Nicholas Django Wexler[2] is an American fantasy author. He has published the "flintlock fantasy" series The Shadow Campaigns (2013–2018), the young adult Forbidden Library fantasy series, the darkly comedic timeloop fantasy Dark Lord Davi series and other works. He currently resides near Seattle, Washington, with his wife and fellow author Casey Blair and their daughter (born 2022).[3][4][5]
Wexler obtained degrees in creative writing and computer science from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, and engaged in post-graduate artificial intelligence research at the university. He later worked as a programmer and writer for Microsoft in Seattle before turning to writing fiction full-time.[6][7]
Wexler's epic fantasy series The Shadow Campaigns is set in a world resembling Europe and North Africa during the Napoleonic era. It mainly follows three soldiers of the kingdom of Vordan – Count Janus bet Vhalnich, a character patterned after Napoleon,[8] Marcus d'Ivoire, a seasoned infantry commander posted to a backward colony, and Winter Ihernglass, a young woman who disguised herself as a man to be able to enlist. As they struggle through Vordan's equivalents of the French Revolution and the attendant wars, they also face a supernatural threat in the form of conspiracies fighting for control of the rare remnants of magic still existing in the world.
The Shadow Throne, the second book in the series, was a Finalist for the 2015 Endeavour Award.[9] The Price of Valor, the third book in the series, was a Finalist for both the 2016 Endeavour Award [10] and the 2016 Dragon Award for Best Military Science Fiction or Fantasy Novel. [11][12]
Wexler has advised that although not opposed to additional books in the Shadow Campaigns setting any additional books would be complicated by a change in publisher. [13]
Reviewing the series for Tor.com, Stefan Raets described the first novel, The Thousand Names, as a "military fantasy full of spectacular battles" with a large and diverse cast, but criticized Winter's lack of agency.[14]
The Shadow Throne was appreciated by Publishers Weekly as an "audacious and subversive sequel"[15] and by Liz Bourke at Tor.com as an "immensely entertaining" novel that unlike other male-written fantasy, avoided the grimdark trend and featured a "central, significant, queer relationship between two women", but noted that Wexler relied much on coincidences to advance the plot.[16] She also praised the third novel, The Price of Valour, for surpassing its predecessors as an "explosive, action-packed" epic fantasy novel with complex characterization and, again, a wide variety of female characters.[17]
Novellas:
Short fiction:
| Title | Year | First published | Reprinted/collected | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Einstein Versus Satan" | 1999 | Aphelion webzine | ||
| "The Changing of the Guard" | 1999 | Aphelion webzine | ||
| "Darkness In Summertime" | 2000 | Aphelion webzine | ||
| "Compassion" | 2000 | Aphelion webzine | ||
| The End of the War | 2015 | Wexler, Django (June 2015). "The end of the war". Asimov's Science Fiction. 39 (6): 14–31. | Novelette. Placed second in the 2016 Asimov's Reader Poll [20] | |
| The Guns of the Wastes | 2015 | Wexler, Django (2015). "The Guns of the Wastes". In John Joseph Adams (ed.). Operation Arcana. Baen Books. | ||
| REAL | 2015 | Wexler, Django (2015). "REAL". In Daniel H. Wilson and John Joseph Adams (ed.). Press Start to Play: Stories. Vintage. | ||
| Magic Beans | 2015 | Wexler, Django (2015). "Magic Beans". In Victoria Pond (ed.). Coffee:Hot. Circlet Press. | Wexler, Django (2016). "Magic Beans". In Shawn Speakman (ed.). Unfettered II: New Tales By Masters of Fantasy. Grim Oak Press. | |
| Last of the Red Riders | 2018 | Wexler, Django (2018). "Last of the Red Riders". In Melanie R. Meadors (ed.). Hath No Fury. Outland Entertainment. | Wexler, Django (2022). "Last of the Red Riders". In Shawn Speakman (ed.). Unbound II: New Tales by Masters of Fantasy. Grim Oak Press. | |
| Amara Kel's Rules for TIE Pilot Survival (Probably) | 2020 | Wexler, Django (2020). "Amara Kel's Rules for TIE Pilot Survival (Probably)". The Empire Strikes Back : From a Certain Point of View. Del Rey. | ||
| Rox’d | 2020 | Wexler, Django (2020). "Rox'd". In Noah K Sturdevant (ed.). Quick Draw!. Platinum Spork. | All profits from this anthology go to the True Colors United charity. [21] | |
| Plan Z | 2020 | Wexler, Django (2020). "Plan Z". In Janine A. Southard (ed.). Silk & Steel: A Queer Speculative Adventure Anthology. Cantina Publishing. |
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