John M
@Game Designer, Career and Facts
John M
John M. Ford born at
From a very young age, he suffered from diabetes and renal dysfunction which required him to go through a kidney transplant and frequent dialysis.
He passed away in Minneapolis and was discovered by his long-time partner, Elise Matthesen.
Following his death, a number of texts and obituaries about Ford were written, some of which can even be found online including, ‘The Society of the Preservation of Mike’ by the LiveJournal committee and Will Shetterley’s ‘An Introduction to John M. Ford’.
John Milo ‘Mike’ Ford was born in East Chicago, Indiana, and was raised in Whiting.
He studied at the Indiana University Bloomington in the 70s and was an active member of the Society for Creative Anachronism and the science fiction guild.
While he was still a student, he published his first short story, ‘This, Too, We Reconcile’ in 1976.
He left the university and moved to New York where he was employed with the ‘Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction’ magazine. His job was to write fiction, poetry, game reviews and articles.
His last entry for the magazine was in 1981. Around this time, he also authored ‘The Princess of the Air’. Along with George H. Scithers and Darrell Schweitzer, he penned ‘On Writing Science Fiction’, which released the same year.
He authored a Star-Trek tie-up novel, ‘The Final Reflection’ in 1984 and the next year, he wrote the short-story, ‘Scrabble with God’, which was once again reprinted at a later date. He also helped design the game ‘Double Paranoia’ along with Curtis Smith, which released the following year.
He penned another Star-Trek tie-in novel, ‘How Much for Just the Planet?’ in 1987. The following year, he wrote ‘The Scholars of Night’, which was written in the thriller category, containing a Christopher Marlowe play.
In 1989, he authored one of his lesser-known works, ‘Casting Fortune’, which is in fact, a collection of stories set in the ‘Liavek shared world’. The same year, he penned one of his most famous poems, ‘Winter Solstice, Camelot Station’, which earned him an important award.
In 1983, he authored, ‘The Dragon Waiting: A Masque of History’. It is considered one of his first major works because it won the coveted ‘World Fantasy Award’. In 1995, the book sold nearly 40,000 copies in print and 10,000 more for international, foreign editions.
The first of his Star Trek novels, ‘The Final Reflection’ was published in 1984. It was in this book, he underlined the progresses of the Klingon language and ethos. The novel became so popular that it became the basis for the FASA Star Trek role-playing game.
In 1994, he published one of his lengthiest and his most admired poems, ‘Troy: The Movie’. This poem was reprinted in several versions and is to date considered one of his best poetic works.
John M. Ford is remembered as the drollest and the most scholarly author in America. He was a regular contributor to several online discussions and composed countless poems, particularly in blank verse. During his life, he also wrote a number of lampoons and parodies of the works of many known writers. He was also a regular at science fiction conventions and is remembered today for his good-humor, sprightly spirit and his striking aura, that attracted a number of fans. His works were mostly written in the ‘science-fiction’ and ‘fantasy’ category and two of his best-known works include ‘The Last Hot Time’ and ‘Growing up Weightless’. Apart from these two works, he has also penned a number of reviews and has authored short-fiction works such as ‘Scrabble with God’, ‘Street of Dreams’, ‘This, Too, We Reconcile’ and ‘Walkaway Clause’. Most of his novels were speckled in setting and style, but he used the ‘Bildungsroman’ setting for a great number of his works. Apart from writing, he helped design a number of games including ‘The Yellow Clearance Black Box Blues’, ‘Star Trek III’ and also wrote Klingon manuals and several RPG articles.
Information | Detail |
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Birthday | April 10, 1957 |
Died on | September 25, 2006 |
Nationality | American |
Famous | Game Designer, Indiana University, Writers, Poets, Novelists, Science Fiction Writers |
Known as | John Milo |
Universities |
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Notable Alumnis |
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Birth Place | East Chicago |
Gender | Male |
Sun Sign | Aries |
Born in | East Chicago |
Famous as | Novelist, Writer, Game Designer |
Died at Age | 49 |