Picture of author.

John M. Ford (1957–2006)

Author of The Dragon Waiting

73+ Works 5,299 Members 102 Reviews 22 Favorited

About the Author

John M. Ford is the author of eight novels and dozens of short stories. He lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Disambiguation Notice:

Ford wrote Voyage to Adventure under the pseudonym Michael J. Dodge

Image credit: John M. Ford, 2003. Photo by David Dyer-Bennet / Wikimedia Commons.

Series

Works by John M. Ford

The Dragon Waiting (1983) 1,020 copies
The Final Reflection (1984) 852 copies
Growing Up Weightless (1993) 349 copies
The Last Hot Time (2001) 323 copies
The Scholars of Night (1988) 193 copies
Web of Angels (1980) 187 copies
The Princes of the Air (1982) 180 copies
Casting Fortune (1989) 167 copies
Aspects (2022) 134 copies
Fugue State/The Death of Doctor Island (1990) — Author — 62 copies
The Hand of Kahless (2004) 41 copies
The Yellow Clearance Black Box Blues Remastered (2018) — Contributor — 11 copies
Botschaft für Raumschiff Enterprise (1996) — Contributor — 11 copies
Hers to Decieve (1964) 10 copies
Mandalay 3 copies
Intersections 3 copies
Fugue State 3 copies
Flashbacks Redux (2011) — Contributor — 3 copies
Chain Home Low 2 copies

Associated Works

The Sandman: Book of Dreams (1996) — Contributor — 2,006 copies
Sethra Lavode (2004) — Afterword, some editions — 889 copies
True Names and the Opening of the Cyberspace Frontier (2001) — Contributor — 551 copies
The Ascent of Wonder: The Evolution of Hard SF (1994) — Contributor — 390 copies
Now We Are Sick: An Anthology of Nasty Verse (1991) — Contributor — 342 copies
Masterpieces of Fantasy and Wonder (1989) — Contributor — 321 copies
Year's Best SF 6 (2001) — Contributor — 273 copies
The Players of Luck (1986) — Contributor — 222 copies
Dragons of Light (1980) — Contributor — 218 copies
Wizard's Row (1987) — Contributor — 193 copies
Strange Dreams (1993) — Contributor — 185 copies
Tales from the Spaceport Bar (1987) — Contributor — 176 copies
Festival Week (1990) — Contributor — 153 copies
Another Round at the Spaceport Bar (1989) — Contributor — 146 copies
Spells of Binding (1988) — Contributor — 145 copies
Starlight 1 (1996) — Contributor — 132 copies
Futures from Nature (2007) — Contributor — 113 copies
Silver Scream (1969) — Contributor — 107 copies
Isaac Asimov: Science Fiction Masterpieces (1986) — Contributor — 100 copies
Invitation to Camelot (1988) — Contributor — 96 copies
Christmas Stars (1992) — Contributor — 94 copies
Nebula Awards 25 (1991) — Contributor — 61 copies
Laughing Space: An Anthology of Science Fiction Humour (1982) — Contributor — 55 copies
Isaac Asimov's SF-Lite (1993) — Contributor — 51 copies
Ripper (1988) — Contributor — 49 copies
The Architecture of Fear (1987) — Contributor — 49 copies
The Fourth Omni Book of Science Fiction (1985) — Contributor — 49 copies
The Alchemy of Stars: Rhysling Award Winners Showcase (2005) — Contributor — 28 copies
Isaac Asimov's Marvels of Science Fiction (1979) — Contributor — 28 copies
Under the Wheel (1987) — Contributor — 27 copies
Isaac Asimov's Worlds of Science Fiction (1980) — Contributor — 22 copies
Temporary Walls (1993) — Contributor — 16 copies
Isaac Asimov's Near Futures and Far (1981) — Contributor — 11 copies
Boskone 34 Program Book — Contributor — 1 copy

Tagged

alternate history (91) anthology (857) collection (90) comics (46) Dragaera (52) ebook (59) fantasy (1,472) fiction (1,194) graphic novel (55) GURPS (87) hardcover (62) horror (153) humor (91) Liavek (99) mmpb (60) Neil Gaiman (41) novel (114) own (54) owned (47) paperback (119) poetry (121) read (169) RPG (101) sandman (147) science fiction (1,292) Science Fiction/Fantasy (44) series (59) sf (495) sff (209) shared world (85) short stories (542) signed (54) speculative fiction (72) Star Trek (562) Star Trek: The Original Series (84) stories (41) to-read (368) TOS (47) unread (165) urban fantasy (42)

