Robert Thurston (28 October 1936 – 20 October 2021) was a

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 ...

author well known for his works in popular

shared world A shared universe or shared world is a fictional universe from a set of creative works where more than one writer (or other artist) independently contributes a work that can stand alone but fits into the joint development of the storyline, chara ...

settings.

Career

Thurston attended the Clarion Workshop at Clarion State College, Pennsylvania in 1968, instructed by several major sci-fi writers (

Kate Wilhelm Kate Wilhelm (June 8, 1928 – March 8, 2018) was an American author. She wrote novels and stories in the science fiction, mystery, and suspense genres, including the Hugo Award–winning ''Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang''. Wilhelm established ...

Damon Knight Damon Francis Knight (September 19, 1922 – April 15, 2002) was an American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He is the author of "To Serve Man", a 1950 short story adapted for ''The Twilight Zone''.Stanyard, ''Dimensions Behind th ...

Fritz Leiber Fritz Reuter Leiber Jr. ( ; December 24, 1910 – September 5, 1992) was an American writer of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He was also a poet, actor in theater and films, playwright, and chess expert. With writers such as Robert ...

, and

Harlan Ellison Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. Robert Bloch, the author of '' Psycho'' ...

, among others). He did graduate studies in English literature at the

University of Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 1846 ...

and a was a veteran of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. He was awarded first prize for his short story "Set of Wheels," which was included, with two other short stories ("Anaconda" and "The Last Desperate Hour") in the anthology ''Clarion'', edited by the workshop's founder, Robin Scott Wilson, in 1971.

FASA Fasa ( fa, فسا, Fasā, also Romanized as Fassa) is a city and capital of Fasa County, Fars Province, Iran. At the 2016 census, its population was 110,825, in 33,379 families. Fasa is the fourth most populous city of the province. The city date ...

signed an agreement with Roc Publishing in 1991 that lasted for 10 years and started a long line of publication with Robert Thurston's ''Legend of the Jade Phoenix'' series for ''Battletech'' (1991). Thurston is best known for his

Clan Jade Falcon ''BattleTech'' is a wargaming and military science fiction franchise launched by FASA Corporation in 1984, acquired by WizKids in 2001, which was in turn acquired by Topps in 2003; and published since 2007 by Catalyst Game Labs. The trademark ...

novels of the

BattleTech ''BattleTech'' is a wargaming and military science fiction franchise launched by FASA Corporation in 1984, acquired by WizKids in 2001, which was in turn acquired by Topps in 2003; and published since 2007 by Catalyst Game Labs. The trademark ...

universe and the novelizations of the original ''

Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series), original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel se ...

'' television series. He had worked at New Jersey City University's Opportunity Scholarship Program as Coordinator of Supplemental Instruction, since 1992.

Bibliography

Novels

* *''Set of Wheels''. New York: Berkley 1983 *''Q Colony''. Berkley, 1985 *''For the Silverfish (Rugger No. 1)''. New York: Avon Books, 1985 ;Battlestar Galactica series *''Battlestar Galactica'' (with Glen A. Larson) 1978 *''The Cylon Death Machine'' (with Glen A. Larson) 1979 *''The Tombs of Kobol'' (with Glen A. Larson) 1979 *''The Young Warriors'' (with Glen A. Larson) 1980 *''The Nightmare Machine'' (with Glen A. Larson) 1985 *''Die, Chameleon!'' (with Glen A. Larson) 1986 *''Apollo's War'' (with Glen A. Larson) 1987 *''Surrender the Galactica!'' (with Glen A. Larson) 1988 ; BattleTech series *'' Way of the Clans'' (1991) *'' Bloodname'' (1991) *'' Falcon Guard'' (1991) *'' I Am Jade Falcon'' (1995) *''

Freebirth Unassisted childbirth (UC) refers to the process of intentionally giving birth without the assistance of a medical birth attendant. It may also be known as freebirth, DIY (do-it-yourself) birth, unhindered birth, and unassisted home birth. Unassis ...

'' (1998) *''

Falcon Rising ''Falcon Rising'' is a 2014 American action film directed by Ernie Barbarash and starring Michael Jai White, Neal McDonough, Laila Ali and Masashi Odate. Formerly titled ''Favela'', ''Falcon Rising'' was intended to be the first installment of Moo ...

