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{{Short description|American science fiction and fantasy writer (1930–2007)}}
{{Infobox Writer
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| name = Fred Saberhagen
| name = Fred Saberhagen
| image =
| image = Fred Saberhagen 2.JPG
| imagesize =
| imagesize = 180px
| caption =
| caption = Saberhagen in 2007
| pseudonym =
| pseudonym =
| birth_date = {{birth date |1930|5|18}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date |1930|5|18}}
| birth_place = {{flagicon|Illinois}} [[Chicago, Illinois]], [[United States]]
| birth_place = [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2007|6|29|1930|5|18}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|2007|6|29|1930|5|18}}
| death_place = {{flagicon|New Mexico}} [[Albuquerque, New Mexico]], [[United States]]
| death_place = [[Albuquerque, New Mexico]], U.S.
| occupation = Author
| occupation = Writer
| period = 1964–2005
| nationality = {{flagicon|USA}} American
| period = 1964 - 2005
| genre = Fantasy, Horror, [[Science fiction]]
| subject =
| genre = Fantasy, Science Fiction
| subject =
| movement =
| notableworks = [[Berserker (Saberhagen)|The ''Berserker'' series]]
| movement =
[[Books of the Swords|The ''Book of Swords'' series]]
| magnum_opus = [[Berserker (Saberhagen)|Berserker]] series
| influences =
| debut_works = ''The Golden People''
| influences =
| influenced =
| influenced =
| signature =
| signature =
| spouse = {{marriage|Joan Spicci|1968}}
| website = [http://www.berserker.com/ Official site]
| footnotes =
| children = 3
| website = {{URL|http://www.berserker.com/}}
}}
}}

'''Fred Thomas Saberhagen''' ([[May 18]], [[1930]] &ndash; [[June 29]], [[2007]]<ref>{{cite web
'''Fred Thomas Saberhagen''' (May 18, 1930 – June 29, 2007<ref>{{cite web
| title = Locus Online
| title = Locus Online
| url=http://www.locusmag.com/2007/2007NewsArchive.html
| url=http://www.locusmag.com/2007/2007NewsArchive.html
| accessdate = 2007-07-02
| access-date = 2007-07-02
| date = [[2007-07-02]]
| date = 2007-07-02
| quote=SF and fantasy writer Fred Saberhagen, born 1930, died June 29, 2007, at the age of 77. }}</ref><ref>{{cite web
| quote=SF and fantasy writer Fred Saberhagen, born 1930, died June 29, 2007, at the age of 77. }}</ref><ref>{{cite web
| publisher= [[KOAT-TV]]
|publisher = [[KOAT-TV]]
| title = New Mexico Author Dies
|title = New Mexico Author Dies
| url=http://www.koat.com/news/13615149/detail.html
|url = http://www.koat.com/news/13615149/detail.html
| accessdate = 2007-07-03
|access-date = 2007-07-03
| date=[[2007-07-03]]
|date = 2007-07-03
|quote = Noted Albuquerque author Fred Saberhagen has died.
| quote=Noted Albuquerque author Fred Saberhagen has died. The sciience [sic] ficton author lost his battle with cancer on Friday. Saberhagen wrote many novels, including the popular "Book of Swords'" and "Berserker" series. He was 77 years [sic] old. }}</ref>) was a [[Chicago]]-born American [[science fiction]] and [[fantasy fiction]] author most famous for his ''[[Berserker (Saberhagen)|Berserker]]'' series of science fiction stories.
|url-status = dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070928041209/http://www.koat.com/news/13615149/detail.html
|archive-date = 2007-09-28
}}</ref>) was an American [[science fiction]] and [[fantasy fiction|fantasy]] author most famous for his ''[[Berserker (Saberhagen)|Berserker]]'' series of science fiction [[short story|short stories]] and [[novel]]s.


He also wrote a series of [[vampire]] novels in which the vampires (including the famous [[Dracula]]) are the protagonists, and a series of post-apocalyptic mytho-magical novels beginning with his popular ''Empire of the East'' and continuing through a long series of ''Swords'' and ''Lost Swords'' novels. Saberhagen died of cancer, in [[Albuquerque, New Mexico]].<ref name="sundeath">{{Cite web|url=http://www.lcsun-news.com/latest/ci_6297837|date=[[2007-07-04]]|title=Science fiction, fantasy writer dead at 77 |accessdate=2007-07-05|publisher=Las Cruces Sun-News|author=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref>
Saberhagen also wrote a series of [[vampire]] novels in which the famous [[Dracula]] is the main protagonist, and a series of post-apocalyptic mytho-magical novels beginning with his popular [[Empire of the East series]] and continuing through a long series of ''Swords'' and ''Lost Swords'' novels. Saberhagen died of cancer, in [[Albuquerque, New Mexico]].<ref name="sundeath">{{Cite web|url=http://www.lcsun-news.com/latest/ci_6297837|date=2007-07-04|title=Science fiction, fantasy writer dead at 77|access-date=2007-07-05|work=Las Cruces Sun-News|agency=Associated Press|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928040911/http://www.lcsun-news.com/latest/ci_6297837|archive-date=2007-09-28}}</ref>


==Published works==
==Biography==
Saberhagen was born and raised in [[Chicago, Illinois]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/09/arts/09saberhagen.html|title=Fred T. Saberhagen, Novelist, Dead at 77|newspaper=The New York Times|date=9 July 2007}}</ref> Saberhagen served as an [[enlisted man]] in the [[U.S. Air Force]] during the [[Korean War]] while he was in his early twenties.<ref name=Independent>{{cite news |title=Fred Saberhagen (obituary) |newspaper=The Independent |date=6 September 2007}}</ref> Back in civilian life, Saberhagen worked as an [[Electronics Technician|electronics technician]] for the [[Motorola Incorporated|Motorola Corporation]] from 1958 to 1962, when he was around 30 years old.<ref name=Independent/>
'''Video Games''': WIZARD WAR. Includes a specially written story by Fred Saberhagen. Strategy, battles, and magic. Designed by Lloyd Johnson.


It was while he was working for Motorola that Saberhagen started writing fiction seriously at the age of about 30.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.crescentblues.com/4_1issue/saberhagen.shtml |title=Fred Saberhagen: Pushing Humanity's Envelope (interview) |access-date=October 21, 2009 |archive-date=June 7, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090607094745/http://www.crescentblues.com/4_1issue/saberhagen.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref> His first sale was to ''[[Galaxy Magazine]]'', which published his short story "Volume PAA–PYX" in 1961.<ref name=Guardian>{{cite news |title=Obituary: Fred Saberhagen |author=Michael Carlson |newspaper=The Guardian |date=20 July 2007 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2007/jul/20/guardianobituaries.booksobituaries}}</ref> "Fortress Ship", his first "Berserker" short shory, was published in 1963. Then, in 1964, Saberhagen saw the publication of his first novel, ''The Golden People''.
===Dracula sequence===
Saberhagen's Dracula novels are based on the premise that vampires are morally equal to normal humans: they have the power to do good or evil, it is their choice. The first in the series "The Dracula Tape" is the story of Bram Stoker's "Dracula" told from Dracula's point of view. As the continuation of the series makes obvious, in this version, Dracula survives the best efforts of Harker, Van Helsing and company, who are portrayed largely as bungling fools. In later novels Dracula interacts with other literary characters including Sherlock Holmes and Merlin. This series was often listed in Ace promotional materials as "The ''New'' Dracula."


From 1967 to 1973, he worked as an editor for the Chemistry articles in the ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' as well as writing its article on science fiction.<ref name=Independent/> He then quit and took up writing full-time. In 1975, he moved to [[Albuquerque, New Mexico]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.berserker.com/FredsBio.html|title = Saberhagen Biography}}</ref>
1. ''The Dracula Tape'' (1975)


He married fellow writer Joan Spicci in 1968. They had two sons and a daughter. On June 29, 2007, Saberhagen died of [[prostate cancer]] in Albuquerque.<ref name=Guardian/>
2. ''The Holmes-Dracula File'' (1978)


In his adult years, Fred Saberhagen was a practicing Catholic; indications of his faith appear from time to time in his writing.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.americamagazine.org/arts-culture/2018/08/09/otherworldly-science-fiction-chinas-cixin-liu|title = The otherworldly science fiction of China's Cixin Liu|date = 9 August 2018}}</ref>
3. ''An Old Friend of the Family'' (1979)


==Works==
4. ''Thorn'' (1980)
{{main|List of works by Fred Saberhagen}}


==References==
5. ''Dominion'' (1982)
{{Reflist}}


==Further reading==
*"From the Tree of Time" (1982) (short story)
* Wilgus, Neal (1985). "Saberhagen's New Dracula: The Vampire as Hero". In Darrell Schweitzer (ed.), ''Discovering Modern Horror''. Mercer Island, WA: Starmont House, pp.&nbsp;92–98.

