British botanist and science fiction author (born 1955)
Paul McAuley at Worldcon 2005 in Glasgow
Paul J. McAuley (born 23 April 1955) is a British botanist and science fiction author. A biologist by training, McAuley writes mostly hard science fiction . His novels dealing with themes such as biotechnology , alternative history /alternative reality, and space travel .
McAuley began with far-future space opera Four Hundred Billion Stars , its sequel Eternal Light , and the planetary-colony adventure Of the Fall . Red Dust , set on a far-future Mars colonized by the Chinese, is a planetary romance featuring many emerging technologies and SF motifs: nanotechnology , biotechnology , artificial intelligence , personality downloads, virtual reality . The Confluence series, set in an even more distant future (about ten million years from now), is one of a number of novels to use Frank J. Tipler 's Omega Point Theory (that the universe seems to be evolving toward a maximum degree of complexity and consciousness) as one of its themes.[ 1]
About the same time, he published Pasquale's Angel , set in an alternative Italian Renaissance and featuring Niccolò Machiavegli (Machiavelli) and Leonardo da Vinci as major characters.
McAuley has also used biotechnology and nanotechnology themes in near-future settings: Fairyland describes a dystopian, war-torn Europe where genetically engineered "dolls" are used as disposable slaves. Since 2001 he has produced several SF-based techno-thrillers such as The Secret of Life , Whole Wide World , and White Devils .
Four Hundred Billion Stars , his first novel, won the Philip K. Dick Award in 1988.[ 2] Fairyland won the 1996 Arthur C. Clarke Award [ 3] and the 1997 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best SF Novel.[ 4] "The Temptation of Dr. Stein", won the British Fantasy Award . Pasquale's Angel won the Sidewise Award for Alternate History (Long Form).
Bibliography
Novels
Red Dust . London: Gollancz, 1993. ISBN 0-575-05488-3
Pasquale's Angel . London: Gollancz, 1994. ISBN 0-575-05489-1 — Clarke and British Fantasy Awards nominee, 1995,[ 5] Sidewise Award winner
Fairyland . London: Gollancz, 1995. ISBN 0-575-06070-0 — BSFA Award nominee, 1995;[ 5] Clarke Award winner, 1996;[ 3] Campbell Award winner, 1997[ 4]
The Secret of Life . London: Voyager, 2001. ISBN 0-00-225904-4 — BSFA Award nominee, 2001;[ 6] Clarke Award nominee, 2002[ 7]
Whole Wide World . London: Voyager, 2002. ISBN 0-00-225903-6
White Devils . London: Simon & Schuster, 2004. ISBN 0-7432-3885-0 — Campbell Award nominee, 2005[ 8]
Mind's Eye . London: Simon & Schuster, 2005. ISBN 0-7432-3887-7 — Campbell Award nominee, 2006[ 9]
Players . London: Simon & Schuster, 2007. ISBN 0-7432-7617-5
Cowboy Angels . London: Gollancz, 2007. ISBN 978-0-575-07934-2
Austral : London: Gollancz, 2017. ISBN 978-1473217317
War of the Maps . London: Gollancz, 2020. ISBN 978-1473217348
Beyond the Burn Line . London: Gollancz, 2022. ISBN 978-1399603713
Four Hundred Billion Stars series
Four hundred billion stars . London: Gollancz. 1988. [Philip K. Dick Award winner, 1988][ 2]
Secret Harmonies . London: Gollancz, 1989. ISBN 0-575-04580-9 . (Published in the United States as Of the Fall )
Eternal Light . London: Gollancz, 1991. ISBN 0-575-04931-6 — BSFA Award nominee , 1991[ 10] and Clarke Award nominee, 1992 [ 11]
The Confluence series
The Quiet War series
The Quiet War : London, Gollancz, 2008. ISBN 978-0-575-07933-5 — Clarke Award nominee, 2009[ 13]
Gardens of the Sun . London: Gollancz, 2009. ISBN 978-0-575-07937-3
In the Mouth of the Whale . London: Gollancz, 2012. ISBN 978-0-575-10073-2
Evening's Empires : London, Gollancz, 2013. ISBN 978-0-575-10079-4 [ 14]
