William Sleator
Encyclopedia
William Warner Sleator III (February 13, 1945 – August 3, 2011), known as William Sleator, was an American
science fiction
author who wrote primarily young adult
novel
s but also wrote for younger readers. His books typically deal with adolescents coming across a peculiar phenomenon related to an element of theoretical science, then trying to deal with the situation. The theme of family
relationships, especially between siblings, is frequently intertwined with the science fiction plotline.
Due to the suspenseful and often eerie nature of some of his works, Sleator has been compared to young-adult horror
writer R. L. Stine
. Others cite a strong resemblance to the paranoid, dream-like style of Franz Kafka
, which is most notable in House of Stairs
, one of Sleator's most powerful novels.
, Maryland
, the oldest of four siblings, to William Warner Sleator, Jr., a professor of physiology and biophysics, and to Esther Kaplan Sleator, a pediatrician who did pioneering research on attention deficit disorder (ADD). The Sleator family moved to suburban St. Louis
, Missouri
, when Billy, as the family called him, was three. His younger siblings are Vicky Wald, Tycho, and Daniel
. He attended University City High School
, where he was known as a composer who wrote scores for school plays and the orchestra, graduating in 1963.
with a degree in English in 1967, Sleator moved to England, earning money by playing music in ballet schools. Eventually, Sleator returned to the U.S. to write his first novel, Blackbriar, eventually published in 1972, which was based on real life experiences. His first published book, however, was a children's story called The Angry Moon, released in 1970. Sleator's writing has been described as a clean, simple style. His characters are reluctant teenage heroes, and Sleator's younger siblings and friends have often found themselves being written into his prose, as in the semi-autobiographical story collection Oddballs. Elements of Thai culture
also occasionally turn up in his stories. His 2009 short story, "Lep" appears in the anthology
How Beautiful the Ordinary: Twelve Stories of Identity
and is from a young gay Thai man's perspective.
, and a small village in rural Thailand
. His companion Siang Chitsa-Ard had died in 2008, and his preceding partner Paul Peter Rhode had died in 1999. He died on August 3, 2011, in Bua Chet, Thailand.
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...
author who wrote primarily young adult
Young adult literature
Young-adult fiction or young adult literature , also juvenile fiction, is fiction written for, published for, or marketed to adolescents and young adults, roughly ages 14 to 21. The Young Adult Library Services of the American Library Association defines a young adult as "someone between the...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s but also wrote for younger readers. His books typically deal with adolescents coming across a peculiar phenomenon related to an element of theoretical science, then trying to deal with the situation. The theme of family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
relationships, especially between siblings, is frequently intertwined with the science fiction plotline.
Due to the suspenseful and often eerie nature of some of his works, Sleator has been compared to young-adult horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
writer R. L. Stine
R. L. Stine
Robert Lawrence Stine , known as R. L. Stine, and Jovial Bob Stine, is an American writer. Stine, who is called the "Stephen King of children's literature," is the author of hundreds of horror fiction novels, including the books in the Fear Street, Goosebumps, Rotten School, Mostly Ghostly, and The...
. Others cite a strong resemblance to the paranoid, dream-like style of Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka was a culturally influential German-language author of short stories and novels. Contemporary critics and academics, including Vladimir Nabokov, regard Kafka as one of the best writers of the 20th century...
, which is most notable in House of Stairs
House of Stairs (William Sleator novel)
House of Stairs is a science fiction novel by William Sleator.Set in a dystopian America in the near future, the story tells of the experiences of five 16-year-olds who were living in orphanages who wake up to find themselves in a strange building that has no walls, no ceiling, and no floor:...
, one of Sleator's most powerful novels.
Early life
Sleator was born in Havre de GraceHavre de Grace, Maryland
Havre de Grace is a city in Harford County, Maryland, United States. Located at the mouth of the Susquehanna River and the head of the Chesapeake Bay, Havre de Grace is named after the port city of Le Havre, France, which was first named Le Havre de Grâce, meaning in French "Harbor of Grace." As...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, the oldest of four siblings, to William Warner Sleator, Jr., a professor of physiology and biophysics, and to Esther Kaplan Sleator, a pediatrician who did pioneering research on attention deficit disorder (ADD). The Sleator family moved to suburban St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, when Billy, as the family called him, was three. His younger siblings are Vicky Wald, Tycho, and Daniel
Daniel Sleator
Daniel Dominic Kaplan Sleator is a professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University. He discovered amortized analysis and he invented many data structures with Robert Tarjan, such as splay trees, link/cut trees, and skew heaps. He also pioneered the theory of link grammars and developed...
