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Sullivan's love of vintage science fiction and [[horror film]]s played a great part in his later life.<ref>[[Gardner Dozois]] remarked in the 1989 ''[[The Year's Best Science Fiction: Seventh Annual Collection]]'', "Speaking of slasher movies, since I have come to feel that my taste in films may be out of date&mdash;since, for instance, when a director gleefully announces that his upcoming movie 'will set new standards for screen violence' I tend to sigh wearily instead of licking my lips in anticipation&mdash;I have once again turned to that writer, anthologist, ''bon vivant'' and noted authority on SF/Horror films, Tim Sullivan&mdash;a man who really ''enjoys'' a good exploding-head movie every once in a while&mdash;and asked him to contribute a list of ''his'' favorite genre movies this year. Tim's list of the year's top ten films is: 1. ''The Adventures of Baron Munchausen''; 2. ''Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer''; 3. ''Miracle Mile''; 4. ''Paperhouse''; 5. ''Erik the Viking''; 6. ''I, Madman''; 7. ''The Navigator: An Odyssey Across Time''; 8. ''Earth Girls Are Easy''; 9. ''Pet Sematary''; 10. ''Tales from the Gimli Hospital''. Tim adds that modesty prevents him from listing ''The Laughing Dead'', a horror movie directed by Somtow Sucharitkul (S. P. Somtow) in which Sullivan ''himself'' plays the leading role&mdash;a priest who turns into a hideous monster&mdash;and gets to tear several hapless men and women apart on screen, surely the realization of the dream of a lifetime for Tim." {{cite book |last= Dozois |first= Gardner, editor |authorlink= Gardner Dozois |chapter= Summation 1989 |title= The Year's Best Science Fiction: Seventh Annual Collection |year= 1990 |publisher= St. Martin's Press |location= New York |url= http://books.google.com/?id=CmrelmvWc7IC&pg=PT41&lpg=PT41&dq=%22gardner+dozois%22+%22The+Year's+Best+Science+Fiction:+Seventh+Annual+Collection%22#v=onepage&q=%22gardner%20dozois%22%20%22The%20Year's%20Best%20Science%20Fiction%3A%20Seventh%20Annual%20Collection%22&f=false |isbn= 9781466829466}}</ref>
Sullivan's love of vintage science fiction and [[horror film]]s played a great part in his later life.<ref>[[Gardner Dozois]] remarked in the 1989 ''[[The Year's Best Science Fiction: Seventh Annual Collection]]'', "Speaking of slasher movies, since I have come to feel that my taste in films may be out of date&mdash;since, for instance, when a director gleefully announces that his upcoming movie 'will set new standards for screen violence' I tend to sigh wearily instead of licking my lips in anticipation&mdash;I have once again turned to that writer, anthologist, ''bon vivant'' and noted authority on SF/Horror films, Tim Sullivan&mdash;a man who really ''enjoys'' a good exploding-head movie every once in a while&mdash;and asked him to contribute a list of ''his'' favorite genre movies this year. Tim's list of the year's top ten films is: 1. ''The Adventures of Baron Munchausen''; 2. ''Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer''; 3. ''Miracle Mile''; 4. ''Paperhouse''; 5. ''Erik the Viking''; 6. ''I, Madman''; 7. ''The Navigator: An Odyssey Across Time''; 8. ''Earth Girls Are Easy''; 9. ''Pet Sematary''; 10. ''Tales from the Gimli Hospital''. Tim adds that modesty prevents him from listing ''The Laughing Dead'', a horror movie directed by Somtow Sucharitkul (S. P. Somtow) in which Sullivan ''himself'' plays the leading role&mdash;a priest who turns into a hideous monster&mdash;and gets to tear several hapless men and women apart on screen, surely the realization of the dream of a lifetime for Tim." {{cite book |last= Dozois |first= Gardner, editor |authorlink= Gardner Dozois |chapter= Summation 1989 |title= The Year's Best Science Fiction: Seventh Annual Collection |year= 1990 |publisher= St. Martin's Press |location= New York |url= http://books.google.com/?id=CmrelmvWc7IC&pg=PT41&lpg=PT41&dq=%22gardner+dozois%22+%22The+Year's+Best+Science+Fiction:+Seventh+Annual+Collection%22#v=onepage&q=%22gardner%20dozois%22%20%22The%20Year's%20Best%20Science%20Fiction%3A%20Seventh%20Annual%20Collection%22&f=false |isbn= 9781466829466}}</ref>

As many friends, including [[Gardner Dozois]], [[Gregory Frost]], and [[Michael Dirda]] have remarked, Sullivan has an almost [[eidetic memory]] of these films; he can recite the paired titles of double showings of matinee films, and can describe the advertisements in newspapers, the film posters, the directors and the cast members for movies that he viewed as a young man.
As many friends, including [[Gardner Dozois]], [[Gregory Frost]], and [[Michael Dirda]] have remarked, Sullivan has an almost [[eidetic memory]] of these films; he can recite the paired titles of double showings of matinee films, and can describe the advertisements in newspapers, the film posters, the directors and the cast members for movies that he viewed as a young man.


