雪莉·泰珀

Sheri Stewart Tepper (July 16, 1929 – October 22, 2016) was an American writer of science fiction, horror and mystery novels. She is primarily known for her feminist science fiction, which explored themes of sociology, gender and equality, as well as theology and ecology. Often referred to as an eco-feminist of science fiction literature, Tepper personally preferred the label eco-humanist. Some of her novels fall into the category of climate fiction, in which the changing environment of a planet affects the life of its colonists (or vice versa) in the form of a mystery to be solved; examples include Grass (1989), Beauty (1991), A Plague of Angels (1993), The Family Tree (1997), Six Moon Dance (1998), and Singer from the Sea (1999). Though the majority of her works operate in a world of fantastical imagery and metaphor, at the heart of her writing is real-world injustice and pain. She employed several pen names during her lifetime, including A. J. Orde, E. E. Horlak, and B. J. Oliphant.

Biography

She was born Shirley Stewart Douglas near Littleton, Colorado. As a child, she read science fiction and fantasy by A. Merritt and C. S. Lewis, as well as Frank Baum's 'Oz' books, William Hope Hodgson's The Night Land and Islandia by Austin Tappan Wright. She later commented, "These were the books I went back to again and again."

Tepper recalled that she "spent ten years ... working all kinds of different jobs" as a single mother of two. This included time working as a clerical assistant for the international relief agency, CARE. From 1962 to 1986, she worked for Rocky Mountain Planned Parenthood, eventually as its executive director.

She wrote poetry and children's stories as Sheri S. Eberhart, then took a break from writing. She published her first novels after she turned 50.

By the mid-1980s, she was publishing science fiction novels, including The Revenants (1984), and the books of the True Game series, including King's Blood Four (1983), Necromancer Nine (1983), and Wizard's Eleven (1984). Other related works followed, including her ecofeminist novels The Gate to Women's Country (1988) and Grass (1989), which is part of the Arbai Trilogy. Later novels in the 1990s and 2000s included Beauty (1991), which won a Locus Award; Shadow's End (1994); The Family Tree (1997); Six Moon Dance (1998); Singer from the Sea (1999); The Visitor (2002); The Companions (2003); and The Margarets (2007).

As of 1998, she operated a guest ranch near Santa Fe, New Mexico. That year saw her first and possibly only appearance at a science fiction convention, when she was Guest of Honor at the 25th WisCon, the feminist science fiction convention held annually in Madison, Wisconsin.

In November 2015, Tepper received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement. Her fantasy novel Beauty won a Locus Award in 1992.

Personal life

Tepper married in her 20s and had two children. In the late 1960s, about 10 years after her divorce, she was married to Gene Tepper.

She died on October 22, 2016 at age 87.

Works

Series

The True Game (a trilogy of trilogies)

The Peter series was the first published. The Mavin series takes place earlier. The Jinian series takes place during and after the same time period as the Peter series, often giving a different perspective on the same events.

This series has a crossover with the Plague of Angels series.

The Books of the True Game: Peter

King's Blood Four (Ace Books, 1983) (first novel)

Necromancer Nine (Ace Books, 1983)

Wizard's Eleven (Ace Books, 1984)

The True Game (omnibus edition) (1985)

The Books of the True Game: Mavin Manyshaped

The Song of Mavin Manyshaped (Ace Books, 1985)

The Flight of Mavin Manyshaped (Ace Books, 1985)

The Search of Mavin Manyshaped (Ace Books, 1985)

The Chronicles of Mavin Manyshaped (omnibus edition) (1985)

The Books of the True Game: Jinian

Jinian Footseer (Tor Books, 1985)

Dervish Daughter (Tor Books, 1986)

Jinian Star-Eye (Tor Books, 1986)

The End of the Game (omnibus edition)

The Marianne Trilogy

Marianne, the Magus, and the Manticore (Ace Books, 1985)

Marianne, the Madame, and the Momentary Gods (Ace Books, 1988)

Marianne, the Matchbox, and the Malachite Mouse (Ace Books, 1989)

The Marianne Trilogy (omnibus edition)

Ettison Duo, featuring Badger Ettison

Blood Heritage (Tor Books, 1986)

The Bones (Tor Books, 1987)

The Awakeners:

Northshore (Tor Books, 1987)

Southshore (Tor Books, 1987)

The Awakeners (omnibus edition, 1989. A later omnibus edition erroneously claims to be first)

Plague of Angels:

A Plague of Angels (Bantam, 1993)

The Waters Rising (Eos, 2010) - Arthur C. Clarke Award nominee, 2010

Fish Tails (2014), a crossover into the True Game series

The Arbai Trilogy

Grass (Doubleday, 1989) – Hugo and Locus Awards nominee, 1990

Raising the Stones (Doubleday, 1990)

Sideshow (Doubleday, 1992) – John W. Campbell Award nominee, 1993

Non-series

The Revenants (Berkley Publishing, 1984)

After Long Silence (1987) (UK: The Enigma Score, 1989)

The Gate to Women's Country (1988)

Beauty (Doubleday, 1991; revised UK edition is author's preferred text) – Winner, Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, 1992

Shadow's End (1994)

Gibbon's Decline & Fall (1996) – Arthur C. Clarke Award nominee, 1997

The Family Tree (1997) – Arthur C. Clarke Award nominee, 1998

Six Moon Dance (1998)

Singer from the Sea (1999)

The Fresco (2000) – John W. Campbell Memorial Award nominee, 2001

The Visitor (2002) – John W. Campbell Memorial Award nominee, 2003

The Companions (2003) – John W. Campbell Memorial Award nominee, 2004

The Margarets (released June 1, 2007 by Eos) – John W. Campbell Memorial Award nominee, 2008; Arthur C. Clarke Award nominee, 2009

Short works

"The Gardener" (novella) in Night Visions 6. Released as The Bone Yard (1988) in mass market. Collaboration with F. Paul Wilson and Ray Garton. World Fantasy Award—Long Fiction finalist (1989)

"Someone Like You" in The Further Adventures of the Joker (ed. Martin Greenberg) (1990)

The "Crazy" Carol Stories

"The Gazebo" in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, October 1990

"Raccoon Music" in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, February 1991