Michael Slade (born 1947, in

Lethbridge, Alberta Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 101,482 in its 2019 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian Rocky Mountains contribute to ...

) is the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

of Canadian

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

Jay Clarke, a lawyer who has participated in more than 100 criminal cases and who specializes in

criminal insanity The insanity defense, also known as the mental disorder defense, is an affirmative defense by excuse in a criminal case, arguing that the defendant is not responsible for their actions due to an episodic psychiatric disease at the time of the cri ...

Background

Before Clarke entered law school, his undergraduate studies focused on history."Through the Past...Darkly". (October 2005). Rue Morgue #51. Clarke's writing stems from his experience as a practicing lawyer and historian, as well as his extensive world travel. He works closely with police officers to ensure that his novels incorporate state-of-the-art police techniques.

Career

Writing as a team with a handful of other authors, Clarke has published a series of

police procedurals The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eith ...

about the fictional Special External Section (Special X) of the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

. His novels describe Special X protagonists as they track down fugitives, typically deranged murderers. Four other authors have contributed under the name Michael Slade: John Banks, Jay Clarke, Rebecca Clarke, and Richard Covell. Despite the collaborative nature of the books, Jay Clarke is the predominant voice in their writing. Currently, Jay and his daughter Rebecca write under the Slade name. Slade's novel ''Ghoul'' is on the

Horror Writers Association The Horror Writers Association (HWA) is a worldwide non-profit organization of professional writers and publishing professionals dedicated to promoting the interests of Horror and Dark fantasy writers. Overview HWA was formed in 1985 with t ...

's recommended reading list. His work is published by Penguin. Fans of the series are referred to as ''Sladists'', a play on the word '' sadist''.

Film adaptations

According to a 2008 report on horror movie website Arrow in the Head, ''

Headhunter Headhunter or head hunter may refer to: * Headhunting, hunting a human and collecting the severed head after killing them * Executive search, informally called headhunting, a specialized recruitment service Arts and entertainment Film and telev ...

'' was optioned for a movie by Brightlight Pictures, set to be written by Wil Zmak and directed by

Patrick Lussier Patrick Lussier (born 1964) is a Canadian-American filmmaker and editor, known for his numerous collaborations with director Wes Craven and fellow screenwriters Laeta Kalogridis and Todd Farmer, as well as his work in the Horror film, horror gen ...

. The project appears to have died; as of August 2016, no further details have been released and no information is available from Brightlight's website.

Writing style

Slade writes novels on three concentric levels. At the center of each story is a

whodunit A ''whodunit'' or ''whodunnit'' (a colloquial elision of "Who asdone it?") is a complex plot-driven variety of detective fiction in which the puzzle regarding who committed the crime is the main focus. The reader or viewer is provided with the cl ...

or howdunit. Around that is

psychological horror Psychological horror is a genre, subgenre of horror fiction, horror and psychological fiction with a particular focus on mental, emotional, and Mental state, psychological states to frighten, disturb, or unsettle its audience. The subgenre frequent ...

, through which Slade ventures into the supernatural without leaving the real world.

Police procedure The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eithe ...

is the outer level.

Special X series

As of 2010, Slade has written fourteen novels in the Special X series. # ''Headhunter'' (1984) # ''Ghoul'' (1987) # ''Cutthroat'' (1992) # ''Ripper'' (1994) # ''Zombie'' (aka. Evil Eye) (1996) # ''Shrink'' (aka. Primal Scream) (1998) # ''Burnt Bones'' (1999) # ''Hangman'' (2000) # ''Death's Door'' (2001) # ''Bed of Nails'' (2003) # ''Swastika'' (2005) # ''Kamikaze'' (2006) # ''Crucified'' (2008) # ''Red Snow'' (2010)

References

External links

SpecialX.net: The Michael Slade websiteInterview with Jay and Rebecca Clarke, online at CBC Words at Large (audio)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slade, Michael 1947 births Living people Canadian male novelists Canadian crime fiction writers