Milán, Victor

Entry updated 12 September 2022. Tagged: Author.

(1954-2018) US author who has written under his own name and, it is understood, under further names; his acknowledged pseudonyms include Richard Austin, Robert Baron and S L Hunter; House Names include Alex Archer and James Axler. He began publishing sf with "Soldatenmangel" for Dragons of Darkness (anth 1981) edited by Orson Scott Card, and began to publish full-length books in 1984 with several titles in the War of Powers sequence of fantasies with Robert E Vardeman, beginning with The Sundered Realm (1980); only titles in collaboration are listed below. In the following year he began the solo Tokugawa sequence comprising The Cybernetic Samurai (1985) and The Cybernetic Shogun (1990), the complicatedly and intriguingly told story of the embodiment and education of an AI given the bodily form of a samurai, and the subsequent warfare, which severely damages the entire world, between its/his two "children". The Cybernetic Samurai won a Prometheus Award. Runespear (1987) with Melinda M Snodgrass is a fantasy set in 1936 in which the Nazi rulers of Germany attempt to gain the eponymous spear and thus become invincible. The Stormrider Post-Holocaust vigilante biker-gang adventure series – opening with Stormrider (1992) as by Robert Baron – looked as though it was preparing for a long run; but was terminated after three volumes. CLD: Collective Landing Detachment (1995) is Military SF, featuring a Dirty Dozen [see The Encyclopedia of Fantasy under links below] squad sent on a suicide mission to a devastated planet.

Most of Milán's work, however, has been in the world of Ties. As Richard Austin, he was responsible for the Guardians sequence of Post-Holocaust military-sf adventures, beginning with The Guardians (1985) and ending with The Guardians: Death Charge (1991). Subsequent bit-work – including a Star Trek tie, From the Depths (1993), a number of contributions to the shared world of Wild Cards (see Wild Cards) including the novel Turn of the Cards (1993), a Battletech tie, Close Quarters (1994), and a lonely singleton, Red Sands (1992) – did not demonstrate any dauntingly explorative tendency. He made several contributions to the Outlanders sequence: for details see James Axler, the House Name used for all titles. A later series to which he contributed, the Rogue Angel Shared World sequence, his titles beginning with Solomon's Jar (2006) as by Alex Archer and ending with Paradox (2009) as by Alex Archer, is conspiracy fantasy set in the present day. [JC]

see also: Cybernetics; Libertarian SF.

Victor Woodward Milán

born Tulsa, Oklahoma: 1954

died Albuquerque, New Mexico: 13 February 2018

works

series

War of the Powers

For full list of titles, including his solo titles, see Robert E Vardeman.

The Sundered Realm (New York: Playboy Paperbacks, 1980) with Robert E Vardeman [War of the Powers: pb/Fernandez]
The City in the Glacier (New York: Playboy Paperbacks, 1980) with Robert E Vardeman [War of the Powers: pb/Bechaudes]
The Destiny Stone (New York: Playboy Paperbacks, 1980) with Robert E Vardeman [War of the Powers: pb/Fernando Fernandez]
- The War of Powers (London: New English Library, 1984) with Robert E Vardeman [omni of the above three: War of the Powers: pb/Chris Achilleos]
The Fallen Ones (New York: Playboy Paperbacks, 1982) with Robert E Vardeman [War of the Powers: pb/Fernando Fernandez]
In the Shadow of Omizantrim (New York: Playboy Paperbacks, 1982) with Robert E Vardeman [War of the Powers: pb/Fernando Fernandez]
Demon of the Dark Ones (New York: Playboy Paperbacks, 1982) with Robert E Vardeman [War of the Powers: pb/Fernando Fernandez]
- The War of Powers: Part II: Istu Awakened (London: New English Library, 1985) with Robert E Vardeman [omni of the above three: War of the Powers: pb/Chris Achilleos]

Tokugawa

The Cybernetic Samurai (New York: Arbor House, 1985) [Tokugawa: hb/]
The Cybernetic Shogun (New York: William Morrow, 1990) [Tokugawa: hb/Don Bolognese]

