Robert Tine

Robert S. Tine (1954–2019) was an American author of thriller and science fiction novels.[1] He is best known for his pulp post-apocalyptic series "The Outrider", which he published under the pseudonym Richard Harding. He also penned several movie novelizations based on a slew of 80s and 90s blockbusters including Footloose, Basic Instinct and Universal Soldier.[1][2]

Robert Tine
Born(1954-12-19)December 19, 1954
Providence, Rhode Island[1]
Died(2019-02-22)February 22, 2019 (aged 64)
Haverhill, Massachusetts[1]
Pen nameRichard Harding
OccupationNovelist
Alma materColumbia University
GenreThriller, Science fiction
Notable works"The Outrider" series

Life

He was born Robert S. Tine in Providence, Rhode Island, and he grew up in Barrington, the Bahamas, Wales, South Africa, Swaziland, and Argentina. He was a graduate of Columbia University in New York. He also lived in Italy in the 1980s, where two of his novels were set: State of Grace (1980) and Black Market (1992).

In 2005 he moved from New York to Newburyport, Massachusetts, where he died in 2019.[1]

Work

Throughout his life Tine published six novels of mainstream fiction, the latter of which garnered good reviews—particularly Black Market, set during the liberation of Rome in 1944.[3] Publishers Weekly, in its review of Black Market, called Tine "a genius at characterization."[4]

However, Tine's larger output by far was in the field of novelizations from movies (mostly science fiction, action, and neo-noir, but also four tie-ins to the John Hughes' Beethoven franchise) and TV shows such as JAG and Touched by an Angel.

"The Outrider"

Tine is most remembered today for his hard-boiled "Outrider" series, comprising five mass-market survival fiction novels published by Pinnacle in 1984 and 1985 under the pseudonym Richard Harding (not to be confused with author and war reporter Richard Harding Davis, 1864–1916).[5]

Heavily inspired by George Miller's 1979 film Mad Max, "The Outrider" series is set in what is left of a dystopian United States following a nuclear apocalypse. The hero, the lonesome, rugged survivalist Bonner, is based in the ruins of Chicago, although his adventures take him through much of the ravaged country. He has been compared with other vigilante types such as those in Jerry Ahern's Survivalist and Defender series, James Axler's Deathlands and Outlanders series, and D.B. Drumm's Traveler.[6][7] Instead of being on the search of loved ones, however, Bonner is "more like the stereotypical retired gunslinger who still finds himself pulled into one job or another."[7] Each story is awash with pulpy clichés, machismo, and gory action scenes. Genre fans hold the series in high regard.[8][9]

The fifth and last book in the series actually ends with the announcement of a sixth entry, titled Black Death.[10][9] It was never published due to Pinnacle's bankruptcy in 1985.[11]

"The Outrider" series was included as a feature presentation on the January 5th, 2018 episode of the Library at the End of the World podcast.[12]

Partial bibliography
  • State of Grace (Viking, 1980)[13]
  • Uneasy Lies the Head (Pinnacle, 1982)
  • Broken Eagle (Pinnacle, 1985)
  • Midnight City (New American Library, 1987)
  • Black Market (St. Martin's, 1992)

"The Outrider" series

  • The Outrider (Pinnacle, 1984)
  • Fire and Ice (Pinnacle, 1984)
  • Blood Highway (Pinnacle, 1984)
  • Bay City Burnout (Pinnacle, 1984)
  • Built to Kill (Pinnacle, 1985)

Movie tie-ins

Robert Tine at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database

References
  1. "Robert S. Tine". The Daily News of Newburyport. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  2. "Robert Tine". Fantastic Fiction. Fantastic Fiction. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  3. "Black Market". Kirkus Reviews. Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  4. "Black Market". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 19 September 2019. A genius at characterization, he indelibly etches the personalities of this wildly diverse cast of players.
  5. "Tine, Robert". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. 31 August 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  6. Mengel, Bradley (21 October 2009). Serial Vigilantes of Paperback Fiction: An Encyclopedia from Able Team to Z-Comm. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. p. 8. ISBN 9780786454754.
  7. Cobb, Jim (2013). The Prepper's Complete Book of Disaster Readiness. Berkeley, CA: Ulysses Press. p. 235. ISBN 9781612432199.
  8. "The Outrider Series by Richard Harding". Phantom Empires. 18 May 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  9. "Outrider #05 – Built to Kill". Paperback Warrior. 26 December 2017. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  10. Smith, Michael (2 June 2014). "The Outrider #5 Built to Kill by Richard Harding". The Books that Time Forgot. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  11. Hendrix, Grady (2017). Paperbacks from Hell. Philadelphia: Quirk Books. p. 231. ISBN 9781594749810.
  12. Library at the End of the World, Ep. 12. Library at the End of the World. 5 January 2018. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  13. "State of Grace". Kirkus Reviews. Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
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