The Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park
Portraits from our Past:
FAMOUS AUTHORS
Southwest Virginia Author
John Maddox Roberts is the
author of over 45 books of science fiction and fantasy as well
as, a contemporary detective novel series. He was born in the
forties in Ohio and has lived in many places such as Texas, California,
New Mexico, Scotland, Mexico and the Southwest Virginia coal-mining
community of Pound.
Roberts left college and joined the army in 1967 becoming a Green
Beret and doing a tour of duty in Vietnam. After leaving the
military, Roberts decided to become a writer because "it
looked easy and it was something I could do indoors". Roberts
first novel The Strayed Sheep of Charum was published in 1977
followed by King of The Wood in 1983. Both novels were published
by Double Day Science Fiction. In 1989, Roberts published his
first mystery SPQR which was set in ancient Rome. The book was
nominated for the Edgar Award as best mystery of year. This mystery
became a series with ten volumes to date. Roberts has also written
a series of contemporary detective novels about a private eye,
Gabe Trelor. The first book in the series was Typical American
Town which was set in a fictionalized version of Robert's Ohio
hometown.The book was described by the Sunday Oregonian: "Roberts
weaves together elements of steamy noir melodrama, psychological
thriller, and genre whodunit to create a tense, contemporary
mystery with a memorably offbeat mood…..".
Roberts may be best known for his contributions to the Adventures
of Conan series. A few of his Conan books include: Conan the
Valorous (1985), Conan the Bold (1989), Conan and the Amazon
(1995), and Conan the Rogue (1999).
John Maddox Roberts has been able to take his perception of becoming
a writer “because it looked easy” and make it a reality...he
seems to spin his stories with ease. Roberts’ reality becomes
the reader’s fantasy…..science fiction…..and mystery.
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