Sam Sykes Explained

Sam Sykes
Birth Name:	Sam Watkins
Occupation:	Novelist
Genre:	Epic fantasy
Parents:	Diana Gabaldon Doug Watkins
Notableworks:	Aeons' Gate series Bring Down Heaven series The Grave of Empires series

Sam Watkins^[1] is an American epic fantasy writer who publishes fiction as Sam Sykes.

He is the son of Diana Gabaldon, author of the Outlander series.

Reception

His debut trilogy of novels, the Aeons' Gate series, was appreciated by critics for its characterization and dialogue, and for its deconstruction of standard fantasy tropes, but criticized for its meandering, derivative plot.^{[2] [3]}

Controversy

In 2020, multiple authors, including Megan O'Keefe,^[4] accused Sykes of making "gross, sexual comments" at various conventions over the years. Sykes issued an apology, acknowledging "the harm [he] caused through [his] vulgar and sexual words, [his] poor judgment and [his] lack of respect for [his] colleagues."^[5] In response, his publisher Orbit Books announced that they would not be acquiring further books from Sykes and would not be arranging or supporting any public appearances for Sykes, including at conventions.^[6] Both Sykes and Orbit Books pledged to donate a portion of the profits from Sykes' books.

Bibliography

Aeons' Gate series

• Tome of the Undergates (2010),
• Black Halo (2011),
• The Skybound Sea (2012),
• "Name the Beast", short story in the 2013 cross-genre anthology Dangerous Women^[7]

Bring Down Heaven series

• The City Stained Red (2015)^[8]
• The Mortal Tally (2016)
• God's Last Breath (2017)

The Grave of Empires series

• Seven Blades in Black (April 2019)
• The Gallows Black (May 2019), a short novella set before Seven Blades of Black
• Ten Arrows of Iron (August 2020)^[9]
• Three Axes to Fall (December 2022)

Notes and References

1. Web site: FROM SCIENCE TO FICTION. Northern Arizona University. May 2012. 11 July 2013. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20131111165845/http://nau.edu/News/Articles/2012/05/From-science-to-fiction/. 11 November 2013.
2. News: Cilli. Dominic. 2010. Tome of the Undergates. SF Site. live. 21 May 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130512041324/http://www.sfsite.com/04b/tu318.htm. 12 May 2013.
3. News: Shurin. Jared. 21 May 2013. New Releases: The Skybound Sea by Sam Sykes. Pornokitsch. live. 21 May 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130719221503/http://www.pornokitsch.com/2013/05/new-releases-the-skybound-sea-by-sam-sykes.html. 19 July 2013.
4. O'Keefe . Megan . meganeokeefe . 1275940451300765696 . 24 June 2020 . Sam, you made gross, sexual comments to me for years across multiple cons when I was just starting out. You physically picked me up against my will. Maybe you should think about apologizing to the people YOU hurt. . December 4, 2021 . https://twitter.com/meganeokeefe/status/1275940451300765696.
5. Web site: My Apology. 17 July 2020.
6. Web site: A statement from Orbit regarding Sam Sykes. 17 July 2020.
7. Web site: Dangerous Women Arrives on Tor.com . July 24, 2013 . November 19, 2013 . Tor.com . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20131202235239/http://www.tor.com/blogs/2013/07/dangerous-women-tor-excerpts . December 2, 2013 .
8. Web site: The City Stained Red - Sam Sykes. 10 July 2014. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20141017065632/http://www.samsykes.com/2014/07/post-the-city-stained-red/. 17 October 2014.
9. Web site: Englert . Bradley . TEN ARROWS OF IRON Cover Launch . Orbit . 17 December 2019 . 24 December 2019.