A short life of the author
Benjamin Percy (b. 1979) was born in central Oregon and grew up in rural environments that inform his fiction’s landscapes. He earned an MFA from Southern Illinois University.
Life and Career
The Wilding (2010) — about three generations of men on a hunting trip in the Oregon wilderness — was his debut. Red Moon (2013) — a political thriller about a world where lycanthropy is real and werewolves are an oppressed minority — was his most ambitious novel, a genre allegory for post-9/11 America. The Comet Cycle series (2021–2023) followed a comet’s impact on a Minnesota town through interlinked genre novels.
Percy’s comics work — Green Arrow (DC), Wolverine (Marvel), X-Force (Marvel) — has been critically praised for bringing literary character depth to superhero narratives. Thrill Me (2016) argues for the integration of literary and genre techniques.
Major Works and Themes
Percy writes about landscape, masculinity, and the tension between wildness and civilisation. His fiction treats genre conventions — werewolves, monsters, superheroes — as vehicles for exploring real anxieties about environment, identity, and American violence.
Key Works
- Red Moon (2013)
- Thrill Me (2016)
- The Ninth Metal (2021)
Collecting Percy
Red Moon (2013, Grand Central) first edition brings $15–$40.