S.M. Stirling Books

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S. M. Stirling is a Canadian-American writer best known for alternate history novels like the Draka series. Stirling was born in 1953 in Metz, France on a Royal Canadian Air Force Base. Stirling’s mother was English. His father was Canadian. He started writing in high school. Stirling was one of four students in a writing class.

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When the class began, the teacher handed each student a notebook and told them to fill its pages. The students were expected to meet each week to discuss their progress. The teacher also encouraged them to consult him whenever they needed assistance. It was within this setting that Stirling’s first book was written.

Even at that young age, he knew that the novel was terrible. But that did not deter him. Instead, he kept writing, making improvements along the way until he came to the realization that he had what it took to write professionally.

Many of the stories that Stirling writes tackle alternate history, and this presents a challenge. The author enjoys exploring the events that might have occurred if history had taken a different path. However, Stirling knows that most people know very little about history. As such, he understands that they might not necessarily appreciate the changes his stories make to history.

The author’s publishers have been known to reject his ideas for novels for similar reasons. They have noted on occasion that Stirling’s pitches rely a little too heavily on historical moments and events that people know nothing about. This hasn’t stopped the author from indulging his obsession with major historical figures and occurrences.

Though, he has also written science fiction and fantasy. His novels feature militaristic cultures whose views differ from the modern western perspective. His female characters are always strong and distinct, and they play prominent roles in each story. Stirling has written several series throughout the course of his career.

He admits that telling a consistent story across multiple books isn’t always easy. This is why he does a lot of research. When Stirling is starting a new novel, he can see some of the scenes and characters in his head. But they are random and not fully formed. Some of the characters are completely fictional. Others feature attributes that real people inspired.

As his story begins to take shape, the author does as much reading as he can. Whenever possible, Stirling will consult real people, especially if he needs help getting into the mind of a character with an attribute that is alien to him. He normally writes in a linear manner. Though, every so often, he will write a random scene that unexpectedly came to him even though it is out of order.

Stirling doesn’t write multiple books at once. He prefers to finish one book before starting another. Sometimes, a specific plot will surprise the author by consuming far more space than he expected, forcing him to turn what should have been one book into two. But even then, Stirling is unlikely to work on both novels at the same time.

The author will only tackle multiple projects when he gets an opportunity to collaborate with another author or to lend his talents to an anthology. In such a scenario, he will work on his novel and the collaborative project at the same time.

S. M. Stirling Awards

Stirling has received multiple Dragon Award nominations.

Best S. M. Stirling Books

Stirling’s interests include anthropology, history, archeology, and martial arts. Stirling’s best novels include:

Dies The Fire: Everything changed when a storm assaulted Nantucket island. The electrical storm disabled every electronic device on the island. It also made every form of fuel inoperable. However, the blinding flash that produced these effects was merely the start. What followed was a catastrophe of epic proportions, one that covered the globe, dragging humanity back to the dark age.

The Protector’s War: Eight years ago, all technology on the planet stopped working. The world descended into madness. The survivors had to rebuild, uniting to form fierce tribes. Michael Havel led the Bearkillers. His clan of renowned warriors kept Willamette Valley safe. And he could always count on Juniper Mackenzie and her mystical clan.

But their combined might is unlikely to repel Normal Arminger, a medieval scholar hellbent on claiming Willamette valley.

When Does The Next S.M. Stirling book come out?

S.M. Stirling doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is To Turn the Tide and was released on August, 6th 2024.

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