Leo Frankowski

Leo Frankowski (February 13, 1943 – December 25, 2008) was an American writer of science fiction novels. He lived in Russia for four years with his now ex-wife and adopted teenage daughter, but at the time of his death, he had moved back to the United States.

Frankowski was born in Detroit, Michigan to parents of Polish descent. His Polish background is particularly evident in his Conrad Stargard series, in which a modern Pole goes back to the 13th Century, introduces modern technology, defeats and annihilates historic enemies of Poland and makes Poland the dominant European power for centuries to come.

He died in Lake Elsinore, California.

Prior to his writing career, Leo was a successful engineer. He owned and operated Sterling Manufacturing and Design, located in Utica, Michigan, which (among other things) designed pneumatic and hydraulic systems for Chrysler. Leo held multiple patents, including his most popular item, Formital, a stamped aluminum product for use as a base for plastic auto body filler. Formital was carried exclusively for many years by the Pep Boys chain of auto parts stores.

Political views

According to the author, most of his fans consist of "males with military and technical backgrounds," while he likewise claimed his detractors consist of "feminists, liberals, and homosexuals." Frankowski admits that anyone who self-identifies with the latter categories would be unlikely to enjoy his fiction.

In the preface to the 1990 "Lord Conrad's Lady", Frankowski included a facetious remark: "Any overt sexism and male chauvinism noticed in this work is totally the fault of Bill Gillmore, and all complaints should be addressed to him at the Dawn Threader Bookshop of Ann Arbor, Mich."

Writings

Though he had tinkered with short science fiction for several years, Leo's writing career began in earnest in the early 1980s when he was invited to join what became the National Science Fiction Writer's Exchange, a now-defunct Detroit-area group founded by Guy Snyder, and whose membership included Lloyd Biggle, Ted Reynolds and future published author Ann Tonsor Zeddies. Members read manuscripts aloud, which were then critiqued; from the beginning, Leo's stories related to time travel were well-received by the membership. Most of these meetings were audio-taped, and those tapes were retained by Snyder.

Encouraged by the positive responses, Leo quickly wrote his first novel, initially titled The Polish Engineer. The book landed at Del Rey Books, and the publisher offered him a multi-book contract.

Conrad Stargard series

The Conrad Stargard series, in which a twentieth-century engineer travels back in time to thirteenth-century Poland. It consists of the following books:

The Cross Time Engineer

Twentieth-century Polish engineer Conrad Schwartz is accidentally and mysteriously dumped in thirteenth-century Poland. He becomes friendly with the saintly Father Ignacy, who convinces him he is indeed in an earlier era. He meets a number of minor characters who figure in later books, such as the boatman Tadaos, and winds up working for Count Lambert, a relative of the Duke who rules over much of Poland. Algis Budrys reviewed the novel favorably, calling it "a good job" despite the absence of "fundamental innovation."

The High-Tech Knight

Conrad, now using the name Stargard because his correct name sounds too German, works to bring Poland into some advanced technology in order to meet the imminent threat of the 1241 Mongol invasion.

The Radiant Warrior

Training creates an army of 150,000 trained soldiers. Twentieth Century techniques disturb Thirteenth Century society.

The Flying Warlord

Count Lambert forces Conrad to divert his efforts into creating an air force. The Mongols invade, with tens of thousands dead on all sides.

Lord Conrad's Lady

Lady Francine, a French woman known as one of the two most beautiful women in Poland (the other lives with Conrad, but as an heretical Muslim can't or won't marry him) maneuvers Conrad into marrying her.

Conrad's Quest for Rubber

Conrad sends an expedition to South America, with disastrous effects due to unique diseases.

Conrad's Time Machine

Conrad does not appear in this. This book explains the invention of the time machine and the people who control its use, incidentally providing explanations for their occasional interference in Conrad's behalf.

Lord Conrad's Crusade

Conrad goes on vacation and ends up seeing the slave trade from the wrong side of the bars. Of course he escapes—only to end up an unwilling crusader!

Rubber and Time Machine feature the same setting and some of the same characters, but are not 'main sequence' books.

Two omnibus editions of this series have been published by Baen Books:

• Conrad Stargard: Radiant Warrior, containing The Cross-time Engineer, The High Tech Knight and The Radiant Warrior.
• Conrad's Lady, containing The Flying Warlord, Lord Conrad's Lady and Conrad's Quest for Rubber.

Baen rejected Lord Conrad's Crusade for "bad writing" (an explanation Frankowski doubted) and terminated its contracts for other upcoming titles. Frankowski published the novel himself.

Other books

A second series, partially in collaboration with Dave Grossman includes the books:

• A Boy and his Tank
• The War With Earth (with Dave Grossman)
• Kren of the Mitchegai (with Dave Grossman)

Again in collaboration with Dave Grossman he has started a third series:

• The Two Space War (with Dave Grossman)
• The Guns of Two Space (Forthcoming) (with Dave Grossman)

Other, stand-alone books written by Frankowski include:

• Fata Morgana (1999) (ISBN 0-671-57876-6)
• Copernick's Rebellion

Frankowski's most recent work has again featured Conrad Stargard. He wrote Lord Conrad's Crusade in collaboration with Rodger Olsen, and promised another Stargard book which would conclude the series. Unfortunately, he will not complete it. On 25 December 2008, Leo died..

External links

• Frankowski's reasons for going and staying in Russia
• Frankowski's current publisher, Great Authors Online
• Leo Frankowski at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database