Howard Waldrop 
Major Works
Novels
- Them Bones (1984)
- The Texas-Israeli War with Jake Saunders
Short Story Collections
- Howard Who?
- All About Strange Monsters of the Recent Past
- Strange Monsters of the Recent Past
- Night of the Cooters: More Neat Stuff
- Going Home Again
- Strange Things in Up Close
Novellas
- A Dozen Tough Jobs
- You Could Go Home Again
Short Stories
- The Ugly Chickens
- Heirs of the Perisphere
- Custer's Last Jump
- Save A Place In the Lifeboat for Me
- Fair Game
- He-We-Await
- What Makes Heironymous Run?
- The Lions Are Asleep This Night
- Ike at the Mike
- Dr. Hudson's Secret Gorilla
- Horror,We Got
- God's Hooks and more..
----------------------------------------------------------
Howard Waldrop: A Biography
By Bjorn E. Lundin (SHS)
Why is it a fact that a great writer like Howard Waldrop remains relatively unknown? Everybody who is coming to this page looking for an answer to that question will probably not find the answer here. Here is some background information about this creator of excellent science fiction, but not the answer to why his books are so difficult to find or why he is relatively unknown. Howard Waldrop was born in Houston, Chickasaw County, Mississippi, in 1946. After his family moved to Texas in 1950, he spent part of every summer in either Houston, Mississippi, or Bruce, Calhoun County, Mississippi , until he graduated from high school. His Mississippi background has influenced some of his stories, especially A Dozen Tough Jobs. In addition, the character named Madison Yazoo Leake in the novel Them Bones was named after three Mississippi counties. He is a graduate of the University of Texas, where he majored in English (Waldrop letter). One thing is for sure: somewhere in his studies he picked up an excellent knowledge of history. This is evident in several of his works, whether the history is native American history, world history or the history of the United States. Howard Waldrop is a fiction writer with the best history knowledge that I have come across. 
One remarkable thing is that Waldrop manages to make the history fun and interesting , and it always fits in nicely. Some writers use their knowledge in a certain field only to show off. Waldrop really uses his history in a way that fits naturally in the story. A good example appears in the novel Them Bones where he combines ancient American history with ancient world history and molds them both to fit in his own universe. He does this in a very convincing way and leaves the reader with the thought: What if?
Nowadays, Howard Waldrop lives in the state of Washington, where he spends his days fishing for trout. As Waldrop himself says: "If I'm going to write and be poor, I might just as well do it in a place where I can fish for trout all the time" (Waldrop letter). This statement may very well capture the spirit of Howard Waldrop, who has made himself a reputation in the science fiction world by constantly selling his works to the publisher that pays the least. Of course, this doesn't change the fact that he is born with talent and that he has received awards like the Nebula and the World Fantasy Award. H e got both the Nebula and the World Fantasy Award for his short story The Ugly Chickens. It was also nominated for a Hugo. (A Reader Friendly Guide to Howard Waldrop). All readers of science fiction who have grown tired of the mainstream, everyday kind of stories should try to find any work by Howard Waldrop. It may take some searching. but it will be worth the effort.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Review
of Them Bones
by Bjorn E. Lundin (SHS)
In his first individual novel (he wrote The Texas-Israeli War together with Jake Sanders), Waldrop creates something very close to a masterpiece in the genre of science fiction. He does this by letting an amazing story be told from three different point of views, in three different places, and (at least I think so) three different times. Does this sounds confusing? It really isn't. That's the problem with this novel. Anyone who tries to explain it may make the book sound like a silly and hilarious story, when it is really very serious.
The main story begins in a nearby future, where nuclear wars and diseases have ravaged the world. Scientists have discovered a way to travel back in time. They are now going to try to stop this third World War by sending a task force of 148 people to destroy an air base in Louisiana. Sounds simple enough doesn't it? The only problem is that time is a thing that is best left alone. The task force gets separated, and Madison Yazoo Leake is on his own (Yazoo is the name of a town in Mississippi). It is through Yazoo' s eyes that most of the story is told. Here is an excerpt from the book, it is in the beginning when Yazoo begins to understand that something is wrong: ."I walked toward the man, held up my hand. He was unarmed. He had on a red-and-white striped loincloth and wore a pair of moccasins. His hair was black, pulled back in two braids, and had a single feather in it. He had one small pearl in his left ear...I stopped. He regarded me calmly. His skin was an even copper color, like an old penny. He had no tattoos...My arm was still up in greeting 'Hello, ''I said. 'Amigo. Friend.' 'Hello,' he said, in Greek'" (Them Bones, 25) The other sections are told from third person point of view by a group of archeologists who stumble upon some strange findings (that kind of explains the title). The final part is told as the diary of Marie Smith, one of the 147 remaining members of the task force.
This novel is very good, and I would strongly recommend everybody to read it. If not for the joy of reading a good book, you can read it to be amazed by the skills of this very talented and intelligent author. On my scale I'll give it four points out of four possible. In other words: Read it!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Related Websites
A Reader-Friendly Guide to Howard Waldrop
Howard Waldrop: A Bibliography
A new Waldrop story, "US," posted on the Event Horizon Web site.
Reviews of Waldrop's Going Home Again, a collection of nine short stories from Publisher's Weekly and Library Journal as well as table of contents available on Barnes and Noble site.
STRANGE THINGS IN CLOSE UP : A review by Evelyn C. Leeper and _Strange Monsters of the Recent Past_ review by Larry Hammer
Very brief bio of Waldrop
Nebula Awards from the 1980s
Order for Volume 1, Number 3, Fall/Winter 1987- $3.00 (Photocopy only) The Special Howard Waldrop issue, which started one trend and ended others. A long interview with Waldrop, plus reviews of his work and a bibliography. A must for the Waldrop Aficionado. And pictures! (34 pages).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography
Letter from Howard Waldrop to Jim Atkinson. May 7, 1997.
Howard Waldrop: A Bibliography. Internet. Available http:// www.sff.net/people/Waldrop/novels.htm
Waldrop, Howard and Eileen Gunn. "A Reader Friendly Guide to Howard Waldrop." Ed. Janna Silverstein. Internet. Available http:// www.sff.net/people/Waldrop/novels.htm
Leeper, Evelyn C. "Review of Strange Things in Close Up." Online. Available http:// julmara.chalmers.se/SF_archive/Authors/Waldrop,Howard
Waldrop, Howard. Them Bones. New York: The Berkeley Publishing Group, 1984. (an Ace Science Fiction Book, 200 Madison Avenue, NY. NY, 10016)
---------------------------------------------------------
|
