Sylvain Neuvel is a Canadian science fiction writer, known as the author of The Themis Files. He was born in Quebec City and raised in the suburb of L'Ancienne-Lorette.[1] Neuvel was educated at the Université de Montréal and the University of Chicago, and runs his own professional translation agency.[1]
Sylvain Neuvel | |
|---|---|
 Neuvel at the 2018 Phoenix Comic Fest | |
| Born | 1973 Quebec City, Quebec |
| Occupation | Novelist, Translator |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Genre | Science Fiction |
| Years active | 2010s-present |
| Notable works | The "Themis Files" |
The Themis Files trilogy begins with his debut novel Sleeping Giants. It follows a group of scientists, led by a physicist named Rose Franklin, as they track down and assemble a giant robot of mysterious origins, scattered across the Earth.[2] The idea for Sleeping Giants first came to him when his son asked him to build a toy robot. Not just any toy robot, he wanted one with an extended back story, wanted to know where the robot came from and what it did.[3] The novel is written in an atypical format, laid out in back-and-forth dialogues, journal entries and documentation rather than through traditional narration.[4]
Neuvel first submitted the novel to literary agents in 2014 and received 50 rejections.[1] The novel was published by Del Rey Books in 2016.[1] It began accumulating favourable buzz after Kirkus Reviews published a rave review of the galley copy it had received. The novel, which was a longlisted contender for the 2017 edition of Canada Reads,[5] has been optioned by Sony Pictures for development into a film and was sold for translation into twenty languages.[1][2] It was a finalist for the 2016 Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Science Fiction,[6] the 2017 Compton Crook Award[7] and for the Concordia University First Book Prize at the 2016 Quebec Writers' Federation Awards.[8]
Neuvel was announced as one of three contributing authors on an upcoming Black Mirror book project. The first book was set to be released in February 2018 and feature a collection of short fiction by each author.[9] However, the project was postponed indefinitely in October 2018.[10]
Bibliography edit
Themis Files series edit
- Sleeping Giants, Del Rey (2016)
- Waking Gods, Del Rey (2017)
- Only Human, Del Rey (2018)
- "File N°1743" (2016, short story)
- "File N°247" (2016, short story)
- "FILE NO. 002" (2017, short story)
Take Them to the Stars series edit
- A History of What Comes Next, Tordotcom (2021)[11]
- Until the Last of Me (2022)[12]
- For the First Time, Again (2023)
Standalone edit
- No Kindness Too Soon, Audible (2022)
- The Test, Tordotcom (2019)
References edit
- ^ a b c d e "Sylvain Neuvel's buzzed-about debut novel asks age-old sci-fi question: Is there anybody out there?". Montreal Gazette, May 6, 2016.
- ^ a b "In the Author's Universe: Interview with Sci-Fi Author Sylvain Neuvel". Retrieved 2017-06-14.
- ^ "Sylvain Neuvel's debut novel Sleeping Giants results in three-book deal". The Suburban, June 1, 2016.
- ^ "How author Sylvain Neuvel finds the human heart in his giant robot thrillers". The Verge. Retrieved 2017-10-06.
- ^ "CBC Canada Reads 2017 announces longlist, including Katherena Vermette, Vivek Shraya, André Alexis". National Post, December 19, 2016.
- ^ "Best Science Fiction 2016 — Goodreads Choice Awards". Goodreads. Retrieved 2017-01-24.
- ^ "Finalists for 2017 Compton Crook Award Announced - SFWA". SFWA. 2017-03-27. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
- ^ "Madeleine Thien nominated for Quebec Writers' Federation literary award". CBC Books, October 16, 2017.
- ^ "Charlie Brooker reveals authors of Black Mirror book". Digital Spy. 2017-09-21. Retrieved 2017-10-06.
- ^ Jeffery, Morgan (29 October 2018). "Charlie Brooker reveals why planned Black Mirror spin-offs novels have been shelved". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 28 August 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
- ^ "Book Review: A History of What Comes Next: A Take Them to the Stars Novel". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
- ^ "66 works of Canadian fiction to watch for in spring 2022". CBC Books, January 11, 2022.