Guardians

The Guardians (New York: Jove, 1985) as by Richard Austin [Guardians: pb/]
The Guardians #2: Trial by Fire (New York: Jove, 1985) as by Richard Austin [Guardians: pb/D Cook]
The Guardians #3: Thunder of Hell (New York: Jove, 1985) as by Richard Austin [Guardians: pb/D Cook]
The Guardians #4: Night of the Phoenix (New York: Jove, 1985) as by Richard Austin [Guardians: pb/]
The Guardians #5: Armageddon Run (New York: Jove, 1986) as by Richard Austin [Guardians: pb/D Cook]
The Guardians #6: War Zone (New York: Jove, 1986) as by Richard Austin [Guardians: pb/D Cook]
The Guardians #7: Brute Force (New York: Jove, 1986) as by Richard Austin [Guardians: pb/]
The Guardians #8: Desolation Road (New York: Jove, 1987) as by Richard Austin [Guardians: pb/]
The Guardians #9: Vengeance Day (New York: Jove, 1987) as by Richard Austin [Guardians: pb/Cliff Miller]
The Guardians #10: Freedom Fight (New York: Jove, 1988) as by Richard Austin [Guardians: pb/]
The Guardians #11: Valley of the Gods (New York: Jove, 1988) as by Richard Austin [Guardians: pb/Cliff Miller]
The Guardians #12: The Plague Years (New York: Jove, 1988) as by Richard Austin [Guardians: pb/]
The Guardians #13: Devil's Deal (New York: Jove, 1989) as by Richard Austin [Guardians: pb/]
The Guardians #14: Death from Above (New York: Jove, 1989) as by Richard Austin [Guardians: pb/]
The Guardians: Snake Eyes (New York: Jove, 1990) as by Richard Austin [Guardians: pb/]
The Guardians: Death Charge (New York: Jove, 1991) as by Richard Austin [Guardians: pb/]

Steele

Fugitive Steele (New York: Berkley Books, 1991) as by S L Hunter [pb/]
Molten Steele (New York: Berkley Books, 1991) as by S L Hunter [pb/]

Stormrider

Stormrider (New York: Jove Books, 1992) as by Robert Baron [Stormrider: pb/]
River of Fire (New York: Jove Books, 1993) as by Robert Baron [Stormrider: pb/]
Lord of the Plains (New York: Jove Books, 1993) as by Robert Baron [Stormrider: pb/]

Star Trek

Star Trek: From the Depths (New York: Pocket Books, 1993) [tie to the series: Star Trek: pb/Keith Birdsong]

BattleTech

Close Quarters (New York: Penguin/Roc, 1994) [tie to BattleTech: BattleTech: pb/Boris Vallejo]
Hearts of Chaos (New York: Penguin/Roc, 1996) [tie to BattleTech: BattleTech: pb/David Mattingly]
Black Dragon (New York: Penguin/Roc, 1996) [tie to BattleTech: BattleTech: pb/Peter Bollinger]
Flight of the Falcon (New York: Penguin/Roc, 2004) [tie to BattleTech/MechWarrior: BattleTech/MechWarrior: Dark Age: pb/Fred Gambino]
A Rending of Falcons (New York: Penguin/Roc, 2007) [tie to BattleTech/MechWarrior: BattleTech/MechWarrior: Dark Age: pb/]

Outlanders (only titles by Milan are here listed)

Outlanders #27: Awakening (Toronto, Ontario: Gold Eagle Books, 2003) as by James Axler [Outlanders: pb/Cliff Nielsen]
Outlanders #29: Sun Lord (Toronto, Ontario: Gold Eagle Books, 2004) as by James Axler [Outlanders: pb/Cliff Nielsen]
Outlanders #31: Uluru Destiny (Toronto, Ontario: Gold Eagle Books, 2004) as by James Axler [Outlanders: pb/Cliff Nielsen]
Outlanders #34: Successors (Toronto, Ontario: Gold Eagle Books, 2005) as by James Axler [Outlanders: pb/Cliff Nielsen]
Outlanders #36: Refuge (Toronto, Ontario: Gold Eagle Books, 2006) as by James Axler [Outlanders: pb/Cliff Nielsen]
Outlanders #38: Lords of the Deep (Toronto, Ontario: Gold Eagle Books, 2006) as by James Axler [Outlanders: pb/Cliff Nielsen]
Outlanders #40: Closing the Cosmic Eye (Toronto, Ontario: Gold Eagle Books, 2007) as by James Axler [Outlanders: pb/Cliff Nielsen]

