William Renald Barton III (born September 28, 1950) is an American

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 ...

writer. In addition to his standalone novels, he is also known for collaborations with

Michael Capobianco Michael Victor Capobianco (born November 12, 1950) is an American science fiction writer. Capobianco wrote four novels jointly with William Barton. The books were published during the 1990s. The books address themes such as the Cold War, space ...

. Many of their novels deal with themes such as the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, space travel, and

space opera Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes space warfare, with use of melodramatic, risk-taking space adventures, relationships, and chivalric romance. Set mainly or entirely in outer space, it features technological and soci ...

. Barton also has written short stories that put an emphasis on sexuality and human morality in otherwise traditional science fiction. His short fiction has appeared in '' Asimov's'' and ''

Sci Fiction ''Sci Fiction'' was an online magazine which ran from 2000 to 2005. At one time, it was the leading online science fiction magazine. Published by Syfy and edited by Ellen Datlow, the work won multiple awards before it was discontinued. History ...

'', and has been nominated for the

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier a ...

, the

Theodore Sturgeon Award The Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award is an annual literary award presented by the Theodore Sturgeon Literary Trust and the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas to the author of the best short science fiction stor ...

, the

Sidewise Award The Sidewise Awards for Alternate History were established in 1995 to recognize the best alternate history stories and novels of the year. Overview The awards take their name from the 1934 short story " Sidewise in Time" by Murray Leinster, in ...

, and the HOMer Award, and three of his novels (''The Transmigration of Souls'', ''Acts of Conscience'', and ''When We Were Real'') were finalists for the Philip K. Dick Award with ''Acts of Conscience'' winning a special citation in 1998. Barton has recently begun to self-publish his fiction for the Kindle.

Bibliography

*''Hunting on Kunderer''; August 1973, On a jungle world populated by dinosaur-like predators, a group of hunters must deal with deadly beasts, sabotage, and an alien studying human sexuality. *''A Plague of All Cowards''; August 1976, Zoltan Tharkie, a professional space pirate, is hired by the government of human civilization to track down an assassin. *''Dark Sky Legion''; August 1992, An eternally young, millennia-old man in a far-future star empire is faced with difficult decisions about whether or not to destroy a planet in order to preserve the status quo. *''Yellow Matter''; December 1993, no ISBN Signed and numbered chapbook published by TAL Publications, Leesburg, VA. A man sexually harassed by an alien creature eventually comes to prefer being treated as a sex object for this species. *'' When Heaven Fell''; March 1995, A human mercenary for powerful alien conquerors returns to an enslaved Earth while on leave, finding a people both apathetic and desperate. *''The Transmigration of Souls''; January 1996, A portal on the moon leads a team of international scientists—and the American soldiers sent to stop them—to alternate realities. *''Acts of Conscience''; January 1997, A specialist mechanic acquires an FTL spaceship, discovers ominous signs on a colony world, and plays a part in the decision of whether or not to wipe out humanity for the sake of other species. *''When We Were Real''; June 1999, Darius Murphy escapes an oppressive religious matriarchy to find love and war in the darkness between the stars. By Barton and Michael Capobianco *''Iris'', February 1990, . A wandering

gas giant A gas giant is a giant planet composed mainly of hydrogen and helium. Gas giants are also called failed stars because they contain the same basic elements as a star. Jupiter and Saturn are the gas giants of the Solar System. The term "gas giant" ...

and its moons hold awesome alien secrets for a group of dissatisfied colonists. *''Fellow Traveler'', July 1991, . The United States and the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

squabble over the dangers and rewards of

asteroid mining Asteroid mining is the hypothetical exploitation of materials from asteroids and other minor planets, including near-Earth objects. Notable asteroid mining challenges include the high cost of spaceflight, unreliable identification of asteroids ...

during the Cold War. *''Alpha Centauri'', July 1997, . A terrorist plague endangers an exploration ship; the leavings of ancient aliens suggest it might not matter whether they save themselves or not. *''White Light'', October 1998, . Two families travel to the heart of the universe and find a Tipleresque heaven.

References

External links

*
William Barton's newsgroup
*
William Barton on Kindle
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barton, William 1950 births Living people American science fiction writers 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American male writers American male novelists Place of birth missing (living people)