Knaak, Richard A(llen) 1961-

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KNAAK, Richard A(llen) 1961-

PERSONAL: Surname is pronounced "nack"; born May 28, 1961, in Chicago, IL; son of James Richard and Anna Maria (Trappen) Knaak. Education: University of Illinois, Urbana—Champaign, B.A., 1984. Hobbies and other interests: Reading, travel, food, old movies.

ADDRESSES: Home and offıce—P.O. Box 8158, Bartlett, IL 60103. Agent—Peekner Literary Agency, 3121 Portage Rd., Bethlehem, PA 18017. E-mail—rknaak@centurytel.net.

CAREER: Writer. Motorola, warehouseman, 1984-85; Allen & Associates, resume writer, 1986; Sears Mortgage, office clerk, 1986-88.

MEMBER: Science Fiction Writers of America.

WRITINGS:

King of the Grey, Warner Books (New York, NY), 1993.

Frostwing, Warner Books (New York, NY) 1995.

The Janus Mask, Warner Books (New York, NY), 1995.

Dutchman, Warner Books (New York, NY), 1996.

Ruby Flames, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1999.

The Citadel, Wizards (Renton, WA), 2000.

The Tides of Blood, Wizards (Renton, WA), 2000.

"DRAGONLANCE HEROES" SERIES

The Legend of Huma, TSR (Lake Geneva, WI), 1988, Wizards (Renton, WA), 2004.

Kaz, the Minotaur, TSR (Lake Geneva, WI), 1990.

Land of the Minotaurs, TSR (Lake Geneva, WI), 1996.

Reavers of the Blood Sea, TSR (Lake Geneva, WI), 1999.

Night of Blood, TSR (Lake Geneva, WI), 2003.

"DRAGONREALM" SERIES

Ice Dragon, Questar/Warner Books (New York, NY), 1989.

Wolfhelm, Warner Books (New York, NY), 1990.

Shadow Steed, Warner Books (New York, NY), 1990.

Firedrake, Questar/Warner Books (New York, NY), 1993.

The Crystal Dragon, Warner Books (New York, NY), 1993.

The Dragon Crown, Warner Books (New York, NY), 1994.

The Horse King, Warner Books (New York, NY), 1997.

"DRAGONREALM ORIGINS" SERIES

The Shrouded Realm, Warner Books (New York, NY), 1991.

Children of the Drake, Warner Books (New York, NY), 1991.

Dragon Tome, Warner Books (New York, NY), 1992.

other

Legacy of Blood ("Diablo" series), Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2001.

The Kingdom of Shadow ("Diablo" series), Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2002.

Day of the Dragon, ("Warcraft" series), Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2001.

Also author of short stories. Author's works have been translated into Czech, Danish, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish.

WORK IN PROGRESS: More novels, including The Well of Eternity for the "Warcraft" series, and a third "Diablo" book.

SIDELIGHTS: Richard A. Knaak's first published book, The Legend of Huma, was written to be compatible with the "Dungeons and Dragons" fantasy roleplaying game. This book and Knaak's subsequent novels eventually sold more copies than the game, however, attesting to the popularity of his work. The Legend of Huma drew on the original DragonLance books, written by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, and is a "prequel" to those stories. In them, Huma is mentioned as a hero on the world of Krynn—the one who first discovered the magical DragonLances. Knaak took that thread and wove it into an entire novel, The Legend of Huma.

The Legend of Huma is a story of the struggle between good and evil, set in a land scarred by war, plague, and famine. Dragons are used in an airborne cavalry, their riders armed with enchanted lances. Huma, a knight belonging to an order dedicated to wisdom and justice, sets out on a quest. His lofty character is demonstrated early on in the book, when he rescues a minotaur named Kaz. Later, a silver dragon takes an interest in Huma because of his nobility. When he is wounded, the dragon takes on a human female form in order to care for him; during this time, they fall in love, with Huma unaware of the woman's true being. Huma makes a long, hazardous journey and passes many tests in order to acquire the DragonLances. He narrowly avoids death at the hands of the evil tyrant, Galen Dracos, and then goes on to use his Dragon-Lance in a battle with the malevolent deity Takhisis. Huma wins the combat, but is mortally wounded. The sequel to The Legend of Huma—Kaz, the Minotaur— follows Huma's hoofed friend as he tries to live up to the knight's noble ways.

In the St. James Guide to Fantasy Writers, Lucya Szachnowski wrote that Knaak's books are "well-constructed tales of knightly quests," and that the author is particularly good at "describing dragons." Knaak used that skill to the utmost in his Dragonrealm series. These stories are set in a land ruled by dragons of many colors. Each color signifies a special set of interests, magical powers, and temperaments, and each color rules a different sector of the land. Green dragons watch over the forests, for example, while the red ones guard the volcanic areas. The series describes many power struggles between dragons, humans, aliens, witches, warlocks, and other magical creatures. Szachnowski described the series: "Battles rage, lands are devastated and the various factions change sides faster than you can turn the pages. The hero, Cabe Bedlam, is of the Luke Skywalker type—a young lad with untrained powers who eventually learns that his father is an evil warlock who has dabbled too much with the dark side."

The increasing popularity of electronic games has proven a boon to Knaak. Working jointly with Simon & Schuster and the Blizzard game company, he began to work on novels that dovetail with the games Diablo and Warcraft. Knaak has used the games as groundwork for characters and situations and then builds plots based on the action in the games as well as fictionalized "what ifs" he devises himself. In an interview with Planet Diablo, Knaak said of both the "Diablo" and "Warcraft" books, "Blizzard wants the series to go beyond the confines of the game, to show readers more about the world. Because of this, I was able to focus on an area that the games had yet to truly touch upon—namely the dragons." Interestingly enough, new editions of the games sometimes incorporate Knaak's visions of the respective fantasy worlds. The author said in his interview that the process of working with game creators and his Simon & Schuster editors "turned out to be a great deal of enjoyment."

Knaak once told CA: "I began writing when I was young, after I realized that I didn't have the patience to learn to draw but could put a decent story together. My imagination has always been a strong part of me. I started reading mysteries but soon discovered science fiction and fantasy; I've been hooked since.

"If there is any theme running through my work, it is that one should never give up. There is always hope. You are the one who generally determines your own success or failure. This represents my personal view as well as my own experience. In a nutshell, your only limits are the ones you form in your own mind."