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Stephen Goldin

Goodreads Author

Born

in Philadelphia, PA, The United States

Website

http://parsina.com/

Twitter

stevegoldin

Genre

Science Fiction & Fantasy, Humor, Literature & Fiction

Influences

Robert A. Heinlein, Robert Sheckley, Andre Norton, Clifford D. Simak ...more

Member Since

October 2010

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/stephengoldin

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Born in Philadelphia in 1947, Stephen Goldin has lived in California since 1960. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Astronomy from UCLA and worked as a civilian space scientist for the U.S. Navy for a few years after leaving college, but has made his living as a writer/editor most of his life.

His first wife was fellow author Kathleen Sky, with whom he co-wrote the first edition of the highly acclaimed nonfiction book The Business of Being a Writer . His current wife is fellow author Mary Mason. So far they have co-authored two books in the Rehumanization of Jade Darcy series.

He served the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America as editor of the SFWA Bulletin and as the organization’s Western Regional Director.

He has lived with cat ...more

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Popular Answered Questions

Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?

Stephen Goldin Yes I do. Fortunately it's buried deep in a storage unit where no one will ever discover it.…moreYes I do. Fortunately it's buried deep in a storage unit where no one will ever discover it.(less)

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What's the difference between the Family d'Alembert series and the Agents of ISIS series?

Stephen Goldin The "Family d'Alembert series" is today considered a "classic" in the field of space opera. Personally I don't feel old enough to be involved with cre…moreThe "Family d'Alembert series" is today considered a "classic" in the field of space opera. Personally I don't feel old enough to be involved with creating a "classic" even though I admittedly started young, but for the moment I'll go along with that description. Let me explain here how I came to create the series, and the differences between the Family d'Alembeert series and the new Agents of ISIS series.

In the May 1964 issue of If Magazine, E.E. "Doc" Smith published a novella entitled "Imperial Stars." According to a letter he wrote to his friend Lloyd Arthur Eshbach, Smith intended to turn this novella into a series of books. Unfortunately he died before he could get around to it. He left behind no manuscripts, no story arcs, no further plot ideas or concepts of where to go next. He'd created a single novella and the concept for a prospective series, but not a series itself.

A decade later, I was commissioned to expand the novella into a full-sized book and then create nine more books in this universe, thus turning Smith's idea into what became known as the "Family d'Alembert series." I'd read and enjoyed Smith's earlier Skylark and Lensman series, so I was eagerly anticipating this assignment.

Unfortunately, it was not all I'd hoed for. The novella certainly had action aplenty, as befitted a Smith story, but the writing, the universe and the characters were hopelessly old-fashioned even for the 1960s when it was published, let alone the 1970s and later when I'd be writing the follow-ups. The text used bizarre words like "ultratoilsomely." The heroes were two-dimensional and way too goody-goody to be believable. The history and development of the universe were painfully naive, with an anti-communhist screed straight out of the 1950s McCarthy era. And while Smith was noted for the excellence of his villains, the ultimate bad guy here never once set foot onstage. Clearly this novella needed a lot of rehabilitation.

Having to stick closely to Smith's creation hampered me considerably, but I did as much as I could to make the characters and universe more believable, and I tried to come up with stories that were exciting enough to please Smith's legion of fans. I got letters of praise that told me I was succeeding, which was most gratifying.

Still, as decades passed, the initially creaky concept grew more and more outdated. Finally, in the mid-2000s, I decided to update the whole series. Since the original novella was the source of most of the problems, I tossed out "Imperial Stars" in its entirety. I created a universe without what I perceived as Smith's flaws, yet which could still accommodate the stories of books 2-10 that I'd created for the old universe. I wrote an entirely new first novel, Tsar Wars, to introduce the re-envisioned universe and slightly more believable characters. I made major modifications to the remaining 9 books to fit the new beginning.

The result is what I now call the Agents of ISIS series, something I feel is more appropriate for the 21st century. I make no pretense that the books are ultra-realistic; they still retain their space opera roots. But I've tried to make the characters a little more interesting. And unlike in the Family d'Alembert series, the heroes no longer have to find a pay-phone to make a call when they're out in the field--they can use their wristcoms.

I understand the attraction people have for a classic that's stood the test of time, so there'll be plenty of readers paying money for the books in the Family d'Alembert series. But as someone who's intimately familiar with both series, I must say that, because I'm a more experienced writer now, the Agents of ISIS books are better written and have more interesting characters.

The ten books in the new series are:
Tsar Wars
Treacherous Moon
Robot Mountain
Sanctuary Planet
Stellar Revolution
Purgatory Plot
Traitors' World
Counterfeit Stars
Outworld Invaders
Galactic Collapse

I hope you enjoy them.(less)

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Stephen Goldin’s books

Average rating: 3.68 · 4,138 ratings · 313 reviews · 144 distinct works • Similar authors

	Trek To Madworld (Star Trek Adventures, #9) 3.25 avg rating — 411 ratings — published 1979 — 17 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Eternity Brigade 3.91 avg rating — 114 ratings — published 1980 — 16 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Jade Darcy and the Affair of Honor (The Rehumanization of Jade Darcy, #1) by Stephen Goldin (Goodreads Author), Mary Mason 4.07 avg rating — 94 ratings — published 1988 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Alien Condition 3.98 avg rating — 95 ratings — published 1973 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Jade Darcy and the Zen Pirates (The Rehumanization of Jade Darcy, #2) by Stephen Goldin (Goodreads Author), Mary Mason 4.12 avg rating — 69 ratings — published 1990 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Tsar Wars (Agents of ISIS,#1) 3.61 avg rating — 59 ratings — published 2010 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Shrine of the Desert Mage (Parsina Saga #1) 3.92 avg rating — 51 ratings — published 1988 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Assault on the Gods 3.53 avg rating — 43 ratings — published 1977 — 18 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Polly! 3.85 avg rating — 39 ratings — published 2008 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A World Called Solitude 3.28 avg rating — 36 ratings — published 1981 — 13 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Stephen Goldin…

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Stephen Goldin's Blog

Read An Ebook Week, 2017

Once again I’m participating in international Read An Ebook Week, March 5-11, 2017. This is the week when authors, particularly on Smashwords, offer fantastic specials on their ebooks. For instance, all of my full-length books are at least 50% off, and a few are even more. See the list of my books.

Of particular interest this year is the deal on my 4-volume Arabian Night-style Parsina Saga. This Read more of this blog post »

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Published on March 04, 2017 15:01

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Series by Stephen Goldin

The Rehumanization of Jade Darcy (2 books)
by

Stephen Goldin (Goodreads Author),

Mary Mason

4.09 avg rating — 163 ratings

Agents of ISIS (10 books)
by

Stephen Goldin (Goodreads Author)

3.43 avg rating — 155 ratings

Parsina Saga (4 books)
by

Stephen Goldin (Goodreads Author)

3.95 avg rating — 131 ratings

Mindsaga (2 books)
by

Stephen Goldin (Goodreads Author)

3.60 avg rating — 25 ratings

Quotes by Stephen Goldin (?)

“Things are only hopeless when you lose all hope.”
― Stephen Goldin, Polly!

tags: humor, inspirational

2 likes

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