Stories from the Quiet War (2011), a collection of five stories:
"Making History", first published in 2000
"Incomers", first published in 2008
"Second Skin", first published in 1997 in Asimov's
"Reef", first published in 2000
"Karyl's War", first published in this collection
Blade and Bone (2023) (novella)
The Jackaroo series
Something Coming Through : London, Gollancz, 2015.[ 15]
Into Everywhere . London: Gollancz, 2016.[ 15]
Dust (short story) (2006)
Winning Peace (short story) (2007)
City of the Dead (short story) (2008)
Adventure (short story) (2008)
Crimes and Glory (short story) (2009)
Bruce Springsteen (short story) (2012)
The Man (short story) (2012)
Something Happened Here, But We're Not Quite Sure What It Was (short story) (2016)
Maryon's Gift (short story) (2022)
Short fiction
Collections
The King of the Hill
Karl and the Ogre
Transcendence
The Temporary King
Exiles
Little Ilya and Spider and Box
The Airs of Earth
The Heirs of Earth
The Invisible Country . London: Gollancz, 1996. ISBN 0-575-06072-7 — Philip K. Dick Award nominee, 1998[ 16]
Gene Wars (1991)
Prison Dreams
Recording Angel (1995)
Dr. Luther's Assistant
The Temptation of Dr Stein (1996)[ a]
Children of the Revolution
The True History of Doctor Pretorius
Slaves
The Two Dicks
Residuals
17
All Tomorrow's Parties
Interstitial
How We Lost the Moon, a True Story by Frank W. Allen
Under Mars
Danger: Hard Hack Area
The Madness of Crowds
The Secret of My Success
The Proxy
I Spy
The Rift
Alien TV
Before the Flood
A Very British History
Cross Roads Blues
A Very British History . Harrogate: PS Publishing, 2013.[ 17] [ 18]
Little Ilya and Spider and Box
The Temporary King
Cross Roads Blues
Gene Wars
Prison Dreams
Children of the Revolution
Recording Angel
Second Skin
All Tomorrow's Parties
17
Sea Change, With Monsters
How We Lost the Moon, A True Story by Frank W. Allen
A Very British History
The Two Dicks
Meat
Rocket Boy
The Thought War
City of the Dead
Little Lost Robot
Shadow Life
The Choice
Stories[ b]
Title
Year
First published
Reprinted/collected
Notes
Making history
2000
Making history . Harrogate: PS Publishing, 2000. ISBN 1-902880-08-0
Novella
The eye of the tyger
2003
The eye of the tyger . Tolworth, Surrey: Telos Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1-903889-24-3 (a Doctor Who novella )
Novella
The choice
2011
"The choice". Asimov's Science Fiction . February 2011.
The Jackaroo series
Antarctica starts here
2012
"Antarctica starts here". Asimov's Science Fiction . 36 (10&11): 48–56. October–November 2012.
Wild honey
2015
McAuley, Paul (August 2015). "Wild honey". Asimov's Science Fiction . 39 (8): 36–45.
Gravesend, or, everyday life in the Anthropocene
2023
Gravesend, or, Everyday Life in the Anthropocene (2023)
Novella
"A Brief Guide To Other Histories"
"Dead Men Walking". Asimov's Science Fiction . 30 (3): 80–93. March 2006.[ 19]
"Edna Sharrow"
"Inheritance"
"Planet of Fear" (2015) in Old Venus (anthology)[ 20]
"Rocket Boy"
Set in the Jackaroo universe:
"Winning Peace" (2016), in the collection Galactic Empires by Neil Clarke .
"Something Happened Here, But We're Not Quite Sure What It Was" (2016), published as a freebie on Tor.com.[ 21]
Non-fiction
McAuley, Paul (2014). Brazil . BFI Film Classics. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Critical studies and reviews of McAuley's work
Spinrad, Norman (April–May 2013). "Doors to anywhere". On Books. Asimov's Science Fiction . 37 (4&5): 183–191. Reviews Cowboy Angels .
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Bibliography notes
^ Set in the same timeline than Pasquale's Angel (1994).
^ Short stories unless otherwise noted.
References
External links
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