'' (1999) ;

Isaac Asimov yi, יצחק אזימאװ , birth_date = , birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR , spouse = , relatives = , children = 2 , death_date = , death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. , nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...

's Robot City – Robots and Aliens series *''Isaac Asimov's Robot City: Robots and Aliens 3: Intruder''. Ace, 1990 *''Isaac Asimov's Robots and Aliens 2: Intruder (Book 3), Alliance (Book 4 by Jerry Oltion)''. I Books, 2002 ;Novelizations *''

Robot Jox ''Robot Jox'' is a 1990 American Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic Mecha science fiction film, science-fiction film directed by Stuart Gordon and starring Gary Graham, Anne-Marie Johnson and Paul Koslo. Co-written by scien ...

: The Novel''. Based on a screenplay by

Joe Haldeman Joe William Haldeman (born June 9, 1943) is an American science fiction author. He is best known for his novel ''The Forever War'' (1974). That novel and other works, including ''The Hemingway Hoax'' (1991) and '' Forever Peace'' (1997), have wo ...

and

Dennis Paoli Dennis Paoli is a screenwriter and playwright known for his work on horror films, specifically those directed by Stuart Gordon. He has written or co-written five of Gordon's films, including (1985) and '' From Beyond'' (1986). He has also collabora ...

. New York: Avon Books, 1989 *''1492: The Conquest of Paradise''. London; New York: Penguin Books, 1992

Short fiction

;StoriesShort stories unless otherwise noted. *"Wheels." ''Clarion'' ed. Robin Scott Wilson. Berkeley: Signet, 1971 *"Anaconda." ''Clarion'' ed. Robin Scott Wilson. Berkeley: Signet, 1971 *"The Last Desperate Hour." ''Clarion'' ed. Robin Scott Wilson. Berkeley: Signet, 1971 *"Get FDR!" ''Clarion II'' ed. Robin Scott Wilson. Berkeley: Signet, 1972 *"The Good Life." ''Clarion II'' ed. Robin Scott Wilson. Berkeley: Signet, 1972 *"Punchline." ''Clarion II'' ed. Robin Scott Wilson. Berkeely: Signet, 1972 *"Good-Bye Shelley, Shirley, Charlotte, Charlene." ''Orbit 11'' ed. Damon Knight. New York: Putnam, 1972 *"The Hippie-Dip File." ''Fantasy & Science Fiction'' March 1972 and ''Social Problems Through Science Fiction'' ed. Martin H. Greenberg, John W. Milstead, Joseph D. Olander & Patricia S. Warrick. New York: St. Martin's, 1975 *"She/Her." ''Infinity #5'' ed. Robert Hoskins. Lancer, 1973 *"Up Against the Wall." ''Amazing'' August 1973 and ''School and Society Through Science Fiction'' ed. Joseph D. Olander, Martin H. Greenberg & Patricia Warrick. Chicago: Rand McNally College Publishing, 1974 *"Soundtrack: The Making of a Thoroughbred." ''Fantastic'' Vol. 23 no. 4, May 1974 *"Searching the Ruins." Amazing August 1974 *"The Haunted Writing Manual." ''Fantastic'' October 1975 *"Theodora and Theodora." ''New Dimensions: Science Fiction Number 5''. New York: Harper & Row, 1975 *"Groups." ''Fantastic'' February 1976 *"If That's Paradise, Toss Me an Apple." ''Amazing Stories'' March 1976 *"Parker Frightened on a Tightrope." ''Fantastic Sword & Sorcery and Fantasy Stories'' Vol. 25 no. 5 November 1976 *"Aliens." ''Fantasy & Science Fiction'' Vol. 51 no. 6 December 1976 *"The Mars Ship." ''Fantasy & Science Fiction'' Vol. 52 no. 6 June 1977 *"The Bulldog Nutcracker." ''Chrysalis Vol. 2''. Ed. Roy Torgeson. New York: Zebra Books, 1978 *"Seedplanter." ''Chrysalis Vol. 3''. Ed. Roy Torgeson. New York: Zebra Books, 1978 *"What Johnny Did on His Summer Vacation." (with Joe W. Haldeman). ''Rod Serling's Other Worlds'' ed. Rod Serling. Bantam, 1978. *"The Wanda Lake Number." ''Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact'' Jan. 1979 and ''Light Years and Dark'' Ed. Michael Bishop. Berkly 1984 *"Alternate 51: Bliss." ''The Berkeley Showcase: New Writings in Science Fiction and Fantasy Vol. 4''. Ed. Victoria Schochet & John W. Silbersack. New York: Berkeley Books, July 1981 *"The Fire at Sarah Siddons." ''Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine'' Vol. 8 no. 8 August 1984 *"Was That House There Yesterday?" ''Universe 16'' Ed. Terry Carr. New York: Doubleday & Co., 1986 *"The World's Light Heavyweight Champion in Nineteen Twenty-Something" ''Fantasy & Science Fiction'' Vol. 100 no. 6 June 2001 *"Who Wants to Live Forever?" ''Fantasy & Science Fiction'' Vol. 103 no.2 August 2002 *"Zeroing In." ''The Corps: Battlecorps Anthology Vol. 1.'' Catalyst Game Labs, 2008 *"Face in the Viewport." ''BattleTech: 25 Years of Art and Fiction.'' Catalyst Game Labs, 2009 ;Novellas *"Kingmakers." ''New Voices in Science Fiction''. ed. George R.R. Martin. 1977 *"Vibrations." ''Chrysalis 4''. Ed. Roy Torgeson.New York: Zebra Books, 1979 *"The Oonaa Woman." ''The Berkeley Showcase: New Writings in Science Fiction and Fantasy Vol. 3''. Ed. Victoria Schochet & John W. Silbersack. New York: Berkeley Books, January 1981 ;Novelettes; *"Carolyn's Laughter." ''Fantasy & Science Fiction'' Vol. 42 no. 1 1972 *"Dream by Number." ''Fantasy & Science Fiction'' Vol. 49 no. 3 September 1975 *"Marchplateau." ''Worlds of If Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Fact'' Sept-Nov. 1986 *"I.D.I.D." ''Fantasy & Science Fiction'' Vol. 108 no. 5 May 2005 *"One Magic Ring, Used." ''Fantastic'' Vol. 25 no. 3 May 1976 *"Under Siege." ''Fantasy & Science Fiction'' Vol. 47 no. 1 July 1974 *"Wheels Westward." ''Cosmos'' Vol. 1 no. 4 November 1977 *"Nobody Like Josh." ''Asimov's Science Fiction'' #486, July 2016

