Steven Karl Zoltan Brust is a writer and musician. He was born on November 23, 1955. Brust has worked as a systems programmer for a computer company and played guitar, drums, and banjo in such bands as Cats Laughing, Morrigan, and Boiled in Lead. Brust writes science fiction, including the Vlad Taltos series, The Pheonix Guards, 500 Years After, and Brokedown Palace. He has written "choose-your-own-adventure" books for Tor and published several short stories in a series. Brust also released a solo album, A Rose for Iconoclastes, on the SteelDragon label.
Author Roger Zelazny was born in Euclid, Ohio on May 13, 1937. After receiving his B.A. from Case Western Reserve University and his M.A. from Columbia University, Zelazny began publishing science fiction stories in 1962. His reputation has gone through ups and downs, but he was given a Nebula award in 1966 for And Call Me Coward (1965), in a tie with Dune by Frank Herbert. He won a total of three Nebula awards and six Hugo awards. A prolific writer, Zelazny's works focus on the relationship between illusion and reality. He always pays close attention to his craft, and his stories are intelligent, occasionally sentimental, often romantic and, to his many fans, very satisfying. He died of… kidney failure secondary to colorectal cancer on June 14, 1995.