Book Award Finalist
The Chronicles of Spartak is a finalist in a major national book contest in science fiction and LGBTQ. Spartak is a little nervous by the attention but will still go home with you. [...]
The Chronicles of Spartak – Rising Son
“Highly imaginative and creative, action packed, with a fascinating young protagonist who combines the physical and moral attributes of both Spiderman and Superman in his remarkable body and psyche. The pace never flags, the story holds suspense and tension in every scene. With its extrapolation of the politics and extremism of today, religious and political, The Chronicles of Spartak is a thoughtful and thoroughly entertaining achievement.”
Katherine V Forrest, Author of the Kate Delafield mystery series
About Steven
Steve is a San Francisco based novelist using fast-paced, short-horizon fiction to explore a future shaped by today’s reality. His work is enriched by his varied careers—soldier, construction worker, teacher, journalist, state legislator, corporate executive and library commissioner. He has a BA and MA in Journalism and was a Lambda Literary Fellow in 2008 and 2013.
Latest Reviews
A multi-talented, bisexual, teenage slave becomes a symbol of freedom in this debut sci-fi saga…with energetic action scenes and sharply drawn characters, and the result is a vigorous tale. Kirkus Reviews
What so often left me screaming in frustration was how a young adult audience was processing the political theory here. Selling oneself into slavery is straight-up Ayn Rand stuff. For us, you’re got to cook it 100 years. But if you do…holy shit!. There it is…with a big “Well, of course” exclamation point. Can teens get this stuff?…I’m hoping we are witness to a quantum jump in generational awareness due to what Steve Coulter has offered American youth. Kids…nobody ever said it so straight. Nobody thought you could handle it. This is the logic of development, Citizens United style. Jack Saunders, Author of Baseball Comes Out: A Revolutionary Novel, on Goodreads.
The Chronicles of Spartak by Steven Coulter is a compelling read. The themes in the book are a great compliment to an evaluation of the current candidates for President of the United States. Wealth concentration, voter suppression, the death of the middle class are usually vague distant concepts. This book brings them alive and they are playing out in all of the coverage of the election. If you would like to get a glimpse of what America could look like in a century, read the book. On the surface if is a young adult, science fiction novel, in reality it is a political thriller. It is a must read. Barbara O’Connor, Goodreads
Steven has this new genre (‘new’ because it avoids all the usual trappings of sci-fi novels and focuses on striving to make the future a better place rather then simply a rubble pile filled with odd creatures) down pat. If he continues this direction of writing he will be not only entertaining us with creative stories brilliantly written but also creating superheroes of substance – and very fine attributes! Grady Harp, Amazon Top 100 Reviewer
The book is really intellectual, fast paced, has a lot of action, good characters, and I really appreciated the way a young queer athlete and a slave becomes a symbol for a revolution.
Vigilantereads
If you love The Hunger Games, and you want a bit more of a gritty and adult feel, you may love Rising Son.
BA Brock, Queer Sci Fi
Author Musings