Peter Morwood
Encyclopedia
Peter Morwood is primarily a fantasy
novelist and screenwriter, though he has also written works of science fiction
. His best-known works include the Horse Lords series (in two sequences) and the Tales of Old Russia series.
, County Antrim
, Northern Ireland
, and lived there for more than thirty years. From 1969 to 1975 he attended Friends School Lisburn
, a Quaker-operated primary and middle school, and then Queen's University in Belfast
, where he studied English literature and acquired an honors Bachelors degree with an emphasis on middle-English poets such as Chaucer. During this period Morwood also took pilot training as a cadet pilot with the Queen's University Student Air Squadron of the Royal Air Force
; though budgetary considerations (on the Air Force's side) forced Morwood to make a choice between his degree studies and his further studies as a pilot. He chose to continue his work in English literature, and subsequently resigned his commission.
After graduation from university in 1979, Morwood took a position in the UK's Civil Service
as a clerk working for the Customs and Excise. During this period he began work on his first novel, which he submitted and sold in 1982. He adopted the pen name "Peter Morwood" in honor of his mother, whose maiden name was Morwood. (He legally changed his surname to match the pen name in the mid-1980s.) His second and third novels were published in 1984 and 1986.
At a science fiction convention in Glasgow
, Scotland
in 1985, Morwood was introduced by author Anne McCaffrey
to his future wife, the fantasist and science fiction writer Diane Duane
. After several more meetings and a brief courtship, Morwood asked Duane to marry him, and they celebrated their engagement at the World Science Fiction Convention in Atlanta, Georgia
. Morwood then returned to Northern Ireland to complete his term of employment in the Civil Service, and resigned his post in December 1986. Shortly thereafter he relocated to Los Angeles
, California
, where Duane was working for the animation studio DiC
. They were married at the New England
regional science fiction convention, Boskone
, on February 15, 1987. Later in 1987, Morwood and Duane relocated briefly to Scotland, and then, after a short period spent roving the United Kingdom
, to County Wicklow
in Ireland, where the two of them currently reside.
and the struggles of various clans for its domination. The first sequence is told from the point of view of Aldric Talvalin, scion of a warrior clan of Alba, who is unwillingly drawn into the bloody intrigues of Alban politics and the machinations of the Drusalan Empire, including its power-behind-the-throne, the evilly scheming and sorcerous Commander Voord.
A fifth book (tentatively titled The Shadow Lord) and a sixth (title as yet indeterminate) are projected.
The four Horse Lords novels have recently been reissued by DAW Books
in a pair of two-book omnibus volumes:
In Volume 2, the novel previously published as The Warlord's Domain has been restored to its intended title, The War Lord.
The Clan Wars sequence is (so far) a pair of prequels, telling the story of how the Clan Lords (including Aldric Talvalin's remote ancestors) invaded the land of Alba, settled it, and eventually came to dominate it.
A third volume (tentatively titled Cradlesong) is projected.
", and becomes involved willy-nilly in her entanglement with the ancient and deadly being known as Koschei
the Undying. The series goes on to deal humorously with the difficulties of a "two-kingdom household", especially when one partner is both a skilled sorcerer and the mother of one's (rather unusual) children, and -- more seriously -- with the political problems that can beset a small independent tsardom in the face of such threats as the Teutonic Knights and the Golden Horde of the Great Khan.
A fourth volume, The Blue Kremlin, is projected.
He has also collaborated on one with Diane Duane (this novel was written during their honeymoon):
The Space Cops sequence:
Others:
In 1999, Morwood began development work along with Duane on a live-action retelling of one of the great German epics, the Nibelungenlied
. The script they wrote between late 2002 and mid-2003 was produced as a miniseries
for the German satellite network Sat.1
by Tandem Communications
of Munich, in association with Sony
/Columbia Pictures
. Directed by Uli Edel
, the miniseries, under the title Die Nibelungen
, won a DIVA Award for best German movie-for-TV of 2004. A feature version, entitled Sword of Xanten in the UK, screened there late in 2004; a "megafeature" cut of the entire miniseries aired on Channel Four television in the UK in December 2005.
The miniseries had its premiere USA airing on the Sci-Fi Channel in late March 2006 under the title Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King
. It has also been released on DVD in the US and many other markets, under various titles (the previous US title is Curse of the Ring.)
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
novelist and screenwriter, though he has also written works of science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
. His best-known works include the Horse Lords series (in two sequences) and the Tales of Old Russia series.
Biography
Morwood was born Robert Peter Smyth in LisburnLisburn
DemographicsLisburn Urban Area is within Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area and is classified as a Large Town by the . On census day there were 71,465 people living in Lisburn...
, County Antrim
County Antrim
County Antrim is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,844 km², with a population of approximately 616,000...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, and lived there for more than thirty years. From 1969 to 1975 he attended Friends School Lisburn
Friends School Lisburn
Friends' School, Lisburn is a Quaker voluntary grammar school in the city of Lisburn, Northern Ireland founded in 1774.-History:Founded in 1774 on the basis of a bequest from John Handcock, a Quaker linen trader, when twenty acres were purchased at Prospect Hill from the Earl of Hertford. In 1774...
