This Week's OMNI Visions Guest:

S. P. Somtow
Author of Darker Angels

We had a chat with him on Thursday, November 13, 1997. You can read a transcript here.

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Darker Angels
by S. P. Somtow
(Tor, 1998, $24.95)

Read an excerpt here!

S. P. Somtow was born in Thailand and educated at Eton and Cambridge. His grandfather's sister was a Queen of Siam, and his father, Dr. Sompong Sucharitkul, is one of the world's most well-known international lawyers and Vice President of the U.N.'s Academy of Human Rights.

Somtow's first professional career was in music. His compositions have been performed on four continents, and of his most recent score, the ballet Khaki, recently premiered at a Royal Command Performance in Thailand. He has also composed film scores.

In the late 70s, Somtow turned to writing science fiction, and in short order won the John W. Campbell Award for best new writer as well as garnering two Hugo Award nominations. He soon began to essay other genres, and in the early 1980s produced the trailblazing Vampire Junction, one of the most influential books in contemporary dark fantasy. In the 1990s, Somtow's work began to encompass even more genres with a fantasy series (The Riverrun Trilogy) and the semi-autobiographical Jasmine Nights. Among his latest works are Darker Angels, a dark fantasy set in the American Civil War, and the World Fantasy Award and Bram Stoker Award nominated collection The Pavilion of Frozen Women.

Somtow has also turned his hand to filmmaking. His films include the cult classic The Laughing Dead, called 'the best independent feature in a long while' by Michael Weldon of The Psychotronic Encyclopaedia, and Ill Met By Moonlight, a gothic-punk Shakespeare film starring Timothy Bottoms.

S.P. Somtow may be reached c/o his fan club, the Valentine Society, 6440 Bellingham Avenue #192, North Hollywood, CA 91606, or through his website: http://www.primenet.com/~somtow. He commutes between his homes in Bangkok and Los Angeles.