Walter Jon Williams’s first novel was published in
1981, but he didn’t turn to science fiction until
Ambassador of Progress (1984), a planetary romance of minor interest. Knight Moves (1985)
showed a noticeable improvement in style as well
as concept, mixing immortality with a quest to find
a workable method of teleportation or matter
transmission. It was Hard Wired (1986) that began
to raise eyebrows. The story of hostilities between
Earth and its orbiting habitats draws heavily on cyberpunk themes and creates a fascinating future to
which Williams would return with his next novel.
Voice of the Whirlwind (1987) was even more intriguing, a mystery story in which the clone of a
murdered man sets out to solve the mystery of the
death of his original, reminiscent of To Live Forever
(1956) by Jack VANCE. Solip: System (1989), a
novella, makes use of the same setting.
The Crown Jewels (1987) introduced Drake
Majistral, an aristocrat turned burglar, an affable
and good-natured criminal who returns in House of
Shards (1988) and Rock of Ages (1995). Majistral’s
burglary is legally sanctioned for its entertainment
value. Angel Station (1989), on the other hand, is
another high-tech novel set in a distant future in
which space roving outlaws seek to make their fortunes, interstellar corporations limit individual
freedoms, and a newly discovered alien race
threatens to disrupt things even further. Days of
Atonement (1992) is the author’s first novel in a
near-future setting, pitting a savvy small-town
sheriff against some mysterious goings-on at a
secretive research facility.
Aristoi (1992) assumes the rise of a future aristocracy, this time addicted to the use of virtual reality where they can enjoy the illusion of absolute
power. Williams next wrote two linked fantasy
novels before returning to science fiction. The Rift
(1999) is a traditional but extremely accomplished
disaster novel in which a devastating earthquake
near the Mississippi River destabilizes a nuclear
power plant and threatens to make the middle
third of North America uninhabitable. The Praxis
(2002) opened the Dread Empire series. A race of
immortal aliens held sway over the entire galaxy
until they committed mass suicide, leaving their
various subjects—including humanity—to scramble frantically to fill the ensuing power vacuum.
The story has been continued in The Sundering
(2003).
Much of Williams’s work shows the influence
of Roger ZELAZNY, so it is not surprising that one of
his best shorter works, “Elegy for Angels and Dogs”
(1990) is a sequel to Zelazny’s THE GRAVEYARD
HEART (1964). He won a Nebula Award for
“Daddy’s World” (1999). The best of his short
fiction is contained in Facets (1990) and Frankensteins and Foreign Devils (1998).