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(1967- ) Spanish author, considered one of the best Spanish science fiction writers. He published nine sf and fantasy novels, three collections and about eighty short stories and novellas. He contributed to important anthologies, such as Antología de la ciencia ficción española 1982-2002 ["Anthology of Spanish Science Fiction 1982-2002"] (anth 2003) edited by Julián Díez, Franco. Una historia alternativa ["Franco. An Alternative History"] (anth 2006) edited by Julián Díez, Prospectivas. Antología del cuento de ciencia ficción española actual ["Prospectives. Anthology of Modern Spanish Science Fiction"] (anth 2012) edited by Fernando Ángel Moreno and The Best of Spanish Steampunk (anth 2015) edited by James and Marian Womack. He is also a very popular writer in Spanish and Latin American sf magazines, with hundreds of contributions of stories and articles.
Vaquerizó started writing sf stories for many magazines in the 1990s and won some important awards. The best of his narrative is included in Dulces dieciséis y otros relatos ["Sweet Sixteen and other stories"] (coll 2014).
In 2005, he published Danza de tinieblas ["Dance of Darkness"], a brilliant alternate history awarded with the Ignotus and Xatafi-Cyberdark Awards that raised the continuity to the present day of the Spanish empire forged during the 16th and 17th centuries and converted into the first world power, all with an excellent historical setting and some steampunk elements. Its success led to several continuations: Memoria de tinieblas ["Memory of Darkness"] (2013), winner of the Ignotus Award, Alba de tinieblas ["Dawn of Darkness"] (2018), some related stories and a Shared World anthology that expanded the original universe with the help of other authors.
As a hard science fiction writer – Vaquerizo is an aerospace engineer by profession – he has written stories such as Náufragos ["Stranded"] (2001) which describes a catastrophic first manned mission to Mars and was adapted into the film Stranded (2001) directed by María Lidón. He has also taken part in other authors' sf universes such as the Akasa-Puspa series by Juan Miguel Aguilera and Javier Redal, the Metaverse by Víctor Conde and the Drímar Cycle by Rodolfo Martínez.
Among his standalone novels are the detective thriller Tres motivos para morir en Madrid ["Three Reasons to Die in Madrid"] (2014), the Dystopian Nos mienten ["They Lie to Us"] (2015), winner of the Celsius Award, and the complex uchronia set in an apocalyptic Madrid, La aritmética del caos ["The Arithmetic of Chaos"] (2017). La última noche de Hipatia (2009), winner of the Ignotus and Xatafi-Cyberdark awards, is one of his best works, a tragic and beautiful love story through time (physical but also spiritual, linked to the search for knowledge and in favor of reason) framed in the end of the classical world and with Hypatia of Alexandria as the protagonist.
Eduardo Vaquerizo is a writer who combines hard and soft sf with a highly literary style, added to an interest in local themes and references when it comes to reflecting the problems of our society. He has written some reference novels for modern Spanish science fiction and a good number of relevant stories such as "Seda y plata" ["Silk and Silver"] (October 1997 Artifex), "Una esfera perfecta" ["A Perfect Sphere"] (June 1999 Artifex), the Domingo Santos Award winner "Los caminos del sueño" ["Paths of Dream"] (September 2000 Gigamesh), the Ignotus Award winner "Negras águilas" ["Black Eagles"] (2003 Artifex) and "Víctima y verdugo" ["Victim and Executioner"] (2006 Artifex), an impressive homage to Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness (February-April 1899 Blackwood's Magazine; 1925). He is a storyteller with a literary vocation who writes intimate and complex stories, and whose style exceeds the usual limits of the genre. [MV]
born Madrid, Spain: 7 July 1967
works
series
Crónica de tinieblas ["Chronicle of Darkness"]
Memorias del gran anillo ["Memories of the Big Ring"]
individual titles
collections
works as editor
links
Entry from The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (2011-current) edited by John Clute and David Langford.
Accessed 01:29 am on 27 July 2024.
<https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/vaquerizo_eduardo>