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Lustbader, Eric Van
(1946- ) US author who graduated from Columbia University, majoring in sociology, and worked for a time in the rock-music industry; married since 1982 to Victoria Schochet. Although "Van" is a middle name rather than part of his surname, he is frequently shelved under V in bookshops and libraries; he has also appeared as Eric Lustbader, a decision of the publishers rather than the author. His published sf/fantasy work began with the Sunset Warrior trilogy: The Sunset Warrior (1977), Shallows of Night (1978) and Dai-San (1978), to which Beneath an Opal Moon (1980) is a coda with a different hero. This was remarkably vivid Sword and Sorcery with sex and violence, and imaginatively rendered: the first book is true sf, set in an Underground Post-Holocaust society which has almost forgotten the technology that keeps it alive, and to which the surface is a distant memory, but subsequent volumes make no great attempt to cleave to the sf premise. Van Lustbader then turned to the bestseller genre with The Ninja (1979), the first of the Nicholas Linnear trilogy, whose other titles are The Miko (1984) and White Ninja (1990). These blend Oriental mysticism with martial-arts adventure and sex, and contain (especially the third) many fantastic elements, though more magical than scientific. Van Lustbader maintained a string of bestsellers through the 1980s, and is now an important commercial writer. His work is florid and intense, with a sadistic streak, and mostly set in Asia; his more recent books are generally signed Eric Lustbader. A later series of Ties, the Robert Ludlum's Bourne series, beginning with The Bourne Legacy (2004) – filmed under the same title in 2012 – is sf. For further details see Robert Ludlum and Bourne Films. [PN/JC]
Eric Van Lustbader
born New York: 24 December 1946
works (selected)
series
Sunset Warrior
- The Sunset Warrior (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1977) [Sunset Warrior: hb/John Cayea]
- Shallows of Night (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1978) [Sunset Warrior: hb/John Cayea]
- Dai-San (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1978) [Sunset Warrior: hb/John Cayea]
- Beneath an Opal Moon (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1980) [Sunset Warrior: hb/John Cayea]
- Dragons on the Sea of Night (London: HarperCollins/Voyager, 1997) [Sunset Warrior: hb/Don Maitz]
Nicholas Linnear
- The Ninja (New York: Fawcett Crest, 1979) [Nicholas Linnear: pb/]
- The Miko (New York: Fawcett Crest, 1984) [Nicholas Linnear: pb/]
- White Ninja (New York: Fawcett Crest, 1990) [Nicholas Linnear: pb/]
- Floating City (London: HarperCollins, 1994) [Nicholas Linnear: pb/David Scutt]
- Second Skin (London: HarperCollins, 1995) [Nicholas Linnear: pb/David Scutt]
China Maroc
- Jian (New York: Villard Books, 1985) [China Maroc: hb/]
- Shan (New York: Random House, 1986) [China Maroc: hb/]
The Pearl Saga
- The Ring of Five Dragons: Volume One of the Pearl Saga (London: HarperCollins/Voyager, 2001) [Pearl Saga: hb/John Howe]
- The Veil of a Thousand Years: Volume Two of the Pearl Saga (London: HarperCollins/Voyager, 2002) [Pearl Saga: hb/John Howe]
- The Cage of Nine Banestones: Volume Three of the Pearl Saga (London: HarperCollins/Voyager, 2003) [Pearl Saga: hb/John Howe]
- Mistress of the Pearl (New York: Tor, 2004) [vt of the above: hb/John Howe]
Robert Ludlum's Bourne
- The Bourne Legacy (New York: St Martin's Press, 2004) [tie: Robert Ludlum's Bourne: hb/]
- The Bourne Betrayal (New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2007) [tie: Robert Ludlum's Bourne: hb/]
- The Bourne Sanction (New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2008) [tie: Robert Ludlum's Bourne: hb/]
- The Bourne Deception (New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2009) [tie: Robert Ludlum's Bourne: hb/]
- The Bourne Objective (New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2010) [tie: Robert Ludlum's Bourne: hb/]
- The Bourne Dominion (New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2011) [tie: Robert Ludlum's Bourne: hb/]
- The Bourne Imperative (New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2012) [tie: Robert Ludlum's Bourne: hb/]
individual titles
- The Black Heart (New York: M Evans and Company, 1986) [hb/]
- Zero (New York: Random House, 1988) [hb/]
- French Kiss (New York: Fawcett Columbine, 1989) [hb/]
- Angel Eyes (New York: Fawcett Columbine, 1991) [hb/]
- Black Blade (London: HarperCollins, 1991) [hb/]
- Batman: The Last Angel (New York: DC Comics, 1994) with Scott Hanna and Lee Moder [graph: tie to the DC Comics universe: Batman: Catwoman: pb/]
- Pale Saint (London: HarperCollins/Voyager, 1999) [hb/]
- First Daughter (New York: Tor/Forge, 2008) [hb/]
- Any Minute Now (New York: Tor/Forge, 2016) [hb/]
links
Entry from The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (2011-current) edited by John Clute and David Langford.
Accessed 12:31 pm on 21 January 2025.
<https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/lustbader_eric_van>