Hunt, Walter H. 1959–

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HUNT, Walter H. 1959–

PERSONAL:

Born 1959; married, 1982; wife's name Lisa; children: one daughter. Education: Bowdoin College, B.A. Hobbies and other interests: Renaissance fairs, board games, role-playing games, and colonial reenactment.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Bellingham, MA. Agent—c/o Donald Maass Literary Agency, 121 W. 27th St., Ste. 801, New York, NY 10001. E-mail—hotc@walterhunt.com.

CAREER:

Has worked as a software developer and programmer; has done extensive work for the gaming industry, including work on the Mechwarrior/Battletech system, Middle Earth role-playing game, and DC heroes role-playing game.

MEMBER:

Freemasons.

WRITINGS:

The Dark Wing, Tor (New York, NY), 2001.

The Dark Path, Tor (New York, NY), 2003.

The Dark Ascent, Tor (New York, NY), 2004.

The Dark Crusade, Tor (New York, NY), 2005.

Author's works have been translated into German and Russian.

SIDELIGHTS:

Walter H. Hunt is a former software developer who has helped create a number of science-fiction games for the gaming industry. His first novel also delves into the world of science fiction and is titled The Dark Wing. The setting for this action/adventure story is the planet Earth in the year 2311, when humans are no longer the only advanced race on Earth. There are a number of alien races, and the different species have begun to form colonies. One such race is the birdlike zor, whose members have been periodically battling the humans for over fifty years. They are preparing an ambitious attack and, in desperation, the human Emperor Alexander summons Marais. Marais calls himself the "Dark Wing of Zor mythology" and claims to know all there is to know about the zor and how to defeat them. Marais believes that peace between the species is not an option, and his plan is extermination. From there, the novel dives into topics that are relevant in today's world, as explained by Jackie Cassada in Library Journal. This novel, she noted, "deals with the problematic issues of xenophobia and genocide while presenting a fast-paced story." Harriet Klausner, writing on the Book Browser Web site, asserted that the zor species is not very well developed in the story, but the book is "an exciting interstellar military science-fiction thriller that remains at hyper speed."

With Hunt's second novel, the military science fiction story of the humans and the zor evolved into a series. The Dark Path finds the war between humanity and the zor at an end; a comfortable, if not entirely friendly, peace between the once-warring races ensues. As humans and zor learn to coexist in colonies at the fringes of the Solar Empire, the birdlike aliens begin to grow restless. Propelled by their psychic powers and fueled by the dreams of their High Lord, the zor anticipate an invasion by an insect-like race that may be aliens but may also be demons from the zor collective unconscious. When two human exploration vessels disappear and a rescue mission ends in disaster, it becomes apparent that the shadowy enemy, demon or alien, is a threat to both races and must be stopped. At the Cicero naval base, Commodore Jackie Laperriere, a human, and her executive officer, Ch'k'te, realize that the aliens have infiltrated their military stronghold. The enemy exhibit devastating psychic powers and the ability to mimic the appearance of anyone. Risking a court martial, Laperriere orders the abandonment of Cicero, her actions complicated by the fact that the zor believer her to be the embodiment of their mightiest hero, Qu'u. When she develops psychic powers, Jackie starts to wonder if the zor might be right. The novel takes place on both inner and outer battlegrounds, and "some fans will relish the exploration of the zor culture; others will grow impatient with the lack of action," predicted a Kirkus Reviews contributor.

In The Dark Ascent, humans and zor have located their new mutual enemy in the insectoid vuhls, powerful psychics, shape-shifters, and formidable foes. There is an unknown power behind the vuhls, however, one that was also behind the human/zor conflict. Its motivations are only beginning to become coherent. Laperriere, who is no longer in the military, has agreed to become the avatar of zor warrior-hero Qu'u and is on a quest to acquire gyaryu, the ancient sacred sword that will allow her transformation. However, the gyaryu may have been irretrievably corrupted by the dark alien powers. While distrust against the military's fight against the vuhl deepens on Earth, the story proceeds on the premise that the mysterious force behind the conflict is manipulating humans, zor, and vuhls for its own as-yetunknown ends. Fans of the series "will relish Hunt's slow-motion intrigues and detailed exploration of alien societies," asserted a Kirkus Reviews critic. Booklist reviewer Regina Schroeder called the novel a "surprisingly thoughtful space opera" that "considers issues of genocide and enmity in surprising depth."

The Dark Crusade, the fourth book in the series, "expands the bounds of military SF to touch on the philosophy and morality of war," commented a Publishers Weekly reviewer. The war against the vuhl continues, and the power behind them, still oblique in its purposes, seeks not only military conquest but also corruption of the races involved in the partnership between humans and their alien allies. New psychic weapons emerge in support of the vuhl, the conflict waxes and wanes into both successes and failures, and Jackie Laperriere battles on at the leading edge of the war. Roland Green, writing in Booklist, observed that Hunt's "skill in characterization is growing as he highlights the ethical dilemmas that large-scale conflict generates."

Hunt told CA: "I have been writing since my early school days, and the early experience has helped to sharpen my skill with the language. I submitted a novel with my college application, which helped admit me.

"It is not sufficient to merely 'write what you know'. That would invalidate much of science fiction, not to mention other 'fantastic' or 'counterfactual' genres. Instead, writing is a process of discovering what one can comprehend and then clothing it in language. Sometimes this is a struggle, at others, a compulsion—but the reward of the creative process is to share with others what one has imagined for oneself.

"As a professional writer I am doing what I always wanted to do, and have the support and affection of my wife and daughter in doing it. There is no greater reward, and I am grateful for the opportunity to pursue this profession."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

periodicals

Booklist, October 15, 2001, Roland Green, review of The Dark Wing, p. 387; August, 2004, Regina Schroeder, review of The Dark Ascent, p. 1913; July, 2005, Roland Green, review of The Dark Crusade, p. 1911.

Kirkus Reviews, December 15, 2002, review of The Dark Path, p. 1812; June 1, 2004, review of The Dark Ascent, p. 522.

Library Journal, December, 2001, Jackie Cassada, review of The Dark Wing, p. 181; February 15, 2003, Jackie Cassada, review of The Dark Path, p. 172.

Publishers Weekly, November 26, 2001, review of The Dark Wing, p. 44; July 11, 2005, review of The Dark Crusade, p. 67.