6. ''A Matter of Taste'' (1990)

7. ''A Question of Time'' (1992)

8. ''Seance for a Vampire'' (1994)

9. ''A Sharpness on the Neck'' (1996)

*''Vlad Tapes'' (2000) (omnibus of 2 previous books)

*"Box Number Fifty" (2001) (short story)

10. ''A Coldness in the Blood'' (2002)

===Ardneh sequence===
====Empire of the East====
#''The Broken Lands'' (1968)
#''The Black Mountains'' (1971)
#''Changeling Earth'' (1973) also as ''Ardneh's World''
*''Ardneh's Sword'' (May 2006)

Volumes 1-3 were also published in a heavily-revised omnibus form as ''Empire of the East'' in 1979, 1990, and 2005.

====[[Books of Swords]]====
#''The First Book of Swords'' (1983)
#''The Second Book of Swords'' (1983)
#''The Third Book of Swords'' (1984)

====[[Books of Lost Swords]]====
#''Woundhealer's Story'' (1986)
#''Sightblinder's Story'' (1987)
#''Stonecutter's Story'' (1988)
#''Farslayer's Story'' (1989)
#''Coinspinner's Story'' (1989)
#''Mindsword's Story'' (1990)
#''Wayfinder's Story'' (1992)
#''Shieldbreaker's Story'' (1994) (actually subtitled ''The Last Book of Swords'')


====[[Short Story Anthologies]]====
#''An Armory of Swords'' (1995) (original anthology edited by Saberhagen)

===[[Berserker (Saberhagen)|Berserker sequence]]===
The Berserker stories tell about an ongoing war between humanity and the Berserkers. Saberhagen's Berserkers are [[Von Neumann probe]]s programmed with one main objective: Destroy all life. The series spans a large range of both time and space, and so has less plot continuity than Saberhagen's other series.

1. ''Berserker'' (1967) (short fiction collection)

2. ''Brother Assassin'' (1969) a.k.a. ''Brother Berserker''

3. ''Berserker's Planet'' (magazine serialization 1974; 1975)

4. ''Berserker Man'' (1979)

5. ''The Ultimate Enemy'' (1979) (short fiction collection) a.k.a. ''Berserkers: The Ultimate Enemy''

*''Berserker Wars'' (1981) (short fiction collection; only 2 original/uncollected stories)

6. ''Berserker Base'' (1985) Anthology with several guest authors, Saberhagen wrote the overarching story in segments between the others.

7. ''The Berserker Throne'' (1985)

8. ''Berserker: Blue Death'' (1985)

*''The Berserker Attack'' (1987) (short fiction collection; no original/uncollected stories)
*'' Berserker Lies'' (1991) (short fiction collection; one original story)

9. ''Berserker Kill'' (1993)

10. ''Berserker Fury'' (1997)

11. ''Shiva in Steel'' (1998)

*''Berserkers: The Beginning'' (1998) (omnibus of 2 previous collections)

12. ''Berserker's Star'' (2003)

13. ''Berserker Prime'' (2003)

*''Berserker Man'' (2004) (omnibus of 4 previous books)

*''Berserker Death'' (2005) (omnibus of 3 previous books)

14. ''Rogue Berserker'' (2005)

===Books of the Gods===
#'' The Face of Apollo'' (1998)
#''Ariadne's Web'' (1999)
#''The Arms of Hercules'' (2000)
#''God of the Golden Fleece'' (2001)
#''Gods of Fire and Thunder'' (2002)

===Boris Brazil series===

* "Planeteer" (1961)
#''The Golden People'' (1964, heavily revised 1984)
#''The Water of Thought'' (1965, heavily revised 1981)

