Cole, Allan
Entry updated 10 July 2023. Tagged: Author.
(1943-2019) US Television scriptwriter – with more than 100 credits to his name – journalist and author; his sf screenwriting includes three episodes of the series The Incredible Hulk (1977-1982), two of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979-1981) and six of Defenders of the Earth (1986-1991).
His sf sequence featuring Sten, a rebel who becomes a military hero in the defence of a Galactic Empire under threat, comprises Sten (1982), The Wolf Worlds (1984), Court of a Thousand Suns (1985), Fleet of the Damned (1988), Revenge of the Damned (1989), The Return of the Emperor (1990), Vortex (1993) and Empire's End (1993), all written with Chris Bunch; plus two further titles by Cole alone, Sten and the Mutineers (2016) and Sten and the Pirate Queen (2018). Early volumes proclaim some concern for the nature of the society defended; but the sequence soon concentrates on apolitical action, the more extreme moments usually centred on Sten's violent responses to any hint of betrayal. The Anteros sequence of fantasy tales, beginning with The Far Kingdoms (1993), was also written with Bunch, shortly before the team broke up suddenly, with apparent bad feeling; its final volume, The Warrior Returns (1997) was written by Cole solo. Also solo, he then wrote the Tales of the Timuras comprising When the Gods Slept (1997; vt Wizard of the Winds 1997), Wolves of the Gods (1998) and The Gods Awake (1999), all being assembled as The Complete Timuras (omni 2005); this too is fantasy.
Lords of Terror (2006; vt The Hate Parallax 2011) with Nick Perumov (a fantasy writer born in Russia on 21 November 1963; now in US), posits an eternal Cold War. [JC/DRL]
Allan George Cole
born Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 19 November 1943
died 30 March 2019
works (selected)
series
Sten
- Sten (New York: Ballantine Books/Del Rey, 1982) with Chris Bunch [Sten: pb/Ralph Brillhart]
- Sten 2: The Wolf Worlds (New York: Ballantine Books/Del Rey, 1984) with Chris Bunch [Sten: pb/David Mattingly]
- Sten 3: The Court of a Thousand Suns (New York: Ballantine Books/Del Rey, 1986) with Chris Bunch [Sten: pb/David Mattingly]
- Battlecry (London: Orbit, 2010) with Chris Bunch [omni of the above three: Sten: pb/]
- The Sten Omnibus #1: Sten, The Wolf Worlds, The Court of a Thousand Suns (Rockville, Maryland: Wildside Press, 2016) with Chris Bunch [vt of the above: Sten: pb/Luca Oleastri]
- Battlecry (London: Orbit, 2010) with Chris Bunch [omni of the above three: Sten: pb/]
- Sten 4: Fleet of the Damned (New York: Ballantine Books/Del Rey, 1988) with Chris Bunch [Sten: pb/David Mattingly]
- Sten 5: Revenge of the Damned (New York: Ballantine Books/Del Rey, 1989) with Chris Bunch [Sten: pb/David Mattingly]
- Sten 6: The Return of the Emperor (New York: Ballantine Books/Del Rey, 1990) with Chris Bunch [Sten: pb/Michael Herring]
- Juggernaut: Sten Omnibus 2 (London: Orbit, 2012) with Chris Bunch [omni of the above three: Sten: pb/Paul Young]
- The Sten Omnibus #2: Fleet of the Damned, Revenge of the Damned, The Return of the Emperor (Rockville, Maryland: Wildside Press, 2016) with Chris Bunch [omni: vt of the above: Sten: pb/]
- Juggernaut: Sten Omnibus 2 (London: Orbit, 2012) with Chris Bunch [omni of the above three: Sten: pb/Paul Young]
- Sten 7: Vortex (New York: Ballantine Books/Del Rey, 1992) with Chris Bunch [Sten: pb/Bruce Jensen]
- Sten 8: Empire's End (New York: Ballantine Books/Del Rey, 1993) with Chris Bunch [Sten: pb/Bruce Jensen]
- Death Match: Sten Omnibus 3 (London: Orbit, 2012) with Chris Bunch [omni of the above two: Sten: pb/]
- The Sten Omnibus #3: Vortex / Empire's End (Rockville, Maryland: Wildside Press, 2017) with Chris Bunch [omni: vt of the above: Sten: pb/]
- Death Match: Sten Omnibus 3 (London: Orbit, 2012) with Chris Bunch [omni of the above two: Sten: pb/]
- Empire Day: 2013: A Sten Celebration (Scotts Valley, California: CreateSpace, 2013) [coll: various excerpts from the above, a chapter from #3 adapted as a story, and nonfiction: pb/]
- Sten and the Mutineers (Rockville, Maryland: Wildside Press, 2016) [Sten: pb/]
- Sten and the Pirate Queen (Rockville, Maryland: Wildside Press, 2018) [Sten: pb/]
Anteros
- The Far Kingdoms (New York: Ballantine Books/Del Rey, 1993) with Chris Bunch [Anteros: hb/Gnemo]
- The Warrior's Tale (London: Legend, 1994) with Chris Bunch [Anteros: hb/Gnemo]
- Kingdoms of the Night (New York: Ballantine Books/Del Rey, 1995) with Chris Bunch [Anteros: hb/Gnemo]
- The Warrior Returns (New York: Ballantine Books/Del Rey, 1997) [Anteros: hb/Gnemo]
Tales of the Timuras
- When the Gods Slept (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1997) [Tales of the Timuras: hb/Peter Elson]
- Wizard of the Winds (New York: Ballantine Books/Del Rey, 1997) [vt of the above: Tales of the Timuras: pb/Stephen Hickman]
- Wolves of the Gods (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1998) [Tales of the Timuras: hb/Peter Elson]
- The Gods Awaken (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1999) [Tales of the Timuras: hb/Peter Elson]
- The Complete Timuras (Holicong, Pennsylvania: Wildside Press, 2005) [omni of the above three: Tales of the Timuras: hb/]
individual titles
- Lords of Terror (Austin, Texas: Zumaya Publications, 2006) with Nick Perumov [pb/]
- The Hate Parallax (Rockville, Maryland: Wildside Press, 2011) with Nick Perumov [vt of the above: pb/]
links
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