Sirota, Mike

Entry updated 12 September 2022. Tagged: Author.

(1946-    ) US author, beginning with the Reglathium sequence of Planetary Romances, the first listed being The Prisoner of Reglathium (1978), but with all five volumes published simultaneously, and featuring various adventures across romantic continents: Monsters are encountered, and Underground vistas gape open, but the sequence lacks the narrative strengths of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Sirota's acknowledged model. The protagonist of his second fantasy-like series, the Berbora sequence comprising Berbora (1978) and Flight from Berbora (1978), discovers the eponymous City of his dreams, which has lain in ruins for a millennium; and hopes through Time Travel to return to the point where Disaster struck, and to save Berbora: his intervention, sadly, creates the disaster he had hoped to avert. The Ro-Lan sequence beginning with Master of Boranga (1980), is similar to Sirota's first.

Though his best subsequent work has tended to be tales of horror like Demon Shadows (1990) or the powerful The Burning Ground (2012), Sirota has also released some work of sf interest, primarily the Bicycling Through Space and Time sequence comprising Bicycling Through Space and Time (1991), The Ultimate Bike Path (1992) and The 22nd Gear (1993). A kind of Wormhole through the universe opens when the twenty-second gear is engaged on the protagonist's bike, providing access to different worlds and different epochs. The Fantastic Voyages subsequently enjoyed by the mildly adventurous Jack Miller are somewhat muted. Quantum Force (1993) as by Victor Appleton is a Tie to the fourth series of the Tom Swift Shared World (see Tom Swift). Sirota is an author with engaging ideas, but is perhaps at times too easily pleased by them. [JC]

Michael Barry Sirota

born White Plains, New York: 1946

works

series

Reglathium

• The Prisoner of Reglathium (New York: Manor Books, 1978) [Reglathium: pb/Hinck]
• The Conquerors of Reglathium (New York: Manor Books, 1978) [Reglathium: pb/Hinck]
  • Warlord of Maldrinium (California: Atoris Press, 2015) [omni of the above two presented as a single novel: Reglathium: pb/]
• The Caves of Reglathium (New York: Manor Books, 1978) [Reglathium: pb/Hinck]
• Dark Straits of Reglathium (New York: Manor Books, 1978) [Reglathium: pb/Hinck]
• Slaves of Reglathium (New York: Manor Books, 1978) [Reglathium: pb/Hinck]

Berbora

• Berbora (New York: Manor Books, 1978) [Berbora: pb/Hinck]
  • The Sword of Tyron (California: Atoris Press, 2012) [rev vt of the above: Berbora: pb/]
• Flight from Berbora (New York: Manor Books, 1978) [Berbora: pb/Hinck]
  • The Quest of Tyron (California: Atoris Press, 2013) [rev vt of the above: Berbora: pb/]

Ro-Lan

• Master of Boranga (New York: Zebra Books, 1980) [Ro-Lan: pb/L Bermejo]
  • The Master of Boranga (California: Atoris Press, 2012) [rev vt of the above: Ro-Lan: pb/]
• The Shrouded Walls of Boranga (New York: Zebra Books, 1980) [Ro-Lan: pb/L Bermejo]
  • The Shrouded Walls of Kharith (California: Atoris Press, 2012) [rev vt of the above: Ro-Lan: pb/]
• Journey to Mesharra (New York: Zebra Books, 1980) [Ro-Lan: pb/L Bermejo]
  • The Sorcerer of Mesharra (California: Atoris Press, 2012) [rev vt of the above: Ro-Lan: pb/]
• The Demons of Zammar (New York: Zebra Books, 1980) [Ro-Lan: pb/L Bermejo]
  • The Beasts of Zammar (California: Atoris Press, 2013) [rev vt of the above: Ro-Lan: pb/]

Bicycling Through Space and Time

• Bicycling Through Space and Time (New York: Ace Books, 1991) [Bicycling Through Space and Time: pb/Glenn Orbik]
• The Ultimate Bike Path (New York: Ace Books, 1992) [Bicycling Through Space and Time: pb/Glenn Orbik]
• The 22nd Gear (New York: Ace Books, 1993) [Bicycling Through Space and Time: pb/Peter Peebles]

individual titles

• The Twentieth Son of Ornon (New York: Zebra Books, 1980) [pb/]
  • Sons of Ornon (California: Atoris Press, 2012) [pb/]
• The Golden Hawk of Zandraya (New York: Zebra Books, 1981) [pb/Enric]
• Demon Shadows (New York: Bantam Books, 1990) as Michael B Sirota [pb/Alan Ayers]
  • Demon Shadows (California: Atoris Press, 2011) [rev of the above: pb/]
• The Well (New York: Bantam Books, 1991) as Michael B Sirota [pb/Jim Thiesen]
  • The Modoc Well (California: Atoris Press, 2011) [rev vt of the above: pb/]
• Fire Dance (Los Angeles, California: ZOVA Books, 2011) [pb/]
  • Fire Dance (California: Atoris Press, 2014) [rev of the above: pb/]
• Quantum Force (New York: Pocket Books, 1993) as by Victor Appleton [tie to the Tom Swift Shared World series: Tom Swift: pb/]
• The Burning Ground (Los Angeles, California: ZOVA Books, 2011) [pb/]
  • The Burning Ground (California: Atoris Press, 2014) [rev of the above: pb/]

about the author

• Mike Barrett. "Journey from Reglathium: The Novels of Mike Sirota" (August 2012 New York Review of Science Fiction) [mag/]

links

• Mike Sirota
• Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Picture Gallery

previous versions of this entry

• Internet Archive