Richard A. Knaak | |
|---|---|
| Born | Richard Allen Knaak May 28, 1961 [1] |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Notable works | Dragonlance series Dragonrealm series Diablo novels Warcraft novels |
| Website | |
| www | |
Richard Allen Knaak (born May 28, 1961 [1] ) is the author of Dragonlance novels, Dragonrealm , six novels for Blizzard Entertainment's Diablo series, and ten works in the Warcraft universe. He has also written five non-series fantasy books.
Richard Allen Knaak was born May 28, 1961, in Chicago, Illinois, to James Richard Knaak and Anna Maria (Trappen) Knaak. [1] He attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, studying chemistry at first, [2] [ non-primary source needed ] and subsequently rhetoric, and earned a bachelor's degree in 1984. [1] He worked as a warehouseman, resume writer, and office clerk before becoming a full-time freelance writer in 1988. [1]
After reading Andre Norton's Storm over Warlock, he became a fan of fantasy and science fiction. [1] He eventually sold his first short story in 1986, and it was published in 1987.[ citation needed ] His Dragonlance titles include The Legend of Huma , Reavers of the Blood Sea, Kaz the Minotaur , Land of the Minotaurs , and The Citadel, in addition to short stories in various anthologies. [3] He also wrote the ten-volume Dragonrealm series, and the first Dragonrealm story, "Firedrake," helped him get his first Dragonlance project. [3] He has also written several stand-alone volumes, including the contemporary fantasies Frostwing, King of the Grey, and Dutchman, plus the heroic adventure The Janus Mask. [3] He has also worked on novels based in the worlds of the computer games Warcraft and Diablo. [3]
Knaak lists Roger Zelazny, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and Edgar Allan Poe as major influences, [1] and has even listed a few of his favorite fellow authors, those being Robert E. Howard, Glen Cook, L. Sprague de Camp, Lawrence Watt-Evans, Harry Turtledove, Jennifer Roberson, Laurell K. Hamilton, Harry Harrison, and Robert Sawyer.