. He attended University City High School
University City High School (St. Louis)
University City High School is located in University City, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. As of 2009, 1,041 students were enrolled at the school.-Football:...
, where he was known as a composer who wrote scores for school plays and the orchestra, graduating in 1963.
Career
After graduating from Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
with a degree in English in 1967, Sleator moved to England, earning money by playing music in ballet schools. Eventually, Sleator returned to the U.S. to write his first novel, Blackbriar, eventually published in 1972, which was based on real life experiences. His first published book, however, was a children's story called The Angry Moon, released in 1970. Sleator's writing has been described as a clean, simple style. His characters are reluctant teenage heroes, and Sleator's younger siblings and friends have often found themselves being written into his prose, as in the semi-autobiographical story collection Oddballs. Elements of Thai culture
Culture of Thailand
The Culture of Thailand incorporates cultural beliefs and characteristics indigenous to the area known as modern day Thailand coupled with much influence from ancient India, China, Cambodia, along with the neighbouring pre-historic cultures of Southeast Asia...
also occasionally turn up in his stories. His 2009 short story, "Lep" appears in the anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
How Beautiful the Ordinary: Twelve Stories of Identity
How Beautiful the Ordinary
How Beautiful the Ordinary: Twelve Stories of Identity is an anthology of LGBTQ short stories for young adults edited by American author Michael Cart. It was first published in 2009...
and is from a young gay Thai man's perspective.
Personal life
Sleator split his time between homes in Boston, MassachusettsMassachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, and a small village in rural Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. His companion Siang Chitsa-Ard had died in 2008, and his preceding partner Paul Peter Rhode had died in 1999. He died on August 3, 2011, in Bua Chet, Thailand.
Works
- The Angry Moon (1970)
- Blackbriar (1972)
- Run (1973)
- House of StairsHouse of Stairs (William Sleator novel)House of Stairs is a science fiction novel by William Sleator.Set in a dystopian America in the near future, the story tells of the experiences of five 16-year-olds who were living in orphanages who wake up to find themselves in a strange building that has no walls, no ceiling, and no floor:...
(1974) - Among the Dolls (1975)
- Into the Dream (1979)
- Once, Said Darlene (1979)
- The Green Futures of TychoThe Green Futures of TychoThe Green Futures of Tycho is a 1981 science fiction novel for young audiences by William Sleator. The book explores the effect of excessive parent expectations on the future of their children.-Plot summary:...
(1981) - That's Silly (1981)
- Fingers (1983)
- Interstellar PigInterstellar PigInterstellar Pig, published in 1984 by Bantam Books, is a science fiction novel for young adults written by William Sleator. It was listed as an ALA Notable Book, a SLJ Best Book of the Year, and a Junior Literary Guild Selection.-Plot introduction:...
(1984) - SingularitySingularity (William Sleator novel)Singularity, published in 1985 by E P Dutton, is a science fiction novel for young adults written by William Sleator. It was listed as a YALSA Best Book for Young Adults, A Junior Library Guild Selection, and was a Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award Nominee...
(1985) - The Boy Who Reversed HimselfThe Boy Who Reversed HimselfThe Boy Who Reversed Himself is a science fiction novel by William Sleator. The novel deals with an exploration into other dimensions, and provides a journey into the world beyond our own.- Plot summary:...
(1986) - The DuplicateThe DuplicateThe Duplicate, published in 1988, is a science fiction novel for young adults written by William Sleator.- Plot summary :The main character, David, finds a device at the beach that can duplicate any living organism...
(1988) - Strange Attractors (1989)
- The Spirit House (1991)
- Others See Us (1993)
- Oddballs (1993) (story collection)
- The Elevator (1993) (story collection)
- Dangerous Wishes (1995)
- The Night the Heads Came (1996)
- The Beasties (1997)
- The Boxes (1998)
- RewindRewind (William Sleator novel)Rewind is a science fiction novel written in 1999 by William Sleator. It explores maturity and self confidence.- Plot summary :The main character is Peter, an 11-year-old boy. The stage is first set at his funeral, where he recalls that he was killed by his neighbor's car. Then he hears a...
(1999) - Boltzmon! (1999)
- Marco's MillionsMarco's millionsMarco's Millions is a science fiction novel by William Sleator. It is a prequel to the main book, The Boxes.- Plot introduction :...
(2001) - Parasite Pig (2002)
- The Boy Who Couldn't Die (2004)
- The Last Universe (2005)
- Hell Phone (2006)
- Test (2008)
- Monster (2009)
- The Phantom Limb (2011)
External links
- William Sleator's page maintained by his brother Daniel
- The complete text of Oddballs on Daniel Sleator's site