Favorite science fiction authors: Walter Jon Williams

Walter Jon Williams is one of my favorite writers still working. His storytelling style is very clean and natural, as opposed to some writers whose mechanics distract me from the story. His characters breathe and sweat, and his plots and endings are compelling. Much of his work is ``hard SF,'' but see below for some works I like that are not firmly in this sub-genre.

• Some people might consider Hardwired to be pretty firmly in the Cyberpunk canon. It has the classic elements: heavily modified human bodies, gritty noir scenery, and plenty of action. But I think he does this kind of thing better than Gibson or Sterling. Not for children.
• Voice of the Whirlwind is similar to the previous title in its cyberpunkish milieu. Great story.
• Aristoi is just about my favorite work by this author. I had a little trouble getting started because the protagonist didn't seem very vulnerable or sympathetic, but somewhere around a quarter of the way through, things got interesting fast and it turned into a hell of a ride. I particularly liked the method he invented for depicting how a fragmented personality works. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good people story that grows out of technology.
• Angel Station. The scenery is familiar, with hi-tech and spacecraft, but the psychic landscape is pretty different. Great protagonists.
• Days of Atonement. Reminds me a lot of the Los Alamos and Sandia national labs here in New Mexico, but the lab-coated crowd ran into a little more than they were expecting.
• Rift is just out. This book is more mainstream fiction than ``SF,'' dealing with a major earthquake in the Mississippi Valley.

Not ``hard SF'' but still worthwhile

• Metropolitan is Williams's attempt to reinvent fantasy. No drafty castles here---this book is fantasy in a modern urban setting. A terrific strong female protagonist, lots of intrigue. The sequel, City on Fire, is out but I'm waiting for the third volume before I read the second one.
• I'm extremely fond of well-done farce, but it seems to be a pretty rare form in the ``SF ghetto'' (outside of the long career of Ron Goulart). Williams has invented a character named Drake Maijstral who is an Allowed Burglar in a world where burglary is not only legal, but competitive. This whole series made me laugh so much I hurt:
  • The Crown Jewels
  • House of Shards
  • Rock of Ages. Among the amusements is a competition among alien Elvis impersonators. What's not to like?

See also the author's homepage.

Last updated: 2000/04/28 19:34:10
URL: http://www.nmt.edu/~shipman/reading/wjw.html