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[[John Clute]] writes that Sullivan "began publishing sf with stories like "Tachyon Rag" ... "My Father's Head" ... and "The Rauncher Goes to Tinker Town" ... tales whose sophistication led to some disappointment when his first-published novels turned out to be three ties to the ''V'' Television series, a series of exercises in easy Paranoia set in an America taken over by Aliens... The published order of Sullivan's books was, however, deceptive, as his first-written novel, ''Destiny's End'' (1988), had suffered delays and modifications at the hands of the publisher to which it had first been contracted. The book proved to be a complexly moody depiction of humanity at the end of its tether in an array of Dying-Earth venues, as Secret Masters from the stars with quasimagical Technologies manipulate the course of events. Other sf of interest included ''The Parasite War'' (1989), which garishly intensifies the premises of ''V'' with a few scattered humans engaged in guerrilla warfare against the Aliens who have nearly destroyed the planet; ''The Martian Viking'' (1991), in which a prisoner escapes from Mars and roams space and time with stern but rowdy Vikings; and ''Lords of Creation'' (1992), which combines palaeontological fantasy including dinosaur eggs and another alien Invasion."<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/archives/sullivan_tim/70603 |author= Clute, John |authorlink=John Clute |date= March 12, 2013 |title= Sullivan, Tim |publisher= ''[[The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction]]'' |accessdate= August 4, 2013}}</ref>
[[John Clute]] writes that Sullivan "began publishing sf with stories like "Tachyon Rag" ... "My Father's Head" ... and "The Rauncher Goes to Tinker Town" ... tales whose sophistication led to some disappointment when his first-published novels turned out to be three ties to the ''V'' Television series, a series of exercises in easy Paranoia set in an America taken over by Aliens... The published order of Sullivan's books was, however, deceptive, as his first-written novel, ''Destiny's End'' (1988), had suffered delays and modifications at the hands of the publisher to which it had first been contracted. The book proved to be a complexly moody depiction of humanity at the end of its tether in an array of Dying-Earth venues, as Secret Masters from the stars with quasimagical Technologies manipulate the course of events. Other sf of interest included ''The Parasite War'' (1989), which garishly intensifies the premises of ''V'' with a few scattered humans engaged in guerrilla warfare against the Aliens who have nearly destroyed the planet; ''The Martian Viking'' (1991), in which a prisoner escapes from Mars and roams space and time with stern but rowdy Vikings; and ''Lords of Creation'' (1992), which combines palaeontological fantasy including dinosaur eggs and another alien Invasion."<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/archives/sullivan_tim/70603 |author= Clute, John |authorlink=John Clute |date= March 12, 2013 |title= Sullivan, Tim |publisher= ''[[The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction]]'' |accessdate= August 4, 2013}}</ref>


John Clute" also wrote that Sullivan "roams space and time".

Reviewers wrote that ''Cold Shocks'' (anth 1991), composed of carefully selected original and reprinted material - See more at: http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/sullivan_tim#sthash.8hhjtEyf.dpuf
Science fiction scholar Fiona Kelleghan has written that Sullivan "often turn[s] to classical history and mythology to dramatize his concerns about contemporary American culture - although the historical settings suggest a [[George Santayana|Santayana]]-esque view of our so-called post-historical era. ... Sullivan cares deeply about his characters. His books are viciously funny in a deadpan way..."<ref>{{cite book |last= Kelleghan |first= Fiona |authorlink= Fiona Kelleghan |chapter= |title= The Savage Humanists |editor= |location= Calgary, Alberta, Canada |publisher= Robert J. Sawyer Books |year= 2008 |pages=27–29 |isbn=978-0-88995-425-0}}</ref>
Science fiction scholar Fiona Kelleghan has written that Sullivan "often turn[s] to classical history and mythology to dramatize his concerns about contemporary American culture - although the historical settings suggest a [[George Santayana|Santayana]]-esque view of our so-called post-historical era. ... Sullivan cares deeply about his characters. His books are viciously funny in a deadpan way..."<ref>{{cite book |last= Kelleghan |first= Fiona |authorlink= Fiona Kelleghan |chapter= |title= The Savage Humanists |editor= |location= Calgary, Alberta, Canada |publisher= Robert J. Sawyer Books |year= 2008 |pages=27–29 |isbn=978-0-88995-425-0}}</ref>


Revision as of 22:50, 27 August 2013

Tim Sullivan with his kitten, Boris, at his house in South Miami, Florida in 2010.

