Spoor, Ryk E
Entry updated 13 January 2025. Tagged: Author.
(1962- ) US author most of whose work has been action-heavy Space Opera, though his first book, Digital Knight (coll of linked stories 2003), is a set of closely linked tales whose narrator, the eponymous Computer-expert private eye, uncovers a complex Alternate World through his discovery of the existence of Vampires and other Supernatural Creatures. In his first two sf series, however, Spoor settled into a mode where interstellar action can be unpacked with due flamboyance; in both of these series, that action takes place in a universe where Homo sapiens are relative newcomers. The Boundary sequence with Eric Flint, beginning with Boundary (2006), follows the palaeontological discovery on Earth and on Mars of evidence that a Forerunner species may have been responsible for advanced life on Earth (see Uplift). The Grand Central Arena sequence beginning with Grand Central Arena (2010) is set in a heavily populated galaxy in which Homo sapiens is a latecomer; the first human explorers discover that interstellar affairs among various species have long been mediated through agonistic behaviour (see Johan Huizinga) in a great "arena" (see Games and Sports) where disputes and entanglements are sorted out.
Phoenix Rising (2012) is fantasy [see Checklist for further volumes]; however, a further space opera series – Demons of the Past, opening with Revelation (2018) – is grouped with Digital Knight and the Phoenix Rising trio as taking place in the overall Zarathan Multiverse. [JC/DRL]
Ryk Erik Spoor
born Omaha, Nebraska: 21 July 1962
works
series
Boundary
- Boundary (New York: Baen Books, 2006) with Eric Flint: [Boundary: hb/Kurt Miller]
- Threshold (New York: Baen Books, 2010) with Eric Flint: [Boundary: hb/Bob Eggleton]
- Portal (New York: Baen Books, 2013) with Eric Flint: [Boundary: hb/Bob Eggleton]
- Castaway Planet (New York: Baen Books, 2014) with Eric Flint: [Boundary: hb/Bob Eggleton]
- Castaway Odyssey (New York: Baen Books, 2017) with Eric Flint: [Boundary: hb/Bob Eggleton]
- Castaway Resolution (New York: Baen Books, 2020) with Eric Flint [Boundary: hb/Sam Kennedy]
Grand Central Arena
- Grand Central Arena (New York: Baen Books, 2010) [Grand Central Arena: pb/Stephen Hickman]
- Spheres of Influence (New York: Baen Books, 2013) [Grand Central Arena: pb/Alan Pollack]
- Challenges of the Deep (New York: Baen Books, 2017) [Grand Central Arena: pb/Alan Pollack]
Zarathan: Phoenix Rising
- Phoenix Rising (New York: Baen Books, 2012) [Zarathan: Phoenix Rising: pb/Todd Lockwood]
- Phoenix in Shadow (New York: Baen Books, 2015) [Zarathan: Phoenix Rising: pb/Todd Lockwood]
- Phoenix Ascendant (New York: Baen Books, 2016) [Zarathan: Phoenix Rising: pb/Todd Lockwood]
Zarathan: Demons of the Past
- Revelation (Ontario, Canada: Double Dragon Publications, 2018) [Zarathan: Demons of the Past: pb/]
- Revolution (place not given: Ring of Fire Press, 2018) [Zarathan: Demons of the Past: pb/]
- Retribution (place not given: Ring of Fire Press, 2019) [ebook: Zarathan: Demons of the Past: pb/Vincent Chong]
Demons of the Past
- Digital Knight (New York: Baen Books, 2003) [Zarathan: pb/Gary Ruddell]
- Paradigms Lost (New York: Baen Books, 2014) [rev/exp version of the above: Zarathan: pb/Stephen Hickman]
- Legend (place not given: Eric Flint's Ring of Fire Press, 2019) [pb/Cover Designer]
individual titles
- Polychrome (place not given: Mirabilis Press, 2015) [pb/Bob Eggleton]
- Princess Holy Aura (New York: Baen Books, 2003) [pb/Morinekozion]
links
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