Django Wexler 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 ...

author. He has published the "

flintlock Flintlock is a general term for any firearm that uses a flint-striking lock (firearm), ignition mechanism, the first of which appeared in Western Europe in the early 16th century. The term may also apply to a particular form of the mechanism its ...

fantasy" series ''The Shadow Campaigns'' (2013–2018), the

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 ...

''Forbidden Library'' fantasy series, and other works.

Career

Wexler obtained degrees in creative writing and computer science from

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, and engaged in post-graduate

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 re ...

research at the university. He later worked as a programmer and writer for

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

before turning to writing fiction full-time.

Work

''The Shadow Campaigns''

Wexler's principal

epic fantasy High fantasy, or epic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy defined by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its characters, themes, or plot.Brian Stableford, ''The A to Z of Fantasy Literature'', (p. 198), Scarecrow Press, Pl ...

series, ''The Shadow Campaigns'', is set in a world resembling Europe and North Africa of the

Napoleonic era The Napoleonic era is a period in the history of France and Europe. It is generally classified as including the fourth and final stage of the French Revolution, the first being the National Assembly, the second being the Legislative ...

. It mainly follows three soldiers of the kingdom of Vordan – Count Janus bet Vhalnich, a character patterned on

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

, Marcus d'Ivoire, a seasoned infantry commander posted to a backwards colony, and Winter Ihernglass, a young woman who disguised herself as a man in order to be able to enlist. As they struggle through Vordan's equivalents of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

and the attendant wars, they also face a supernatural threat in the form of conspiracies fighting for control of the rare remnants of magic still existing in the world. Reviewing the series for

Tor.com ''Tor.com'' is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine published by Tor Books, a division of Macmillan Publishers. The magazine publishes articles, reviews, original short fiction, re-reads and commentary on speculative fiction. From 20 ...

, Stefan Raets described the first novel, ''The Thousand Names'', as a "military fantasy full of spectacular battles" with a large and diverse cast, but criticized Winter's lack of agency. ''The Shadow Throne'' was appreciated by ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' as an "audacious and subversive sequel" and by Liz Bourke at Tor.com as an "immensely entertaining" novel that unlike other male-written fantasy avoided the

grimdark Grimdark is a subgenre of speculative fiction with a tone, style, or setting that is particularly dystopian, amoral, and violent. The term is inspired by the tagline of the tabletop strategy game ''Warhammer 40,000'': "In the grim darkness of t ...

trend and featured a "central, significant,

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...

relationship between two women", but noted that Wexler relied much on coincidences to advance the plot. She also praised the third novel, ''The Price of Valour'', for surpassing its predecessors as an "explosive, action-packed" epic fantasy novel with complex characterization and, again, a wide variety of female characters.

Bibliography

;''The Shadow Campaigns'' series # ''The Thousand Names'', 2013, Roc, # ''The Shadow Throne'', 2014, Roc, # ''The Price of Valor'', 2015, Del Rey, # ''The Guns of Empire'', 2016,

Ace An ace is a playing card, Dice, die or domino with a single Pip (counting), pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit (cards), suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large a ...

, # ''The Infernal Battalion'', 2018, Ace, :Short fiction: :*
The Penitent Damned
, 2013,

io9 ''io9'' is part of Gizmodo media since 2015, and it began as blog launched in 2008 by Gawker Media. The site initially focused on the subjects of science fiction, fantasy, futurism, science, technology and related areas but over the years has ...

:*"The Shadow of Elysium", 2015, InterMix ;''The Forbidden Library'' series # ''The Forbidden Library'' # ''The Mad Apprentice'' # ''The Palace of Glass'' # ''The Fall of the Readers'' ;''John Golden'' series # ''John Golden: Freelance Debugger'' # ''John Golden & the Heroes of Mazaroth'' ;''The Wells of Sorcery'' trilogy # ''Ship of Smoke and Steel'', January 2019, Tor Teen, # ''City of Stone and Silence'', January 2020, Tor Teen, #''Siege of Rage and Ruin'', January 2021, Tor Teen, ;''Burningblade and Silvereye'' series # ''Ashes of the Sun'', July 2020 # ''Blood of the Chosen'', October 2021 ;Other stories *
The Gathering Storm
', June–October 2019, Penguin Random House * ''Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths—Sundered Bond'', April 2020, Penguin Random House * ''Amara Kel’s Rules For TIE Pilot Survival (Probably)'' (short story in ''Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back - From A Certain Point of View''), November 2020, Del Rey

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wexler, Django American fantasy writers American male writers Carnegie Mellon University alumni Microsoft employees Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Living people