Ian McDonald (British author)

Ian McDonald

Ian McDonald at SFeraKon 2010 in Zagreb
Born

1960 (age 55–56)


Manchester, England, United Kingdom

Occupation Novelist
Nationality Scottish and Irish
Genre Science fiction
Website
ianmcdonald.livejournal.com
For several other people called Ian McDonald or a similar spelling, see Ian McDonald.

Ian McDonald (born 1960) is a British science fiction novelist, living in Belfast. His themes include nanotechnology, postcyberpunk settings, and the impact of rapid social and technological change on non-Western societies.

Early life

Ian McDonald was born in 1960, in Manchester, to a Scottish father and Irish mother. He moved to Belfast when he was five and has lived there ever since. He lived through the whole of the 'Troubles' (1968–99), and his sensibility has been permanently shaped by coming to understand Northern Ireland as a post-colonial[1] society imposed on an older culture. He became a fan of SF from childhood TV, and began writing when he was 9.

Career

McDonald sold his first story to a local Belfast magazine when he was 22, and in 1987 became a full-time writer.[2] He has also worked in TV consultancy within Northern Ireland, contributing scripts to the Northern Irish Sesame Workshop production of Sesame Tree.

McDonald's debut novel was Desolation Road (1988), which takes place on a far future Mars in a town that develops around an oasis in the terraformed Martian desert.[3] He published a sequel, Ares Express, in 2001.[4]

Published between 1995 and 2000, the novels Chaga (US title Evolution's Shore) and Kirinya, with the novella Tendeléo's Story, form the 'Chaga Saga', which is particularly notable for its analysis of the AIDS crisis in Africa. The protagonist is Ulster journalist Gaby McAslin, whose outsider's eye both observes the African landscape and sees what the "UN quarantine zone" is doing to Kenya and Kenyans. Gaby's story, with that of her daughter, continues in Kirinya. Tendeléo's Story is seen through the eyes of a young Kenyan girl who escapes to the UK, only to be deported back to Kenya as an unwanted alien.

The image of the unstoppable wave of transformation was nicked from [1982 Star Trek movie] The Wrath of Khan: it's the Genesis device, slowed down, and once I had that, it became a rich source of metaphors: for colonialism, new technology, globalisation, change, death. If the Chaga is colonialism, it's a unique kind that allows the people of the poor South to use and transform it to meet their needs and empower themselves: it's a symbiosis.[5]

McDonald's River of Gods (2004) is set in mid-21st-century India, and Brasyl (2007) is set in the 18th and 21st centuries in Lusophone South America. Brasyl was nominated for, and reached the longlist of, the £50,000 Warwick Prize for Writing.

McDonald published Luna: New Moon, the first volume of a proposed science fiction duology, in 2015.[6][7][8] It explores the dangerous intrigue that surrounds the five powerful families who control industry on the Moon.[6] McDonald said of the novel in August 2014, "I’m still writing about developing economies, it’s just that this one happens to be on the Moon."[6] Before critics called the novel "Game of Thrones in space",[7][9][10] McDonald himself dubbed it "Game of Domes" and "Dallas in space".[6] Luna was optioned for development as a television series before its release.[9][11] The sequel, Luna: Wolf Moon, is set to be released in September 2016.[12] McDonald previously published the novelette "The Fifth Dragon", a prequel to Luna in the same setting, in the 2014 anthology Reach for Infinity.[6][13][14]

Scholarship

Awards

Won

Nominations

Works

Novels

Desolation Road series

Chaga saga

India in 2047

Everness series

Luna series

Standalone novels

Ian McDonald at Eurocon/Swecon 2011 in Stockholm.

Graphic novels

Collections

Other short stories

  • "The Islands of the Dead" (1982)
  • "The Catharine Wheel" (Our Lady of Tharsis) (1984) (also published as "The Catharine Wheel")
  • "Christian" (1984)
  • "Scenes from a Shadowplay" (1985)
  • "Empire Dreams" (1985)" (also appeared as: Empire Dreams; Ground Control to Major Tom)
  • "Approaching Perpendicular" (1988)
  • "Radio Marrakech" (1988)
  • "The Island of the Dead" (1988)
  • "Unfinished Portrait of the King of Pain by Van Gogh" (1988)
  • "Visits to Remarkable Cities" (1988)
  • "Vivaldi" (1988)
  • "King of Morning, Queen of Day" (1988)
  • "Gardenias" (1989)
  • "Rainmaker Cometh" (1989)
  • "Listen" (1989)
  • "Atomic Avenue" (1990)
  • "Speaking in Tongues" (1990)
  • "Winning" (1990)
  • "Fronds" (1990)
  • "King of Morning, Queen of Day" (excerpt)" (1991)
  • "Fragments of an Analysis of a Case of Hysteria" (1991)
  • "Brody Loved the Masai Woman" (1992)
  • "Innocents" (1992)
  • "The Best and the Rest of James Joyce" (1992)
  • "Fat Tuesday" (1992)
  • "Big Chair" (1992)
  • "Legitimate Targets" (1993)
  • "Some Strange Desire" (1993)
  • "The Undifferentiated Object of Desire" (1993)
  • "Blue Motel" (1994)
  • "Scissors Cut Paper Wrap Stone" (1994)
  • "Steam" (1995)
  • "The Time Garden: A Faery Story" (1995)
  • "Frooks" (1995)
  • "Faithful" (1996)
  • "Islington" (1996)
  • "Recording Angel" (1996)
  • The Further Adventures of Baron Munchausen: The Gulf War (1996)
  • "Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet" (1997)
  • "The Five O'Clock Whistle" (1997)
  • "After Kerry" (1997)
  • "The Days of Solomon Gursky" (1998)
  • "Breakfast on the Moon, with Georges" (1999)
  • "Ares Express" (excerpt)" (2001)
  • "The Twenty Five Mile High Club" (2002)
  • "The Old Cosmonaut and the Construction Worker Dream of Mars" (2002)
  • "The Hidden Place" (2002)
  • "Written in the Stars" (2005) in Constellations
  • "Verthandi's Ring" (2007)
  • "The Tear" (2008)
  • "[A Ghost Samba]" (2008)
  • "A Little School" (2009)
  • "Tonight We Fly" (2010)
  • "Digging" (2011)
  • "A Smart Well-Mannered Uprising of the Dead" (2011)
  • "Driftings" (2013)
  • "The Queen of the Night's Aria" (2013) in Old Mars (anthology)[30][31]
  • "The Revolution Will Not Be Refrigerated" (2013)
  • "Nanonauts! In Battle with Tiny Death-subs!" (2014)
  • "The Fifth Dragon" (2014) in Reach for Infinity (anthology)[13][14]
  • "Botanica Veneris: Thirteen Papercuts by Ida Countess Rathangan" (2015) in Old Venus (anthology)[32]