Tim Sullivan (author)

For other uses, see Timothy Sullivan.

Tim Sullivan
BornTimothy Robert Sulivan
(1948-06-09) June 9, 1948 (age 76)
Bangor, Maine
OccupationNovelist, short story writer, screenwriter, actor, film director
Period1977–present
GenreScience fiction, horror fiction, fantasy fiction

Timothy Robert Sullivan, who more commonly uses the name Tim Sullivan, is an American science fiction and horror novelist, screenwriter, actor, film director and short story writer.

Many of his stories have been critically acknowledged and reprinted; his short story "Zeke" has been translated into German and was a finalist for the Nebula Award for Best Short Story. "Under Glass", a semi-autobiographical short story with occult hints, has been translated into Chinese and is the basis for a screenplay by director/actor Ron Ford.

Early life

Tim Sullivan was born on June 9, 1948, in Bangor, Maine,[1] the son of Charles Sullivan, a United States Postal Service worker (born February 2, 1923), and Lillian Hope Fitzgerald Sullivan (b. March 31, 1924), a stay-at-home mother who raised their children. Sullivan later wrote short stories about his father, including "Hawk on a Flagpole" (2000) and "The Memory Cage" (2013).

Timothy had an older brother, Charles (February 6, 1946 - July 1967).

Tim and Charles developed a love of genre fiction from their father, who brought them home books and comics ranging from Edgar Rice Burroughs to Vladimir Nabokov to Mad magazine. Tim shared these with neighbors including Richard Tozier (who has become a Maine jazz radio personality at Maine Public Broadcasting Network,[2][3] and who is featured in two Stephen King novels, It and 11/22/63; Sullivan and Tozier retain a life-long friendship). The Sullivan brothers attended John Bapst Memorial High School in Bangor.

Sullivan's love of vintage science fiction and horror films played a great part in his later life.[4]

As many friends, including Gardner Dozois, Gregory Frost, and Michael Dirda have remarked, Sullivan has an almost eidetic memory of these films; he can recite the paired titles of double showings of matinee films, and can describe the advertisements in newspapers, the film posters, the directors and the cast members for movies that he viewed as a young man.

His older brother Charles joined the United States Marine Corps and died in the Vietnam War in 1967. When Sullivan's father died in 1968, Sullivan and his mother moved to Lake Worth, Florida.

Tim Sullivan briefly attended Miami Dade Community College. While studying English literature at Florida Atlantic University, he made a lifelong friendship with Professor Robert A. Collins. Sullivan earned a bachelor's degree while at FAU. Sullivan helped Dr. Collins create what has become the prestigious International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts (ICFA; originally called Swanncon in honor of fantasy author and former FAU professor Thomas Burnett Swann). Sullivan began but did not complete postgraduate education.

Career

Sullivan has written several novels and many more short stories. He has scripted, directed, and starred in microbudget films in the genres of science fiction and horror, often with his friend Ron Ford. Among his day jobs, Sullivan has worked in construction, in a bookstore, in a library, as a night guard, and with helping and teaching the mentally retarded in a special facility.

Writing

Sullivan lived in Florida from 1968 to 1983, then in Philadelphia, and in the Washington, D.C. area.[5] He moved to southern California in 1988, where he lived for the next twelve years. He edited a horror anthology for Avon Books, Tropical Chills, in 1988. Sullivan also published his first novel, Destiny's End, in 1988. This science fiction novel was followed by The Parasite War in 1989, The Martian Viking in 1991, and Lords of Creation in 1992, and another horror anthology, Cold Shocks (Avon, 1991), among other books.

He befriended Michael Dirda, a critical book reviewer for The Washington Post and, as a result of that friendship, in the 1980s and 1990s Sullivan would write commissioned reviews of dozens of books for The Washington Post, the Washington Post Book World, and USA Today. Among the fiction and nonfiction he reviewed are included: Kathleen Ann Goonan's The Bones of Time[6]; a review of a novel by Walter Jon Williams, Metropolitan, which Sullivan characterized as highly readable "due largely to pungent characterization and persuasive dialogue,"[7]; and Allen Steele's novel The Tranquillity Alternative (1995), which he praised in the same issue of Book World.[8]

He has used different versions of his names while publishing fiction: Timothy Robert Sullivan, Timothy R. Sullivan, and Tim Sullivan.

