Six Heirs (40 page)

A native of France and a lifelong fantasy enthusiast who numbers Jack Vance, Fritz Leiber, and Michael Moorcock among his heroes, Pierre Grimbert has been awarded the Prix Ozone for best French-language fantasy novel and the Prix Julia Verlanger for best science fiction novel in any language. He is the author of thirteen widely admired novels of the Ji mythos, including the series The Secret of Ji, The Children of Ji, and The Guardians of Ji. He lives in northern France with his wife and two sons.

This is Matt and Eric’s first collaborative translation. They were both working as English teaching assistants in France when the project was born. As friends who share a passion for the French language and its literature, they are very excited to introduce Pierre Grimbert’s gripping Ji series to the English-speaking world.

Matt has been losing himself in fantasy books for many years, but only discovered the wonders of the French language while studying at CU Boulder. These combined interests sparked his interest in the Ji series, which a friend in France described as the “best French fantasy.” He is pursuing a doctorate in ecology at Duke University in North Carolina.

Eric received his bachelor’s degree in French from CU Boulder in 2010 and a certificate in applied literary translation from the University of Illinois in 2011. His first book-length translation,
My Beautiful Bus
by Jacques Jouet, was published in January 2013 by the Dalkey Archive Press. Eric teaches French at Aspen High School in Colorado.