Deathlands

Deathlands #68: Shaking Earth (Toronto, Ontario: Gold Eagle Books, 2004) as by James Axler [tie to the series: Deathlands: pb/Michael Herring]
Deathlands #70: Vengeance Trail (Toronto, Ontario: Gold Eagle Books, 2005) as by James Axler [tie to the series: Deathlands: pb/Michael Herring]
Deathlands #97: Playfair's Axiom (Toronto, Ontario: Gold Eagle Books, 2011) as by James Axler [tie to the series: Deathlands: pb/Michael Herring]
Deathlands #102: Haven's Blight (Toronto, Ontario: Gold Eagle Books, 2012) as by James Axler [Deathlands: pb/Dave Seeley]
Deathlands #105: Wretched Earth (Toronto, Ontario: Gold Eagle Books, 2012) as by James Axler [Deathlands: pb/Dave Seeley]
Deathlands #106: Crimson Waters (Toronto, Ontario: Gold Eagle Books, 2012) as by James Axler [Deathlands: pb/]
Deathlands #107: No Man's Land (Toronto, Ontario: Gold Eagle Books, 2012) as by James Axler [Deathlands: pb/Dave Seeley]
Deathlands #108: Nemesis (Toronto, Ontario: Gold Eagle Books, 2013) as by James Axler [Deathlands: pb/Dave Seeley]
Deathlands #111: Storm Breakers (Toronto, Ontario: Gold Eagle Books, 2013) as by James Axler [Deathlands: pb/]
Deathlands #113: Motherlode (Toronto, Ontario: Gold Eagle Books, 2013) as by James Axler [Deathlands: pb/Dave Seeley]
Deathlands #115: Hanging Judge (Toronto, Ontario: Gold Eagle Books, 2014) as by James Axler [Deathlands: pb/Dave Seeley]
Deathlands #117: Desolation Angels (Toronto, Ontario: Gold Eagle Books, 2014) as by James Axler [Deathlands: pb/Dave Seeley]
Deathlands #123: Iron Rage (Toronto, Ontario: Gold Eagle Books, 2015) as by James Axler [Deathlands: pb/]
Deathlands #125: Devil's Vortex (Toronto, Ontario: Gold Eagle Books, 2015) as by James Axler [Deathlands: pb/]

Rogue Angel

Solomon's Jar (Toronto, Ontario: Gold Eagle Books, 2006) as by Alex Archer [Rogue Angel: pb/Chad Michael Ward]
- Renaissance (Toronto, Ontario: Gold Eagle Books, 2008) [omni of the above plus Destiny (2006) and The Spider Stone (2006), both by Mel Odom: Rogue Angel: pb/Tim Bradstreet]
The Chosen (Toronto, Ontario: Gold Eagle Books, 2007) as by Alex Archer [Rogue Angel: pb/Chad Michael Ward]
The Lost Scrolls (Toronto, Ontario: Gold Eagle Books, 2007) as by Alex Archer [Rogue Angel: pb/Chad Michael Ward]
Secret of the Slaves (Toronto, Ontario: Gold Eagle Books, 2007) as by Alex Archer [Rogue Angel: pb/]
Provenance (Toronto, Ontario: Gold Eagle Books, 2008) as by Alex Archer [Rogue Angel: pb/Tim Bradstreet]
The Golden Elephant (Toronto, Ontario: Gold Eagle Books, 2008) as by Alex Archer [Rogue Angel: pb/Tim Bradstreet]
Seeker's Curse (Toronto, Ontario: Gold Eagle Books, 2009) as by Alex Archer [Rogue Angel: pb/Tim Bradstreet]
Paradox (Toronto, Ontario: Gold Eagle Books, 2009) as by Alex Archer [Rogue Angel: pb/Tim Bradstreet]
Tribal Ways (Toronto, Ontario: Gold Eagle Books, 2010) as by Alex Archer [Rogue Angel: pb/Tim Bradstreet]

Dinosaur

The Dinosaur Lords (New York: Tor, 2015) [hb/Richard Anderson]
The Dinosaur Knights (New York: Tor, 2016) [hb/Richard Anderson]
The Dinosaur Princess (New York: Tor, 2017) [hb/Richard Anderson]

individual contributions to series

Turn of the Cards (New York: Bantam Spectra, 1993) [tie: contribution to the Shared World: Wild Cards: pb/Timothy Truman]
Forgotten Realms: Nobles: War in Tethyr (Lake Geneva, Wisconsin: TSR, 1995) [tie to the series: Forgotten Realms: Nobles: pb/Walter Velez]
Vengeance Trail (Toronto, Ontario: Gold Eagle Books, 2005) as by James Axler [tie to the series: Deathlands: pb/Michael Herring]

individual titles

Runespear (New York: Popular Library/Questar, 1987) with Melinda Snodgrass [pb/Jim Warren]
Red Sands (New York: Warner, 1993) [pb/]
CLD: Collective Landing Detachment (New York: Jove, 1995) [pb/Dorian Vallejo]

links

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