Acting

Sullivan began his career in film in a collaboration with S. P. Somtow, entitled The Laughing Dead (1989); Sullivan plays Father O'Sullivan, who becomes possessed by a Mayan god of death.[9] Throughout the 1990s, he scripted and acted in several low-budget science fiction and horror films, most notably Twilight of the Dogs (1995) and Hollywood Mortuary (1998).

John Clute writes that Sullivan "concentrated for almost a decade on an acting career, though he began to publish short stories again in 2000."[1]

Personal life

After graduating from college, Sullivan lived in Southern California for many years, in such neighborhoods as Silver Lake, Los Angeles. He has never married nor had children. In 2000, Sullivan left Southern California for South Florida in order to care for his ailing mother. In 2003, he moved to South Miami, Florida, and after a friendship began, to share a house with Fiona Kelleghan. There, he continues to write fiction.

Tim Sullivan with his cat Mischka in his back yard in 2011.

Sullivan calls himself an atheist and is a constant reader. His bookshelf is filled with some science fiction favorites, but also with the works of science popularizers, biographies, and histories. He maintains a Facebook page. He has two cats, Mischka and Boris.

Literary friendships

Sullivan enjoys spending time with friends who are also writers; he has shared rooms with fantasy authors S. P. Somtow in Alexandria, Virginia and Gregory Frost in Philadelphia. He became friends with several Clarion Workshop graduates, such as Kim Stanley Robinson. He has long been friends with Gardner Dozois, Jack Dann, Pat Cadigan, John Kessel, James Patrick Kelly, John Grant, and Michael Swanwick.[10] To this extent, he is part of a group of writers named the Savage Humanists by anthologist Fiona Kelleghan (others include Connie Willis, Jonathan Lethem, Robert J. Sawyer, and James K. Morrow).

Bibliography

Novels

Title Year ISBN of first edition Main character Notes
The Florida Project 1985 ISBN 0-523-42430-2 Number 5 of the V novels.
The New England Resistance 1985 ISBN 0-523-42467-1 Number 9 of the V novels.
To Conquer the Throne 1987 ISBN 0-8125-5727-1 Number 13 of the V novels.
Destiny's End 1988 ISBN 0-3807-5352-9 Deles An exile on the distant planet of Sripha must discover the secrets of his family and his past. A science fiction novel based on Greek mythology.
The Parasite War 1989 ISBN 0-330-10597-3 Alex Ward A story of alien invasion.
The Dinosaur Trackers 1991 ISBN 0-06-106053-4 Co-written by Sullivan, Arthur Byron Cover, John Gregory Betancourt; cover art by Kevin Johnson. Number 4 in the series Robert Silverberg's Time Tours.
The Martian Viking 1991 ISBN 0-3807-5814-8 Johnsmith Biberkopf An adventure novel about Mars, Vikings, dreams, and hallucinations.
Lords of Creation 1992 ISBN 0-380-76284-6 David Albee A paleontologist faces struggles with dinosaurs, extraterrestrial aliens, and a televangelist.

Anthologies edited by Sullivan

Tropical Chills (1988) (ISBN 0-3807-5500-9)

The Locus Index to Science Fiction: 1984-1998 described Tropical Chills as an "Anthology of 14 horror short stories, most originals. Highly recommended."[11]


Cold Shocks (1991) (ISBN 0-3807-5500-9)

John Clute wrote that these two anthologies "composed of carefully selected original and reprinted material, mostly horror, demonstrate Sullivan's editorial acuteness."[1]

Screenplays

  • Twilight of the Dogs (1995)
  • Eyes of the Werewolf (1999)
  • Vampyre Femmes (1999)
  • V-World Matrix (1999)
  • Hunting Season (2000)
  • Demonicus (2001)

