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Ian McDonald

イアン・マクドナルド

Ian McDonald

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1960-01-01 （Manchester, England）
Nationality
British
Languages
English
Residence History
Manchester, England → Belfast, Northern Ireland

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Science fiction novelist
Active Years
1982-2024
Nominations
Nebula Award for Best Novelette (1989): Unfinished Portrait of the King of Pain by Van Gogh, Arthur C. Clarke Award (1990): Desolation Road, Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel (1992): King of Morning, Queen of Day, Arthur C. Clarke Award (1993): Hearts, Hands, and Voices, BSFA Award for Best Novel (1992): Hearts, Hands, and Voices, World Fantasy Award—Short Fiction (1994): Some Strange Desire, Philip K. Dick Award (1994): Scissors Cut Paper Wrap Stone, BSFA Award for Best Novel (1994): Necroville, BSFA Award for Best Novel (1995): Chaga, John W. Campbell Memorial Award (1996): Chaga, Arthur C. Clarke Award (2005): River of Gods, Hugo Award for Best Novel (2005): River of Gods, Hugo Award for Best Novel (2008): Brasyl, Warwick Prize for Writing (2008/9): Brasyl, John W. Campbell Memorial Award (2008): Brasyl, Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (2008): Brasyl, Nebula Award for Best Novel (2008): Brasyl, Hugo Award for Best Novel (2011): The Dervish House, Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (2011): The Dervish House, Arthur C. Clarke Award (2011): The Dervish House, BSFA Award for Best Novel (2015): Luna: New Moon, Philip K. Dick Award (2018): Time Was, Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (2018): Luna: Wolf Moon, Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (2020): Luna: Moon Rising

Awards

Locus Award
1989
Work: Desolation Road
Category: First Novel
Organization: Locus Magazine
Result: won
Philip K. Dick Award
1991
Work: King of Morning, Queen of Day
Category: Best Collection
Result: won
BSFA Award
1992
Work: Innocents
Category: Best Short Fiction
Organization: British Science Fiction Association
Result: won
Kurd Laßwitz Award
1999
Work: Sacrifice of Fools
Result: won
Theodore Sturgeon Award
2001
Work: Tendeléo's Story
Result: won
BSFA Award
2004
Work: River of Gods
Category: Best Novel
Organization: British Science Fiction Association
Result: won
Hugo Award
2007
Work: The Djinn's Wife
Category: Best Novelette
Organization: World Science Fiction Society
Result: won
BSFA Award
2007
Work: Brasyl
Category: Best Novel
Organization: British Science Fiction Association
Result: won
John W. Campbell Memorial Award
2011
Work: The Dervish House
Category: Best Science Fiction Novel
Result: won
BSFA Award
2011
Work: The Dervish House
Category: Best Novel
Organization: British Science Fiction Association
Result: won
Gaylactic Spectrum Award
2016
Work: Luna: New Moon
Category: Best Novel
Result: won

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Desolation Road

1988 Science Fiction

Debut novel set on a far future terraformed Mars, in a town that develops around an oasis in the Martian desert.

Mars colonizationTechnological evolutionSocial change

River of Gods

2004 Science Fiction

Set in mid-21st-century India.

Future IndiaAINanotechnology

Brasyl

2007 Science Fiction

Set in the 18th and 21st centuries in Lusophone South America.

BrazilQuantum computingCultural clash

The Dervish House

2010 Science Fiction

Set in near-future Istanbul involving nanotechnology and terrorism.

Future TurkeyNanotechPolitics

Luna: New Moon

2015 Science Fiction

Explores intrigue among five powerful families controlling lunar industry.

Lunar societyFamily intrigueCapitalism
Adaptations
  • [Television] Luna

Bibliography

  • Desolation Road
  • Ares Express
  • Chaga
  • Kirinya
  • River of Gods
  • Cyberabad Days
  • Planesrunner
  • Be My Enemy
  • Empress of the Sun
  • Luna: New Moon
  • Luna: Wolf Moon
  • Luna: Moon Rising
  • Out on Blue Six
  • King of Morning, Queen of Day
  • Hearts, Hands and Voices
  • Necroville
  • Sacrifice of Fools
  • Brasyl
  • The Dervish House
  • Time Was
  • Hopeland
  • The Wilding

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Rich cultural depictionsFutures of non-Western societiesComplex narrative structures
Recurring Motifs
Rapid technological changeImpacts on non-Western societiesNanotechnology

Legacy

Renowned science fiction author for exploring nanotechnology, postcyberpunk settings, and impacts of rapid change on non-Western societies, with numerous major awards.

In Popular Culture

  • Luna series dubbed 'Game of Thrones in space'.

Quotes

  • The image of the unstoppable wave of transformation was nicked from [1982 Star Trek movie] The Wrath of Khan: it's the Genesis device, slowed down...
    Source: Interview (2001)

Trivia

  • Moved to Belfast at age five and lived through the entire Troubles (1968–1999).
  • Sold his first story to a local Belfast magazine at age 22.
  • Contributed scripts to the Northern Irish Sesame Workshop production Sesame Tree.