Blog and online interviews

References

  1. ↑ Gevers, Nick (October 2011). "Ian McDonald interviewed". Interzone. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  2. ↑ John Lennard, Ian McDonald: Chaga / Evolution's Shore (Tirril: Humanities-Ebooks, 2007), p. 7.
  3. 1 2 Doctorow, Cory (2 July 2009). "Ian McDonald's brilliant Mars book, DESOLATION ROAD, finally back in print". Boing Boing. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  4. 1 2 Braak, Chris (10 May 2010). "Far-Future Martian Charm and Railway Adventure In Ares Express". io9. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  5. ↑ Ian McDonald, 'Interview' (originally posted at http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/nonfiction/intimcd.htm), quoted in John Lennard, Ian McDonald: Chaga / Evolution's Shore (Tirril: Humanities-Ebooks, 2007), p. 12.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Ian McDonald: On Xenoforming". Locus. 24 August 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 Alexander, Niall (21 September 2015). "The Long Run: Luna: New Moon by Ian McDonald". Tor.com. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  8. 1 2 Doctorow, Cory (22 September 2015). "Ian McDonald's Luna: New Moon - the moon is a much, much harsher mistress". Boing Boing. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  9. 1 2 Liptak, Andrew (22 August 2015). "Ian McDonald's Forthcoming Luna: New Moon Optioned For Television". io9. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  10. ↑ Roberts, Adam (2 October 2015). "Luna: New Moon by Ian McDonald review – the moon as wild west frontier". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  11. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (17 August 2015). "Shane Brennan To Adapt Ian McDonald's Sci-Fi Book Luna As TV Series". Deadline.com. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  12. 1 2 "Cover Reveal for Ian McDonald's Luna: Wolf Moon". Tor.com. 19 January 2016. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  13. 1 2 3 McDonald, Ian (1 September 2015). "The Fifth Dragon". Tor.com. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  14. 1 2 3 Alexander, Niall (12 June 2014). "Step into the Stars: Reach for Infinity, ed. Jonathan Strahan". Tor.com. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  15. ↑ "Science Fiction & Fantasy Books by Award: 1991 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
  16. ↑ "Science Fiction & Fantasy Books by Award: 2004 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 3 May 2009.
  17. ↑ Publications, Locus. "Locus Online News » McDonald Wins Gaylactic Spectrum". www.locusmag.com. Archived from the original on 2016-10-10. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  18. ↑ "Science Fiction & Fantasy Books by Award: 1990 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
  19. 1 2 "Science Fiction & Fantasy Books by Award: 1992 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 3 May 2009.
  20. ↑ "Science Fiction & Fantasy Books by Award: 1993 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
  21. 1 2 "Science Fiction & Fantasy Books by Award: 1994 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
  22. ↑ "Science Fiction & Fantasy Books by Award: 1995 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 3 May 2009.
  23. ↑ "Science Fiction & Fantasy Books by Award: 1996 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
  24. 1 2 "Science Fiction & Fantasy Books by Award: 2005 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
  25. 1 2 3 "Science Fiction & Fantasy Books by Award: 2008 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
  26. ↑ "Announcing the 2015 BSFA Awards Shortlist". Tor.com. 7 February 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  27. ↑ "Ian McDonald – Be My Enemy (Everness Book Two) cover art and synopsis reveal". Upcoming4.me. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  28. ↑ "Ian McDonald – Empress of the Sun announced! Cover art and synopsis revealed". Upcoming4.me. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  29. ↑ "Science Fiction & Fantasy Books by Award: 2007 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 3 May 2009.
  30. ↑ DeNardo, John (14 February 2013). "TOC: Old Mars Edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois". SF Signal. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  31. ↑ Bedford, Robert H. (8 October 2013). "Mars as We Thought it Could Be: Old Mars, edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois". Tor.com. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  32. ↑ "Not A Blog: Venus In March". GRRM.livejournal.com. 19 June 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2014.

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