Karen Traviss

Karen Traviss is a science fiction author, and full-time novelist from Wiltshire, England. Originally from the Portsmouth area, Traviss worked as both a journalist and defence correspondent before turning her attention to writing fiction. She also served in both the Territorial Army and the Royal Naval Auxiliary Service. Traviss is a graduate of the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy workshop. Her first published novel, City of Pearl (2004) centered around the clash of several distinct alien civilizations, several hundred years in the future. She has since written five sequels to City of Pearl: Crossing the Line (2004), The World Before (2005), Matriarch (2006), Ally (2007), and Judge (2008).

History with Star Wars

In addition to creating her own fictional setting for City of Pearl, Traviss has written numerous novels using existing intellectual property—particularly in the Star Wars universe. Four of those Star Wars novels have been bestsellers^{[citation needed]}: Star Wars Republic Commando: Hard Contact (2004), Star Wars Republic Commando: Triple Zero (2006) Star Wars Republic Commando: Order 66 (2008), and Star Wars Legacy of the Force: Bloodlines. Hard Contact and Triple Zero begin the Republic Commando Series, which Traviss continued to write (Star Wars Republic Commando: True Colors is the third volume and Star Wars Republic Commando: Order 66 (2008) is the fourth). Her newest addition to the series, 501st, was released in October 2009.

In addition to the Republic Commando Series, Traviss was one of three authors retained by Lucasfilm and Del Rey to pen a nine novel series called Legacy of the Force (the other two authors were Aaron Allston and Troy Denning). Her three contributions to the series are: Legacy of the Force: Bloodlines (2006), Legacy of the Force: Sacrifice (2007) and Legacy of the Force: Revelation (2008). Thematically, her work within the Star Wars universe has frequently centered on Mandalorians and their culture. In particular, her Republic Commando novels have explored themes of identity with regards to clone troopers, their Mandalorian heritage, and their interaction with Jedi leadership. Traviss has since parted from Del Rey for creative differences.

Other Intellectual Property-derived works

In addition to Star Wars novels, Traviss also wrote a Gears of War prequel novel, Gears of War: Aspho Fields which was released on October 28, 2008. She was inspired to do so after watching a trailer for the game.^{[citation needed]} She then went on to write the sequels Gears of War: Jacinto's Remnant, released on July 28, 2009, Gears of War: Anvil Gate, released on August 31, 2010 and Gears of War: Coalition's End, set for release on August 2, 2011. She also served as the lead writer for Gears of War 3.

She wrote together with Eric Nylund and Tobias S. Buckell and many other authors the short story collection Halo Evolutions: Essential Tales of the Halo Universe, which was released in November 2009.

On July 21, 2010, Traviss announced on her blog that she had signed a multi-book deal to write novels set in the Halo universe. The first book is set after the events of Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, and is a continuation of that story line. Explaining why she had agreed to write in the Halo universe, Traviss said that "there's an awkward and upsetting moral dilemma at the heart of the story, and if there's something I can't resist more than money, it's exploring moral dilemmas."

Bibliography

The Wess'har Wars

• City of Pearl (March 2004) Book 1 of The Wess'har Wars
• Crossing the Line (September 2004) Book 2 of The Wess'har Wars
• The World Before (October 2005) Book 3 of The Wess'har Wars
• Matriarch (October 2006) Book 4 of The Wess'har Wars
• Ally (March 2007) Book 5 of The Wess'har Wars
• Judge (March 2008) Book 6 of The Wess'har Wars

Star Wars novels

• Republic Commando
  • Hard Contact (November 2004) Book 1 of the Republic Commando series
  • Triple Zero (February 2006) Book 2 of the Republic Commando series
  • True Colors (October 2007) Book 3 of the Republic Commando series
  • Order 66 (September 2008) Book 4 of the Republic Commando series
  • 501st (October 2009) Book 1 of the Imperial Commando series
• The Clone Wars
  • The Clone Wars (July 2008) (Novelization of The Clone Wars film.)
  • No Prisoners (May 2009)
• Legacy of the Force
  • Bloodlines (August 2006) Book 2 of Legacy of the Force (follows Betrayal; followed by Tempest)
  • Sacrifice (May 2007) Book 5 of Legacy of the Force (follows Exile; followed by Inferno)
  • Revelation (February 2008) Book 8 of Legacy of the Force (follows Fury; followed by Invincible)

