Swann, S Andrew

Entry updated 12 September 2022. Tagged: Author.

Pseudonym of US author Steven A Swiniarski (1966-    ), much of whose sf has been constructed as a loose Future History beginning with the Terran Confederacy: Moreau sequence – comprising Forests of the Night (1993), Emperors of the Twilight (1994) and Specters of the Dawn (1994), all three assembled as Moreau Omnibus (omni 2003), plus Fearful Symmetries: The Return of Nohar Rajasthan (1999) – and constructed as group of sf noir detective novels in a world where Genetically Engineered animals have been bred to occupy underclass roles in a Dystopian America. Their name comes from H G Wells's The Island of Dr. Moreau (1896), though the doctor's experiments are purely surgical; they are more fittingly evocative of the evolved animals in Cordwainer Smith's Instrumentality of Man. In honour of the fact that the detective protagonist of the series comes from tiger stock, some of the titles are taken from "The Tyger" (1794) by William Blake (1757-1827). In Cleveland – Swiniarski's home town, where much of his work is set – the protagonist discovers that Extraterrestrials are attempting to become Secret Masters of America through the use of advanced AIs. The second series – the Terran Confederacy: Hostile Takeover sequence comprising Profiteer (1995), Partisan (1995) and Revolutionary (1996), all assembled as The Hostile Takeover Trilogy (omni 2004) – opens the action into a multi-species Space Opera whose dominant Terran Confederacy is conceived on ambivalently Libertarian lines: "anarchy" is espoused, but interstellar corporations, even more freed of restraint than in the twenty-first century, create Prisons for profit across the starscape. In the final series – the Terran Confederacy: Apotheosis sequence comprising Prophets (2009), Heretics (2010) and Messiah (2011) – the scattered human and Posthuman races have entered a Long Night, but must rally to a threat of imposed Transcendence from unknown regions.

Swann's other work is of perhaps less interest in sf terms. The Cleveland Dead and Cleveland Portal series [for titles see Checklist] are horror featuring Vampires, albeit with some Science Fantasy rationalization in the form of a treatable "vampire virus"; the Wolf sequence [see Checklist] is an historical fantasy, with Werewolves recruited by the medieval Catholic Church; the three novels as by Steven Krane, beginning with Teek (1999), combine the Technothriller and Paranoia, as does Zimmerman's Algorithm (2000) as Swann. There is proficiency throughout, but not as yet perhaps fully engaged. [JC]

Steven Andrew Swiniarski

born Cleveland, Ohio: 1 September 1966

works

series

Terran Confederacy: Moreau

• Forests of the Night (New York: DAW Books, 1993) [Terran Confederacy: Moreau: pb/Jim Burns]
• Emperors of the Twilight (New York: DAW Books, 1994) [Terran Confederacy: Moreau: pb/Jim Burns]
• Specters of the Dawn (New York: DAW Books, 1994) [Terran Confederacy: Moreau: pb/Jim Burns]
  • Moreau Omnibus (New York: DAW Books, 2003) [omni of the above three: Terran Confederacy: Moreau: pb/Jim Burns]
  • The Moreau Quartet: Volume Two (New York: DAW Books, 2015) [omni of the above two: Terran Confederacy: Moreau: pb/Jim Burns]
• Fearful Symmetries (New York: DAW Books, 1999) [Terran Confederacy: Moreau: pb/Les Dorscheid]
  • The Moreau Quartet: Volume One (New York: DAW Books, 2015) [omni of the above and Forests of the Night: Terran Confederacy: Moreau: pb/Jim Burns]

Terran Confederacy: Hostile Takeover

• Profiteer (New York: DAW Books, 1995) [Terran Confederacy: Hostile Takeover: pb/Jim Burns]
• Partisan (New York: DAW Books, 1995) [Terran Confederacy: Hostile Takeover: pb/Jim Burns]
• Revolutionary (New York: DAW Books, 1996) [Terran Confederacy: Hostile Takeover: pb/Jim Burns]
  • The Hostile Takeover Trilogy (New York: DAW Books, 2004) [omni of the above three: Terran Confederacy: Hostile Takeover: pb/Jim Burns]

Terran Confederacy: Apotheosis

• Prophets (New York: DAW Books, 2009) [Terran Confederacy: Apotheosis: pb/Stephan Martinière]
• Heretics (New York: DAW Books, 2010) [Terran Confederacy: Apotheosis: pb/Stephan Martinière]
• Messiah (New York: DAW Books, 2011) [Terran Confederacy: Apotheosis: pb/Stephan Martinière]

Cleveland Undead

• Raven (New York: DAW Books, 1996) as S A Swiniarski [Cleveland Undead: pb/Don Brautigam]
• The Flesh, The Blood and the Fire (New York: DAW Books, 1998) as S A Swiniarski [Cleveland Undead: pb/Don Brantigam]
  • Blood and Rust: Two Novels of the Cleveland Undead (New York: DAW Books, 2007) as S A Swiniarski [omni of the above two: Cleveland Undead: pb/]

Cleveland Portal

• The Dragons of the Cuyahoga (New York: DAW Books, 2001) [Cleveland Portal: pb/Luis Royo]
• The Dwarves of Whiskey Island (New York: DAW Books, 2005) [Cleveland Portal: pb/Steve Stone]
  • Dragons and Dwarves: Stories of the Cleveland Portal (New York: DAW Books, 2009) [omni of the above two: Cleveland Portal: pb/Shutterstock]

Wolf

• Wolfbreed (New York: Bantam Spectra, 2009) as by S A Swann [Wolf: pb/Gene Molica]
• Wolf's Cross (New York: Bantam Spectra, 2010) as by S A Swann [Wolf: pb/Gene Molica]

Dragon Princess

• Dragon Princess (New York: DAW Books, 2014) [Dragon Princess: pb/Omar Rayyan]
• Dragon Thief (New York: DAW Books, 2015) [Dragon Princess: pb/Omar Rayyan]
• Dragon Wizard (New York: DAW Books, 2016) [Dragon Princess: pb/Omar Rayyan]

individual titles

• God's Dice (New York: DAW Books, 1997) [pb/Romas Kukalis]
• Teek (New York: DAW Books, 1999) as Steven Krane [pb/Don Brautigam]
• Zimmerman's Algorithm (New York: DAW Books, 2000) [pb/Bob Warner]
• The Omega Game (New York: DAW Books, 2000) as Steven Krane [pb/]
• Stranger Inside (New York: DAW Books, 2003) as Steven Krane [pb/Cliff Nielsen]
• Broken Crescent (New York: DAW Books, 2004) [pb/Chris McGrath]
• Marked (New York: DAW Books, 2019) [pb/Chris Gibbs]

links

• Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Picture Gallery

previous versions of this entry

• Internet Archive