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Roger Joseph Zelazny

ロジャー・ジョセフ・ゼラズニー

Rojā Josefu Zerazunī

Pen Names: Harrison Denmark（Pen name used for some works）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1937-05-13 （Euclid, Ohio, United States）
Died
1995-06-14 （Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States） age 58
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Raised Catholic (later lapsed)
Residence History
Euclid, Ohio (birth) → Cleveland, Ohio (resident; worked at Social Security Administration) → Baltimore, Maryland (worked) → Santa Fe, New Mexico (later residence)

Career

Occupations
Writer, Novelist, Short story writer
Active Years
1954-1995
Affiliations
Baltimore Science Fiction Society, Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America (SAGA)
Influenced By
H. P. Lovecraft (influence via Cthulhu Mythos elements)
Influenced
Neil Gaiman, Andrzej Sapkowski, Samuel R. Delany, Many New Wave writers

Education

Western Reserve University (now Case Western Reserve University)
English
Degree: BA
Period: 1955–1959
Year of Graduation: 1959
Country: United States
B.A. in English
Columbia University
Specialized in Elizabethan and Jacobean drama
Degree: MA
Period: 1959–1962
Year of Graduation: 1962
Country: United States
Thesis: Two Traditions and Cyril Tourneur...

Awards

Hugo Award (novel)
1966
Work: This Immortal (published book title of ...And Call Me Conrad)
Category: 小説
Organization: Worldcon (Hugo Awards)
Result: 受賞（同票でDuneと同位）
Hugo Award (novel)
1968
Work: Lord of Light
Category: 小説
Organization: Worldcon (Hugo Awards)
Result: 受賞
Nebula Award (novella)
1966
Work: He Who Shapes
Category: 中編（タイ受賞）
Organization: SFWA (Nebula Awards)
Result: 受賞（タイ）
Nebula Award (novelette)
1966
Work: The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth
Category: ノヴェレット
Organization: SFWA (Nebula Awards)
Result: 受賞
Prix Tour-Apollo Award (novel)
1972
Work: Isle of the Dead
Category: 小説
Organization: French literary award
Result: 受賞
Seiun Award (foreign novel)
1976
Work: This Immortal
Category: 外国小説
Organization: Japan (Seiun Awards)
Result: 受賞
Hugo Award (novella)
1976
Work: Home Is the Hangman
Category: 中編
Organization: Worldcon (Hugo Awards)
Result: 受賞
Nebula Award (novella)
1976
Work: Home Is the Hangman
Category: 中編
Organization: SFWA (Nebula Awards)
Result: 受賞
Balrog Award (short fiction)
1980
Work: The Last Defender of Camelot
Category: 短編
Organization: Balrog Award
Result: 受賞
Hugo Award (novelette)
1982
Work: Unicorn Variation
Category: ノヴェレット
Organization: Worldcon (Hugo Awards)
Result: 受賞
Seiun Award (foreign short fiction)
1984
Work: Unicorn Variation
Category: 短編（外国）
Organization: Japan (Seiun Awards)
Result: 受賞
Locus Award (collection)
1984
Work: Unicorn Variations (collection)
Category: コレクション
Organization: Locus Magazine
Result: 受賞
Locus Award (fantasy novel)
1986
Work: Trumps of Doom
Category: ファンタジー小説
Organization: Locus Magazine
Result: 受賞
Hugo Award (novella)
1986
Work: 24 Views of Mt. Fuji, by Hokusai
Category: 中編
Organization: Worldcon (Hugo Awards)
Result: 受賞
Hugo Award (novelette)
1987
Work: Permafrost
Category: ノヴェレット
Organization: Worldcon (Hugo Awards)
Result: 受賞
Inkpot Award (lifetime achievement)
1993
Category: 生涯功労
Organization: San Diego Comic-Con (Inkpot Award)
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Lord of Light

1967 Mythic science fiction/fantasy 186 pages

A mythic novel drawing on Hindu themes in which colonists on a planet present themselves as gods; it blends religion and technology.

Myth reinterpretationConflict of religion and technologyIdentity

This Immortal (...And Call Me Conrad)

1966 Science fiction/fantasy hybrid 224 pages

A novel set in a strange future world mixing mythic elements and satire; originally serialized as ...And Call Me Conrad and later published as This Immortal.

Incorporation of mythIdentityHuman condition

The Chronicles of Amber (series)

1970 Fantasy

A series about royal rivalries and traveling among many 'shadows' (alternate worlds); recurring motifs include absent fathers.

MultiversePower strugglesAbsent father motif

Isle of the Dead

1969 Science fiction/fantasy 156 pages

A mysterious tale set on an isolated island, containing mythic and fantastical elements.

IsolationMythic symbolism

Unicorn Variations (collection)

1983 Short story collection (fantasy/SF) 192 pages

A collection of diverse short stories including mythic subjects, humor, and experimental forms.

MythHumorExperimental techniques

Bibliography

  • Lord of Light
  • This Immortal (...And Call Me Conrad)
  • Isle of the Dead
  • The Chronicles of Amber (including Trumps of Doom)
  • Unicorn Variations (collection)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Mixing mythic elements with SF/fantasyExperimental narrative structuresConcise, witty narration
Recurring Motifs
Absent fatherReworking of mythMultiverse / shadow worlds

Health

  • Colorectal cancer (metastatic)
    晩年（1990年代初期〜1995年）
    Colorectal cancer with secondary kidney failure; led to death in 1995
  • Kidney failure (secondary)
    1995年
    Contributed to cause of death

Legacy

Zelazny influenced many writers by blending mythic motifs with science fiction and fantasy. Regarded as a leading New Wave author, he notably influenced writers such as Neil Gaiman and Andrzej Sapkowski. He won numerous awards and continues to be honored posthumously.

Academic Societies

  • No formal academic society affiliations recorded (primarily associated with SF organizations)

Archives

  • Finding aid to the Roger Zelazny papers at University of Maryland, Baltimore County library

In Popular Culture

  • Honored in popular/scientific culture (ostracod Sclerocypris zelaznyi named after him)

Quotes

  • I did have a strong Catholic background, but I am not a Catholic. Somewhere in the past, I believe I answered in the affirmative once for strange and complicated reasons. But I am not a member of any organized religion.
    Source: Interview / biography excerpt

Trivia

  • Used the pen name 'Harrison Denmark'
  • Guest of Honor at Worldcon (Discon II) in 1974
  • Received the Inkpot Award in 1993
  • Honored biologically by having Sclerocypris zelaznyi named after him
  • Resident of Santa Fe for about 20 years