Frequently Asked Questions
1. John who?Steakley. John Steakley.
2. Who's that?
The author of such great novels as Armor and Vampire$. This is his web page.
3. A web page? Then he must be pretty prolific.
'Fraid not. 2 novels and 4 short stories are published under his name. He's mentioned that he's written some things as a ghost writer, but we can't seem to pry that information out of him. He's also done some film work (more on that later).
His novels are:
Armor (1984)
Vampire$ (1991)
The short stories are:
The Bluenose Limit (1981), printed in Amazing Science Fiction, March, 1981
Flyer (1982), printed in Amazing Science Fiction, September, 1982
The Swordsman Smada (1987), published in Friends of the Horseclans, 1987
The Swordsman's Place (1989), published in Friends of the Horseclans 2, 1989.
4. So what are these books (and stories) about?
Armor is the tale of Felix, a scout fighting in a brutal war on a planet known as Banshee. While on the surface it's an action/sci-fi book like Starship Troopers (which it was inspired by), it's much, much more. It's the story of a man who simply does not want to live anymore, but has a thing inside of him (he calls it his Engine) that will not allow him to simply lay down and die. So he lives on, fighting through hopeless battle after hopeless battle with no hope of either victory or defeat.
Vampire$ is the tale of a group of vampire hunters sponsored by the vatican. They employ methods that everyone who's ever watched a vampire movie has thought of: harpooning vampires and using a winch to pull them into the sunlight; demolishing their lairs and using a crane to remove the debris and expose them to sunlight; automatic weapons with silver bullets, etc. In this one, Felix is a gunman who joins the crew after a group of vampires learns of its existence and turns the tables, hunting the hunters. Again, like in Armor, Felix is thrust into a situation like no human being should ever face, and must come to terms with the horror that surrounds him, and do what no one else is willing to do.
The Bluenose Limit is possibly the greatest short story ever written. It's about a miner in a world taken over by aliens who makes the ultimate sacrifice to give humanity back a shred of pride and fighting spirit. It's awesome, and if you'd like a copy of it, you can find information on how to get one on the Stories page (see the link on the index).
Flyer is about a guy who can fly. I'm guessing Steakley sweated over the title for many months.
The Swordsman Smada and the Swordsman's Place are a little bit of fan-type fiction set in the Horseclans worlds. More details in the Stories page.
5. Vampire$... wait a minute, isn't there a movie...?
Yeah, there is. But honestly, it's not that good.
6. Not good? But Rock said...
Well, it's not really a BAD film. And it IS entertaining. But they removed Felix, arguably the main character. And they cut out most of the book. And John Carpenter has a real hatred of religion thing going, and it shows in the film. I would call it a fair film if they had simply included Felix. But removing him and putting in a Baldwin (yeah, that's right, a Baldwin for crying out loud!) is unforgivable.
7. So why did it turn out like that?
Apparently Carpenter's budget was cut right after they started filming. Cut by like 60% or so. So instead of filming all around the world, he was forced to literally rewrite on the spot and film the entire thing right there in the desert where he had only planned on filming the first 20 minutes or so. All this according to Steakley, who had visited the set a few times.
8. How can I get in touch with him?
At this time I cannot give out John's email address. It's to maintain his privacy, I hope you understand. If you need to get a message to him, feel free to send it to me at Alpern@aol.com, and I'll forward it to him
9. Okay, so tell me about John's movie career.
Well, John has apparently done a LOT of work in film, but he tends to dodge questions about them. The Internet Movie Database lists three films besides Vampires: Don't Open the Door (1980), Scary Texas Movie (1997), and Playing Dead (1999). Don't Open the Door is some kind of low budget horror thing from John's pre-Armor days. Scary Texas movie is supposed to have been released in Europe, and features John as an actor. I'm currently trying to track down a copy. And John is listed as an actor for Playing Dead, but he's not listed on the official site.
John has also hinted at being involved in other films, possibly as a ghost writer. However, he refuses to give details.
10. So how about a Bio on the man?
The bio is now available. It's just what I've culled from the intros to his short stories. Click the BIO link in the bottom frame to see it.
11. Can you email me right before the next chat?
No.
12. No? Why not?
Because at least 200 people have asked me to do this. When I first started this page, I had a mailing list of a couple of dozen names. Now, I would have to have about 500. And since we all know email addresses change constantly, I just don't have time to maintain something like that. And if I can't email everyone, I won't email anyone.
There's another, subtler issue. The chats have gotten a little too large. They used to be cool, 5 or so fans and Steakley. But each one is a little bigger, with more people showing up, and it's getting to the point where Steakley can't seem to get a word in edgewise, with all the chatter going on. I could change chat hosts to one that would grant me moderator priviliges, but that would:
1). Cost money
2). Change the flavor of the chats from their excellent, casual, everyone is an equal atmosphere. And I really hate to do that.
If I sent out an email to everyone who ever asked, we'd have dozens of people showing up, and that would just suck. Sorry. So, I only post on the bulletin board. The hard core fans will see it. The rest... well, sorry, but you can read the transcript later. When I get off my fat, lazy ass and post it.
13. Dave, you are the most incredibly cool guy in the world. How can we support this site?
Click on the "contributions" tab on the left.