Introductions and other contributions

*"Introduction." ''Big Time''. Fritz Leiber. Gregg Press, 1976 *"Introduction." ''Dark Universe''. Daniel F. Galouye. Gregg Press, 1976 *"Introduction." ''Driftglass''. Samuel R. Delany. Gregg Press, 1977 *"Introduction." ''The Early Science Fiction Stories of Thomas M. Disch''. Gregg Press, 1977 *"Introduction." ''Today We Choose Faces''. Roger Zelazny. Gregg Press, 1978 *"Introduction." ''The Game Players of Titan''. Philip K. Dick. Gregg Press, 1979 *"Afterword." ''The Fantasies of Harlan Ellison''. Gregg Press, 1979

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20070909021024/http://contento.best.vwh.net/s242.htm#A4530 Index to Science Fiction Anthologies and Collections, Combined Edition * *http://catalog.loc.gov/ The Library of Congress Online Catalog *https://web.archive.org/web/20091027102206/http://geocities.com/sjpaxton/thurston.html Interview with Robert Thurston at Battlestar Network *http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/t/robert-thurston/ Fantastic Fiction *https://web.archive.org/web/20081009074920/http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue379/interview.html Author Jack Dann mentions meeting Robert Thurston and other SF writers. *https://web.archive.org/web/20070927024007/http://www.classicbattletech.com/downloads/BattleTech_Novel_List.pdf List of Battletech Book Series {{DEFAULTSORT:Thurston, Robert 1936 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American short story writers American male novelists American male short story writers American science fiction writers The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction people People from Lockport, New York New Jersey City University faculty University at Buffalo alumni Clarion University of Pennsylvania alumni