John Barnes, (born 1957) is a prolific science fiction author, whose stories often explore questions of individual moral responsibility within a larger social context. Social criticism is woven throughout his riveting plots. The three novels in his Million Open Doors series pose serious questions about the effects of globalization on isolated societies. Barnes lives in Colorado and works in the field of semiotics.

He has been married twice; his second wife was author Kara Dalkey . In the second and third books of the Million Open Doors series, the protagonist Giraut Leones endures difficult marital tensions which apparently reflect the author's own frustration with the disintegration of his second marriage.

Books:

• The Man Who Pulled Down the Sky (1987)
• Sin of Origin (1988)
• Orbital Resonance (1991) (Century Next Door series)
• A Million Open Doors (1993) (Million Open Doors series)
• Mother of Storms (1995)
• Encounter With Tiber, with Buzz Aldrin (1996)
• Kaleidoscope Century (1996) (Century Next Door series)
• One For the Morning Glory (1996)
• Patton's Spaceship (1997) (Timeline Wars series)
• Washington's Dirigible (1997) (Timeline Wars series)
• Caesar's Bicycle (1997) (Timeline Wars series)
• Timeline Wars (1997) (omnibus volume)
• Apostrophes and Apocalypses (1998)(collection)
• Earth Made of Glass (1999) (Million Open Doors series)
• Finity (1999)
• Candle (2000) (Century Next Door series)
• The Return, with Buzz Aldrin (2001)
• The Merchants of Souls (2002) (Million Open Doors series)
• The Sky So Big and Black (2002) (Century Next Door series)
• Duke of Uranium (2002) (Jak Jinnaka series)
• A Princess of the Aerie (2003) (Jak Jinnaka series)
• In the Hall of the Martian King (2003) (Jak Jinnaka series)
• Gaudeamus (2004)

Awards:

• Nebula Award Best Novel nominee (1992) : Orbital Resonance
• Nebula Award Best Novel nominee (1993) : A Million Open Doors
• Hugo Award Best Novel nominee (1995) : Mother of Storms
• Nebula Award Best Novel nominee (1996) : Mother of Storms