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Utley, Steven (Steven Utley)
Attention SFcrowsnestonauts! Gather round as I reveal the science fiction scrolls of Steven Utley, the man whose talent was so underrated, it had to be searched for with a magnifying glass and a dowsing rod. Utley was a wordsmith-wizard hailing from the mythical, bygone land of Austin, Texas, where he conjured stories alongside fellow scribes at the Turkey City Writer's Workshop, which, disappointingly, had nothing to do with actual turkeys writing sci-fi.
Utley’s literary cauldron bubbled with whimsy and edginess. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction called him “a figure of edgy salience,” which is just a fancy way of saying, “This guy’s got spice!” And Gardner Dozois, while probably wearing a monocle, proclaimed him to be the “most under-rated science fiction writer alive.” Now, if you're wondering what 'edgy salience' tastes like, let's dig into Utley's smorgasbord of interstellar brilliance.
First up, let’s talk about Utley’s and Waldrop’s steampunk prototype, “Custer's Last Jump.” It's about as close to a mashup of the wild west and Jules Verne as you can get without being served tea by a cowboy in a steam-powered airship. This and other collaborations are lovingly bundled into the greatest hits album, 'Custer's Last Jump! And Other Collaborations.' Yes, the exclamation mark is mandatory.
Next, let’s scuba dive into his “Silurian Tales,” where Utley turned back time faster than Cher in a DeLorean. Here we find scientific expeditions in the Paleozoic Era with a sprinkle of “many-worlds” quantum physics. It’s like Jurassic Park with less velociraptors and more philosophical conundrums. Utley has you pondering the nature of reality as you dodge giant prehistoric dragonflies. The series was so good that it required two volumes: ‘The 400-Million-Year Itch’ and ‘Invisible Kingdoms’. If you feel an itch to travel 400 million years into the past, you know what to read!
Additionally, his “chronopaths” series puts time-travelers front and center, twisting and turning through timelines like a cosmic roller coaster operated by Doctor Who. Collected as ‘Where or When’, it's a smorgasbord of time-hopping shenanigans.
Steven Utley referred to himself as “an internationally unknown author,” which is a level of self-deprecating charm only matched by his imaginative flair. From steampunk to time-travel, and from historical sci-fi to the edge of the universe, his quill danced across pages, leaving trails of wonder. You can search the Nest for articles on Utley, Steven (Steven Utley) over at https://www.SFcrowsnest.info/tag/Steven-Utley