===Pilgrim, the Flying Dutchman of Time series===
#''Pyramids'' (1987)
#''After the Fact'' (1988)
* ''Pilgrim'' (1997) (omnibus of both novels)

===Non-series Novels===
* ''The Veils of Azlaroc'' (1978)
* ''Love Conquers All'' (magazine serialization 1974-1975; 1979)
* ''The Mask of the Sun'' (1981)
* ''Coils'' (with [[Roger Zelazny]]) (1981)
* ''Specimens'' (1981)
* ''Octagon'' (1981)
* ''A Century of Progress'' (1983)
* ''The Frankenstein Papers'' (1986)
* ''The White Bull'' (1988) front cover incorrectly suggests that this is third Pilgrim novel
* ''[[The Black Throne]]'' (with [[Roger Zelazny]]) (1990)
* ''Bram Stoker's Dracula'' (with James V. Hart) (1992) Novelization of the [[Francis Ford Coppola]] film.
* ''Dancing Bears'' (1995)
* ''[[Merlin's Bones]]'' (1995)
* ''The Arrival ([[Earth Final Conflict]])'' (1999)

===Non-series Collections===
* ''The Book of Saberhagen'' (1975)
* ''Earth Descended'' (1981)
* ''Saberhagen: My Best'' (1987)

===Non-series Anthologies===
* ''A Spadeful of Spacetime'' (1981) (reprint anthology)
* ''Pawn to Infinity'' (1982) (reprint anthology, with Joan Saberhagen)
* ''Machines That Kill'' (1984) (reprint anthology, with Martin H. Greenberg)

==References==
{{reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
{{Commons category|Fred Saberhagen}}
*[http://www.berserker.com/ Official site]
*{{Official website|http://www.berserker.com/}}
*{{isfdb name |id=Fred_Saberhagen | name=Fred Saberhagen}}
*[http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2007/jul/06/remembrance-albuquerque-author-fred-saberhagen-was/ Obituary] from the ''Albuquerque Tribune''
*[http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/s/fred-saberhagen/ Fantastic Fiction Author Page]
*{{isfdb name|id=602|name=Fred Saberhagen}}
* [http://freesfonline.de/authors/saberhagen.html Fred Saberhagen's online fiction] at ''Free Speculative Fiction Online''; includes ''Brother Assassin'', ''The Berserker Wars'' and ''The Berserker Throne''
*[http://www.berserkerfan.org/berserkerstory.htm 1977 article by Saberhagen on the Berserker series] in ''Algol'' magazine
*[http://www.berserkerfan.org/berserkerseries.htm 1980 article by Saberhagen on the Berserker series] from The Great Science Fiction Series, ed. Frederik Pohl, Martin H. Greenberg & Joseph Olander, Harper & Row 1980
*[http://www.berserkerfan.org/starloginterview.htm 1991 interview with Saberhagen] in ''Starlog'' magazine
*[http://www.berserkerfan.org/randinterview.htm 1997 interview with Saberhagen] in ''Talebones'' magazine
*[http://www.crescentblues.com/4_1issue/saberhagen.shtml 2001 interview with Saberhagen] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090607094745/http://www.crescentblues.com/4_1issue/saberhagen.shtml |date=2009-06-07 }} at Crescent Blues
*[https://www.baen.com/Interviews/intsaber 2004 interview with Saberhagen] at Baen Books
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070824222226/http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2007/jul/06/remembrance-albuquerque-author-fred-saberhagen-was/ Obituary] from the ''Albuquerque Tribune''
*[https://www.freesfonline.net/authors/Fred_Saberhagen.html Fred Saberhagen's online fiction] at ''Free Speculative Fiction Online''


{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Saberhagen, Fred}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saberhagen, Fred}}
[[Category:1930 births]]
[[Category:1930 births]]
[[Category:2007 deaths]]
[[Category:2007 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American novelists]]
[[Category:21st-century American novelists]]
[[Category:American fantasy writers]]
[[Category:American fantasy writers]]
[[Category:American male novelists]]
[[Category:American science fiction writers]]
[[Category:American science fiction writers]]
[[Category:Cancer deaths]]
[[Category:Novelists from Chicago]]
[[Category:Dracula in written fiction]]
[[Category:Writers from Albuquerque, New Mexico]]
[[Category:People from Chicago]]
[[Category:Writers of Sherlock Holmes pastiches]]
[[Category:People from Albuquerque, New Mexico]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in New Mexico]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic writers]]
[[Category:Deaths from prostate cancer in the United States]]
[[Category:American people of Norwegian descent]]

