“I
think about my audience when I write, to some extent. Thinking of writing for
young adults, I try to keep the stories moving, never a dull moment, to hold
their interest.” –
William Sleator
Born on
this date in 1945, William Warner Sleator III wrote science
fiction for young adults and children.
Per his comment above, his highly entertaining books typically follow a
“rapid fire” style – a technique that most young readers love but critics
sometimes blasted. Despite that, most
critics (and readers) love his stylish, often darkly comic prose and
deliciously strange characters.
Working in a genre that straddled
fantasy, science fiction, horror and suspense, Sleator (pronounced “Slater”)
wrote more than 30 books before his sudden – and as yet unexplained – death in
Thailand in 2011. Born in Maryland and
raised in Missouri, he was the son of a scientist and a doctor. Sleator often liked to intertwine 
elements
of theoretical science into his works, pitting his young heroes and heroines
against some sort of peculiar phenomenon in the process.
elements
of theoretical science into his works, pitting his young heroes and heroines
against some sort of peculiar phenomenon in the process.
Due to the
suspenseful and often eerie nature of some of his books, Sleator has sometimes
been compared to young-adult horror writer R. L. Stine, who once said he was a
fan of Sleator’s work. One of 4
children, Sleator also liked the theme of family relationships and close
friendships in his writing. “My stories,”
he wrote, “develop from both things I read and from my own experiences; and the experiences
of people I know.”
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