Common Knowledge

Legal name
Ford, John Milo
Other names
Dodge, Michael J.
Dennison, Milo
Ford, John M. "Mike"
Birthdate
1957-04-10
Date of death
2006-09-25
Gender
male
Nationality
USA
Birthplace
East Chicago, Indiana, USA
Place of death
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Places of residence
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Whiting, Indiana, USA
New York, New York, USA
Education
Indiana University, Bloomington
Occupations
science fiction writer
game designer
poet
Relationships
Matthesen, Elise (partner)
Disambiguation notice
Ford wrote Voyage to Adventure under the pseudonym Michael J. Dodge

Members

Discussions

Reviews

I don’t normally write reviews, but after some of the reviews I read here I was compelled to add my voice. This is two books, The Final Reflection and The Hand of Kahless. I was taken aback by this being two books being included under one title, I am not sure why the publisher made that choice, these two stories are only linked by their focus on the Klingons and the writer John M. Ford.
When reading The Final Reflection one has to remember this was written in 1984, the same year the movie The Search for Spock was released. Much of the backstory of the Klingon culture was still “An Undiscovered Country”. And you just have to view that story as a portrayal of the Klingon culture from a different creative viewpoint. Taken in that context this is actually one of the better Star Trek books I’ve read. You just have to get around these aren’t the Klingons we get to know in The Next Generation. There are some brilliant ideas in this portrayal of a warrior race, and some do make an appearance in later stories of Klingons, but not many. But the story is interesting and in the same spirit of most Star Trek stories.
The second book in this saga is the namesake of this review. This also was a good story, written in 2004 and set in the TNG timeline. These are the Klingons we know from the later series and movies. The author did a good job of staying true to the feel of the later television series. I enjoyed this story as well, I could clearly picture Picard and Worf and others speaking these words, and the plot was logical within the setting.
I can recommend both these stories, even though they’re different stories written at different times of both the author and the stories themselves.
… (more)
 
Flagged
SouthernComfort | 1 other review | Jul 28, 2023 |
A teen living on the Moon plays role-playing games with his friends, feels mildly resentful toward his father, and goes interrailing.

This is a cult sci-fi classic, and after reading it, I don't...entirely understand the hype. I think the subtlety of the plot is the thing that appeals to its die-hard fans, and I'll concede that I probably missed some of the clues that illuminate the water-sacrifice dilemma that consumes the adult characters in the background. There's rel="nofollow" target="_top">another review on Goodreads that praises the book as an example of "anthropology of the future," which strikes me as a good descriptor: Growing Up Weightless is absolutely low-stakes slice-of-life sci-fi.

But it left me cold.… (more)
 
Flagged
proustbot | 8 other reviews | Jun 19, 2023 |
Boris wore a sweatshirt, jeans, and sneakers, not new but clean, and carried a backpack. Boris also had a bicycle clip on his trouser leg, although he did not have a bicycle. In Manhattan no one is surprised if your bicycle is no longer where you said it was ten minutes ago.
 
Flagged
Jon_Hansen | 7 other reviews | Feb 19, 2023 |
Sure to become nearly as much a favorite as Diane Duane's RIHANNSU series. If only this were really the way the Klingons were represented in the main series! Well, maybe I will think differently after watching more DS9 and Worf; still.
 
Flagged
everystartrek | 9 other reviews | Jan 5, 2023 |

Lists

Awards

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Gareth Hanrahan Contributor
Jeff Grove Contributor
Steve Gilbert Contributor
Tristan Elwell Cover artist
Neil Gaiman Foreword, Introduction
Isaac Asimov Foreword
Hans Maeter Translator
Howard Koslow Cover artist
Sanjulian Cover artist
Scott Lynch Introduction
Richard Carr Cover designer
Ken Barr Cover artist
David Wyatt Cover artist
James Gunn Introduction
Pamela Lee Cover artist
Frank Mayo Illustrator
Francis Spufford Introduction
Faceout Studio Cover designer
Charles Stross Introduction
Pat Morrissey Cover artist
Ron Walotsky Cover artist

Statistics

Works
73
Also by
43
Members
5,299
Popularity
#4,698
Rating
3.8
Reviews
102
ISBNs
93
Languages
5
Favorited
22
About
1
Touchstones
117

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