[[Category:American male short story writers]]
[[cs:Fred Saberhagen]]
[[Category:20th-century American short story writers]]
[[de:Fred Saberhagen]]
[[Category:21st-century American short story writers]]
[[it:Fred Saberhagen]]
[[Category:Catholics from New Mexico]]
[[ja:フレッド・セイバーヘーゲン]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American male writers]]

Latest revision as of 07:29, 31 October 2024

Fred Saberhagen
Saberhagen in 2007
Saberhagen in 2007
Born(1930-05-18)May 18, 1930
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedJune 29, 2007(2007-06-29) (aged 77)
Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.
OccupationWriter
Period1964–2005
GenreFantasy, Horror, Science fiction
Notable worksThe Berserker series The Book of Swords series
Spouse
Joan Spicci
​
(m. 1968)​
Children3
Website
www.berserker.com

Fred Thomas Saberhagen (May 18, 1930 – June 29, 2007[1][2]) was an American science fiction and fantasy author most famous for his Berserker series of science fiction short stories and novels.

Saberhagen also wrote a series of vampire novels in which the famous Dracula is the main protagonist, and a series of post-apocalyptic mytho-magical novels beginning with his popular Empire of the East series and continuing through a long series of Swords and Lost Swords novels. Saberhagen died of cancer, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.[3]

Biography

[edit]

Saberhagen was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois.[4] Saberhagen served as an enlisted man in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War while he was in his early twenties.[5] Back in civilian life, Saberhagen worked as an electronics technician for the Motorola Corporation from 1958 to 1962, when he was around 30 years old.[5]

It was while he was working for Motorola that Saberhagen started writing fiction seriously at the age of about 30.[6] His first sale was to Galaxy Magazine, which published his short story "Volume PAA–PYX" in 1961.[7] "Fortress Ship", his first "Berserker" short shory, was published in 1963. Then, in 1964, Saberhagen saw the publication of his first novel, The Golden People.

From 1967 to 1973, he worked as an editor for the Chemistry articles in the Encyclopædia Britannica as well as writing its article on science fiction.[5] He then quit and took up writing full-time. In 1975, he moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico.[8]

He married fellow writer Joan Spicci in 1968. They had two sons and a daughter. On June 29, 2007, Saberhagen died of prostate cancer in Albuquerque.[7]

In his adult years, Fred Saberhagen was a practicing Catholic; indications of his faith appear from time to time in his writing.[9]

Works

[edit]
Main article: List of works by Fred Saberhagen

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Locus Online". 2007-07-02. Retrieved 2007-07-02. SF and fantasy writer Fred Saberhagen, born 1930, died June 29, 2007, at the age of 77.
  2. ^ "New Mexico Author Dies". KOAT-TV. 2007-07-03. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-07-03. Noted Albuquerque author Fred Saberhagen has died.
  3. ^ "Science fiction, fantasy writer dead at 77". Las Cruces Sun-News. Associated Press. 2007-07-04. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
  4. ^ "Fred T. Saberhagen, Novelist, Dead at 77". The New York Times. 9 July 2007.
  5. ^ a b c "Fred Saberhagen (obituary)". The Independent. 6 September 2007.
  6. ^ "Fred Saberhagen: Pushing Humanity's Envelope (interview)". Archived from the original on June 7, 2009. Retrieved October 21, 2009.
  7. ^ a b Michael Carlson (20 July 2007). "Obituary: Fred Saberhagen". The Guardian.
  8. ^ "Saberhagen Biography".
  9. ^ "The otherworldly science fiction of China's Cixin Liu". 9 August 2018.

Further reading

[edit]
  • Wilgus, Neal (1985). "Saberhagen's New Dracula: The Vampire as Hero". In Darrell Schweitzer (ed.), Discovering Modern Horror. Mercer Island, WA: Starmont House, pp. 92–98.
[edit]
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