Sean Thomas Russell (born 30 January 1952) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

writer of

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 ...

, and of

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...

s featuring the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. His work has been published under the names Sean Russell and S. Thomas Russell as well as his full name, and he has collaborated with Ian Dennis (also born 1952) under the joint pseudonym T.F. Banks.

Life

Sean Russell was born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, in 1952. At the age of three his family moved to the outskirts of the city, where they lived in a cottage at the beach of

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...

. At the age of ten he decided to become an author, and the fantasy genre caught him years later, while reading

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philology, philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was ...

's ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...

''. After university, he moved to

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, and two years later to

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...

, where he still lives with his family. He published his first novel in 1991. His first historical naval novel ''Under Enemy Colours'', published in 2007, introduced a new Royal Navy hero, Charles Hayden, and HMS ''Themis'', a fictional fifth-rate ship of the Royal Navy.

Works

Initiate Brother

The series is laid in a fantasy empire combining aspects of China and Japan. *Vol. 1: ''The Initiate Brother'', DAW Books, 1991, *Vol. 2: ''Gatherer of Clouds'', DAW Books, 1992,

Moontide and Magic Rise

*Vol. 1: ''World Without End'', DAW Books, 1995, *Vol. 2: ''Sea Without a Shore'', DAW Books, 1996,

The River into Darkness

This fantasy duology is a

prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term " ...

to the "Moontide and Magic Rise" duology. *Vol. 1: ''Beneath the Vaulted Hills'', DAW Books, 1997, *Vol. 2: ''The Compass of the Soul'', DAW Books, 1998, *Vol. 1-2: ''The River into Darkness'', Science Fiction Book Club, 1998, (omnibus)

Memoirs of a Bow Street Runner

Sean Russell wrote these books in collaboration with Ian Dennis under their common pen-name T. F. Banks. *Vol. 1: ''The Thief Taker'', Delacorte Press, 2001, *Vol. 2: ''The Emperor's Assassin'', Dell Books, 2003,

Swans' War

*Vol. 1: ''The One Kingdom'', HarperCollins, 2001, *Vol. 2: ''The Isle of Battle'', HarperCollins, 2003, *Vol. 3: ''The Shadow Roads'', HarperCollins, 2005,

Themis series

Written as by Sean Thomas Russell, these books are historical fiction about HMS ''Themis'', a Royal Navy frigate, at the time of the French Revolution. *''Under Enemy Colours'' (2007) *''A Battle Won'' (2010) *''A Ship of War'' (2012); US title, 2013, ''Take, Burn or Destroy'' *''Until the Sea Shall Give Up Her Dead'' (2014)

References

* With bibliography. * With bibliography. *

External links

Sean Russell website
includes fantasy and "Bow Street Runner" novels
S. Thomas Russell website
includes HMS ''Themis'' novels *

* (includes S. Thomas Russell) {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Sean 1952 births Canadian fantasy writers Canadian historical novelists Living people Nautical historical novelists