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Christopher Priest

クリストファー・プリースト

Kurisutofā Purīsuto

Pen Names: John Luther Novak（Pseudonym for movie novelizations）, Colin Wedgelock（Pseudonym for movie novelizations）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1943-07-14 （Cheadle, Cheshire）
Died
2024-02-02 （England） age 80
Nationality
British
Languages
English
Residence History
Cheadle, Cheshire → London → Devon → Isle of Bute

Career

Occupations
Writer, Novelist
Active Years
1966-2024
Affiliations
H. G. Wells Society (Vice-President), Foundation magazine (Associate Editor, 1974-1977)
Influenced By
H. G. Wells, J. G. Ballard
Influenced
Contemporary slipstream authors
Nominations
Hugo Award nominations in Novel, Novella, Novelette, Non-Fiction; Clarke Award etc.

Education

Cheadle Hulme School
Period: 幼少期から16歳まで
Country: United Kingdom
Left at age 16 to work as an accountancy clerk

Awards

BSFA Award
1974
Work: The Inverted World
Category: 最優秀長編小説
Organization: British Science Fiction Association
Result: 受賞
BSFA Award
1998
Work: The Extremes
Category: 最優秀長編小説
Organization: British Science Fiction Association
Result: 受賞
BSFA Award
2002
Work: The Separation
Category: 最優秀長編小説
Organization: British Science Fiction Association
Result: 受賞
BSFA Award
2011
Work: The Islanders
Category: 最優秀長編小説
Organization: British Science Fiction Association
Result: 受賞
James Tait Black Memorial Prize
1996
Work: The Prestige
Category: フィクション部門
Organization: University of Edinburgh
Result: 受賞
World Fantasy Award
1996
Work: The Prestige
Category: 最優秀長編小説
Organization: World Fantasy Award
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Inverted World

1974 Science fiction

A dystopian SF where a city moves perpetually on rails.

Distorted realityDystopia

The Prestige

1995 Slipstream

Rivalry between two magicians leading to obsession.

IdentityDeceptionReality
Adaptations
  • [Film] The Prestige / Christopher Nolan (2006)

The Separation

2002 Alternate history

Alternate history of twins separated by fate.

Historical divergenceMemory

The Islanders

2011 Science fiction

Mysterious tales set in the Dream Archipelago.

IslandsReality

Bibliography

  • Indoctrinaire
  • Fugue for a Darkening Island
  • The Inverted World
  • The Space Machine
  • A Dream of Wessex
  • The Affirmation
  • The Glamour
  • The Prestige
  • The Extremes
  • The Separation
  • The Islanders

Adaptations

  • The Prestige (2006 film, dir. Christopher Nolan)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Psychological complexityBlurring of reality and fantasyNarrative twists
Recurring Motifs
Dream ArchipelagoExploration of identityMemory and realityIslands

Health

  • Small-cell carcinoma
    晩年
    Cause of death

Legacy

Influential British SF and slipstream author known for psychological depth and ambiguous realities; The Prestige popularized via film adaptation.

In Popular Culture

  • The Prestige adapted into a successful film by Christopher Nolan starring Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman

Quotes

  • My shocks are based on a sudden devastating reversal of what the reader knows or believes.
    Source: 1995 interview (1995)

Trivia

  • Married three times
  • Has twins
  • Vice-President of H.G. Wells Society
  • Commissioned for Doctor Who scripts but unrealized