Ian Irvine facts for kids

Ian Irvine (born in 1950) is an Australian author. He writes exciting fantasy stories and eco-thrillers. He is also a marine scientist. This means he studies the ocean and its environment.

So far, Ian Irvine has written 27 novels. These include fantasy books, eco-thrillers, and books for children. His books have been published in at least 12 different countries. He continues to write full-time.

Ian Irvine's Career and Life

Ian Irvine was born in Bathurst, Australia, in 1950. He went to Chevalier College and the University of Sydney. There, he earned a special degree called a PhD in marine science. He studied how to manage polluted areas in the ocean.

In 1986, Ian Irvine started his own company. It helped protect the environment. He worked in many countries across Asia and the Pacific. These include Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, and the Philippines. He also helped create Australia's rules for protecting the ocean. He even wrote important guidelines for cleaning up ocean areas in 2009.

In 1987, Ian Irvine started writing his first big series, The View from the Mirror. He wrote these books in his free time. He was still working full-time as an environmental scientist. The first book came out in 1998. Since then, he has been a full-time author. He still does some environmental work when he has time.

Ian Irvine is married and has four grown-up children. He lives in the mountains of northern New South Wales, Australia.

Ian Irvine's Books

Ian Irvine has written 27 novels. These include fantasy, eco-thrillers, and books for children. His books are published in many countries. Some of these are Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Russia.

Books for Older Readers

The Three Worlds Cycle Series

Ian Irvine's most popular books are in his Three Worlds fantasy series. This series has sold over a million copies around the world! It includes The View from the Mirror, The Well of Echoes, and The Song of the Tears.

The series has eleven books. They are set on three connected worlds: Santhenar, Aachan, and Tallallame. The stories are about four types of humans. They must fight to survive. These groups are old humans, Aachim, Faellem, and Charon. The View from the Mirror series is also available as audiobooks.

Here is a list of the books in the Three Worlds Cycle series:

• The View from the Mirror Quartet
  • A Shadow on the Glass (1998)
  • The Tower on the Rift (1998)
  • Dark is the Moon (1999)
  • The Way Between the Worlds (1999)
• The Well of Echoes Quartet
  • Geomancer (2001)
  • Tetrarch (2002)
  • Scrutator / Alchymist (UK title) (2003)
  • Chimaera (2004)
• The Song of the Tears Trilogy
  • Torments of the Traitor / The Fate of the Fallen (UK title) (2006)
  • The Curse on the Chosen (2007)
  • The Destiny of the Dead (January 2008)
• Short Stories Collection
  • A Wizard's War and Other Stories (2015)
• The Gates of Good and Evil Quartet
  • The Summon Stone (2016)
  • The Fatal Gate (2017)
  • The Perilous Tower (2020)
  • The Sapphire Portal (2020)

Other Books for Adults

Ian Irvine also wrote an eco-thriller series called The Human Rites Trilogy. These books are The Last Albatross, Terminator Gene, and The Life Lottery. They explore a future world where climate change is causing big problems. They show how climate change affects politics, money, and daily life.

These books were first published between 2000 and 2003. Some events described in the books, like a huge hurricane hitting New Orleans, have actually happened since then. Newer versions of these books were published in Australia between 2008 and 2010.

Irvine has also written two shorter stories called novellas. Poisoned Chalice was published in 2000. Tribute to Hell was published in 2010. He has also written books about how to be a successful author.

Books for Children

Before writing for kids, Ian Irvine published 11 books for adults. In 2006, he started his first children's series, Runcible Jones. This series has four books for kids aged 10 and up. The titles are:

• Runcible Jones: The Gate to Nowhere (2006)
• Runcible Jones: The Buried City (2007)
• Runcible Jones: The Frozen Compass (2008)
• Runcible Jones: The Backwards Hourglass (2010)

His second children's series is The Sorcerer's Tower. This series has four short books for younger readers, starting from age eight. They were published in 2008. An Australian artist named D. M. Cornish drew black and white pictures for them. The first book in this series is Thorn Castle.

After that, he wrote the Grim and Grimmer series. These are four funny fantasy novels published in 2010 and 2011.

Many of Ian Irvine's books, for both kids and adults, are now available as ebooks. He has also made "book trailers" for some of his books. These are like movie trailers and can be found on YouTube.

Awards and Recognitions

Ian Irvine's books have won or been recognized for several awards:

• A Shadow on the Glass: Was a finalist for the Aurealis Award for best fantasy novel (1998). It was also listed as one of ScienceFiction.com's Best of 2001.
• The Tower on the Rift: Listed in the Sydney Morning Herald's Best Books of 1998. Also listed in ScienceFiction.com’s Best of 2001.
• The Last Albatross: Listed in The Australian's Best of Summer Reading (2000).
• Terminator Gene: Was a finalist for the Aurealis Award for best Science Fiction Novel (2003).
• Scrutator: Received an Honourable Mention for the Aurealis Award for best fantasy novel (2003). Listed in the Sydney Morning Herald's Best Books of 2003.
• Chimaera: Listed in the Sydney Morning Herald's Best Books of 2004.
• The Art & Science of Book Promotion: A chapter from this book won the 2007 Eppie Award for best non-fiction book.
• The Sorcerer's Tower: Was a finalist for the 2008 Aurealis Award for best children's novel.

Interviews

You can find interviews with Ian Irvine online:

• Interview on wotmania.com
• Interview at SFFWorld.com
• Interview by Nalini Haynes of Dark Matter Zine, October 2011