Short stories

  • "Tachyon Rag" [a.k.a. "Doin’ that Tachyon Rag"] (Spring, 1977) – As by Timothy Robert Sullivan; first appeared in Unearth.
  • "Downward to Darkness (Part 1 of 2)" (Fall/October, 1977) – As by Timothy Robert Sullivan; first appeared in Unearth; cover art by Tom Barber.
  • "Downward to Darkness (Part 2 of 2)" (Winter/January, 1978) As by Timothy Robert Sullivan; first appeared in Unearth; cover art by Clyde Caldwell.
  • "The Rauncher Goes to Tinker Town" (1979) - As by Timothy Robert Sullivan; first appeared in New Dimensions Science Fiction Number 9, edited by Robert Silverberg; ISBN 0-06-433336-1.
  • "My Father's Head" (1979) – As by Timothy R. Sullivan. Published in Chrysalis 5, ed. Roy Torgeson, Zebra Books, ISBN 0-89083-518-7.
  • "Zeke" (October, 1981) – First appeared in Rod Serling's Twilight Zone Magazine, ed. T. E. D. Klein. Nominated for the 1982 Nebula Award for Best Short Story. Translated as "Zeke" (in German) in Kopernikus 8 (November 1982). Reprinted in Nebula Award Stories Seventeen (1983), ed. Joe Haldeman, ISBN 0-03-063528-4; Nebula Award Stories 17 (1985), ed. Joe Haldeman, ISBN 0-441-56797-5; The Savage Humanists (2008), ed. Fiona Kelleghan, ISBN 978-0-88995-425-0.
  • "The Army of the Woods" (February, 1982) - Fantasy Newsletter #45, ed. Robert A. Collins (Florida Atlantic University).
  • "The Comedian" (June 1982) - First appeared in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. Reprinted in: The 1983 Annual World's Best SF, ed. Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, DAW Books (DAW Collectors #528), ISBN 0-87997-822-8; Time Travelers: From Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine (1989), ed. Gardner Dozois, ISBN 0-441-80935-9. Nominated for the 1983 Locus Poll Award - Best Short Story.
  • "A Major Game of Hoople" (1984) - Ares #17. A sports story, its title is a pun on Major Hoople.
  • "JuJu, Incorporated" (May, 1984) - As by Timothy Robert Sullivan; Fantasy Review, ed. Robert A. Collins and Neil Barron (Florida Atlantic University).
  • "Special Education" (January, 1986) - Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine.
  • "Stop-Motion" (August, 1986) - Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. Placed #5 in the 1987 Asimov's Readers' Poll.
  • "Dinosaur on a Bicycle" (March, 1987) - Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. Reprinted in: Dinosaurs! (June, 1990), ed. Jack Dann, Gardner Dozois, ISBN 0-441-14883-2.
  • "Knucklebones" (1988) - Ripper!, ed. Gardner Dozois, Susan Casper, Tor Books, ISBN 0-812-51700-8. Reprinted in: Jack the Ripper (1988), ed. Dozois and Casper, ISBN 0-7088-4062-0.
  • "Father to the Man" (October, 1988) - Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine.
  • "Midnight Glider" (Autumn, 1990) - Iniquities.
  • "Nox Sanguinis" (Spring, 1991) - Pulphouse: The Hardback Magazine Issue 11, ed. Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
  • "Fantasies" (August, 1991) - Co-written with Michael Swanwick, in Amazing Stories. A unicorn tale with a twist.
  • "Snowbanks" (1991) - Cold Shocks, ISBN 0-380-76160-2.
  • "Los Niños de la Noche" (1991) - The Ultimate Dracula, ed. Megan Miller, David Keller, Byron Preiss, Dell Publishing, ISBN 0-440-50353-1. Reprinted in: The Ultimate Dracula (2003), ed. Byron Preiss, ibooks Inc., ISBN 0-7434-5820-6.
  • "Hypnoteyes" (December 31, 1991) - Pulphouse: A Fiction Magazine, ed. Dean Wesley Smith.
  • "Anodyne" (November, 1992) - Pulphouse: A Fiction Magazine, ed. Dean Wesley Smith.
  • "Atlas at Eight A.M." (Mid-December 1992) - Asimov's Science Fiction - a time loop story.
  • "Mother and Child Reunion" (1993) - As by Timothy R. Sullivan; reprinted in The Ultimate Witch, ed. John Gregory Betancourt and Byron Preiss, Byron Preiss Visual Publications, ISBN 0-440-50531-3.
  • "Hawk on a Flagpole" (July, 2000) - Asimov's Science Fiction.
  • "The Mouth of Hell" (August, 2003) - Asimov's Science Fiction.
  • "The Nocturnal Adventure of Dr. O and Mr. D" (April, 2008) - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. A comedy about John Lennon and Philip K. Dick in the afterlife.
  • "Planetesimal Dawn" (October-November, 2008) - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.
  • "Way Down East" (December, 2008) - Asimov's Science Fiction.
  • "Inside Time" (December, 2009) - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.
  • "Star-Crossed" (March-April, 2010) - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.
  • "Under Glass" (November-December, 2011) - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.
  • "Repairmen" (March-April, 2012) - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.
  • "The Nambu Egg" (July-August, 2013) - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. The title refers to the theories of Yoichiro Nambu.
  • "Yeshua's Dog" (accepted 2013) - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.
  • "Through Mud One Picks a Way" (accepted 2013) - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.
  • "The Memory Cage" (accepted 2013) - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.

