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A.A. Attanasio

Goodreads Author

Born

in Newark, New Jersey, The United States

September 20, 1951

Website

https://www.aaattanasio.com

Twitter

AAAttanasio

Genre

Literature & Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Historical Fiction

Influences

Jorge Luis Borges, Muriel Rukeyser, Lawrence Durrell ...more

Member Since

August 2011

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/aaattanasio

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I’m a novelist and student of the imagination living in Honolulu. Fantasies, visions, hallucinations or whatever we call those irrational powers that illuminate our inner life fascinate me. I’m particularly intrigued by the creative intelligence that scripts our dreams. And I love carrying this soulful energy outside my mind, into the one form that most precisely defines who we are: story.

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Popular Answered Questions

I truly enjoyed your work as a teenager back in the 1990's. They were hugely influential to how I see the world: ecstatically and with intentional wonder. I remember feeling about ten years ago that you seemed to have fallen off the SF/F proverbial "map." Is there another "great work" in the offing, like the Radix books? Or have you moved on to other ambitions? Either way, a thousand thanks for your stellar work!

A.A. Attanasio It’s really gratifying to know that my work has held up for you over the years, Brian! Your comments fathom a depth of satisfaction in me where ambiti…moreIt’s really gratifying to know that my work has held up for you over the years, Brian! Your comments fathom a depth of satisfaction in me where ambition finally rests. And, more than that, I’m uplifted to hear that my art has contributed to a life of intentional wonder! Wonder inspires poetic engagement with the cold mystery of existence, and to pull it off requires inventiveness and a lot of heart. That makes your warm appraisal of my fiction all the more meaningful to me. Yes, I did fall off the sf/f map at the turn of the millennium: A large corporation purchased my publisher in the late ‘90s and let go of their mid-list authors, including me. I haven’t found a publisher since willing to issue my unconventional novels; so, I’m self-publishing my creative efforts as e-books. That’s been a steep learning curve for me. Simply making available the titles from my backlist has taken several years. Presently, I do have three major, new projects in development: Negative Zero (sf), Dragon Dolorous (fantasy) and Reluctant Mirror (paranormal). I’m also discovering Goodreads as an effective venue for disenfranchised authors! I’m looking forward to spending more time here, connecting with responsive readers like yourself, who make me feel that all the hours I spend with my imaginary characters away from real people is worth those erasures. (less)

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I really enjoyed Solis - I have read it multiple times and wonder if you would ever write a sequel or something in the same milieu?

A.A. Attanasio Solis is a novel set on Mars a millennium from now. Centuries, a science fiction saga I published several years later, details the 'history of the fut…moreSolis is a novel set on Mars a millennium from now. Centuries, a science fiction saga I published several years later, details the 'history of the future' that led to the tech culture dramatized in Solis. As for future works about Mars and our human destiny beyond Earth, that is a journey already underway in my heart - and my mind is hurrying to catch up! (less)

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Combine Editions
A.A. Attanasio’s books

Average rating: 3.88 · 10,255 ratings · 971 reviews · 47 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Dragon and the Unicorn (Arthor, #1) 3.88 avg rating — 1,442 ratings — published 1994 — 24 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
	Radix (Radix, #1) 3.75 avg rating — 1,264 ratings — published 1981 — 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
	The Last Legends of Earth (Radix, #4) 4.12 avg rating — 611 ratings — published 1989 — 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
	Wyvern 4.16 avg rating — 549 ratings — published 1988 — 23 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 Eagle and the Sword (Arthor, #2) 4.04 avg rating — 545 ratings — published 1995 — 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
	The Wolf and the Crown (Arthor, #3) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 489 ratings — published 1998 — 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
	The Serpent and the Grail (Arthor, #4) 4.10 avg rating — 413 ratings — published 1999 — 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
	In Other Worlds (Radix, #2) 3.77 avg rating — 335 ratings — published 1984 — 19 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
	Solis 3.69 avg rating — 273 ratings — published 1994 — 21 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
	Arc of the Dream (Radix, #3) 3.68 avg rating — 237 ratings — published 1986 — 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 A.A. Attanasio…

