Roberts, John Maddox
Entry updated 12 September 2022. Tagged: Author.
(1947- ) US author, prolific in the later 1980s, who has also written nonfantastic novels as by Mark Ramsay. His first sf novel, The Strayed Sheep of Charun (1977; rev vt Cestus Dei 1983), is an action-packed romance set on a medievalized planet in which Jesuits and others attempt to reform the violence which is the planet's (and novel's) raison d'être. There followed a variety of work, all adventure fiction – whose style is perhaps best described as brisk – in sf or fantasy settings, including the Young Adult Space-Opera Spacer sequence comprising Space Angel (1979), in which the commandeering of a spaceship by an ancient Alien leads to adventures for a boy, and its sequel Spacer: Window of the Mind (1988). King of the Wood (1983) is set in an alternate USA inhabited variously by Norsemen, Native Americans, Aztecs and Spanish Muslims. The Cingulum sequence about a raffish spaceship crew's adventures is The Cingulum (1985), Cloak of Illusion (1985) and Cingulum #3: The Sword, the Jewel and the Mirror (1988). Roberts also collaborated with Eric Kotani (whom see for details) on the Act of God sequence beginning with Act of God (1985); two singletons, Delta Pavonis (1990) and Legacy of Prometheus (2000) were also written with Kotani. Roberts's The Enigma Variations (1989) sets an Amnesiac in a corporate future. While all this sf activity was going on, Roberts also contributed several Ties to the ever-growing Conan series, set in a Shared World derived from Robert E Howard's famous Sword-and-Sorcery stories, and beginning with Conan the Valorous (1985). The Stormlands series, set in a tribalized fantasy world, so far comprises The Islander (1990), The Black Shields (1991), The Poisoned Lands (1992), The Steel Kings (1993) and Queens of Land and Sea (1994). The SPQR sequence beginning with SPQR (1990) comprises police-procedural mystery novels set in ancient Rome; the Hannibal's Children sequence beginning with Hannibal's Children (2002) is an Alternate History saga in which Rome lost the Second Punic War. [PN]
John Maddox Roberts
born Ohio: 25 June 1947
works
series
Spacer
- Space Angel (New York: Ballantine Books/Del Rey, 1979) [Spacer: pb/Dean Ellis]
- Spacer: Window of the Mind (Ace Books, 1988) [Spacer: pb/Richard Hescox]
Cingulum
- The Cingulum (New York: Tor, 1985) [Cingulum: pb/Norma Segrelles]
- Cloak of Illusion (New York: Tor, 1985) [Cingulum: pb/Alex Ebel]
- Cingulum #3: The Sword, the Jewel and the Mirror (New York: Tor, 1988) [Cingulum: pb/Bob Petillo]
Act of God
- Act of God (New York: Baen Books, 1985) with Eric Kotani [Act of God: pb/David Egge]
- The Island Worlds (New York: Baen Books, 1987) with Eric Kotani [Act of God: pb/Alan Gutierrez]
- Between the Stars (New York: Baen Books, 1988) with Eric Kotani [Act of God: pb/Alan Gutierrez]
Conan
- Conan the Valorous (New York: Tor, 1985) [tie to the series: Robert E Howard: Conan: pb/Kirk Reinert]
- Conan the Champion (New York: Tor, 1987) [tie to the series: Robert E Howard: Conan: pb/Ken Kelly]
- Conan the Marauder (New York: Tor, 1988) [tie to the series: Robert E Howard: Conan: pb/]
- Conan the Bold (New York: Tor, 1989) [tie to the series: Robert E Howard: Conan: pb/Ken Kelly]
- Conan the Rogue (New York: Tor, 1991) [tie to the series: Robert E Howard: Conan: pb/Ken Kelly]
- Conan and the Treasure of Python (New York: Tor, 1993) [tie to the series: Robert E Howard: Conan: pb/Julie Bell]
- Conan and the Manhunters (New York: Tor, 1994) [tie to the series: Robert E Howard: Conan: pb/Ken Kelly]
- Conan and the Amazon (New York: Tor, 1995) [tie to the series: Robert E Howard: Conan: pb/Ken Kelly]
SPQR
Some titles in this Shared World series are by other hands.
- SPQR (New York: Avon Books, 1990) [SPQR: pb/]
- SPQR II: The Catiline Conspiracy (New York: Avon Books, 1991) [SPQR: pb/Jean Pierre Targete]
- SPQR #3: The Sacrilege (New York: Avon Books, 1992) [SPQR: pb/]
- SPQR #4: The Temple of the Muses (New York: Avon Books, 1992) [SPQR: pb/R Crawford]
- SPQR #V: Saturnalia (New York: St Martin's Press/Thomas Dunne, 1999) [SPQR: pb/Roy Pendleton]
- Nobody Loves a Centurion (New York: St Martin's Press/Thomas Dunne, 2001) [SPQR: hb/]
- The Tribune's Curse (New York: St Martin's Press/Thomas Dunne, 2003) [SPQR: hb/]
- SPQR #VIII: The River God's Vengeance (New York: St Martin's Press/Thomas Dunne, 2005) [SPQR: pb/Alan Dingman]
- SPQR #IX: The Princess & the Pirates (New York: St Martin's Press/Thomas Dunne, 2005) [SPQR: hb/]
- A Point of Law (New York: St Martin's Press/Thomas Dunne, 2006) [SPQR: hb/]
- Under Vesuvius (New York: St Martin's Press/Thomas Dunne, 2007) [SPQR: hb/]
- SPQR #XII: Oracle of he Dead (New York: St Martin's Press/Thomas Dunne, 2008) [SPQR: hb/Teresa Fasolino]
- SPQR #XII: The Year of Confusion (New York: St Martin's Press/Thomas Dunne, 2010) [SPQR: hb/Teresa Fasolino]
Stormlands
- The Islander (New York: Tor, 1991) [Stormlands: pb/Ken Kelly]
- The Black Shields (New York: Tor, 1991) [Stormlands: pb/Ken Kelly]
- The Poisoned Lands (New York: Tor, 1992) [Stormlands: pb/Ken Kelly]
- The Steel Kings (New York: Tor, 1993) [Stormlands: pb/Ken Kelly]
- Queens of Land and Sea (New York: Tor, 1994) [Stormlands: pb/Ken Kelly]
Hannibal's Children
- Hannibal's Children (New York: Ace Books, 2002) [Hannibal's Children: hb/Scott Grimando]
- The Seven Hills (New York: Ace Books, 2005) [Hannibal's Children: hb/Scott Grimando]
individual titles
- The Strayed Sheep of Charun (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1977) [hb/Michael Flanagan]
- Cestus Dei (New York: Tor/Pinnacle, 1983) [rev vt of the above: pb/Kevin Eugene Johnson]
- King of the Wood (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1983) [hb/Steve Marchesi]
- The Enigma Variations (Nw York: Ace Books, 1989) [pb/Oscar Chichoni]
- Delta Pavonis (New York: Baen Books, 1990) with Eric Kotani [pb/Peter Scanlon]
- DragonLance: Murder in Tarsis (Lake Geneva, Wisconsin: TSR, 1996) [tie to the game: DragonLance: pb/Larry Elmore]
- Legacy of Prometheus (New York: Tor/Forge, 2000) with Eric Kotani [hb/Tony Greco]
links
previous versions of this entry