Tim Sullivan was born on June 9, 1948, in Bangor, Maine,[1] the son of Charles Sullivan, a United States Postal Service worker (born February 2, 1923), and Lillian Hope Fitzgerald Sullivan (b. March 31, 1924), a stay-at-home mother who raised their children. Timothy had an older brother, Charles (February 6, 1946 - July 1967). Tim and Charles both developed a love of genre fiction from their father, who was a constant reader, and who would bring home all sorts of books and comics, from Edgar Rice Burroughs to Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita to Mad magazine, and shared them with his boys.
Tim grew up enjoying and sharing comic books and novels with the other children of his neighborhood, including Rich Tozier (a neighbor who lived across the street and who has become a Maine jazz radio personality at Maine Public Broadcasting Network, who was featured in two Stephen King novels, It and 11/22/63). Charles and Timothy attended John Bapst Memorial High School in Bangor. This was a Catholic school, boys only, where Sullivan was often bored and hid other books, such as on Greek mythology or science fiction, behind his text books. On one occasion, he and a classmate climbed out of the classroom window and sneaked off to attend a horror movie showing at a local theater. His love of vintage horror films played a great part in his later life.[2]
Sullivan has an almost eidetic memory of these horror films; he can recite double showings of matinee films, the advertisements in newspapers, the film posters, the directors and the cast members for movies that he viewed for over a decade.
Sullivan has written several novels and many more short stories. He has scripted, directed, and starred in microbudget films in the genres of science fiction and horror, often with his friend Ron Ford.
Writing
Sullivan lived in Florida from 1968 to 1983, then in Philadelphia, and in the Washington, D.C. area.[3] He moved to southern California in 1988, where he lived for the next twelve years. He edited a horroranthology for Avon Books, Tropical Chills, in 1988. Sullivan also published his first novel, Destiny's End, in 1988. This science fiction novel was followed by The Parasite War in 1989, The Martian Viking in 1991, and Lords of Creation in 1992, and another horror anthology, Cold Shocks (Avon, 1991), among other books.
He befriended Michael Dirda and, in the 1980s and 1990s, Sullivan reviewed several science fiction novels for the Washington Post Book World.
He has used different versions of his names while publishing fiction: Timothy Robert Sullivan, Timothy R. Sullivan, and Tim Sullivan.
Acting
Sullivan began his career in film in a collaboration with S. P. Somtow, entitled The Laughing Dead (1989); Sullivan plays Father O'Sullivan, who becomes possessed by a Mayan god of death.[4] Throughout the 1990s, he scripted and acted in several low-budget science fiction and horror films, most notably Twilight of the Dogs (1995) and Hollywood Mortuary (1998), galvanating the script by Ron Ford as actor-turned-zombie Pratt Borokov, a thinly disguised Boris Karloff.[5]John Clute writes that Sullivan "concentrated for almost a decade on an acting career, though he began to publish short stories again in 2000."[1]
Sullivan calls himself an atheist and is a constant reader. His bookshelf is filled with some science fiction favorites, but also with the works of science popularizers, biographies, and histories. He maintains a Facebook page. He has two cats, Mischka and Boris.
17. "The Pavilion of Frozen Women" by S. P. Somtow
John Clute wrote that these two anthologies "composed of carefully selected original and reprinted material, mostly horror, demonstrate Sullivan's editorial acuteness."[1]
Screenplays
Twilight of the Dogs (1995)
Eyes of the Werewolf (1999)
Vampyre Femmes (1999)
V-World Matrix (1999)
Hunting Season (2000)
Demonicus (2001)
Short stories
"Tachyon Rag" [a.k.a. "Doin’ that Tachyon Rag"] (Spring, 1977) – As by Timothy Robert Sullivan; first appeared in Unearth.
"Downward to Darkness (Part 1 of 2)" (Fall/October, 1977) – As by Timothy Robert Sullivan; first appeared in Unearth; cover art by Tom Barber.
"Downward to Darkness (Part 2 of 2)" (Winter/January, 1978) As by Timothy Robert Sullivan; first appeared in Unearth; cover art by Clyde Caldwell.
