Richard Schwartz

This article is about the writer. On the engineer, see Richard Schwartz (engineer) ; on the mathematician, see Richard Evan Schwartz .

Richard Schwartz is a German writer (* 1958 in Frankfurt am Main ). Under this and other pseudonyms he published the fantasy novel cycle The Secret of Askir and its sequel The Wars of the Gods .

biography

According to the interview and according to his publisher, Richard Schwartz was born in Frankfurt in 1958, is a trained aircraft mechanic and has a degree in electrical engineering and computer science. He is also said to have worked as a gas station attendant, mail driver and system programmer. According to his own statements, he ran a software company until 2005 - shortly before the publication of his debut novel. Richard Schwartz is stated in the same sources that he restores cars and motorcycles and is an experienced role-playing game master, the latter being said to have strongly influenced him as a writer in this genre.

Pseudonyms

The author states in an interview that the pseudonym Richard Schwartz is better suited for the genre fantasy literature and a publication in English-speaking countries than his real name. He also states that this pseudonym allows a link to a publisher and that he uses or would use other pseudonyms for other purposes.

Carl A. deWitt

According to the genre-specific directory of the Fantastik-Couch, the same author writes as "Carl A. deWitt" in the same genre. A comment indicates the possible classification into the sub-genre of youth fantasy. This could be a reason for choosing another pseudonym. Another possible reason is publication with other publishers.

Both pseudonyms use the year of birth 1958 and a career in the fields of technology and IT. Since the Lytar Chronik recently named "Richard Schwartz" as the author in the new publishing house, this pseudonym is also confirmed.

Helmut Cloud Wall

In the new crime genre there is a pseudonym apparently chosen by the publisher. The choice was apparently not too well received by the author, as he ironically remarks in a blog in the Piper forum. The brief description on the spine of the book (career, year of birth and place of birth) are practically identical and match.

Andras

If you deal with some comments from the Piperblog, you will find another pseudonym: Andras. This is the name under which the writer wrote the SM novel Shadows .

David Winter

The thriller Shakran , published by Verlag Lübbe in 2010, also comes from the same author. The writing style and information about the author also fit here, and the author has unofficially confirmed the pseudonym.

Publications

Romance cycles in the world of Askir

The secret of Askir

The first novel, The First Horn , written under the pseudonym Richard Schwartz, was already referred to as the first part of the cycle The Secret of Askir when it was published. The plot in The First Horn could have stood on its own because of its course. A remote inn is snowed in in Das Erste Horn , forcing very different characters to come to terms with one another. At first, the focus is on a murder and the two protagonists act like commissioners solving a case in order to protect themselves and the host family seeking help from escalation. This makes Das Erste Horn a mixture of a thriller and fantasy novel, with the latter clearly having the greater influence.

Magic and divine work play a central role in the world of the city of Askir. The world in The Secret of Askir is very different from ours. It has two moons and is populated, among other things, by fantasy creatures that it only partially shares with works by other authors of the genre. But it also borrows many things from our earthly history, e.g. B. the worship of a love goddess with the name Astarte, or the replica of an Arab caliphate as "Bessarein", which offers the most important scene for several volumes. Borrowings are even taken from science fiction. The portals, through which any distance can be bridged without delay within the world of Askir, have the properties of the ring transporter and the Stargates from Stargate (film) . A reference to steampunk is created by a "crazy healer" who works with electricity as well as magic, uses color-coded enameled wire for his inventions and talks to an "omputer". In the world around Askir, estates , fiefdoms , the emphasis on succession, titles of nobility and intrigues at court have significantly less importance than in the European Middle Ages , even though they are often used by the author to characterize characters. But the culturally different use of terms is also a topic of discussion. B. entertain the protagonists about their different understandings of slavery.

On the other hand, it plays a much greater role that the protagonists can explore and influence their world without insurmountable limits. Several gods are so z. B. portrayed as close enough to touch (including the Allfather and the Dragon Lady in The Privy Council ). It also raises the question of what is the difference between a creature and a god. For example, different beings are portrayed that have characteristics typical of both gods and creatures. The antagonist (the tyrant) of the action seeks to become a god himself and the author's description suggests that this could succeed if he is allowed to go.