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A.A. Attanasio's Blog: Dreadful Joy

Dark Energy

Call it dark. The cosmic frenzy of dark energy. Trillions of scattering galaxies. What force is flinging them in every direction – and ever faster? Call it dark. It’s an old memory. Dark as the madness of the Dionysian women in ancient Greece who tore apart animals and people. They called it ecstatic frenzy. It […]

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Published on December 10, 2025 19:59

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Series by A.A. Attanasio

Arthor (6 books)
by

A.A. Attanasio (Goodreads Author)

3.96 avg rating — 2,908 ratings

Radix (4 books)
by

A.A. Attanasio (Goodreads Author)

3.84 avg rating — 2,446 ratings

Dominions of Irth (3 books)
by

A.A. Attanasio (Goodreads Author)

3.87 avg rating — 348 ratings

A.A. is Currently Reading

A.A. Attanasio is currently reading

The Peregrine

by J.A. Baker

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Jul 14, 2024 09:49AM

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A.A.’s Recent Updates

A.A. Attanasio wrote a new blog post Dark Energy Call it dark. The cosmic frenzy of dark energy. Trillions of scattering galaxies. What force is flinging them in every direction – and ever faster? Ca Read more of this blog post »
Jan 23, 2026 11:01AM · 1 like · like
A.A. Attanasio answered Maria Iglesias's question: ?I bought your book, Last Legends of Earth, from a second-hand shop in Australia during one of the most difficult periods of my life. The escape the book provided and the direction it took my mind was one of many steps that could have taken a dramatically different turn. Thank you. Now that is all behind me, and I still remember how you brought my shattered mind and broken spirit back into wonder. I'm sincerely moved - and glad to know you've restored yourself on a spirited path. Wonder, unchallengeable in its beauty and intimacy, escapes the haunting darkness sending us into the future. That my book opened into wonder for you during a dark pa See Full Answer
Jun 08, 2025 11:31AM · 3 likes · like
A.A. Attanasio made a comment on Fock Space " I’m in your camp, Alex. I’m okay for posting, but WordPress itself would take more time to master than I have to give at where I am in our mortal arc. ...more "
Aug 03, 2024 09:48AM · see blog post
A.A. Attanasio is currently reading The Peregrine by J.A. Baker	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
Jul 14, 2024 09:49AM · 1 like · like
A.A. Attanasio made a comment on Blood Creed " Yes, I have plans for that burly Roman centurion, an unfortunate member of Crassus' ill-conceived invasion of Parthia in 53 BCE. Over the intervening ...more "
Jul 08, 2024 01:27PM · see blog post
A.A. Attanasio made a comment on King Arthur’s Ghost " My heartfelt thanks Alex. "
Apr 08, 2024 09:57AM · see blog post

More of A.A.'s books…

Quotes by A.A. Attanasio (?)

“Being human is the most terrible loneliness in the universe.”
― A.A. Attanasio

48 likes

“I dream of a true husband—a good man, not a brute, nor a champion of men on the battlefield; I dream but of a gentle man, one who neither speaks too loud nor ignores evil. I pray for such a like-minded mate, who will be ever for me like harmony to music, virtue to the soul, prosperity to the state, and forethought to the universe.”
― A.A. Attanasio, The Dragon and the Unicorn

20 likes

“…for a true Christian, all strangers are Jesus.”
― A.A. Attanasio, The Dragon and the Unicorn

9 likes

See all A.A. Attanasio's quotes »

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A.A.’s Quotes

“Now you see. We are all fugitives. We have always been fugitives from the void. Whatever comfort, whatever power we gain from outside of ourselves diminishes us -- because comfort and power, unless they are won from the void inside of us, are illusions that make us forget the emptyness that carries us. When we forget that, we believe we deserve comfort and power and so are capable of any evil. We deserve nothing but what we make of ourselves. We deserve nothing else. And when we understand that, then nothing is enough.”
― A. A. Attanasio

tags: comfort, evil, existential, power

5 likes