Stephen R. Donaldson

Stephen Reeder Donaldson
Stephen R. Donaldson on a 2007 book tour.
Born	(1947-05-13) May 13, 1947 (age 69) Cleveland, Ohio
Pen name	Reed Stephens
Occupation	Novelist
Nationality	American
Genre	Fantasy, science fiction, mystery

Stephen Reeder Donaldson (born May 13, 1947) is an American fantasy, science fiction and mystery novelist, most famous for The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, his ten-novel fantasy series. His work is characterized by psychological complexity, conceptual abstractness, moral bleakness, and the use of an arcane vocabulary, and has attracted critical praise for its "imagination, vivid characterizations, and fast pace." He earned his bachelor's degree from The College of Wooster and a Master's degree from Kent State University. He currently resides in New Mexico.

In the United Kingdom he is usually called "Stephen Donaldson" (without the "R").

Donaldson spent part of his youth in India, where he attended what is now the Kodaikanal International School. He was attending Kent State University as a graduate student at the time of the Kent State shootings on May 4, 1970. Though he was not on campus at the time of the shootings, his apartment was one and a half blocks away, and he was forced to live under martial law for three days afterwards. Donaldson does not like to discuss the incident, as he finds the memories disturbing.

Donaldson is a fan of opera, and has said that he "love[s] that direct expression of passionate emotion in beautiful sound". In 1994, he gained a black belt in Shotokan karate.

Donaldson is part of the generation of fantasy authors which came to prominence in the 1970s and early 1980s. Like that of many of his peers, his writing is heavily influenced by the works of J. R. R. Tolkien. However, Donaldson's stories show a wide range of other influences, including Mervyn Peake, C. S. Lewis, Robert E. Howard, and the operas of Richard Wagner. Donaldson is also a great fan of Roger Zelazny's Amber novels, which were a direct inspiration for his own Mordant's Need series. Also, in the Gradual Interview section of his website, Donaldson mentions his extensive study of Joseph Conrad, Henry James and William Faulkner to further develop his narrative style.