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Sernine, Daniel

Pseudonym of Canadian author Alain Lortie (1955-    ), a central force in Canadian sf, who began publishing in 1975 with the dark fantasies "Jalbert" and "La Bouteille" ["The Bottle"] for Requiem 5, later serving (from 1983) on the editorial collective of that magazine, now renamed Solaris (see Canada). His early work was collected in Les Contes de l'ombre ["Tales from the Shadow"] (coll 1979). His novels, marketed for Young Adult readers, are split into two main series: the Neubourg and Granverger fantasies, set in an imaginary enclave of New France – Légendes du vieux manoir ["Tales from the Old Manor House"] (coll 1979), Le Trésor du "Scorpion" (1980; trans as The "Scorpion" Treasure 1990), L'Épée Arhapal (1981; trans as The Sword Arhapal 1990) and Le Cercle Violet ["The Purple Circle"] (1984) – and the Exode or Argus sequence, about a benevolent extraterrestrial organization keeping watch on the Earth: Organisation Argus (1979; trans David Homel as Those Who Watch the Skies 1990), Argus Intervient (1983; trans David Homel as Argus Steps In 1990), Argus: mission mille ["Argus: The Thousandth Mission"] (1989) and Les Rêves d'Argus ["The Dreams of Argus"] (1991). Both series are brought together in La nef dans le nuages ["The Ship in the Clouds"] (1989). Some of the adult stories assembled in Le Vieil Homme et l'espace ["The Old Man and Space"] (coll 1981) also belong to the Exode saga; the collection as a whole effectively displays Sernine's social and political interests, as does the ambitious and well received Les Méandres du temps ["The Meanders of Time"] (1983). More recently, he has begun publishing tales set in a neverending Carnival; these have been assembled as Boulevard des étoiles ["Stardust Boulevard"] (coll 1991) and À la Recherche de Monsieur Goodtheim ["Looking for Mr Goodtheim"] (coll 1991). This more recent work shows a willingness to explore new avenues, a willingness also demonstrated by Chronoreg (1992), a complex and bleak time-travel tale, set in an Alternate History Earth, and featuring a homosexual Telepathic death-haunted mercenary. [LP]

Alain Lortie

born Montreal, Quebec: 7 November 1955

works

series

Neubourg and Granverger

Argus

Carnival

Time Suite

individual titles

works as editor

links

Entry from The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (2011-current) edited by John Clute and David Langford.
Accessed 15:04 pm on 28 March 2024.
<https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/sernine_daniel>