Alexander Christian Irvine (born March 22, 1969) is an American

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

and

sci-fi Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universe ...

author.

Biography

Irvine was born on March 22, 1969. Irvine first gained attention with his

Locus Award The Locus Awards are an annual set of literary awards voted on by readers of the science fiction and fantasy magazine ''Locus'', a monthly magazine based in Oakland, California. The awards are presented at an annual banquet. In addition to the pl ...

-winning 2002 novel ''A Scattering of Jades'' (which also won the

Crawford Award :::''See also'' Crawford Medal The IAFA William L. Crawford Fantasy Award (short: Crawford award) is a literary award given to a writer whose first fantasy book was published during the preceding 18 months. It's one of several awards presented by ...

in 2003) and the stories that would form the 2003 collection ''Unintended Consequences''. He has also published the

Grail Quest The Holy Grail (french: Saint Graal, br, Graal Santel, cy, Greal Sanctaidd, kw, Gral) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miracul ...

novel ''One King, One Soldier'' (2004), and the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

-era historical fantasy ''The Narrows'' (2005). He released a collection of thirteen short stories called ''Pictures from an Expedition'' in 2006. ''Buyout,'' a novel set in 2041, was published by

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

in 2009. In addition to his original works, Irvine has published ''Have Robot, Will Travel'' (2004), a novel set in

Isaac Asimov yi, יצחק אזימאװ , birth_date = , birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR , spouse = , relatives = , children = 2 , death_date = , death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. , nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...

positronic robot A positronic brain is a fictional technological device, originally conceived by science fiction writer Isaac Asimov. It functions as a central processing unit (CPU) for robots, and, in some unspecified way, provides them with a form of conscio ...

milieu; and ''Batman: Inferno'' (2006), about the

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

. His novel ''

The Ultimates The Ultimates is a superhero comic book series published by Marvel Comics and created by writer Mark Millar and artist Bryan Hitch, which first started publication from ''The Ultimates'' #1 (March 2002), as part of the company's Ultimate Marvel i ...

: Against All Enemies'', about the

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

superhero team The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

was published by

Pocket Books Pocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster that primarily publishes paperback books. History Pocket Books produced the first mass-market, pocket-sized paperback books in the United States in early 1939 and revolutionized the publishing in ...

in September 2007. He also wrote the ''

Vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...

Encyclopedia''.Alex Irvine talks us through our case of Vertigo

Forbidden Planet ''Forbidden Planet'' is a 1956 American science fiction film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, produced by Nicholas Nayfack, and directed by Fred M. Wilcox (director), Fred M. Wilcox from a script by Cyril Hume that was based on an original film story ...

blog, November 14, 2008 As well as writing about comics he has written a number of comic book series, including one featuring

Daimon Hellstrom Daimon Hellstrom, also known as the Son of Satan and Hellstorm, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Daimon made his live-action debut in the Hulu television series '' Helstrom'', played by Tom ...

for the

imprint MAX, ''

Daredevil Noir ''Marvel Noir'' is a 2009/2010 Marvel Comics alternative continuity combining elements of film noir and pulp fiction with the Marvel Universe. The central premise of the mini-series replaces super powers with driven, noir-flavored characteriza ...

'', and " Iron Man: The Rapture." He has worked on Alternate Reality Games including '' The Beast'' and ''

I Love Bees ''I Love Bees'' (also known as ''ilovebees'' or ''ILB'' for short) was an alternate reality game (ARG) that served as both a real-world experience and viral marketing campaign for the release of developer Bungie's 2004 video game ''Halo 2''. The ...

'' and is the writer of the Facebook game '' Marvel: Avengers Alliance''. Irvine has a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

(1991), an M.A. from the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universities, flagshi ...

(1996), and a Ph.D. from the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private university, private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Mountain States, Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is ...

(2003). From 2005-11, he was an assistant professor of English at the University of Maine. He also worked for a time as a reporter at the

Portland Phoenix Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

. He is married with twins, a boy and girl, and two younger children. He was until recently a professor at the

University of Southern Maine The University of Southern Maine (USM) is a public university with campuses in Portland, Gorham and Lewiston in the U.S. state of Maine. It is the southernmost of the University of Maine System. It was founded as two separate state universitie ...

. Irvine appeared on ''

Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given genera ...

'' in 2015, winning one day to win $26,000.

Bibliography

Novels

*''A Scattering of Jades'' (2002, ) *''One King, One Soldier'' (2004, ) *''The Narrows'' (2005, ) *''The Life of Riley'' (2005, ) *''Buyout'' (2009, ) * * ;Licensed work *''Have Robot, Will Travel'' (2004, ) *''Batman: Inferno'' (October 2006, ) *''

