Christopher Rowley (born 1948) is an American writer specializing in the

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

genres. He is also a former journalist and television screenwriter. Christopher Rowley was born in 1948 in Lynn,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, to an American mother and an English father. Educated primarily at Brentwood School, in

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, England, he became a

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

-based journalist in the 1970s. In 1977 he moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and now lives in upstate

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley or Hudson River Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The region stretches from the Capital District (New York), Capital District includi ...

. Rowley's first science fiction novel was ''The War for Eternity'', published in 1983, which won the Compton Crook Award for best first novel. ''The War for Eternity'' led to three further novels set in the same future: ''The Black Ship'', ''The Founder'', and ''To a Highland Nation''. His novel ''Starhammer'' has been cited by computer programmer Jason Jones as an important literary influence in the creation of the ''

Halo HALO, halo, halos or haloes may refer to: Most common meanings * Halo (optical phenomenon) * Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head * ''Halo'' (franchise), a sci-fi video game series (2001–2021) Arts and en ...

'' video game series by

Bungie Bungie, Inc. is an American video game company based in Bellevue, Washington, and a subsidiary of Sony Interactive Entertainment. The company was established in May 1991 by Alex Seropian, who later brought in programmer Jason Jones (programme ...

. ''Starhammer'' was followed by ''The Vang: The Military Form'' and ''The Vang: The Battlemaster'' to form a loosely connected trilogy (all published by

Ballantine Books Ballantine Books is a major American book publisher that is a subsidiary of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. Ballantine was founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. Ballantine was acquired by Random House in ...

) spanning several thousand years and involving different sets of characters in each book. In the 1990s, Rowley switched to the fantasy genre with the success of his first novel for Roc Books, ''Bazil Broketail''. This novel was set on the imaginary world Ryetelth and involved the adventures of battledragons and the boys that care for them in the service of the legions of the nine cities of the Argonath. Bazil Broketail's adventures continued with ''Sword for a Dragon'', ''Dragons of War'', ''Battledragon'', ''A Dragon at World's End'', ''Dragons of Argonath'', and ''Dragon Ultimate''. The Ryetelth novels also include a tangential story, told in ''The Wizard and the Floating City'', that interrupted the sequence of Bazil Broketail novels and introduced new characters and a broadening of the conceptual framework of the entire series. In the 1980s and 1990s he also co-wrote two television animated series by Robert Mandell, '' The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers'' and ''

Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders ''Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders'', known outside of North America as ''Starla & the Jewel Riders'' and sometimes spelled as the more traditionally Arthurian "Guinevere", is an American fantasy animated television series aimed at the p ...

''. After the conclusion of the ''Bazil Broketail'' series, he produced the ''Books of Arna'', a trilogy set on Arna, a world colonized by humans in the far future. This series began with ''The Ancient Enemy'', continued with ''The Shasht War'', and concluded with ''Doom's Break''. In February 2009, Rowley's first illustrated novel, titled ''Arkham Woods'', a supernatural tale of horror inspired by the

Cthulhu Mythos The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American Horror fiction, horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent and protégé of Lovecraft, t ...

of H.P. Lovecraft and published by

Seven Seas "The Seven Seas" is a figurative term for all the seas of the known world. The phrase is used in reference to sailors and pirates in the arts and popular culture and can be associated with the Mediterranean Sea, the Arabian Seven Seas east of Af ...

Publications

Arna trilogy

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Bazil Broketail series

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Battle Dragons books

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Fenrille series

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Netherworld trilogy

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The Vang trilogy

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Standalone books

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References

External links

* (2005–2009) *
Christopher Rowley
at ''

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (''SFE'') is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo Award, Hugo, Locus Award, Locus and BSFA Award, British SF Awards. Two print editions appea ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Rowley, Christopher 1948 births Living people 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American novelists American fantasy writers American horror writers American male journalists American male novelists American male screenwriters American male television writers American people of English descent American science fiction writers American television writers Novelists from New York (state) People educated at Brentwood School, Essex Screenwriters from New York (state)