"The Rauncher Goes to Tinker Town" (1979) - As by Timothy Robert Sullivan; first appeared in New Dimensions Science Fiction Number 9, edited by Robert Silverberg; ISBN 0-06-433336-1.
"My Father's Head" (1979) – As by Timothy R. Sullivan. Published in Chrysalis 5, ed. Roy Torgeson, Zebra Books, ISBN 0-89083-518-7.
"The Comedian" (June 1982) - First appeared in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. Reprinted in: The 1983 Annual World's Best SF, ed. Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, DAW Books (DAW Collectors #528), ISBN 0-87997-822-8; Time Travelers: From Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine (1989), ed. Gardner Dozois, ISBN 0-441-80935-9. Nominated for the 1983 Locus Poll Award - Best Short Story.
"A Major Game of Hoople" (1984) - Ares #17. A sports story, its title is a pun on Major Hoople.
"JuJu, Incorporated" (May, 1984) - As by Timothy Robert Sullivan; Fantasy Review, ed. Robert A. Collins and Neil Barron (Florida Atlantic University).
"Special Education" (January, 1986) - Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine.
"Stop-Motion" (August, 1986) - Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. Placed #5 in the 1987 Asimov's Readers' Poll.
"Dinosaur on a Bicycle" (March, 1987) - Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. Reprinted in: Dinosaurs! (June, 1990), ed. Jack Dann, Gardner Dozois, ISBN 0-441-14883-2.
"Knucklebones" (1988) - Ripper!, ed. Gardner Dozois, Susan Casper, Tor Books, ISBN 0-812-51700-8. Reprinted in: Jack the Ripper (1988), ed. Dozois and Casper, ISBN 0-7088-4062-0.
"Father to the Man" (October, 1988) - Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine.
"Snowbanks" (1991) - Cold Shocks, ISBN 0-380-76160-2.
"Los Niños de la Noche" (1991) - The Ultimate Dracula, ed. Megan Miller, David Keller, Byron Preiss, Dell Publishing, ISBN 0-440-50353-1. Reprinted in: The Ultimate Dracula (2003), ed. Byron Preiss, ibooks Inc., ISBN 0-7434-5820-6.
"Hypnoteyes" (December 31, 1991) - Pulphouse: A Fiction Magazine, ed. Dean Wesley Smith.
"Anodyne" (November, 1992) - Pulphouse: A Fiction Magazine, ed. Dean Wesley Smith.
"Planetesimal Dawn" (October-November, 2008) - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.
"Way Down East" (December, 2008) - Asimov's Science Fiction.
"Inside Time" (December, 2009) - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.
"Star-Crossed" (March-April, 2010) - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.
"Under Glass" (November-December, 2011) - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.
"Repairmen" (March-April, 2012) - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.
"The Nambu Egg" (July-August, 2013) - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. The title refers to the theories of Yoichiro Nambu.
"Yeshua's Dog" - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.
"Through Mud One Picks a Way" - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.
Selected nonfiction
"Notables Gather (1980 ICFA)" (April, 1981) - As by Timothy Robert Sullivan; Locus, #243.
"TZ is Year's Best Fantasy Film" (September, 1983) - As by Timothy Robert Sullivan; Fantasy Newsletter, #62.
"Holy Woody" (October-November, 1983) - As by Timothy Robert Sullivan; Fantasy Newsletter, #63. An essay about the film Zelig by Woody Allen.
Review of Lyrec by Gregory Frost (March, 1984) - As by Timothy Robert Sullivan; SF & Fantasy Review, ed. Robert A. Collins and Neil Barron (Florida Atlantic University).
"A Clockwork Worldcon" (October, 1984) - As by Timothy Robert Sullivan; Fantasy Review.
"Guest Editorial: The New Network Fantasy Series: 'Slick But Stupid'" (October, 1985) - Fantasy Review.
"Interview: Gardner Dozois" (November, 1985) - Fantasy Review.
"Right Off the Wall" (June, 1986) - Fantasy Review.
"Atlanta's Worldcon: The View from the Catbird Suite" (September, 1986) - Co-written with Gregory Frost; Fantasy Review, ed. Rob Latham and Robert A. Collins (Meckler Publishing Corporation).