: Against All Enemies'' (2007, ) *''The

Supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

Book of Monsters, Spirits, Demons, and Ghouls'' (September 2007, ) *''Supernatural: John Winchester's Journal'' (February 2009, ) *''Iron Man: Virus'' (January 2010) *'' Iron Man 2 - The Novelization'' (April 2010, ) *'' Transformers: Exodus'' (June 2010, ) *'' Transformers: Exiles'' (2011) *''The Seal of Karga Kul: A Dungeons & Dragons Novel'' (December 2010) *'' Star Wars: Mandorla'' (Cancelled) *''The Adventures of Tintin: A Novel (Movie Tie-In)'' (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (November 2011, ) *''The Secret Journal of Ichabod Crane'' (2014, ) *'' Pacific Rim - The Novelization'' (2013) *''Phase One: Captain America: The First Avenger'' (2014, ) *''Phase One: Iron Man'' (2014, ) *'' Batman: Arkham Knight - The Riddler's Gambit'' (''Prequel to Batman: Arkham Knight)'' (June 2015, ) *'' Marvel Superheroes: Secret Wars'' (2015, ) *''Phase One: Marvel's The Avengers'' (2015, ) *''Phase One: The Incredible Hulk'' (2015, ) *''Phase One: Thor'' (2015, ) *''Phase Two: Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy'' (2015, ) *'' Independence Day: Resurgence: The Novelization'' (2016, ) *'' Tom Clancy's The Division: New York Collapse'' (2016, ) *''Phase Two: Marvel's Ant-Man'' (2016, ) *'' Power Rangers: The Official Movie Novelization'' (2017) *'' Pacific Rim: Uprising - The Novelization'' (2018, ) *''Tom Clancy's The Division: Broken Dawn'' (2019, )

Short fiction

;Stories

Comics

*'' Hellstorm: Son of Satan -- Equinox'' #1-5 (art by

Russell Braun Russell Braun (born 19 July 1965) is a Canadian operatic lyric baritone and Juno Award winner. Much sought-after as a soloist and for opera roles, Russell Braun performs regularly at the Metropolitan Opera, the Salzburg Festival, the Lyric ...

) (

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...

MAX, October 2006-February 2007) *'' Daredevil Noir: Liar's Poker'' #1-4 (art by

Tomm Coker Tomm Coker, also known as Thomas L. Coker (born November 3, 1972), is an American comic book artist and film director/writer. Career Coker's career started in the early nineties drawing comic books for Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Marvel Com ...

) (Marvel, April–July 2009) *''The Murder of King Tut'' #1-5 (adapted from the novel by James Patterson, art by Christopher Mitten and

Ron Randall Ron Randall (born November 22, 1956) is an Americans, American comic book creator, comic book artist best known as the creator of the character Trekker (comics), Trekker. Career A graduate of The Kubert School, Ron Randall's first published com ...

) (IDW, June–October 2010) *''Iron Man: The Rapture'' #1-4 (art by Lan Medina) (Marvel Knights, November 2010-January 2011) * ''Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Sun'' #1-5 (art by Peter Bergting) (IDW, January 2011-May 2011) **''Dark Sun: Ianto's Tomb'' (August 14, 2012, ) *''Deus Ex: The Children's Crusade'' #1-5 (art by John Aggs) (Titan, February–June 2016) *''Deus Ex Universe: The Dawning Darkness'' (art by John Aggs) (Titan, August 2016)

Non-fiction

* *''The Comic Book Story of Baseball: The Heroes, Hustlers, and History-making Swings (and Misses) of America's National Pastime'' (art by

and C.P. Smith) (Ten-Speed Press, 2019, )

Screenwriting

* '' Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' (2015)

Awards and honors

As listed in ''

Contemporary Authors ''Contemporary Authors'' is a reference work which has been published by Gale since 1962. It provides short biographies and bibliographies of contemporary and near-contemporary writers. ''Contemporary Authors'' does not have selective inclusion cr ...

''. *Lennie Isaacs Memorial Award, Clarion Writer's Workshop, 1993 *Steve Grady Poetry Award,

, 1995 *Albert Morton Turner Essay Prize, University of Maine, 1995 *Technology in the First-Year English Classroom Award, University of Denver, 1999 *Travel and dissertation research grant, ColRoMorA Family Foundation, 1999 *Best Web site of the Year, ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'', for '' The Beast'', 2001 *Best Ideas of the Year, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', for ''The Beast'', 2001 *Pushcart Prize nomination for "Snapdragons", 2002 * Best First Novel, ''

Locus Locus (plural loci) is Latin for "place". It may refer to: Entertainment * Locus (comics), a Marvel Comics mutant villainess, a member of the Mutant Liberation Front * ''Locus'' (magazine), science fiction and fantasy magazine ** ''Locus Award' ...

'', for ''A Scattering of Jades'', 2003 *Best First Novel, International Horror Guild, for ''A Scattering of Jades'', 2003 *Crawford Award for best first novel, for ''A Scattering of Jades'', 2003 *International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts, for ''A Scattering of Jades'', 2003 *New England Press Award for investigative journalism, 2004 *

International Game Developers Association The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) is a nonprofit professional association whose stated mission is to "support and empower game developers around the world in achieving fulfilling and sustainable careers." The IGDA is incorpo ...

award for innovation, for ''

'', 2005 *Critic's choice award, 48-hour Film Project, for "Music Box", 2006 *Year's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy, for "Wizard's Six", 2007

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Irvine, Alexander C. 1969 births Living people 21st-century American novelists American comics writers American fantasy writers American male novelists Jeopardy! contestants The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction people People from Ypsilanti, Michigan Novelists from Maine Novelists from Michigan University of Michigan alumni 21st-century American male writers