Stephen Coonts | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 19, 1946 Buckhannon, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | West Virginia University (BA) |
| Genre | Spy fiction |
| Years active | 1984 – present |
| Spouse | Deborah Coonts deceased |
| Website | |
| www | |
Stephen Coonts (born July 19, 1946) is an American spy thriller and suspense novelist.
Stephen Coonts grew up in Buckhannon, West Virginia, a small coal mining town. Following high school graduation, he earned a B.A. degree in political science at West Virginia University in 1968. [1] After joining the Navy upon graduation and then going to officer candidate school, Coonts went to flight school at Naval Air Station Pensacola and earned his wings as a naval aviator in 1969.
Coonts was later assigned to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island and VA-128 to train in the A-6 Intruder, a medium attack, all-weather, carrier-based jet. After training, he was attached to and deployed with VA-196 to Vietnam. With 196, he served aboard the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) on two cruises and accumulated 1600 flying hours in the A-6. Coonts was awarded several commendations, including the Distinguished Flying Cross.
After Vietnam, Coonts served as an A-6 flight instructor for two years, then was assigned as an assistant catapult and arresting gear officer aboard USS Nimitz (CVN-68). He separated from the active duty Navy as a lieutenant in 1977 but remained as reserve officer, retiring as a commander with a total of 21 years of service.
After leaving active duty, Coonts pursued a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree at the University of Colorado, graduating in 1979. He then worked as a lawyer for several oil and gas companies, pursuing his writing interests in his free time.
Coonts began writing Flight of the Intruder in 1984; it was published by the US Naval Institute Press in 1986. The novel, based in part on his experiences as an A-6 pilot during the Vietnam War, remained for 28 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, and in 1991 was made into a movie. This launched his career as a novelist, and he continued writing adventure-thrillers, most of them based on the main character from his first book, Jake Grafton. Coonts has also written several other series and stand-alone novels, but is best known for the Grafton books.
In 1992, he was inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Alumni at his alma mater, West Virginia University. [2] [3] In 2014, West Virginia University awarded him an honorary Doctor of Letters degree.
Today, Coonts continues to write, having had 16 New York Times bestsellers (out of 36 books). He lives in Colorado with his third wife, Deborah Jean. [4] He is divorced from romantic mystery novelist Deborah Coonts.
| # | Title | Publication date | ISBN | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Flight of the Intruder | 1986 | 0-87021-200-1 | Adapted into a film in 1991 |
| 2 | The Intruders | 1994 | 1-59114-128-1 | |
| 3 | Final Flight | 1988 | 0-385-24555-6 | |
| 4 | The Minotaur | 1989 | 0-440-20742-8 | |
| 5 | Under Siege | 1990 | 0-671-72229-8 | |
| 6 | The Red Horseman | 1993 | 0-671-74887-4 | |
| 7 | Cuba | 1999 | 0-312-20521-X | Also featuring Tommy Carmellini |
| 8 | Hong Kong | 2000 | 0-312-25339-7 | Also featuring Tommy Carmellini |
| 9 | America | 2001 | 0-312-25341-9 | Also featuring Tommy Carmellini |
| 10 | Liberty | 2003 | 0-312-28361-X | Also featuring Tommy Carmellini |
| # | Title | Publication date | ISBN | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liars and Thieves | 2004 | 0-312-28362-8 | Also known as Wages of Sin |
| 2 | The Traitor | 2006 | 0-312-32359-X | |
| 3 | The Assassin | 2008 | 0-312-99446-X | Also featuring Jake Grafton |
| 4 | The Disciple | 2009 | 0-312-37283-3 | Also featuring Jake Grafton |
| 5 | Pirate Alley | 2013 | 0-312-37284-1 | Also featuring Jake Grafton |
| 6 | The Art of War | 2016 | 1-786-48363-8 | Also featuring Tommy Carmellini |
| 7 | Liberty's Last Stand | 2016 | 1-621-57507-8 | Also featuring Tommy Carmellini |
| 8 | The Armageddon File | 2017 | 1-621-57659-0 | Also featuring Tommy Carmellini |
| 9 | The Russia Account | 2019 | 1-621-57660-0 | Also featuring Jake Grafton |
| # | Title | Publication date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saucer | 2002 | 0-312-98321-2 |
| 2 | Saucer: The Conquest [7] | 2004 | 0-312-99448-6 |
| 3 | Saucer: Savage Planet [8] | 2014 | 1-250-06198-9 |
| # | Title | Publication date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Combat | 2002 | 0-8125-7615-2 |
| 2 | Combat Vol. 2 | 2002 | 0-8125-7616-0 |
| 3 | Combat Vol. 3 | 2002 | 0-8125-7617-9 |
| 4 | On Glorious Wings | 2005 | 0-8125-7863-5 |
| 5 | Victory | 2003 | 0-7653-0581-X |
| 6 | Victory: Call to Arms | 2004 | 0-8125-6167-8 |
| 7 | Victory: Into the Fire | 2004 | 0-8125-6168-6 |
| 8 | Victory: On the Attack | 2004 | 0-8125-6169-4 |
| 9 | War in the Air | 1999 | 0-6718-8191-4 |
| # | Title | Publication date | ISBN | Co-authored with |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Deep Black | 2003 | 0-312-98520-7 | Jim DeFelice |
| 2 | Biowar | 2004 | 0-752-86117-4 | Jim DeFelice |
| 3 | Dark Zone | 2004 | 0-752-87785-2 | Jim DeFelice |
| 4 | Payback | 2005 | 0-312-93698-2 | Jim DeFelice |
| 5 | Jihad | 2007 | 0-312-93699-0 | Jim DeFelice |
| 6 | Conspiracy | 2008 | 0-312-93700-8 | Jim DeFelice |
| 7 | Arctic Gold | 2009 | 0-312-94695-3 | William H. Keith |
| 8 | Sea of Terror | 2010 | 0-312-94696-1 | William H. Keith |
| 9 | Death Wave | 2011 | 0-312-67113-X | William H. Keith |
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