself, aided by director Tony Richardson, who had previously directed the first production of the play...
, favourite television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, favourite novel William Golding
William Golding
Sir William Gerald Golding was a British novelist, poet, playwright and Nobel Prize for Literature laureate, best known for his novel Lord of the Flies...
's Free Fall
Free Fall (Golding)
Free Fall is the fourth novel of English novelist William Golding, first published in 1959. Written in the first person, it is a self-examination by an English painter, Samuel Mountjoy, held in a German POW camp during World War Two.-Plot summary:...
and his favourite breed of dog is the boxer
Boxer (dog)
Developed in Germany, the Boxer is a breed of stocky, medium-sized, short-haired dog. The coat is smooth and fawn or brindled, with or without white markings. Boxers are brachycephalic , and have a square muzzle, mandibular prognathism , very strong jaws and a powerful bite ideal for hanging on to...
.
Novels
- Spirit Mirror: Chia Black DragonChia Black DragonChia Black Dragon is the eponymous anti-hero of a dark fantasy series of novels written by Stephen Marley. Chia is identified in the novels as "The most dangerous woman in the history of man". The term "Chinese Gothic" was coined to describe the world of Chia Black Dragon.-Character overview:Chia...
series; dark fantasyDark fantasyDark fantasy is a term used to describe a fantasy story with a pronounced horror element.-Overview:A strict definition for dark fantasy is difficult to pin down. Gertrude Barrows Bennett has been called "the woman who invented dark fantasy". Both Charles L...
: publisher HarperCollinsHarperCollinsHarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
(1988) - Life of the Virgin Mary; historical/fantasyFantasyFantasy 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...
: publisher Lennard Publishing (1988) - Mortal Mask: Chia Black DragonChia Black DragonChia Black Dragon is the eponymous anti-hero of a dark fantasy series of novels written by Stephen Marley. Chia is identified in the novels as "The most dangerous woman in the history of man". The term "Chinese Gothic" was coined to describe the world of Chia Black Dragon.-Character overview:Chia...
series; dark fantasyDark fantasyDark fantasy is a term used to describe a fantasy story with a pronounced horror element.-Overview:A strict definition for dark fantasy is difficult to pin down. Gertrude Barrows Bennett has been called "the woman who invented dark fantasy". Both Charles L...
: publisher Random HouseRandom HouseRandom House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
(1991) - Shadow Sisters: Chia Black DragonChia Black DragonChia Black Dragon is the eponymous anti-hero of a dark fantasy series of novels written by Stephen Marley. Chia is identified in the novels as "The most dangerous woman in the history of man". The term "Chinese Gothic" was coined to describe the world of Chia Black Dragon.-Character overview:Chia...
series; dark fantasyDark fantasyDark fantasy is a term used to describe a fantasy story with a pronounced horror element.-Overview:A strict definition for dark fantasy is difficult to pin down. Gertrude Barrows Bennett has been called "the woman who invented dark fantasy". Both Charles L...
: publisher Random HouseRandom HouseRandom House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
(1993) - Judge DreddJudge DreddJudge Joseph Dredd is a comics character whose strip in the British science fiction anthology 2000 AD is the magazine's longest running . Dredd is an American law enforcement officer in a violent city of the future where uniformed Judges combine the powers of police, judge, jury and executioner...
: DreddlockedDreddlockedDreddlocked is an original novel written by Stephen Marley and based on the long-running British science fiction comic strip Judge Dredd.-Synopsis:...
; science fictionScience fictionScience 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...
: publisher Virgin BooksVirgin BooksVirgin Books is a United Kingdom book publisher 90% owned by the publishing group Random House, and 10% owned by Virgin Enterprises, the company originally set up by Richard Branson as a record company.-History:...
(1993) - Judge DreddJudge DreddJudge Joseph Dredd is a comics character whose strip in the British science fiction anthology 2000 AD is the magazine's longest running . Dredd is an American law enforcement officer in a violent city of the future where uniformed Judges combine the powers of police, judge, jury and executioner...
