Douglas, L Warren
Entry updated 13 January 2025. Tagged: Author.
(1943- ) Pseudonym of US teacher, woodcarver and author Douglas W Lugthart, who began to publish sf with A Plague of Change (1992). This was followed in the Plague of Change sequence by Cannon's Orb (1994); the protagonist of the sequence – who is something of an anthropologist (like Warren himself) as well as a Computer expert – is hired by Aliens to examine the causes for the decline of a colony planet, though Space Opera concerns soon externalize his study as pirates threaten the world. His most significant sf work, the Arbiter sequence – comprising Stepwater (1995), The Wells of Phyre (1996) and Glaice (1996) – again features a roving investigator, who in this case searches the worlds for stolen or lost data, the recovery of which may cure not diseases on farflung planets but also save civilization. The Sorceress's Tale sequence is fantasy. Warren's two singletons also involve oversight functions: in Bright Islands in a Dark Sea (1993), an archaeologist discovers the truth behind a theocracy's worship of Aliens (see Religion); and in Simply Human (2000), a Cyborg cares for the remnants of humanity in a Ruined Earth. [JC]
Douglas W Lugthart
born Grand Rapids, Michigan: 3 November 1943
works
series
Plague of Change
- A Plague of Change (New York: Ballantine Books/Del Rey, 1992) [Plague of Change: pb/Dorian Vallejo]
- Cannon's Orb (New York: Ballantine Books/Del Rey, 1994) [Plague of Change: pb/John Berkey]
Arbiter
- Stepwater (New York: Penguin/Roc, 1995) [Arbiter: pb/Mark Gerber]
- The Wells of Phyre (New York: Penguin/Roc, 1996) [Arbiter: pb/Mark Gerber]
- Glaice (New York: Penguin/Roc, 1996) [Arbiter: pb/Chris Moore]
- Xaradne (place not given: privately published, 2017) [Arbiter: pb/]
Sorceress's Tale
- The Sacred Pool (New York: Baen Books, 2001) [Sorceress's Tale: hb/Larry Elmore]
- The Veil of Years (New York: Baen Books, 2001) [Sorceress's Tale: hb/Gary Ruddell]
- The Isle Beyond Time (New York: Baen Books, 2003) [Sorceress's Tale: pb/Dominic Harman]
individual titles
- Bright Islands in a Dark Sea (New York: Ballantine Books/Del Rey, 1993) [pb/John Berkey]
- Simply Human (New York: Baen Books, 2000) [pb/John Monteleone]
links
previous versions of this entry