Rod Duncan (born 1962, Wales) is a British writer. He grew up in

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...

. He was identified as

dyslexic Dyslexia (), previously known as word blindness, is a learning disability that affects either reading or writing. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, reading quickly, writ ...

at the age of eight and made his way through the education system by avoiding writing as much as possible. Duncan went on to study Mining Geology in the

University of Leicester The University of Leicester ( ) is a public university, public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park, Leicester, Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, Univ ...

, for which he attained a BSc (Hons). He returned to

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

to study Geology and Satellite Imagery for a PhD, but did not complete this. Duncan moved to

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

in 1989, where he established an environmental education development programme on behalf of the

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...

community. He returned to

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

in 1993, where he lives in Glenfield working as an author and lecturer at

De Montfort University De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is a public university in the city of Leicester, England. It was established in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, Further and Higher Education Act in 1992 as a degree awarding body ...

. Being

, it was the invention of the

word processor A word processor (WP) is a device or computer program that provides for input, editing, formatting, and output of text, often with some additional features. Early word processors were stand-alone devices dedicated to the function, but current word ...

that enabled him to develop his storytelling and writing skills. He now uses dictation software as a tool in the writing process.

Writings

His first published novels form the so-called "Riot Trilogy", each of which examine the same riot, on one day in

, from the experience of a different character. ''Backlash'' was shortlisted for the Crime Writers' Association CWA New Blood Dagger award for the best debut crime novel of 2003. The books in this series are: * ''Backlash'' * ''Breakbeat'' * ''Burnout'' As part of the Crime Express series, Duncan wrote the short story, "The Mentalist". Duncan has since moved into writing

steampunk Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and Applied arts, aesthetics inspired by, but not limited to, 19th-century Industrial Revolution, industrial steam engine, steam-powered machinery. Steampun ...

novels. His first trilogy was ''The Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire'', the first book of which, ''The Bullet-Catcher's Daughter'', was nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award for 2014. Set in the "Gas-Lit Empire", a Victorianesque version of

and

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

, the events happen in the aftermath of a

Luddite The Luddites were members of a 19th-century movement of English textile workers who opposed the use of certain types of automated machinery due to concerns relating to worker pay and output quality. They often destroyed the machines in organ ...

revolution that has reined back technology. The novel takes place at a travelling magic show and is themed around illusion, hence the bullet catch trick in the title. The books in this trilogy are: * ''The Bullet-Catcher's Daughter'' * ''Unseemly Science'' * ''The Custodian of Marvels'' A further trilogy, ''The Map of Unknown Things'', features the same protagonist, Elizabeth Barnabus: * ''The Queen of All Crows'' * ''The Outlaw & the Upstart King'' * ''The Fugitive and the Vanishing Man'' Rod Duncan wrote and performed in a Rhys Davies film, ''"How to Make a Movie for £43"''. He also performed in '' Zombie Undead'', also by Rhys Davies.

References

External links

The Gas-Lit Empire
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, Rod Academics of De Montfort University Alumni of the University of Leicester Welsh fantasy writers Welsh mystery writers English fantasy writers Writers from Aberystwyth 1962 births Living people British Bahá'ís Writers with dyslexia British writers with disabilities People from Glenfield, Leicestershire