Thomas Charles Louis Holt (born 13 September 1961) is a British novelist. In addition to fiction published under his own name, he writesfantasy under the pseudonymK. J. Parker.[1]
His works includemythopoeic novels which parody or take as their theme various aspects of mythology, history, or literature and develop them in new and often humorous ways. He has also written a number ofhistorical novels writing as Thomas Holt.Steve Nallon collaborated with Holt to writeI, Margaret, a satirical autobiography ofMargaret Thatcher published in 1989.
K. J. Parker is the pseudonym under which Holt has publishedfantasy fiction. Holt's assumed identity as K. J. Parker was kept secret for 17 years, until April 2015.[5][6]
While Parker's stories take place insecondary worlds with fictional geographies andworld history, some of the typical features of fantasy fiction such as explicit use of magic are not present in his novels. His short stories, on the other hand, frequently deal with magic and the problems it brings for sorcerers. The stories tend to havetragic themes with characters whose actions are unintentionally, ultimately self-destructive. Other major themes in the books are politics, technology (especiallydisruptive innovation), and either or both of the former as a means to power.
The Portable Door (2003), which features office politics with a magical twist. Made into afilm byThe Jim Henson Company and Story Bridge Films in 2023.
In Your Dreams (2004), in which the Fey use people's dreams to try to invade the world of humans.
Earth, Air, Fire, and Custard (2005).
You Don't Have to Be Evil to Work Here, But It Helps (2006).
The Better Mousetrap (2008).
May Contain Traces of Magic (2009), where a JWW travelling salesman breaks the rules and converses with his car's demonical navigation system.
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Sausages (2011), subtitledA Comedy of Transdimensional Tomfoolery, with a genius pig, human chickens, and reality misfunctions.
The Eight Reindeer of the Apocalypse: A J. W. Wells Novel (2023)
Barking (2007), based on vampires and werewolves transposed into modern day legal firms.
Blonde Bombshell (2010), an alien canine race is trying to destroy Earth.
Featuring YouSpace, a multiverse-based entertainment system, with doughnuts as portals:
Doughnut (2013), a disgraced physicist is bequeathed a very strange legacy.
When It's a Jar (2013), an ordinary fellow becomes a reluctant hero.
The Outsorcerer's Apprentice (2014), a fairy tale universe is exploited economically.
The Good, the Bad and the Smug (2015),Rumplestiltskin-based economies and Evil goes for a new, more appealing look.
An Orc on the Wild Side (2019)
The Management Style of the Supreme Beings (2017), God and his oldest son Jay sell Earth to the Venturi brothers, leaving behind younger son Kevin, all the archangels, and Santa Claus.
The Scavenger trilogy is about a man, or possibly god, who wakes up on a battlefield with amnesia and discovers that he is being hunted by enemies he no longer remembers.
The titular character, Saevus Corax, is a battlefield salvage contractor fleeing from his responsibility as a member of a royal family, resulting in an "extended, bloody travelogue dotted with humor and snark".[10]
Saevus Corax Deals with the Dead (3 October 2023)
Saevus Corax Captures the Castle (23 November 2023)
Saevus Corax Gets Away With Murder (7 December 2023)