Selected nonfiction

  • "Notables Gather (1980 ICFA)" (April, 1981) - As by Timothy Robert Sullivan; Locus, #243.
  • "TZ is Year's Best Fantasy Film" (September, 1983) - As by Timothy Robert Sullivan; Fantasy Newsletter, #62.
  • "Holy Woody" (October-November, 1983) - As by Timothy Robert Sullivan; Fantasy Newsletter, #63. An essay about the film Zelig by Woody Allen.
  • Review of Lyrec by Gregory Frost (March, 1984) - As by Timothy Robert Sullivan; SF & Fantasy Review, ed. Robert A. Collins and Neil Barron (Florida Atlantic University).
  • "A Clockwork Worldcon" (October, 1984) - As by Timothy Robert Sullivan; Fantasy Review.
  • "Guest Editorial: The New Network Fantasy Series: 'Slick But Stupid'" (October, 1985) - Fantasy Review.
  • "Interview: Gardner Dozois" (November, 1985) - Fantasy Review.
  • "Right Off the Wall" (June, 1986) - Fantasy Review.
  • "Atlanta's Worldcon: The View from the Catbird Suite" (September, 1986) - Co-written with Gregory Frost; Fantasy Review, ed. Rob Latham and Robert A. Collins (Meckler Publishing Corporation).
  • "Magazine Fiction in Review" (March, 1987) - Fantasy Review.
  • "Magazine Fiction in Review" (May, 1987) - Fantasy Review.
  • "Magazine Fiction in Review" (June, 1987) - Fantasy Review.
  • "Extra! Extra! Read All About It! Science Fiction Writer Visits Alien World!" (July 27, 1991) - Pulphouse: A Weekly Fiction Magazine, ed. Dean Wesley Smith.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1989 The Laughing Dead Father O'Sullivan A horror film, featuring zombies and demons amid Aztec ruins, directed by S. P. Somtow for Skouras Pictures. Sullivan's friends Gregory Frost, Edward Bryant and artist Raymond Ridenour had minor roles (Ridenour's character was named Dozois); Somtow's sister, Premika Eaton, also played a part.
1994 Ill Met by Moonlight Oberon Somtow directed this film as a modern adaptation of William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream. The cast included Timothy Bottoms as Egeus, Edward Bryant as Peter Quince, film-maker Ron Ford as Nick Bottom, Robert Z'Dar as Theseus, and Bill Warren in a minor part. Somtow directed Sullivan to deliver his lines in the voice of Nick Nolte; Sullivan is noted for vocal impressions.
1994 Fast Forward: Contemporary Science Fiction Himself Documentary television episode.[12]
1995 Twilight of the Dogs Sam Asgarde A science fiction film written by Sullivan and directed by John R. Ellis. Originally entitled New Genesis: Twilight of the Dogs.[13]
1996 Alien Force Army Slacker Fred / Jaywalker / Gorek Foo This science fiction film directed by Ron Ford for Wildcat Entertainment features Burt Ward as an alien overlord and Randal Malone as Raleigh.
1997 The Mark of Dracula Count Dracula menaces a small rural town in this Ron Ford film, which includes archive footage of Max Schreck as Count Orlok in Nosferatu.
1997 Alien Agenda: Under the Skin
1998 Dead Time Tales Phil Canyon The movie, in four segments, is based on the short stories "The Mark of the Beast" by Rudyard Kipling, "The Transformation" by Mary Shelley, "The Crystal Egg" by H.G. Wells, and a fourth story by David S. Sterling (producer of Camp Blood).
1998 Hollywood Mortuary Pratt Borokov In this horror-comedy, Randal Malone plays makeup artist Pierce Jackson Dawn, a name conflating those of Jack Pierce and Jack Dawn; Sullivan plays Pratt Borokov, a thinly veiled Boris Karloff, while Ron Ford performs the part of Janos Blasko (Bela Lugosi).[14] Margaret O'Brien, Anita Page, Conrad Brooks and David DeCoteau play themselves.
1998 Creaturealm: From the Dead Pratt Borokov
1999 V-World Matrix Dr. Parks
1999 Vampyre Femmes Nacho Written and directed by Sullivan for Dead Alive Productions.
1999 Eyes of the Werewolf Dr. Atwill Written and directed by Sullivan for SNJ Productions.
1999 A Passion to Kill
2000 Hunting Season
2000 Camp Blood George
2000 Camp Blood 2 Dr. West
2001 Deadly Scavengers The Doctor
2005 The Naked Monster Dr. Howard A low-budget science fiction and horror comedy film written by Ted Newsom and directed by Newsom and Wayne Berwick as an homage to and spoof of the "giant monster-on-the-loose" films of the 1950s.[15][16][17][18]

