YEP, Laurence (Michael)

(1948-)

   US writer who began publishing sf with "The Selchey Kids" for If in 1968. Most of his books have been juveniles, including an sf novel, Sweetwater (1973), set in a dying city on a strange planet, and the highlysuccessful Dragonwings (1975), a non-sf story about Chinese-Americans that won several awards in the field; Child of the Owl (1977) is also about Chinese-Americans. A later fantasy series, the Shimmer and Thorn sequence- Dragon of the Lost Sea (1982), Dragon Steel (1985), Dragon Cauldron (1991) and Dragon War (1992) - as well as Monster Makers, Inc. (1986), which is about GENETIC ENGINEERING, were also for children; The Rainbow People (coll 1989) assembles juvenile stories rewritten fromChinese-American folktales. Throughout these books a melancholy sensitivity is generally permitted to discover material for quiet affirmation, and LY's own Chinese-American background can be easily discerned, especially when ALIENS are being treated. His 1st adult sf novel, Seademons (1977), tells of colonists on another world and of their relation to the beings there, evoking an atmosphere of strangeness in a nuanced prose. His 2nd is a Star Trek tie, The Shadow Lord * (1985).

   JC/PN

   Other works: The Ghost Fox (1994 chap), a juvenile.

   See also: ARTS; MUSIC.