David Bryan Russell biography

David Bryan Russell was born in Los Angeles in 1950.  At an early age he exhibited a marked skill in the visual arts. He received his formal training at California’s prestigious Art Center College of Design.  Russell’s artwork always reflected his love of mythology, particularly the Norse sagas.   His early visual style was also strongly influenced by the noted comic book illustrator Jack Kirby, with whom he later developed a deep friendship. 

In the mid-1970’s, Russell met two of his literary heroes, Jack Vance and Fritz Leiber; both authors became frienda and mentors.  In 1977, Russell made a 30-minute film based on one of Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd and Gray Mouser stories, “The Jewels in the Forest”.  Leiber served as a script advisor on the film.

In 1982, at the recommendation of Jack Vance, Russell was interviewed at Lucasfilm for a storyboard artist position on ‘Return of the Jedi’.  Interestingly, it was the storyboards he created for his short film “The Jewels in the Forest” that convinced the Lucasfilm team to hire him.  ‘Jedi’ began Russell’s career as an illustrator in the film industry, and he subsequently contributed to numerous groundbreaking films, including The Color Purple, “Batman” “Terminator 2”, “Who Shot Roger Rabbit?”, “The Thin Red Line”, “Moulin Rouge”, “Master and Commander”, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”, and, most recently “Narnia 3: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader”. 

In the late nineties, Russell began working as a screenplay writer.  Frustrations with the limitations of the medium led him to pen his debut novel, “Enchanters”. 

Russell’s unique vision posits a world in which magicians gain power by a deep mystical connection to nature. While intense themes drive the stories, the dark-themes so prevalent in contemporary fantasy literature are not to be found in the pages of Enchanters. Russell’s style is both lyrical and imaginative, driven by strong characters and dynamic plot structure, often evoking the Norse mythology which originally inspired the author.

The Midwest Book Review describes the novel as “a high fantasy about the importance of love, the preservation of life, and the greatness of the natural world. Enchanters is enthusiastically recommended to fantasy lovers everywhere.”

Reviewer Carolynn Evans (Curled Up With a Good Book) had this to say about Enchanters:  “Russell’s language is truly beautiful. The author’s ability to bring his world to life is the gift that really makes this book come alive. The book was incredibly engaging, and the pages continued to turn to explore the deepening mystery set forth.”

Russell who has resided in Australia since 1996, is currently working on ‘A Shining Realm’, the second and last book in the series.

David Bryan Russell books

• Enchanters

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