Critical response

John Clute writes that Sullivan "began publishing sf with stories like "Tachyon Rag" ... "My Father's Head" ... and "The Rauncher Goes to Tinker Town" ... tales whose sophistication led to some disappointment when his first-published novels turned out to be three ties to the V Television series, a series of exercises in easy Paranoia set in an America taken over by Aliens... The published order of Sullivan's books was, however, deceptive, as his first-written novel, Destiny's End (1988), had suffered delays and modifications at the hands of the publisher to which it had first been contracted. The book proved to be a complexly moody depiction of humanity at the end of its tether in an array of Dying-Earth venues, as Secret Masters from the stars with quasimagical Technologies manipulate the course of events. Other sf of interest included The Parasite War (1989), which garishly intensifies the premises of V with a few scattered humans engaged in guerrilla warfare against the Aliens who have nearly destroyed the planet; The Martian Viking (1991), in which a prisoner escapes from Mars and roams space and time with stern but rowdy Vikings; and Lords of Creation (1992), which combines palaeontological fantasy including dinosaur eggs and another alien Invasion."[19]

John Clute" also wrote that Sullivan "roams space and time".

Reviewers wrote that Cold Shocks (anth 1991), composed of carefully selected original and reprinted material - See more at: http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/sullivan_tim#sthash.8hhjtEyf.dpuf Science fiction scholar Fiona Kelleghan has written that Sullivan "often turn[s] to classical history and mythology to dramatize his concerns about contemporary American culture - although the historical settings suggest a Santayana-esque view of our so-called post-historical era. ... Sullivan cares deeply about his characters. His books are viciously funny in a deadpan way..."[20]

The Locus Index to Science Fiction: 1984-1998 described Destiny's End as a "transcendental, philosophical space opera."[21]

Christine Hawkins, in her online Mars in Science Fiction Bibliography, described The Martian Viking as "reminiscent of Philip K. Dick."[22]

The reviewer of the Schlock Value review website said, in a mostly positive review:

It's a well-established fact that the two coolest things ever are Vikings and Mars, and now, thanks to Tim Sullivan, we get both of them in one convenient package. How could this book be anything but great? Unfortunately, The Martian Viking deals a lot less with Vikings than we were promised, although Mars does feature quite prominently, and as far as crapsack future societies go, the book does present us with a pretty interesting one... The world we are presented with is a fairly interesting form of dystopia... All-in-all, The Martian Viking was a pretty fun read... Tim Sullivan managed to set up a really interesting future world.[23]

Raymond's Reviews said of The Martian Viking, "it had some moments of warped originality that were hard to forget."[24]

A reviewer for the Dark Roasted Blend website wrote of Sullivan's short story "Stop-Motion," "Animation, dinosaurs, special effects, a little bit of murder mystery - not bad a combination, solid story in the pulp tradition."[25]

