Ian Whates’s Followers (75)

Ian Whates

Born

The United Kingdom

Website

https://ianwhates.co.uk/

Genre

Science Fiction & Fantasy, Young Adult

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Ian Whates lives in a comfortable home down a quiet cul-de-sac in an idyllic Cambridgeshire village, which he shares with his partner Helen and their pets – Honey the golden cocker spaniel, Calvin the tailless black cat and Inky the goldfish (sadly, Binky died a few years ago).

Ian’s earliest memories of science fiction are fragmented. He remembers loving Dr Who from an early age and other TV shows such as Lost in Space and Star Trek, but a defining moment came when he heard a radio adaptation of John Wyndham’s The Chrysalids. From that moment on he was hooked and became a frequent haunter of the local library, voraciously devouring the contents of their SF section.

This early love of science fiction manifested most tellingly during his schoo Ian Whates lives in a comfortable home down a quiet cul-de-sac in an idyllic Cambridgeshire village, which he shares with his partner Helen and their pets – Honey the golden cocker spaniel, Calvin the tailless black cat and Inky the goldfish (sadly, Binky died a few years ago).

Ian’s earliest memories of science fiction are fragmented. He remembers loving Dr Who from an early age and other TV shows such as Lost in Space and Star Trek, but a defining moment came when he heard a radio adaptation of John Wyndham’s The Chrysalids. From that moment on he was hooked and became a frequent haunter of the local library, voraciously devouring the contents of their SF section.

This early love of science fiction manifested most tellingly during his school days, when he produced an SF murder mystery as homework after being set the essay title “The Language of Shakespeare”, much to the bemusement of his English teacher.

Ian’s first published stories appeared in the late 1980s in small press magazines such as Dream and New Moon Quarterly, after which he took a break from writing in order to research his chosen fields of science fiction and fantasy. In other words, he read copious amounts of both. Clearly the research was extensive, because he published nothing further for some seventeen years. In the early 2000s he made the decision to pursue writing seriously, joining the Northampton SF Writers Group in 2004 after being introduced to its chairman, Ian Watson.

In 2006 he started submitting stories again, and has subsequently been surprised at how many otherwise eminently sensible people have chosen to publish him. A couple have even appeared in the science journal Nature, and one, “The Gift of Joy”, even found its way onto the five-strong shortlist for best short story in the British Science Fiction Association Awards. And it didn’t come last! Ironically, the award was actually won by Ken MacLeod’s “Lighting Out”, a piece Ian had commissioned, edited and published in the NewCon Press anthology disLOCATIONS (2007).

In 2006 Ian launched independent publisher NewCon Press, quite by accident (buy him a pint sometime and he’ll tell you about it). Through NewCon he has been privileged to publish original stories from some of the biggest names in genre fiction, as well as provide debuts to some genuinely talented newcomers. The books, their covers and contents have racked up an impressive array of credits – four BSFA Awards, one BSF Award to date, inclusion in ‘Year’s Best’ anthologies and recommendations and honourable mentions from the likes of Gardner Dozios and Locus magazine.

In addition to his publishing and writing, Ian is currently a director of both the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) and the British Science Fiction Association (BSFA), editing Matrix, the online news and media reviews magazine, for the latter.

His first two completed novels are both due to appear in early 2010: City of Dreams and Nightmare via Harper Collins’ imprint Angry Robot, and The Noise Within from Rebellion imprint Solaris, with sequels to follow. When not pinching himself to make sure this is all really happening, Ian is currently beavering away at the sequels… honest! ...more

Combine Editions
Ian Whates’s books

Average rating: 3.68 · 5,912 ratings · 708 reviews · 118 distinct works • Similar authors

	City of Dreams & Nightmare (City of a Hundred Rows, #1) 3.53 avg rating — 541 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
	Solaris Rising: The New Solaris Book of Science Fiction by Ian Whates (Editor), Stephen Palmer (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Mike Resnick (Contributor) 3.56 avg rating — 379 ratings — published 2011 — 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
	Legends: Stories in Honour of David Gemmell by Ian Whates (Editor and Contributor), Joe Abercrombie (Contributor), James Barclay (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) 3.89 avg rating — 344 ratings — published 2013 — 7 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
	Pelquin's Comet (The Dark Angels, #1) 3.79 avg rating — 254 ratings — published 2015 — 4 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 Noise Within (Noise #1) 3.32 avg rating — 279 ratings — published 2010 — 8 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
	Legends II: Stories in Honour of David Gemmell by Ian Whates (Editor), Stan Nicholls (Introduction), Edward Cox (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) 3.95 avg rating — 222 ratings — published 2015 — 3 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
	City of Hope & Despair (City of a Hundred Rows, #2) 3.61 avg rating — 227 ratings — published 2010 — 10 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
	City of Light & Shadow (City of a Hundred Rows, #3) 3.68 avg rating — 175 ratings — published 2011 — 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 Noise Revealed (Noise #2) 3.39 avg rating — 136 ratings — published 2011 — 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
	Solaris Rising 2: The New Solaris Book of Science Fiction (2) by Ian Whates, Allan Steele (Contributor), Robert Reed (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) 3.71 avg rating — 124 ratings — published 2013 — 7 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 Ian Whates…

Series by Ian Whates

City of a Hundred Rows (3 books)
by

Ian Whates

3.58 avg rating — 943 ratings

Legends (3 books)
by

Ian Whates (Editor),

Stan Nicholls (Introduction),

Neal Asher (Goodreads Author) (Contributor),

R.J. Barker (Goodreads Author) (Contributor),

K.T. Davies (Goodreads Author) (Contributor),

Shona Kinsella (Goodreads Author) (Contributor),

Gail Z. Martin (Goodreads Author) (Contributor),

Keris McDonald (Contributor),

more…
3.92 avg rating — 593 ratings

The Dark Angels (3 books)
by

Ian Whates

3.86 avg rating — 399 ratings

Noise (2 books)
by

Ian Whates

3.34 avg rating — 415 ratings

Quotes by Ian Whates (?)

“Perhaps life is rare, either because the precise conditions necessary for it to occur are uncommon or because the chances of it arising are so vanishingly improbable that the Universe just hasn’t been around for long enough. Some scientists argue that the Earth may be a rather exceptional planet after all, with its large, stabilising moon and uncommonly well-behaved sun. We may even lie in a peculiarly habitable part of the galaxy, central enough to benefit from the chemical enrichment of previous generations of stars but safely distant from the harsh radiation of the galactic core. In this case we might not be the only life forms in the Universe, but we could be among the first.”
― Ian Whates, Paradox: Stories Inspired by the Fermi Paradox

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“He wanders around a bit checking out how governments work and reckons they don’t.”
― Ian Whates, Solaris Rising 2: The New Solaris Book of Science Fiction

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“Being a scientist, Fermi attempted to add a degree of numerical rigour to the discussion with some back-of-the-envelope calculations. By combining educated guesses about the frequency of Earth-like planets and the possibility of life arising, he came to the conclusion that alien civilisations should be numerous – and yet we see no credible signs of their existence. This is the heart of what has become known as the Fermi Paradox; a conflict between an overwhelming probability and a total lack of evidence.”
― Ian Whates, Paradox: Stories Inspired by the Fermi Paradox

1 likes

See all Ian Whates's quotes »

Polls

Which book should we read for February?

City of Dreams & Nightmare by Ian Whates

4 votes, 80.0%

Polaris by Jack McDevitt

1 vote, 20.0%

5 total votes

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Ian Whates’s Followers (75)

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