Lincoln Child

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Westport, Connecticut, The United States

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Lincoln Child was born in Westport, Connecticut, which he still calls his hometown (despite the fact that he left the place before he reached his first birthday and now only goes back for weekends).

Lincoln seemed to have acquired an interest in writing as early as second grade, when he wrote a short story entitled Bumble the Elephant (now believed by scholars to be lost). Along with two dozen short stories composed during his youth, he wrote a science-fiction novel in tenth grade called Second Son of Daedalus and a shamelessly Tolkeinesque fantasy in twelfth grade titled The Darkness to the North (left unfinished at 400 manuscript pages). Both are exquisitely embarrassing to read today and are kept under lock and key by the author.

After a c Lincoln Child was born in Westport, Connecticut, which he still calls his hometown (despite the fact that he left the place before he reached his first birthday and now only goes back for weekends).

Lincoln seemed to have acquired an interest in writing as early as second grade, when he wrote a short story entitled Bumble the Elephant (now believed by scholars to be lost). Along with two dozen short stories composed during his youth, he wrote a science-fiction novel in tenth grade called Second Son of Daedalus and a shamelessly Tolkeinesque fantasy in twelfth grade titled The Darkness to the North (left unfinished at 400 manuscript pages). Both are exquisitely embarrassing to read today and are kept under lock and key by the author.

After a childhood that is of interest only to himself, Lincoln graduated from Carleton College (huh?) in Northfield, Minnesota, majoring in English. Discovering a fascination for words, and their habit of turning up in so many books, he made his way to New York in the summer of 1979, intent on finding a job in publishing. He was lucky enough to secure a position as editorial assistant at St. Martin's Press.

Over the next several years, he clawed his way up the editorial hierarchy, moving to assistant editor to associate editor before becoming a full editor in 1984. While at St. Martin's, he was associated with the work of many authors, including that of James Herriot and M. M. Kaye. He edited well over a hundred books--with titles as diverse as The Notation of Western Music and Hitler's Rocket Sites--but focused primarily on American and English popular fiction.

While at St. Martin's, Lincoln assembled several collections of ghost and horror stories, beginning with the hardcover collections Dark Company (1984) and Dark Banquet (1985). Later, when he founded the company's mass-market horror division, he edited three more collections of ghost stories, Tales of the Dark 1-3.

In 1987, Lincoln left trade publishing to work at MetLife. In a rather sudden transition, he went from editing manuscripts, speaking at sales conferences, and wining/dining agents to doing highly technical programming and systems analysis. Though the switch might seem bizarre, Lincoln was a propeller-head from a very early age, and his extensive programming experience dates back to high school, when he worked with DEC minis and the now-prehistoric IBM 1620, so antique it actually had an electric typewriter mounted into its front panel. Away from the world of publishing, Lincoln's own nascent interests in writing returned. While at MetLife, Relic was published, and within a few years Lincoln had left the company to write full time. He now lives in New Jersey (under protest--just kidding) with his wife and daughter.

A dilettante by natural inclination, Lincoln's interests include: pre-1950s literature and poetry; post-1950s popular fiction; playing the piano, various MIDI instruments, and the 5-string banjo; English and American history; motorcycles; architecture; classical music, early jazz, blues, and R&B; exotic parrots; esoteric programming languages; mountain hiking; bow ties; Italian suits; fedoras; archaeology; and multiplayer deathmatching. ...more

Combine Editions
Lincoln Child’s books

Average rating: 4.02 · 847,777 ratings · 47,180 reviews · 107 distinct works • Similar authors

	Deep Storm (Jeremy Logan, #1) 3.88 avg rating — 28,048 ratings — published 2007 — 68 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
	Terminal Freeze (Jeremy Logan, #2) 3.83 avg rating — 16,263 ratings — published 2008 — 35 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 Third Gate (Jeremy Logan, #3) 3.69 avg rating — 14,084 ratings — published 2012 — 35 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
	Utopia 3.90 avg rating — 11,351 ratings — published 2002 — 32 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
	Death Match 3.79 avg rating — 10,165 ratings — published 2000 — 39 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 Forgotten Room (Jeremy Logan, #4) 3.71 avg rating — 11,012 ratings — published 2015 — 29 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
	Full Wolf Moon (Jeremy Logan, #5) 3.70 avg rating — 7,300 ratings — published 2017 — 25 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
	Dark Company by Lincoln Child (Editor), Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft 3.94 avg rating — 62 ratings — 2 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
	Dichtregels voor de doden by Lincoln Child, Marjolein van Velzen (Translator) 3.80 avg rating — 30 ratings	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
	Dark Banquet: A Feast of Twelve Great Ghost Stories 3.60 avg rating — 30 ratings — published 1985	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 Lincoln Child…

Series by Lincoln Child

Jeremy Logan (5 books)
by

Lincoln Child

3.79 avg rating — 76,702 ratings

Tales of the Dark (3 books)
by

Lincoln Child (Editor)

really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 47 ratings

If you’re a fan of mystery, thriller, and suspense series and are searching for reading ideas then look no further. We’ve...

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Quotes by Lincoln Child

“The simplest explanation is most often the correct one.”
― Lincoln Child, The Third Gate

16 likes

“Perhaps some day it will be pleasant to remember even this.”
― Lincoln Child, The Forgotten Room

5 likes

“Admiral Spartan thinks that the object must be exposed and penetrated with all possible speed.”
― Lincoln Child

tags: humorous

2 likes

See all Lincoln Child's quotes »

Polls

General Poll

Which Crime, Mystery, or Thriller would you like to in August?

We ask you NOT to vote unless you intend to participate in the book discussion (should your book win).

The President Is Missing by Bill Clinton & James Patterson

14 votes, 20.9%

The Outsider by Stephen King

11 votes, 16.4%

The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King

10 votes, 14.9%

Razor Girl by Carl Hiaasen

7 votes, 10.4%

Cold Cold Heart by Tami Hoag

6 votes, 9.0%

The Pharaoh Key by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child Please note: This book is not yet available in paperback in the U.S. It is available in hardcover, e-book, and audio.

4 votes, 6.0%

Prey by Michael Crichton

4 votes, 6.0%

Design for Dying by Renee Patrick

3 votes, 4.5%

Tenacity by J.S. Law

3 votes, 4.5%

NYPD Red 4 by James Patterson

2 votes, 3.0%

The Messiah Matrix by Kenneth Atchity

1 vote, 1.5%

Depth by Lev A.C. Rosen

1 vote, 1.5%

Summer of Night by Dan Simmons

1 vote, 1.5%

67 total votes

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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Glens Falls (NY) ...: "Terminal Freeze" by Lincoln Child	5	21	Jul 23, 2009 06:44PM
The Next Best Boo...: JG's 2009 Reading List	30	392	Jan 10, 2010 10:30PM
The Seasonal Read...: 30.5 (PJ Reads' Task - As Suggested By Tanja - Six Degrees of Separation)	348	409	May 26, 2010 07:44AM

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Quotes by Lincoln Child

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Videos

Combine Editions
Lincoln Child’s books