Lucius Shepard facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lucius Shepard
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Lucius Shepard, Utopiales 2011
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| Born | August 21, 1943 Lynchburg, Virginia, USA
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| Died | March 18, 2014 (aged 70) Portland, Oregon, USA
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Lucius Shepard (born August 21, 1943 – died March 18, 2014) was an American writer. He was known for his exciting science fiction and fantasy stories. Sometimes, his writing also included elements of magical realism, which blends real-world settings with magical or dreamlike events.
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Lucius Shepard's Writing Career
Lucius Shepard was born in Lynchburg, Virginia in 1943. He started writing short stories in 1983. His first novel, Green Eyes, came out in 1984. At that time, people thought he was part of the cyberpunk writing style.
Shepard began writing later in life. Before becoming a writer, he had many different jobs. He even played rock and roll music in the Midwest. He also traveled a lot across Europe and Asia. A book reviewer named Algis Budrys praised Shepard's writing. He said Shepard had a "narrative style that comes only from a profound love and respect for the language."
Awards and Recognition
Lucius Shepard won several awards for his science fiction work:
- In 1985, he won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. This award is given to promising new science fiction and fantasy writers.
- In 1986, his story "R&R" won a Nebula Award for best novella. A novella is a story that is longer than a short story but shorter than a novel. This story later became part of his 1987 novel, Life During Wartime.
- Life During Wartime won the Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis in Germany in 1990.
- His novella "Barnacle Bill the Spacer" won a Hugo Award in 1993. The Hugo Award is one of the most famous awards in science fiction and fantasy.
- His poem "White Trains" won the Rhysling Award in 1988.
- Two of his short story collections won the World Fantasy Award for best collection: The Jaguar Hunter in 1988 and The Ends of the Earth Collection in 1992.
- His novella "Vacancy" won a Shirley Jackson Award in 2008.
Lucius Shepard lived in Portland, Oregon for some time.
Themes and Evolution in Shepard's Work
Shepard explored many different ideas in his stories throughout his career.
Early Stories: Focus on Central America
In his early writing, he often wrote about Central America. These stories included science fiction tales about high-tech jungle wars in the near future. Examples are "R&R" and "Salvador". He also wrote stories that felt more like magic realism.
Many of these stories, like "Black Coral" and "The Jaguar Hunter", looked at cultural differences. "Black Coral" is about an American living on an island near Honduras. "The Jaguar Hunter" tells the story of a man who must hunt a mythical black jaguar. This jaguar is sacred to his people. Shepard traveled a lot in Central America and even lived there for a while.
Later Work and New Interests
Shepard stopped writing fiction for much of the 1990s. He started writing again near the end of that decade. One of his works from this time was the novella Radiant Green Star. It won a Locus Award for Best Novella in 2001.
Even though he still wrote some Central American stories, Shepard's interests began to shift. He published two short novels, "A Handbook of American Prayer" and "Viator", both set in North America. He also wrote many stories where the culture and location were less important. Instead, he focused on bigger questions, such as the idea of justice in society. His novella "Jailwise" is a good example of this.
Much of Shepard's later work was non-fiction, meaning it was based on real facts. He researched the Freight Train Riders of America. He even spent time riding trains with them. He wrote both fiction and non-fiction based on these experiences. He was also a regular movie reviewer for The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction and electricstory.com. His reviews often showed that he was not very impressed with American movies at the time.
Fellow author James Patrick Kelly said that Shepard loved sports. He often used exciting moments from sports as ideas for his writing.
In the summer of 2008, Shepard moved to Neuchatel, Switzerland. He went there to work on several movie scripts. He also served on the jury for the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival (NIFFF) with American director Joe Dante.
Lucius Shepard passed away in March 2014 at the age of 70. He died from problems related to a stroke.
Work available online
- The Jaguar Hunter
- The Night of White Bhairab
See also
In Spanish: Lucius Shepard para niños