References

  1. ^ a b c Clute, John (March 12, 2013). "Sullivan, Tim". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. Retrieved August 4, 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ "Richie Tozier". Wikia. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  3. ^ Tozier, Richard. "Richard Tozier: Modern Languages and Classics". University of Maine. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  4. ^ Gardner Dozois remarked in the 1989 The Year's Best Science Fiction: Seventh Annual Collection, "Speaking of slasher movies, since I have come to feel that my taste in films may be out of date—since, for instance, when a director gleefully announces that his upcoming movie 'will set new standards for screen violence' I tend to sigh wearily instead of licking my lips in anticipation—I have once again turned to that writer, anthologist, bon vivant and noted authority on SF/Horror films, Tim Sullivan—a man who really enjoys a good exploding-head movie every once in a while—and asked him to contribute a list of his favorite genre movies this year. Tim's list of the year's top ten films is: 1. The Adventures of Baron Munchausen; 2. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer; 3. Miracle Mile; 4. Paperhouse; 5. Erik the Viking; 6. I, Madman; 7. The Navigator: An Odyssey Across Time; 8. Earth Girls Are Easy; 9. Pet Sematary; 10. Tales from the Gimli Hospital. Tim adds that modesty prevents him from listing The Laughing Dead, a horror movie directed by Somtow Sucharitkul (S. P. Somtow) in which Sullivan himself plays the leading role—a priest who turns into a hideous monster—and gets to tear several hapless men and women apart on screen, surely the realization of the dream of a lifetime for Tim." Dozois, Gardner, editor (1990). "Summation 1989". The Year's Best Science Fiction: Seventh Annual Collection. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 9781466829466. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ Kelleghan, Fiona (2008). The Savage Humanists. Calgary, Alberta, Canada: Robert J. Sawyer Books. p. 161. ISBN 978-0-88995-425-0.
  6. ^ Sullivan, Tim (May 26, 1996). "Review of The Bones of Time". Washington Post Book World. p. 6. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  7. ^ Sullivan, Tim (May 26, 1996). "Review of The Bones of Time". Washington Post Book World. p. 6. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  8. ^ Sullivan, Tim (May 26, 1996). "Review of The Tranquility Alternative". Washington Post Book World. p. 6. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  9. ^ "Plot Summary for The Laughing Dead (1989)". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
  10. ^ Kelleghan, Fiona (2008). The Savage Humanists. Calgary, Alberta, Canada: Robert J. Sawyer Books. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-88995-425-0. In the Philadelphia area there were Frost, Timothy R. Sullivan, Michael Swanwick, James Morrow, and Gardner Dozois (under whose editorial tenure these writers were frequently published in Asimov's Science Fiction). These writers are connected in different ways, chiefly through friendship. Many of them regularly attend(ed) the Sycamore Hill Writer's Workshop. Frost and Kim Stanley Robinson studied at the same year's Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop, at which nearly all of them have since taught at least once. Sullivan and Frost roomed together in Philadelphia; others, such as [John] Kessel, James Patrick Kelly, Jonathan Lethem, Swanwick and Sullivan have collaborated severally and often.
  11. ^ F.C.M. (1988). "Tropical Chills". Locus Index to Science Fiction. Retrieved August 27, 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  12. ^ Washington Science Fiction Association (March 1994). "The WSFA Journal". Washington Science Fiction Association. Retrieved August 16, 2013. Fast Forward, the television program of contemporary science fiction, interviewed local filmmaker John Ellis and writer/actor Tim Sullivan for its March 1994 program. The two WSFAns are collaborating on a low budget science fiction film, Twilight of the Dogs, which includes a number of WSFAns among its actors. John doubles as the producer/director while Tim doubles as the scriptwriter/male lead. Extras include WSFAns Charles Gilliland, Walter Miles, Ray [Ridenour], Lee Strong, and Martin [Morse] Wooster. For the first time, the Fast Forward included clips from the film under discussion. Footage included an action sequence in which one gang of post-apocalyptic survivors attack their enemies, and a thoughtful moment in which the hero and heroine muse about the nature of their strife-torn world. Interviewer Mike Zipser displayed some of Twilight's futuristic props and book covers from Tim Sullivan's previous novels Destiny's End and Lords of Creation.
  13. ^ Strong, Lee (1998). "The WSFA Journal: A New Genesis for Twilight of the Dogs: WSFAn Film to Debut Soon". Washington Science Fiction Association. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  14. ^ Thomas, Brian (April 22, 2003). "Hollywood Mortuary". Mania: Beyond Entertainment. Retrieved August 27, 2013. Mania Grade= B. ... This low budget comedy chiller obviously made by horror fans[,] HOLLYWOOD MORTUARY is sort of a combination Gods and Monsters and How to Make a Monster... The most amusing part comes from the foul-mouthed bickering of the two horror star zombies, who turn the polite and professional Karloff-Lugosi rivalry inside-out. The performances of the leads are spirited enough to be entertaining on their own...
  15. ^ Glenn Erickson (August 16, 2006). "DVD Savant review: The Naked Monster". DVD Talk. Retrieved August 5, 2011.
  16. ^ Mike Keefe-Feldman (August 15, 2006). "It Came From the DVD Bin". Washington Post. Retrieved August 5, 2011.
  17. ^ Stuart Galbraith IV (August 1, 2006). "review: The Naked Monster". DVD Talk. Retrieved August 5, 2011.
  18. ^ Melissa Bostaph (December 18, 2007). "DVD review: The Naked Monster". Dread Central. Retrieved August 5, 2011.
  19. ^ Clute, John (March 12, 2013). "Sullivan, Tim". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. Retrieved August 4, 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  20. ^ Kelleghan, Fiona (2008). The Savage Humanists. Calgary, Alberta, Canada: Robert J. Sawyer Books. pp. 27–29. ISBN 978-0-88995-425-0.
  21. ^ "Destiny's End". Locus. 1988. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  22. ^ Hawkins, Christine (ca. 2000). "Sullivan, Tim: Martian Viking". SciFan. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  23. ^ Anderson, Thomas (February 24, 2013). "The Martian Viking by Tim Sullivan". Schlock Value. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
  24. ^ Raymond (March 18, 1992). "Raymond's Reviews #191". www.catb.org. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
  25. ^ "Stop-Motion". Dark Roasted Blend. July 18, 2006. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
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