, a Quaker-operated primary and middle school, and then Queen's University in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, where he studied English literature and acquired an honors Bachelors degree with an emphasis on middle-English poets such as Chaucer. During this period Morwood also took pilot training as a cadet pilot with the Queen's University Student Air Squadron of the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
; though budgetary considerations (on the Air Force's side) forced Morwood to make a choice between his degree studies and his further studies as a pilot. He chose to continue his work in English literature, and subsequently resigned his commission.
After graduation from university in 1979, Morwood took a position in the UK's Civil Service
Civil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
as a clerk working for the Customs and Excise. During this period he began work on his first novel, which he submitted and sold in 1982. He adopted the pen name "Peter Morwood" in honor of his mother, whose maiden name was Morwood. (He legally changed his surname to match the pen name in the mid-1980s.) His second and third novels were published in 1984 and 1986.
At a science fiction convention in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
in 1985, Morwood was introduced by author Anne McCaffrey
Anne McCaffrey
Anne Inez McCaffrey was an American-born Irish writer, best known for her Dragonriders of Pern series. Over the course of her 46 year career she won a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award...
to his future wife, the fantasist and science fiction writer Diane Duane
Diane Duane
Diane Duane is an American science fiction and fantasy author. Her works include the Young Wizards young adult fantasy series and the Rihannsu Star Trek novels.-Biography :...
. After several more meetings and a brief courtship, Morwood asked Duane to marry him, and they celebrated their engagement at the World Science Fiction Convention in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
. Morwood then returned to Northern Ireland to complete his term of employment in the Civil Service, and resigned his post in December 1986. Shortly thereafter he relocated to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where Duane was working for the animation studio DiC
DiC Entertainment
DIC Entertainment was an international film and television production company. In addition to animated television shows such as Ulysses 31 , Inspector Gadget , The Littles , The Real Ghostbusters , Captain Planet and the Planeteers , and the first two seasons of the English adaptation of...
. They were married at the New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
regional science fiction convention, Boskone
Boskone (convention)
Boskone is an annual science fiction convention run by NESFA in Boston, Massachusetts. In the words of the convention organizers, "Boskone is a regional Science Fiction convention focusing on literature, art, music, and gaming ". It is held over President's Day weekend every February, in the city...
, on February 15, 1987. Later in 1987, Morwood and Duane relocated briefly to Scotland, and then, after a short period spent roving the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, to County Wicklow
County Wicklow
County Wicklow is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wicklow, which derives from the Old Norse name Víkingalág or Wykynlo. Wicklow County Council is the local authority for the county...
in Ireland, where the two of them currently reside.
The Book of Years and Clan Wars sequences
These two sequences of books center on a feudal-style realm called AlbaAlba
Alba is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is cognate to Alba in Irish and Nalbin in Manx, the two other Goidelic Insular Celtic languages, as well as similar words in the Brythonic Insular Celtic languages of Cornish and Welsh also meaning Scotland.- Etymology :The term first appears in...
and the struggles of various clans for its domination. The first sequence is told from the point of view of Aldric Talvalin, scion of a warrior clan of Alba, who is unwillingly drawn into the bloody intrigues of Alban politics and the machinations of the Drusalan Empire, including its power-behind-the-throne, the evilly scheming and sorcerous Commander Voord.
- The Horse Lord (ISBN 0-88677-178-1)
- The Demon Lord (ISBN 0-88677-204-4)
- The Dragon Lord (ISBN 0-88677-252-4)
- The Warlord's Domain (ISBN 0-88677-458-6)
A fifth book (tentatively titled The Shadow Lord) and a sixth (title as yet indeterminate) are projected.
The four Horse Lords novels have recently been reissued by DAW Books
DAW Books
DAW Books is an American science fiction and fantasy publisher, founded by Donald A. Wollheim following his departure from Ace Books in 1971. The company therefore claims to be "the first publishing company ever devoted exclusively to science fiction and fantasy." The first DAW Book published was...
in a pair of two-book omnibus volumes:
- The Book Of Years, Volume 1 (ISBN 0-7564-0306-5)
- The Book Of Years, Volume 2 (ISBN 0-7564-0307-3)
In Volume 2, the novel previously published as The Warlord's Domain has been restored to its intended title, The War Lord.
The Clan Wars sequence is (so far) a pair of prequels, telling the story of how the Clan Lords (including Aldric Talvalin's remote ancestors) invaded the land of Alba, settled it, and eventually came to dominate it.
- Greylady (ISBN 0-09-926161-8)
- Widowmaker (ISBN 0-09-931241-7)
A third volume (tentatively titled Cradlesong) is projected.
