Friday, May 01, 2009

Tom Deitz

Author Tom Deitz died earlier this week, so I'm posting this article I wrote on him.

A part of rural Georgia has mysterious golden tracks leading to other worlds, propelling young people into fantastic battles with magical beings. In the near future, humans and Selkies fight shapeshifting whales out to destroy humanity. Tom Deitz is the Fantasy author of some of these scenarios. He writes Contemporary Fantasy set in the South where magic impinges on reality. Other books are about the near future. His books are full of adventure with strong plots, realistic characters and powerful themes.

Windmaster's Bane is the first book in the series introducing David Sullivan and his friends. David lives in a rural section of Georgia with his family. He discovers he possesses Second Sight. One night, David and his younger brother see the Sidhe riding along the track near their home. This starts the first encounter with the magical creatures of Fairy. Subsequent books mix Native American fantastic elements with Celtic to create further adventures for David and his companions. The rest of the books in the series are: Fireshaper’s Doom, Darkthunder’s Way, Sunshaker’s War, Stoneskin’s Revenge, Ghostcountry’s Wrath, Dreamseeker’s Road, Landslayer’s Law, and Warstalker’s Track.

Deitz's next series is the "Soulsmith" trilogy. This series tells the story of a group of people with strange powers. Set in the South again, the "Soulsmith" series is told in the books: Soulsmith, Dreambuilder and Wordwright.

The next two books are Science Fantasy. They take place in a near future Earth. Selkies and other magic creatures ally with humans to fight against shapeshifting whales. The whales want to destroy humanity because of the destruction of the environment by man. Above the Lower Sky and Demons in the Green are the two books in this series.

The Gryphon King is a stand alone novel. It's about some students at a college. They raise Satan during a mummers play. The students must fight to get rid of Satan.

His newest work is Bloodwinter. It's an Epic Fantasy and the start of a new series. In this book, two kingdoms fight for survival in a vicious winter. Characters in the book discover a gem with supernatural powers that drinks blood. They are drawn on a quest that may start a war between the two kingdoms. The book ends in a cliffhanger with lots of loose ends for the next book. This is a different subgenre for Deitz, but one he fulfills nicely.

Tom Deitz is a Fantasy author with a great imagination. He creates detailed books with a realistic edge and strong sense of wonder. His realistic characters, interesting plots and contemporary settings combine into thought provoking explorations of Fantasy worlds. Readers will enjoy their journeys through Deitz's books.

No comments: