Brian Niemeier is an American science fiction horror author. In 2016, he was a finalist for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer and won the inaugural Dragon Award for Best Horror Novel.
Background Brian Niemeier grew up in Peoria, Illinois. He attended Bradley University in Peoria for his undergraduate work, then earned an MA at the Franciscan University of Steubenville.
Writing career Niemeier was a finalist for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 2016, which he said was a result of his having been selected by the Sad Puppies and Rabid Puppies campaigns.An Interview With Brian Niemeier – Part 3, by Russell Newquist, at RussellNewquist.com; "I think it's fair to say that your Campbell nomination came as a direct result of making both the Sad Puppies and the Rabid Puppies lists, and if you hadn't been on those lists it wouldn't have happened. What are your personal thoughts on this?" "Your analysis is correct. I'm grateful to my readers who recommended me for the Sad Puppies list—initially without my knowledge. I'm also grateful to Vox Day, who only put me on the Rabid Puppies list after his first choice was ruled ineligible."; published May 5, 2016; retrieved April 17, 2017; archived at The award voters ranked him sixth of five nominees, below "No Award".2016 Hugo Award Statistics, at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved April 17, 2017 His second novel, Souldancer, won the inaugural Dragon Award for Best Horror Novel. When Niemeier's novel The Secret Kings was nominated at the 2017 Dragon Awards, The Verge contributor Andrew Liptak cited the book's low ratings at Goodreads (numbering 11 at the time) when discussing whether or not the Dragons were actually rewarding the works most popular with fans. "Do these titles actually represent what's enormously popular in fandom? That's also unclear: one fan compared the works in each category on the book-centric social media site Goodreads, and found some huge disparities. Babylon's Ashes by James S.A. Corey, for example has garnered 13,040 Goodreads user ratings, while another nominee in the same category, Brian Niemeier's The Secret Kings, only has 11 ratings." Niemeier has since stated that the Dragon Awards have been taken over by the "Death Cult" by which he alleges the Hugo Awards are controlled, and that this cult "took advantage of the drastically reduced voter base to pack the ballot" in 2020. Mike Glyer, of File 770, described Niemeier as negatively spinning the results of the 2020 Dragon Awards because Niemeier's friends didn't win.
Bibliography Works are listed chronologically in each section. All of his works are self-published unless otherwise noted.
Combat Frame Xseed series Combat Frame Xseed (December 2018) Coalition Year 40 (May 2019) CY 40 Second Coming (December 2019)
Other books in this series Combat Frame Xseed S (October 2020) Combat Frame Xseed SS (November 2021) Combat Frame Ƶ XSeed (May 2023)
A non-fiction guide to the series was also published: Combat Frame Xseed Illustrated Combat Frame Tech Guide (November 2020, )
Soul Cycle series Nethereal (June 2015, ) Souldancer (February 2016, ) The Secret Kings (December 2016, ) The Ophian Rising (December 2017, )
Nonfiction Don't Give Money to People Who Hate You (April 2020, )
Collections Strange Matter (April 2018, ebook only)
Short works "Beta Geminorum" (January 2012, Jersey Devil Press) "Reign of Terror" (April 2012, in Title Goes Here) "Strange Matter" (January 2015, in Sci Phi Journal #3, edited by Jason Rennie, Robert J. Wigard, and Peter Sean Bradley, ) "Izcacus" (October 2015) "Anacyclosis" (2016, in "Sci Phi Journal") "Hymn of the Pearl" (novella, June 2017, ebook only) "Elegy for the Locust" "Robber Council" "Good Friday"
Awards
Year Organization Award title,Category Work Result Refs 2016 World Science Fiction Society John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer – 2016 Dragon Con Dragon Award,Best Horror Novel Souldancer
References