Tales of Old Russia
This series, densely interwoven with motifs from Russian folktale and legend, tells the story of the young tsar Ivan Khorlovskiy, heir to the throne of the city of Khorlov. Complications instantly ensue when he meets, on a battlefield full of the slain, the sorceress-tsarevna Marya Morevna, "the most beautiful princess in all the RussiasAll the Russias
All the Russias is the standard English translation of a term which was used to refer either to the Russian Empire, or to the Russian-inhabitated lands of the Russian Empire...
", and becomes involved willy-nilly in her entanglement with the ancient and deadly being known as Koschei
Koschei
In Slavic folklore, Koschei is an archetypal male antagonist, described mainly as abducting the hero's wife. None of the existing tales actually describes his appearance, though in book illustrations, cartoons and cinema he has been most frequently represented as a very old and ugly-looking man...
the Undying. The series goes on to deal humorously with the difficulties of a "two-kingdom household", especially when one partner is both a skilled sorcerer and the mother of one's (rather unusual) children, and -- more seriously -- with the political problems that can beset a small independent tsardom in the face of such threats as the Teutonic Knights and the Golden Horde of the Great Khan.
- Prince Ivan (1990)
- Firebird (1992)
- The Golden Horde (1993)
A fourth volume, The Blue Kremlin, is projected.
Star Trek
Morwood has written one solo Star Trek novel:- Star Trek: The Original Series #48: Rules of EngagementRules of Engagement (Star Trek novel)Rules of Engagement is a Star Trek: The Original Series novel written by Peter Morwood and published by Pocket Books in 1990.-Plot:James T. Kirk is sent to assist in the evacuation of Federation personnel from the crisis-wracked planet of Dekkanar. He is ordered to only participate in the...
He has also collaborated on one with Diane Duane (this novel was written during their honeymoon):
- Star Trek: TOS: Rihannsu #2: The Romulan WayThe Romulan WayThe Romulan Way is a Star Trek: The Original Series novel written by Diane Duane and Peter Morwood.-Plot:Deep-cover Federation spy Agent Terise LoBrutto has her carefully maintained life disrupted by an unpleasant discovery. The chief medical officer of the USS Enterprise, Doctor McCoy, has been...
Other prose works
Morwood has occasionally collaborated with Diane Duane on other novels, primarily in "licensed" universes or shared-world scenarios. These include:The Space Cops sequence:
- Mindblast
- Kill Station
- High Moon
Others:
- Keeper of the City
- SeaQuest DSV
Screen works
Morwood has written various animated scripts, often in collaboration with his wife. These include:- Gargoyles: The Hound of Ulster
- Gargoyles: Ill Met by Moonlight
- Batman, the Animated Series: Red Claw Rising
In 1999, Morwood began development work along with Duane on a live-action retelling of one of the great German epics, the Nibelungenlied
Nibelungenlied
The Nibelungenlied, translated as The Song of the Nibelungs, is an epic poem in Middle High German. The story tells of dragon-slayer Siegfried at the court of the Burgundians, how he was murdered, and of his wife Kriemhild's revenge....
. The script they wrote between late 2002 and mid-2003 was produced as a miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
for the German satellite network Sat.1
Sat.1
Sat.1 is a privately owned German television broadcasting station. Sat.1 was the first privately owned television broadcasting station in Germany, having started one day before RTL Television....
by Tandem Communications
Tandem Communications
Tandem Communications is a Munich based company which produces TV movies, miniseries, television series and film series.It was founded in 1999 by Emmy-nominated producers Rola Bauer and Tim Halkin.-Produced:* Relic Hunter...
of Munich, in association with Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
/Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
. Directed by Uli Edel
Uli Edel
Uli Edel is a German film director.-Work:After studying theatre science in Munich, he was accepted into Munich Film School alongside Bernd Eichinger. Uli befriended him and they started working together on their exercise movies, sharing a love for the nouvelle vague and Italian neorealism as well...
, the miniseries, under the title Die Nibelungen
Die Nibelungen
Die Nibelungen is a series of two silent fantasy films created by Austrian director Fritz Lang in 1924: Die Nibelungen: Siegfried and Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge....
, won a DIVA Award for best German movie-for-TV of 2004. A feature version, entitled Sword of Xanten in the UK, screened there late in 2004; a "megafeature" cut of the entire miniseries aired on Channel Four television in the UK in December 2005.
The miniseries had its premiere USA airing on the Sci-Fi Channel in late March 2006 under the title Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King
Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King
Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King is a fantasy film and mini-series based on the Norse mythology story Völsungasaga and the German epic poem Nibelungenlied, which tells the mythological story of Siegfried the Dragon-Slayer...
. It has also been released on DVD in the US and many other markets, under various titles (the previous US title is Curse of the Ring.)
External links
- Bibliography at SciFanSciFanSciFan is an online database for fans of science fiction and fantasy books.The site provides detailed bibliographies, linking books together into series' where appropriate and, in turn, grouping series by universe...
- PeterMorwood.com