Volume without an explicit cycle

The plot of The Owl of Askir is laid out between Volume 5 The Fire Islands and Volume 6 The Privy Council of the first cycle. It introduces places and characters that Havald's group only got to know in Der Kronrat . In this last volume of the cycle, storylines from the cycle and from Askir's Owl are combined. In the follow-up cycle of the Askir series ( The Wars of the Gods ) there is also a volume with The Inquisitor of Askir that does not belong to the main series. The events taking place in it are thematized in the following volumes and play a greater role than in The Owl of Askir . Is Recurring theme that The Inquisitor of ASKIR also between Volume 4 and Volume 5 of the God Wars cycle is based. Since the end of 2015, the volume Die Eule von Askir has been referred to as the secret of Askir 6 on the cover, while Der Kronrat was declared volume 7.

The gods wars

In the first volume, The Rose of Illian , the group around Havald is still central. Readers of The Secret of Askir do not have to get to know the world, the plot or the characters again. Readers unfamiliar with The Secret of Askir will find that the characters share a lot of common history.

References to The Black Eye

With some gods you can find names that are also used in the fantasy world of The Black Eye , e.g. B. Boron and "the nameless". Boron, however, is used in The Secret of Askir as the name for the god of justice and thus has a different assignment than in The Black Eye , where Boron tends to talk to the deceased and z. B. Funeral services is associated. The fact that there is another god in the world of Askir named Soltar , who has almost the same aspects as the Boron from the world of the black eye, adds to the confusion of RPG fans .

The parallels between the world around Askir and the world of Das Schwarze Auge fit the information in the biography, in which Richard Schwartz emphasizes that he is the leader of role-playing rounds. (This function often includes designing campaigns and thus fantasy stories.)

Other novel cycles

The Lytar Chronicle

The Lytar Chronicle , originally published under the pseudonym Carl A. deWitt, is the author's first work. Similar to the Askir cycles, this is also about a prophecy, an ancient kingdom and magic. In this series too, Alle revolves around a single protagonist who rallies allies to defeat a foreign power that threatens the country.

The first two volumes were still published by Fredebold and Fischer Verlag, but due to massive cuts and a legal dispute, the author moved to Piper Verlag , where the complete cycle, this time as Richard Schwartz, was published in full.

The Eisraben Chronicles

This series by Richard Schwartz consists of so-called lit-RPG novels, a literary genre that combines writing with elements from the role-play area . In the books there are therefore often info boxes that show the characteristics and appearance of characters, opponents and monsters.

This time the main character is a former fighter pilot who is seriously injured in an accident and whose consciousness is transferred to an artificial reality (an MMORPG ) for healing purposes , where she fights evil with other players in a medieval fantasy setting. The actions there also have an impact on the controlling Artificial Intelligence and our world.

The Sax Chronicles

According to the publisher, the Sax Chronicles are a space opera . The first novel "The Starfarer Conspiracy" was published in October 2019.

Works

As Richard Schwartz

The secret of Askir

• The first horn. Piper Verlag , Munich 2006, ISBN 3-492-26606-1 .
• The second legion. Piper Verlag, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-492-26629-1 .
• The eye of the desert. Piper Verlag, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-492-26632-1 .
• The master of the dolls. Piper Verlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-492-26666-6 .
• The fire islands. Piper Verlag, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-492-26675-8 .
• The Askir Owl. Piper Verlag, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-492-26674-1 . (Originally appeared as a "stand-alone release" from the series and was later officially incorporated into the series as Volume 6.)
• The Privy Council. Piper Verlag, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-492-26822-6 .

Edited volumes The secret of Askir

• Askir - The Complete Saga 1. Piper Verlag, Munich 2014, ISBN 978-3-492-70333-8 .
  • The first horn
  • The second legion
  • The eye of the desert
• Askir - The Complete Saga 2. Piper Verlag, Munich 2015, ISBN 978-3-492-70344-4 .
  • The master of the dolls
  • The fire islands
• Askir - The Complete Saga 3. Piper Verlag, Munich 2015, ISBN 978-3-492-70345-1 .
  • The Askir Owl
  • The Privy Council

The gods wars

• The rose of Illian. Piper Verlag, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-492-26757-1 .
• The white flame. Piper Verlag, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-492-26829-5 .
• The bloody land. Piper Verlag, Munich 2012, ISBN 978-3-492-26830-1 .
• The fortress of the titans. Piper Verlag, Munich 2013, ISBN 978-3-492-26884-4 .
• The Inquisitor of Askir. Piper Verlag, Munich 2014, ISBN 978-3-492-26966-7 . (Originally published as a "spin-off about the most popular hero of the series" and was subsequently incorporated into the series as Volume 5.)
• The power of the ancients. Piper Verlag, Munich 2015, ISBN 978-3-492-26919-3 .
• The hiker. Piper Verlag, Munich 2015, ISBN 978-3-492-26920-9 .

