T. Jackson King

T. Jackson King (1948-2024) was an American archaeologist, journalist, and science-fiction author born in Houston, Texas, who brought an anthropological perspective to much of his fiction. He began publishing science fiction with Retread Shop in 1988 and, in 1996, collaborated with A.C. Crispin on Starbridge: Ancestor's World, part of the shared Starbridge universe. Across a long career he built numerous series, including the Matt and Mata Hari space-opera books featuring a cyborg agent, a military science-fiction sequence centered on alien contact and conflict, and the later fantasy series Girl Magic. In his final years, much of his work appeared through small presses and self-publishing. King's fiction consistently drew on his background in archaeology and anthropology, exploring first contact, deep time, and the clash of cultures across more than two dozen novels and story collections. He died in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 2024.