Kearney, Paul 1967–

(Peter Corrigan)

PERSONAL: Born February 14, 1967, in Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland; married 1996. Education: Lincoln College, Oxford, B.A., 1988; graduate of Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Hobbies and other interests: Mountain climbing.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Bantam Publicity, 1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.

CAREER: Writer. Has also worked in a chicken processing plant, as a bartender, and as a teacher of English as a foreign language in Oxford, England. Military service: British Army, lieutenant in Royal Irish Rangers, beginning 1988.

WRITINGS:

FANTASY NOVELS

The Way to Babylon, Gollancz (London, England), 1992.

A Different Kingdom, Gollancz (London, England), 1993.

Riding the Unicorn, Gollancz (London, England), 1994.

The Mark of Ran ("Sea Beggars" series), Transworld Publishers (London, England), 2004, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 2005.

"MONARCHIES OF GOD" SERIES; FANTASY NOVELS

Hawkwood's Voyage, Gollancz (London, England), 1995, Ace Books (New York, NY), 2002.

The Heretic Kings, Gollancz (London, England), 1996, Ace Books (New York, NY), 2002.

The Iron Wars, Gollancz (London, England), 1999.

The Second Empire, Gollancz (London, England), 2000.

Ships from the West, Gollancz (London, England), 2002.

OTHER

(Under pseudonym Peter Corrigan) Delta One Zero, 22 Books (London, England), 1997.

WORK IN PROGRESS: The Stars We Steer By; a novel about modern-day U.S. Civil War reenactors who get transported back in time to the battle of Antietam.

SIDELIGHTS: Fantasy novelist Paul Kearney has been applauded for his skills as a creator of highly believable fictional worlds, and especially for his extremely detailed descriptions of military strategy, weapons, and conflicts, as well as his nautical knowledge. Many of his early works have yet to be published in the United States, so he is best known in America for his "Monarchies of God" series. More recently, he has begun a new series, "Sea Beggars," which has also been praised.

In the "Monarchies of God" Kearney creates a world that is highly reminiscent of Renaissance Europe around the sixteenth century. Although names of places have been changed, readers who know anything about the period will easily recognize that the events in the series strongly parallel those during the time after the fall of Constantinople (known as Aekir, in Kearney's version), political turmoil among the countries in Europe (Normannia), as well as power plays within a divided Catholic Church and the threat of invasion from the Turks (Merduks). It is also an age of exploration, however, and one of the subplots in the series involves a voyage to the New World, a place that soon becomes a world of terrifying mystery. Along with political intrigue and military conflict, the author adds an element of magic. There are wizards in Kearney's world, although their powers are not unlimited and are, indeed, comparable to those of the rulers and pontiffs; there are also shape-shifters and a new threat to Europe from a power-hungry werewolf.

Writing about The Second Empire installment of the series, Sarah Meador stated in Rambles online that Kearney is adept at "capturing the feeling of war." In a review of the "Monarchies of God" series for Infinity Plus, Simeon Shoul commented: "Kearney is a good writer of Fantasy, and that, unfortunately, is a rare thing to be able to say of a field that is all to obviously dominated by hacks and second-raters."

With Ships from the West Kearney completed his five-volume series in 2002; three years later he began the "Sea Beggars" series with The Mark of Ran. Heavy on maritime adventures, the novel is set in a world where the people believe that they have been abandoned by their god. As a result, they have no hope of an afterlife and, consequently, live their numbered years all the more intensely. The hero of the tale, Rol Cortishane, is left without family after his grandfather is killed. Rol has the blood of the Weren, a race believed to have godlike powers, and he embarks on a sea voyage to discover more about himself and the Weren. A Kirkus Reviews writer commented that The Mark of Ran demonstrates Kearney's "supreme confidence [as a] veteran worldbuilder," while a Publishers Weekly reviewer further noted that Kearney's "often lyrical writing shines brightest when his characters take to the sea."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

St. James Guide to Fantasy Writers, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1996.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, November 15, 2005, Frieda Murray, review of The Mark of Ran, p. 32.

Kirkus Reviews, October 15, 2005, review of The Mark of Ran, p. 1112.

Locus, October, 1992, review of The Way to Babylon, p. 19; April, 1994, review of A Different Kingdom, p. 27; September, 1994, review of Riding the Unicorn, p. 33; January, 1995, review of Riding the Unicorn, p. 23; April, 1999, review of The Iron Wars, p. 23.

Publishers Weekly, October 3, 2005, review of The Mark of Ran, p. 51.

ONLINE

Green Man Review Online, http://www.greenmanreview.com/ (January 23, 2006), Kate Brown, reviews of The Heretic Kings and Hawkwood's Voyage.

Guardian Online, http://books.guardian.co.uk/ (December 18, 2004), Jon Courenay Grimwood, "Life and Death on the Ocean Wave," review of The Mark of Ran.

Infinity Plus, http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/ (January 23, 2006), Simeon Shoul, "An Interview with Paul Kearney."

Paul Kearney Home Page, http://www.paulkearneyonline.com (January 23, 2006).

Rambles Online, http://www.rambles.net/ (October 5, 2002), Sarah Meador, review of The Second Empire; (May 24, 2003), Nicky Rossiter, review of Ships from the West.

SF Site, http://www.sfsite.com/ (July 1, 2001), Neil Walsh, "A Conversation with Paul Kearney."