Born in Illinois in 1948, Simmons did not break into writing fiction until he was already in his thirties, having instead worked as an elementary school teacher. He credits Harlan Ellison's mentorship with getting him into writing workshops and programmes. He published his first short story, "The River Styx Runs Upstream," in 1982, and another, "Remembering Siri," in 1983. This story is notable as being the first set in his Hyperion setting. Another 1983 story, "Carrion Comfort," inspired his horror novel of the same name.
Despite his reputation as a major science fiction author, Simmons actually broke through as a horror author with his first two novels, Song of Kali (1985) and Carrion Comfort (1989). He attracted critical attention and approval from Stephen King, and won the World Fantasy Award for Song of Kali, with Carrion Comfort picking up a Bram Stoker Award, Locus Award and British Fantasy Award.
In 1989 Simmons also published his first major science fiction work and also his best-known single novel, Hyperion. An SF take on The Canterbury Tales, the book forms a series of narratives told by travellers on their way to confront a mysterious alien entity known as the Shrike. The sequel/continuation (Simmons would occasionally suggest the two books had been written as one ultra-long novel, split in half for practical reasons and a major shift in formal), The Fall of Hyperion (1990), won a British Science Fiction Association Award. The two books were retrofitted as a duology called The Hyperion Cantos and published in omnibus under that title in 1990. After detouring into other settings, Simmons would return to the same universe for Endymion (1996) and The Rise of Endymion (1997), which were not quite as well-received, but still solid. Simmons got to experience the joys of Hollywood development hell, with Hyperion optioned for both film and television multiple times (most recently by actor-producer-director Bradley Cooper, a big fan of Simmons) but never quite making it.
Simmons would continue to write in other settings. The five-volume Seasons of Horror series was published intermittently from 1991 to 2002, and was followed by the Joe Kurtz trilogy (2001-03), which saw him move into contemporary detective fiction. Phases of Gravity (1989) and The Hollow Man (1992) were science fiction, whilst The Crook Factory (1999) was a historical thriller. His next major work was the Ilium duology, consisting of Ilium (2003) and Olympos (2005).
Simmons entered a new phase of his career with arguably his second-best-known novel, though perhaps better-known to a more general audience. The Terror (2007) expertly merged elements of historical and speculative fiction into an engrossing account of the infamous Franklin Expedition. It was adapted as a TV series in by AMC in 2018. Drood (2008) tackled the mystery around Charles Dickens's final novel. Black Hills (2010) attracted less interest, and Simmons experienced significant opprobrium for his 2011 novel Flashback, which some commentators regarded as Islamophobic. Simmons noted the novel was an expansion of a earlier short story in which the antagonists are instead Ronald Reagan-influenced capitalists, which attracted no criticism at the time, though commentators also pointed out his long, post-9/11 history of political commentary on the issue over the previous decade. Despite criticisms, the book sold well and was optioned for television. Simmons rallied to deliver the novels The Abominable (2013) and The Fifth Heart (2015). His final completed novel, Omega Canyon, was due for publication last year but was delayed for unspecified reasons.
At his best, Dan Simmons could be an atmospheric writer, skilled in character, setting and story. His novels could trend long, sometimes to tremendous effect (in his Hyperion Cantos duology and The Terror), but sometimes invoking filler. But he was a restless author, always happy to explore new ideas and new genres rather than resting on his laurels and bashing off a dozen, easy Hyperion sequels. Bradley Cooper, Stephen King and Guillermo Del Toro were major fans, Harlan Ellison regarded him as a protege and George R.R. Martin published him in anthologies.
Dan Simmons passed away today from complications resulting from a stroke. He is survived by his wife Karen and daughter Jane, two grandchildren and his brother. With Hyperion and The Terror, he achieved the rare feat of writing two genre novels which crossed over into mainstream awareness and praise, which is no small achievement.
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