"Magazine Fiction in Review" (March, 1987) - Fantasy Review.
"Magazine Fiction in Review" (May, 1987) - Fantasy Review.
"Magazine Fiction in Review" (June, 1987) - Fantasy Review.
"Extra! Extra! Read All About It! Science Fiction Writer Visits Alien World!" (July 27, 1991) - Pulphouse: A Weekly Fiction Magazine, ed. Dean Wesley Smith.
A low-budget science fiction and horror comedy film written by Ted Newsom and directed by Newsom and Wayne Berwick as an homage to and spoof of the "giant monster-on-the-loose" films of the 1950s.[8][9][10][11]
Critical response
John Clute writes that Sullivan "began publishing sf with stories like "Tachyon Rag" ... "My Father's Head" ... and "The Rauncher Goes to Tinker Town" ... tales whose sophistication led to some disappointment when his first-published novels turned out to be three ties to the V Television series, a series of exercises in easy Paranoia set in an America taken over by Aliens... The published order of Sullivan's books was, however, deceptive, as his first-written novel, Destiny's End (1988), had suffered delays and modifications at the hands of the publisher to which it had first been contracted. The book proved to be a complexly moody depiction of humanity at the end of its tether in an array of Dying-Earth venues, as Secret Masters from the stars with quasimagical Technologies manipulate the course of events. Other sf of interest included The Parasite War (1989), which garishly intensifies the premises of V with a few scattered humans engaged in guerrilla warfare against the Aliens who have nearly destroyed the planet; The Martian Viking (1991), in which a prisoner escapes from Mars and roams space and time with stern but rowdy Vikings; and Lords of Creation (1992), which combines palaeontological fantasy including dinosaur eggs and another alien Invasion."[12]
Science fiction scholar Fiona Kelleghan has written that Sullivan "often turn[s] to classical history and mythology to dramatize his concerns about contemporary American culture - although the historical settings suggest a Santayana-esque view of our so-called post-historical era. ... Sullivan cares deeply about his characters. His books are viciously funny in a deadpan way..."[13]
Christine Hawkins, in her online Mars in Science Fiction Bibliography, described The Martian Viking as "reminiscent of Philip K. Dick."[14] The reviewer of the Schlock Value review website said, in a mostly positive review:
It's a well-established fact that the two coolest things ever are Vikings and Mars, and now, thanks to Tim Sullivan, we get both of them in one convenient package. How could this book be anything but great? Unfortunately, The Martian Viking deals a lot less with Vikings than we were promised, although Mars does feature quite prominently, and as far as crapsack future societies go, the book does present us with a pretty interesting one... The world we are presented with is a fairly interesting form of dystopia... All-in-all, The Martian Viking was a pretty fun read... Tim Sullivan managed to set up a really interesting future world.[15]
Raymond's Reviews said of The Martian Viking, "it had some moments of warped originality that were hard to forget."[16]
^Gardner Dozois has remarked, "Speaking of slasher movies, since I have come to feel that my taste in films may be out of date—since, for instance, when a director gleefully announces that his upcoming movie 'will set new standards for screen violence' I tend to sigh wearily instead of licking my lips in anticipation—I have once again turned to that writer, anthologist, bon vivant and noted authority on SF/Horror films, Tim Sullivan—a man who really enjoys a good exploding-head movie every once in a while—and asked him to contribute a list of his favorite genre movies this year. Tim's list of the year's top ten films is: 1. The Adventures of Baron Munchausen; 2. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer; 3. Miracle Mile; 4. Paperhouse; 5. Erik the Viking; 6. I, Madman; 7. The Navigator: An Odyssey Across Time; 8. Earth Girls Are Easy; 9. Pet Sematary; 10. Tales from the Gimli Hospital. Tim adds that modesty prevents him from listing The Laughing Dead, a horror movie directed by Somtow Sucharitkul (S. P. Somtow) in which Sullivan himself plays the leading role—a priest who turns into a hideous monster—and gets to tear several hapless men and women apart on screen, surely the realization of the dream of a lifetime for Tim."Dozois, Gardner, editor (1990). The Year's Best Science Fiction: Seventh Annual Collection. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. Summation 1989. ((cite book)): |first= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)