Russell Kirkpatrick (born 1961) is a New Zealand novelist, geography lecturer, mapmaker and photographer. He has contributed to a number of notable atlases, and since 2004 has completed two fantasy trilogies. He is a three-time winner of the award for best novel (adult category) at New Zealand's

Sir Julius Vogel Awards The Sir Julius Vogel Awards are awarded each year at the New Zealand National Science Fiction Convention to recognise achievement in New Zealand science fiction, fantasy, horror, and science fiction fandom. They are commonly referred to as the ' ...

. His books were first published in Australia and in the mid-2010s he moved to

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

, where () he now lectures at the University of Canberra.

Life and career

Kirkpatrick was born in Christchurch in 1961, and lived there until 1999, when he and his family moved to

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

. He became interested in maps and mapmaking at primary school, and in the 1990s was noted as having New Zealand's largest collection of

Lego Lego ( , ; stylized as LEGO) is a line of plastic construction toys that are manufactured by The Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of variously colored interlocking ...

. He holds a PhD in geography from the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

, obtained in 1991, and lectured at the University of Waikato in Hamilton from 2000 until 2014. he was based in

, Australia, and working as a sessional lecturer at the University of Canberra. Of his passion for maps, Kirkpatrick has said: He has worked on a number of

atlases An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geographic ...

, including as deputy editor of the ''New Zealand Historical Atlas'' (1998), which won the readers' choice award at the 1998

Montana Book Awards The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are literary awards presented annually in New Zealand. The awards began in 1996 as the merger of two literary awards events: the New Zealand Book Awards, which ran from 1976 to 1995, and the Goodman Fielder W ...

, and as author of the ''Contemporary Atlas of New Zealand'' (1999), which had sold more than 20,000 copies . His 2000 work ''Degrees of Deprivation in New Zealand: An Atlas of Socioeconomic Difference'' was described by Annette King, then the New Zealand Minister of Health, as an "exciting tool" that could be used by the government to ensure health spending was better-targeted. He wrote and provided photographs for a book about New Zealand waterfalls, ''Walk to Waterfalls'' (2011). He has said his favourite waterfall in New Zealand is

Marokopa Falls The Marokopa River is a river of the Waikato Region of New Zealand. It flows west to join the Tasman Sea at Marokopa. The main part of the river is long, with about of tributaries. The catchment is some . Near Te Anga, the river flows over the ...

. Kirkpatrick's first novel, ''Across the Face of the World'', was published in Australia in 2004, and was the best-selling fantasy novel in Australia in that year, as well as topping the Dymocks bestseller list for over four weeks. It was followed by two further novels in the ''Fire of Heaven'' series. A 2004 review by '' The New Zealand Herald'' of ''Across the Face of the World'' noted that Kirkpatrick had spent 16 years writing the book, an "investment hichseems to have paid off" in terms of world-building and the creation of a detailed atlas. The reviewer felt however that despite having "all the key fantasy elements" the book was lacking "enough creative spark to ignite

he reviewer's He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...

imagination". Gerard Campbell for '' The Press'' described it as "a solid fantasy world that is worth a look for fans of the genre". In 2008, ''Across the Face of the World'' was published in the USA and was the best-selling science fiction or fantasy debut in that year. Each of the three novels of Kirkpatrick's ''Husk'' trilogy has won the award for best novel (adult category) at the

: ''Path of Revenge'' in 2008, ''Dark Heart'' in 2009, and ''Beyond the Wall of Time'' in 2010.

Jason Nahrung Jason Nahrung (born 1968) is an Australian horror author and journalist who lives in Melbourne with his partner Kirstyn McDermott. Nahrung has previously written for ''The Courier-Mail'' newspaper in Queensland, with a special interest in spec ...

, reviewing ''Path of Revenge'' for '' The Courier-Mail'', noted the praise Kirkpatrick has received for his mapmaking, and said he "has managed to not only paint a working, believable world in this, the first of a new series, but inhabit it with real people as well". Kirkpatrick has described his second trilogy as darker than the first, noting that at the time of writing the first he was training to be a pastor. ''Silent Sorrow'' (2020), the first novel in his planned ''The Book of Remezov'' trilogy, was shortlisted for the best novel award at the 2022 Sir Julius Vogel Awards.

Selected works

''Fire of Heaven'' trilogy

*''Across the Face of the World'' (2004) *''In the Earth Abides the Flame'' (2005) *''The Right Hand of God'' (2006)

''Husk'' or ''Broken Man'' trilogy

The ''Husk'' trilogy was published as the ''Broken Man'' trilogy in the United States and United Kingdom. *''Path of Revenge'' (2006) *''Dark Heart'' (2008) *''Beyond the Wall of Time'' (2009)

''The Book of Remezov'' trilogy

*''Silent Sorrow'' (2020)

Non-fiction

*''New Zealand Historical Atlas'' (1998, deputy editor, with editor

Malcolm McKinnon Malcolm Arthur McKinnon (born 1950) is a New Zealand historian and political historian. McKinnon's work largely focuses on the history of New Zealand and New Zealand's international relations. McKinnon has held a number of editorial roles, includ ...

) *''Degrees of Deprivation in New Zealand: An Atlas of Socioeconomic Difference'' (2000) *''Contemporary Atlas of New Zealand'' (1999, 2nd edition 2004, author) *''Rural Canterbury, Celebrating its History'' (2001, co-editor with Garth Cant) *''Walk to Waterfalls'' (2011, author and photographer)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirkpatrick, Russell 1961 births Living people New Zealand fantasy writers New Zealand male novelists University of Canterbury alumni University of Waikato faculty People from Christchurch New Zealand emigrants to Australia 21st-century New Zealand novelists 20th-century geographers 21st-century geographers 20th-century New Zealand male writers 21st-century New Zealand male writers University of Canberra faculty