: Dread DominionDread DominionDread Dominion is an original novel written by Stephen Marley and based on the long-running British science fiction comic strip Judge Dredd. It is Marley's second Judge Dredd novel.-Synopsis:...
; science fictionScience fictionScience 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...
: publisher Virgin BooksVirgin BooksVirgin Books is a United Kingdom book publisher 90% owned by the publishing group Random House, and 10% owned by Virgin Enterprises, the company originally set up by Richard Branson as a record company.-History:...
(1994) - Doctor WhoDoctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
: ManagraManagraManagra is an original novel written by Stephen Marley and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The novel features the Fourth Doctor and Sarah. The title is an anagram of the word "anagram"....
; science fictionScience fictionScience 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...
: publisher Virgin BooksVirgin BooksVirgin Books is a United Kingdom book publisher 90% owned by the publishing group Random House, and 10% owned by Virgin Enterprises, the company originally set up by Richard Branson as a record company.-History:...
(1995).
Short stories
- Diary of a (Mad?)man prequel story for DreamwebDreamwebDreamweb is a DOS and Amiga parser-free cyberpunk top-down adventure game first released in 1992, then later released on CD in 1994, and developed by Creative Reality and published by Empire Interactive Entertainment....
video game (see also video games) - Bibliophage in Virgin DecalogVirgin DecalogThe Virgin Decalog books were collections of short stories published by Virgin Publishing based on the television series Doctor Who: they gained their name from the fact that each volume contained ten stories...
5 (1997) - Waters-of-Starlight in Virgin DecalogVirgin DecalogThe Virgin Decalog books were collections of short stories published by Virgin Publishing based on the television series Doctor Who: they gained their name from the fact that each volume contained ten stories...
5 (1997) - Count (Baron) Dracula and Baron (Count) Frankenstein in Andromeda Spaceways Inflight MagazineAndromeda Spaceways Inflight MagazineAndromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine or ASIM is a fantasy and science fiction magazine and webzine published out of Glenn Innes, New South Wales, Australia. The publishers of ASIM describe it as "Australia's Pulpiest SF Magazine". The magazine is currently edited by Robbie Matthews and is...
(2010)
Video games
- DreamwebDreamwebDreamweb is a DOS and Amiga parser-free cyberpunk top-down adventure game first released in 1992, then later released on CD in 1994, and developed by Creative Reality and published by Empire Interactive Entertainment....
on PC and Amiga: prequel story published with the game. Developers, Creative Reality; publishers Empire InteractiveEmpire InteractiveEmpire Interactive was a UK based video game developer and publisher founded in 1987. It was closed under administration on 4 May 2009.-About Empire Interactive:...
(1994) - Warhammer: Dark OmenWarhammer: Dark OmenWarhammer: Dark Omen is a real-time tactical wargame and the sequel to Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat. It is a seminal exemplar of a game of the real-time tactics genre. First released for PC, it was later released for the Sony PlayStation...
on PC: dialogue scriptwriter and voice acting direction. Developers, MindscapeMindscapeMindscape is an international software publishing company, previously part of The Learning Company. They are now affiliated with EA . As of 2004, the group has offices in Europe, Asia, Australia and South America. It has an annual turnover of €38 million and employs 150 people. Mindscape...
; publishers Electronic ArtsElectronic ArtsElectronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
(1995) - Martian Gothic aka Martian Gothic: UnificationMartian Gothic: UnificationMartian Gothic: Unification is a survival horror game for the PlayStation and PC. It was developed by Creative Reality and published by Take-Two Interactive. Programmers Neil Dodwell and Martin Wong, designer Stephen Marley, animator David Dew, modelers Julian Holtom and Paul Oglesby, and music &...
on PC and PlayStation: designer, dialogue scriptwriter, voice acting and casting director. Developers, Creative Reality; publishers Take 2 (2001)
External links
- Stephen Marley official website
- 2000 AD profile
- Stephen Marley profile at MobyGamesMobyGames-Platforms not yet included:- Further reading :* Rusel DeMaria, Johnny L. Wilson, High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media; 2 edition , ISBN 0-07-223172-6...