Robert J. Sawyer

Author profile

born

in Ottawa, Canada

April 29, 1960

gender

male

website

http://www.sfwriter.com/index.htm

genre

Science Fiction & Fantasy, Mystery & Thrillers

About this author

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Robert J. Sawyer is one of Canada's best known and most successful science fiction writers. He is the only Canadian (and one of only 7 writers in the world) to have won all three of the top international awards for science fiction: the 1995 Nebula Award for The Terminal Experiment, the 2003 Hugo Award for Hominids, and the 2006 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Mindscan.
Robert Sawyer grew up in Toronto, the son of two university professors. He credits two of his favourite shows from the late 1960s and early 1970s, Search and Star Trek, with teaching him some of the fundamentals of the science-fiction craft. Sawyer was obsessed with outer space from a young age, and he vividly remembers watching the televised Apollo missions. He claims to...more Robert J. Sawyer is one of Canada's best known and most successful science fiction writers. He is the only Canadian (and one of only 7 writers in the world) to have won all three of the top international awards for science fiction: the 1995 Nebula Award for The Terminal Experiment, the 2003 Hugo Award for Hominids, and the 2006 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Mindscan.
Robert Sawyer grew up in Toronto, the son of two university professors. He credits two of his favourite shows from the late 1960s and early 1970s, Search and Star Trek, with teaching him some of the fundamentals of the science-fiction craft. Sawyer was obsessed with outer space from a young age, and he vividly remembers watching the televised Apollo missions. He claims to have watched the 1968 classic film 2001: A Space Odyssey 25 times. He began writing science fiction in a high school club, which he co-founded, NASFA (Northview Academy Association of Science Fiction Addicts). Sawyer graduated in 1982 from the Radio and Television Arts Program at Ryerson University, where he later worked as an instructor.

Sawyer's first published book, Golden Fleece (1989), is an adaptation of short stories that had previously appeared in the science-fiction magazine Amazing Stories. This book won the Aurora Award for the best Canadian science-fiction novel in English. In the early 1990s Sawyer went on to publish his inventive Quintaglio Ascension trilogy, about a world of intelligent dinosaurs. His 1995 award winning The Terminal Experiment confirmed his place as a major international science-fiction writer.

A prolific writer, Sawyer has published more than 10 novels, plus two trilogies. Reviewers praise Sawyer for his concise prose, which has been compared to that of the science-fiction master Isaac Asimov. Like many science fiction-writers, Sawyer welcomes the opportunities his chosen genre provides for exploring ideas. The first book of his Neanderthal Parallax trilogy, Hominids (2002), is set in a near-future society, in which a quantum computing experiment brings a Neanderthal scientist from a parallel Earth to ours. His 2006 Mindscan explores the possibility of transferring human consciousness into a mechanical body, and the ensuing ethical, legal, and societal ramifications.

A passionate advocate for science fiction, Sawyer teaches creative writing and appears frequently in the media to discuss his genre. He prefers the label "philosophical fiction," and in no way sees himself as a predictor of the future. His mission statement for his writing is "To combine the intimately human with the grandly cosmic."

http://us.macmillan.com/author/robert...(less)

705 posts
Robert J. Sawyer's Blog

Robert J. Sawyer isn't a Goodreads Author (yet), but he does have a blog, so here are some recent posts imported from his feed.

R.I.P., Alan Sawyer

My younger brother Alan Bruce Sawyer passed away Saturday night. He was born September 12, 1961, in Toronto, and died in that city June 8, 2013, at the age of 51.

Alan was diagnosed with lung cancer last September, and by the time it was diagnosed, it had already metastasized to his brain, abdomen, and sternum. He passed away Saturday, June 8, at 10:00 p.m., at home, after a very rapid decline....

combine editions
Robert J. Sawyer's Books

Average rating: 3.81 · 41,616 ratings · 3,956 reviews · 82 distinct works · Similar authors

	Flashforward 3.54 of 5 stars 3.54 avg rating — 6,062 ratings — published 1999 — 34 editions	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
	Hominids (Neanderthal Parallax, #1) 3.76 of 5 stars 3.76 avg rating — 4,392 ratings — published 2002 — 18 editions	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
	Calculating God 3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 avg rating — 3,235 ratings — published 2000 — 17 editions	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
	WWW: Wake (WWW, #1) 3.79 of 5 stars 3.79 avg rating — 3,467 ratings — published 2009 — 21 editions	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
	Humans (Neanderthal Parallax, #2) 3.78 of 5 stars 3.78 avg rating — 2,327 ratings — published 2003 — 18 editions	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
	WWW: Watch (WWW, #2) 3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 avg rating — 2,044 ratings — published 2010 — 17 editions	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
	Hybrids (Neanderthal Parallax, #3) 3.76 of 5 stars 3.76 avg rating — 1,995 ratings — published 2003 — 15 editions	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
	WWW: Wonder (WWW, #3) 3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 avg rating — 1,630 ratings — published 2011 — 15 editions	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
	Rollback 3.67 of 5 stars 3.67 avg rating — 1,663 ratings — published 2007 — 4 editions	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 Terminal Experiment 3.69 of 5 stars 3.69 avg rating — 1,440 ratings — published 1995 — 21 editions	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 Robert J. Sawyer…

Series by Robert J. Sawyer

Neanderthal Parallax (3 books)
by Robert J. Sawyer
3.7639016544117645 of 5 stars 3.76 avg rating — 8,704 ratings

WWW (3 books)
by Robert J. Sawyer
3.876313209132932 of 5 stars 3.88 avg rating — 7,139 ratings

Quintaglio Ascension (3 books)
by Robert J. Sawyer
4.000991080277503 of 5 stars 4.00 avg rating — 1,009 ratings

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Quotes by Robert J. Sawyer

“Learning to ignore things is one of the great paths to inner peace.”
― Robert J. Sawyer, Calculating God

2,185 people liked it

“There is no indisputable proof for the big bang," said Hollus. "And there is none for evolution. And yet you accept those. Why hold the question of whether there is a creator to a higher standard?”
― Robert J. Sawyer, Calculating God

tags: atheism, big-bang, darwinism, double-standards, id, intelligent-design, macro-evolution, macroevolution, materialism, naturalism, religious-science-fiction, science, theism, theistic-science-fiction

19 people liked it

“Naturally, one does not normally discuss plans to commit murder with the intended victim.”
― Robert J. Sawyer, Flashforward

tags: future, killers, murder

14 people liked it

See all Robert J. Sawyer's quotes »

Polls

AUGUST SCIENCE FICTION: This poll decides which 2 books move on to the run-off poll for our August SF Book of the Month!

Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm

11 votes, 23.4%

The Quiet Invasion by Sarah Zettel

11 votes, 23.4%

Steal Across the Sky by Nancy Kress

7 votes, 14.9%

Flashforward by Robert J. Sawyer

7 votes, 14.9%

The Dosadi Experiment by Frank Herbert

5 votes, 10.6%

The Man Who Never Missed by Steve Perry

5 votes, 10.6%

Secret Passages by Paul Preuss

1 vote, 2.1%

47 total votes

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