Chris Moriarty (born 1968) is an American

science fiction 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 uni ...

and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving 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 literature and d ...

writer. She has lived in the U.S., Europe, Mexico and Southeast Asia. Before becoming a science fiction writer, she worked as a horse trainer, ranch hand, tourism industry employee, guide and environmental lawyer. She lives in Ithaca, New York. Moriarty is the author of a trilogy of

hard science fiction Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by concern for scientific accuracy and logic. The term was first used in print in 1957 by P. Schuyler Miller in a review of John W. Campbell's ''Islands of Space'' in the Novemb ...

novels set in a distant future where Earth has undergone ecological collapse. Most of humanity has migrated to various planets and space habitats, both in the solar system and around nearby stars such as

Barnard's Star Barnard's Star is a red dwarf about six light-years from Earth in the constellation of Ophiuchus. It is the fourth-nearest-known individual star to the Sun after the three components of the Alpha Centauri system, and the closest star in t ...

and 51 Pegasi. The technologies feature cloning,

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech r ...

s, genetic constructs and use of a material referred to as "

condensate Condensate may refer to: * The liquid phase produced by the condensation of steam or any other gas * The product of a chemical condensation reaction, other than water * Natural-gas condensate, in the natural gas industry * ''Condensate'' (album) ...

" which allows instantaneous communication and teleportation. The trilogy has garnered significant critical acclaim, including nominations for the Philip K. Dick, John Campbell,

Spectrum A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of colors ...

, Prometheus, and

Lambda Lambda (}, ''lám(b)da'') is the 11th letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiced alveolar lateral approximant . In the system of Greek numerals, lambda has a value of 30. Lambda is derived from the Phoenician Lamed . Lambda gave ri ...

Awards. ''Spin Control'' won the 2007

Philip K. Dick Award The Philip K. Dick Award is an American science fiction award given annually at Norwescon and sponsored by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society and (since 2005) the Philip K. Dick Trust. Named after science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, ...

. Moriarty is also the author of two

young adult A young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages of human development significantly influencing the definition of ...

fantasy novels, ''The Inquisitor's Apprentice'' and ''The Watcher in the Shadows''. Her young adult novels feature a Jewish main character and take place on the Lower East Side in an alternate Gilded Age New York. ''The Inquisitor's Apprentice'' was one of Library Journal's Top Ten Children's Books of 2011. Both ''The Inquisitor's Apprentice'' and ''The Watcher in the Shadows'' have been book club selections for PJ Library's program to promote outstanding Jewish children's literature.

Bibliography

Novels

;''Spin'' series * ''Spin State'' (2003)

Bantam Spectra Bantam Spectra is the science fiction division of American publishing company Bantam Books, which is owned by Random House. According to their website, Spectra publishes "science fiction, fantasy, horror, and speculative novels from recogniza ...

* ''Spin Control'' (2006)

* ''Ghost Spin'' (2013)

;''The Inquisitor's Apprentice'' series *''The Inquisitor's Apprentice'' (2011) Houghton Mifflin Harcourt *''The Watcher in the Shadows'' (2013) Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Book reviews

External links

Chris Moriarty
official site * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moriarty, Chris 1968 births 21st-century American novelists American science fiction writers American women novelists Living people Women science fiction and fantasy writers 21st-century American women writers