The Wars of the Gods edited volumes

• Wars of the Gods - The Complete Saga 1. Piper Verlag, Munich 2016, ISBN 978-3-492-70346-8 .
  • The rose of Illian
  • The white flame
• Wars of the Gods - The Complete Saga 2. Piper Verlag, Munich 2017, ISBN 978-3-492-70417-5 .
  • The bloody land
  • The fortress of the titans
• Wars of the Gods - The Complete Saga 3. Piper Verlag, Munich 2017, ISBN 978-3-492-70429-8 .
  • The Inquisitor of Askir
  • The power of the ancients
  • The hiker

The Lytar Chronicle

New edition by Piper Verlag

• Die Krone by Lytar Piper Verlag, Munich 2016, ISBN 978-3-492-28051-8 .
• The legacy of gripping Piper Verlag, Munich 2016, ISBN 978-3-492-28052-5 .
• The Blood of Kings Piper Verlag, Munich 2017, ISBN 978-3-492-28053-2 .

The Lytar Chronicle anthology

• Lytar: The Complete Saga Piper Verlag, Munich 2019, ISBN 978-3-492-704816 .
  • The crown of Lytar
  • The legacy of grasping
  • The blood of kings

The Eisraben Chronicles

• Fluchbrecher Piper Verlag, Munich 2018, ISBN 978-3-492-70519-6
• Monsterjäger Piper Verlag, Munich 2019, ISBN 978-3-492-70533-2

The Sax Chronicles

• The Starfarer Conspiracy Piper Verlag, Munich 2019, ISBN 978-3-492-70368-0

Single books

• The hawk of Aryn. Piper Verlag, Munich 2012, ISBN 978-3-492-70279-9 .

As Carl A. deWitt

Lytar series (incomplete under this pseudonym)

• The crown of Lytar. Fredebold and Fischer, Cologne 2007, ISBN 978-3-939674-04-7 .
• The legacy of grasping. Blanvalet, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-442-26588-6 .

As Andras

• Shadow. Heyne, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-453-43242-0 .

As Helmut Wolkenwand

• The garbage man. Piper Verlag, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-492-26448-8 .

As David Winter

• Shakran. Bastei Lübbe, Cologne 2010, ISBN 978-3-404-16482-0 .

Audio books

So far, 20 parts have been published exclusively by audible . These are full readings of the German paperbacks. The books are read by Michael Hansonis .

• The secret of Askir - The first horn
• The Secret of Askir - The Second Legion
• The Secret of Askir - The Eye of the Desert
• The secret of Askir - The master of the dolls
• The secret of Askir - The Fire Islands
• The Secret of Askir - The Owl of Askir
• The secret of Askir - The Privy Council
• The Wars of the Gods - The Rose of Illian
• The Wars of the Gods - The White Flame
• The Wars of the Gods - The Bloody Land
• The Wars of the Gods - The fortress of the titans
• The Wars of the Gods - The Inquisitor of Askir
• The Wars of the Gods - The Power of the Ancients
• The Wars of the Gods - The Wanderer
• The hawk of Aryn
• The Lytar Chronicle - The Crown of Lytar
• The Lytar Chronicle - The Legacy of Griffins
• The Lytar Chronicle - The Blood of Kings
• The Ice Raven Chronicles - Curse Breakers
• The ice raven chronicles - monster hunters
• The Sax Chronicles - The Starfarer Conspiracy

Web links

• Literature by and about Richard Schwartz in the catalog of the German National Library
• Carl A. deWitt in the catalog of the German National Library
• Richard Schwartz in Internet Speculative Fiction Database (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Carsten Kuhr: Interview: In conversation with: Richard Schwartz in phantastik-news.de, October 24, 2006.
2. ↑ Books & Authors: Richard Schwartz  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.   from Piper Verlag, accessed on August 28, 2012.
3. ↑ Fantastic Couch: Richard Schwartz / Carl A. deWitt, accessed on August 25, 2012.
4. ↑ Frank A. Dudley: Fantasy Review of "The Crown of Lytar". at Phantastik-Couch.de.
5. ^ Catalog of the German National Library: Carl. A deWitt.
6. ↑ Helmut Wolkenwand author profile. Website of the Piper Verlag.
7. ↑ Book presentation ( Memento of the original from January 22, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Heyne Hardcore Verlag website 
8. ↑ see also the order of the anthologies The secret of Askir
9. ↑ Wiki Aventurica: Boron, ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The  archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved August 28, 2012.