Christopher Rowley (born 1948) is an American writer specializing in the

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 unive ...

and

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 ...

genres. He is also a former journalist and television screenswriter. Christopher Rowley was born in 1948 in Lynn,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, to an American mother and an English father. Educated primarily at Brentwood School, in

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, England, he became a

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

-based journalist in the 1970s. In 1977 he moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and now lives in upstate New York's

Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley (also known as the Hudson River Valley) comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York. The region stretches from the Capital District including Albany and Troy south to ...

. Rowley's first science fiction novel was ''The War for Eternity'', published in 1983, which won the

Compton Crook Award The Compton Crook Award is presented to the best English language first novel of the year in the field of science fiction, fantasy, or horror by the members of the Baltimore Science Fiction Society at their annual science fiction convention, Baltic ...

for best first novel. ''The War for Eternity'' led to three further novels set in the same future: ''The Black Ship'', ''The Founder'', and ''To a Highland Nation''. His novel ''Starhammer'' has been cited by computer programmer Jason Jones as an important literary influence in the creation of the ''

Halo Halo, halos or haloes usually refer to: * Halo (optical phenomenon) * Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head HALO, halo, halos or haloes may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Video games * ''Halo'' (franch ...

'' video game series by

Bungie Bungie, Inc. is an American video game company based in Bellevue, Washington. It is a studio owned by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The company was established in May 1991 by Alex Seropian, who later brought in programmer Jason Jones afte ...

. ''Starhammer'' was followed by ''The Vang: The Military Form'' and ''The Vang: The Battlemaster'' to form a loosely connected trilogy (all published by

Ballantine Books Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann in 1998 and remains ...

) spanning several thousand years and involving different sets of characters in each book. In the 1990s, Rowley switched to the fantasy genre with the success of his first novel for

Roc Books Roc Books is a fantasy imprint of Penguin Group, as part of its New American Library. It was launched in April 1990 after Penguin Chairman Peter Mayer asked John Silbersack, the editor in chief of New American Library's science fiction (SF) prog ...

, ''

Bazil Broketail ''Bazil Broketail'' is a 1992 fantasy novel by author Christopher Rowley, the name of its main character, and the name of the further series of books featuring him. Bazil is a leatherback dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature tha ...

''. This novel was set on the imaginary world Ryetelth and involved the adventures of battledragons and the boys that care for them in the service of the legions of the nine cities of the Argonath. Bazil Broketail's adventures continued with ''Sword for a Dragon'', ''Dragons of War'', ''Battledragon'', ''A Dragon at World's End'', '' Dragons of Argonath'', and ''Dragon Ultimate''. The Ryetelth novels also include a tangential story, told in ''The Wizard and the Floating City'', that interrupted the sequence of Bazil Broketail novels and introduced new characters and a broadening of the conceptual framework of the entire series. In the 1980s and 1990s he also co-wrote two television animated series by

Robert Mandell Robert Mandell is an American animated series and film writer, director and producer. Mandell headed New Frontier Productions/New Frontier Entertainment and Red Sky Entertainment. He is now the head of the company Voyager. Robert Mandell is ...

, ''

The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers ''The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers'' is an American animated space Western television series created by Robert Mandell and Gaylord Entertainment Company. It was broadcast in syndication between 1986 and 1989. The series combines sci-fi s ...

'' and ''

Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders ''Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders'' also known outside of North America as ''Starla & the Jewel Riders'' (and sometimes spelled as the more traditionally Arthurian "Guinevere") is a 1995–1996 American comic fantasy-themed girl audiences ...

''. After the conclusion of the ''Bazil Broketail'' series, he produced the ''Books of Arna'', a trilogy set on Arna, a world colonized by humans in the far future. This series began with ''The Ancient Enemy'', continued with ''The Shasht War'', and concluded with ''Doom's Break''. In February 2009, Rowley's first illustrated novel, titled ''Arkham Woods'', a supernatural tale of horror inspired by the

Cthulhu Mythos The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth August William Derleth (February 24, 1909 – July 4, 1971) was an ...

of H.P. Lovecraft and published by

Seven Seas The "Seven Seas" is a figurative term for all the seas of the known world. The phrase is used in reference to sailors and pirates in the arts and popular culture and can be associated with the Mediterranean Sea, the Arabian Seven Seas east of Afr ...

References

External links

* (2005-2009) *
Christopher Rowley
at ''

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (SFE) is an English language reference work on science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and f ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Rowley, Christopher 1948 births 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American fantasy writers American horror writers American male journalists American male novelists American male screenwriters American science fiction writers American television writers American male television writers Living people People educated at Brentwood School, Essex Novelists from New York (state) 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers Screenwriters from New York (state)