Joel Rosenberg

Joel Rosenberg (May 1, 1954 - June 2, 2011) was a Canadian American science fiction and fantasy author best known for his long-running "Guardians of the Flame" series. Rosenberg was also a guns rights activist. He is the oldest brother of Miami Herald reporter Carol Rosenberg. Fantasy His first published fiction, "Like the Gentle Rains", appeared in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine in 1982. The following year, he published his first novel, The Sleeping Dragon which was the first in his long-running Guardians of the Flame series. This series placed a collection of college students into a fantasy setting similar to a role-playing world. Throughout numerous books, Rosenberg has traced these characters, their descendants and the changes they have made to society. He has shown no compunction about killing off popular characters. The "Keepers of the Hidden Ways" trilogy similarly places people from the real world into a fantasy setting, making heavy use of Norse mythology. A third fantasy series, consisting of the novels D'Shai (1991) and Hour of the Octopus (1994) (both lightly humorous mysteries) is set in an Asian-influenced fantasy world with very strict cultural standards and etiquette. Paladins, the first in his "Mordred's Heirs" series, was published by Baen Books in September 2004; the second, Knight Moves was published in November 2006. This series, an "alternate fantasy history", takes place in a world where Mordred defeated King Arthur, establishing the Pendragon Dynasty. Science fiction In addition to fantasy, Rosenberg wrote a number of science fiction novels. Although dealing with different characters, Ties of Blood and Silver (1984) and Emile and the Dutchman (1986) are both set in the same setting. Two other books set in this setting, Not for Glory (1988) and Hero (1990), focus on family members of the Metzadan Mercenary Corps from the Jewish (and others) settled World of Metzada (Masada).