Gears of War series

• Aspho Fields (October 2008) Book 1 of the Gears of War novel series.
• Jacinto's Remnant (July 2009) Book 2 of the Gears of War novel series.
• Anvil Gate (September 2010) Book 3 of the Gears of War novel series.
• Coalition's End (August 2011) Book 4 of the Gears of War novel series.
• Gears of War 3 (September 2011)
• The Slab (May 2012) Book 5 of the Gears of War novel series.

Halo novels

• Kilo-Five Trilogy
  • Halo: Glasslands, a sequel to Halo: Ghosts of Onyx (October 25, 2011)
  • Halo: The Thursday War (October 2, 2012)

Star Wars short stories

• Omega Squad: Targets, in Star Wars Insider 81 (Reprinted in Star Wars Republic Commando: Triple Zero)
• In His Image, in Vader: The Ultimate Guide (reprinted in paperback edition of Star Wars: Legacy of the Force - Betrayal)
• A Two-Edged Sword, sequel to In His Image, in Star Wars Insider 85 (reprinted in paperback edition of Star Wars: Legacy of the Force - Betrayal)
• Odds in Star Wars Insider 87 (Reprinted in Star Wars Republic Commando: True Colors)
• Boba Fett: A Practical Man e-novella (2006) (Reprinted in paperback edition of Star Wars: Legacy of the Force - Sacrifice)

Other short stories

• Strings, in Realms of Fantasy July 2002
• A Slice at a Time, in Asimov's Science Fiction July 2002
• Suitable for the Orient, in Asimov's Science Fiction February 2003
• Return Stores, in Realms of Fantasy February 2003
• The Man Who Did Nothing, in Realms of Fantasy June 2003
• Does He Take Blood?, in Realms of Fantasy August 2003
• Human Weakness, in Halo: Evolutions: Essential Tales of the Halo Universe (Tor Books, November 2009)

Essays

• I Gotta Get Me One of Those, in the essay anthology, Navigating the Golden Compass: Religion, Science & Daemonology in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials (Smart Pop Series, BenBella Books, August 2005)
• Driving GFFA 1: or How Star Wars Loosened My Corsets, in Star Wars on Trial : Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Debate the Most Popular Science Fiction Films of All Time (ed. David Brin, 2006).

Features

• Guide to the Grand Army of the Republic in Star Wars Insider 84 (with co-author Ryan Kaufman)
• The Mandalorians: People and Culture in Star Wars Insider 86
• Sprinting the Marathon in Emerald City. Karen explains why she writes spin-off fiction.

References

• See also John Hickman. "Implacable Justice: Arguing Politics and Theories of Law via the Encounter with Powerful Alien Species." Extrapolation. (September 2007) 48(2): 302-313. Available at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb1421/is_2_48/ai_n29374468/.

Further reading

• Gears of War: Aspho Fields, by Karen Traviss (2008) ISBN 0-345-49943-3
• Gears of War: Jacinto's Remnant, by Karen Traviss (2009) ISBN 0-345-49944-1
• Gears of War: Anvil Gate, by Karen Traviss (2010) ISBN 0-345-49945-X
• Gears of War: Coalition's End, by Karen Traviss (2011) ISBN 0-356-50104-3

External links

• Official website
• Karen Traviss' blog on Starwars.com
• Omega Squad: Targets fan made audio drama, produced & directed by Dany Pépin.
• New Gears 2 info from Comic-Con- The Truth cont.
• Karen Traviss at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Karen Traviss on Wookieepedia: a Star Wars wiki