High fantasy authors with biography

Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series abound when discussing Kushiel's Dart, but this novel isn't what you would think of as typical fantasy; it's much more focused on the sex, which is explicit throughout. However, it's still as chock-full of political intrigue and nuanced characters as any fantasy tale. From humble beginnings, she uses her cunning, loyalty, and compassion to become diplomat, spymaster, and an incredible tactician.

With a strong female lead and extensive world-building, Jacqueline Carey's novel won the Locus Award and was nominated for the Gaylactic Spectrum Awards. If you're not afraid of some graphic sex, pedophilia, and abuse, definitely check out this first book in the Kushiel's Universe series. The Napoleonic Wars seem to be an especially fascinating era for writers; this series is the second on the list set in this time period at the turn of the 19th century.

His Majesty's Dragon, the first in the Temeraire series, takes place in an alternate version of the world where intelligent dragons are used as military air forces in both Asia and Europe. The books center on the dragon Temeraire and his handler, Will Lawrence, who fight on the side of British forces, Lawrence having become a dragonrider when an egg unexpectedly falls into his hands.

Lawrence, originally part of the Naval Corps, must learn to navigate the very different world of the Aerial Corps of which he has just joined, while at the same time rearing his dragon and teaching him about the world. This development of the curious bond between dragon and rider is one of the strengths of this book, with fans reveling in their humorous and heartwarming interactions.

While the book may not contain many female characters, the ones that do exist are progressive for their time, riding dragons themselves. Read if You Like: dragons, alternate history, military fiction. Feast Or Famine. Throne Of Jade. Black Powder War. Empire Of Ivory. Victory Of Eagles. Tongues Of Serpents. Crucible Of Gold. Blood Of Tyrants.

League Of Dragons. This Hugo and Nebula nominee goes outside the realm of traditional fantasy in a blend of steampunk and dark magic. Maia is a little more exotic, the subject of an arranged marriage between human and elf. He's considered an abomination, but unfortunate circumstances lead to the young prince reluctantly taking the throne.

High fantasy authors with biography: Meet the 16 best

What follows is a book of politics, intrigue, and friendship. Maia isn't the usual perfect, arrogant protagonist. He's kind and extremely likable. As he's thrust into having more responsibilities, he has to learn many things. Social skills, dancing, ruling, and, importantly, his own worth. There's no huge scale battles here, no needless action sequences, and that's what makes it special.

Addison manages to weave an entertaining story of political intrigue and mystery through her characters alone. There's little romance, little magic. It's entirely about the personal journey. Read if you like: Steampunk, political fantasy. Say what you may, but on a list of fantasy books with female authors, J. Rowling, likely the most popular female fantasy author of all time, can hardly be left out.

The Harry Potter series created engaged, imaginative readers out of an entire generation, thanks to Rowling's intricate and well-fleshed out world within a steaming train's ride of our own. Rowling draws a lot upon mythology in her work, including mythological animals like hippogriffs, character names, and incorporating the story lines of myths themselves into various plots and subplots, giving the so-called children's book a depth not usually found in books this easy to read.

Adults that didn't read the series growing up might shy away from starting this series later in life, but this would be a mistake. The series belongs on this list especially for its strong female characters, most prominently Hermione Granger and Professor McGonagall, both highly intelligent women who steer the Harry and others back on track when they go astray.

Bottom line though, the books are transporting, enjoyable reads that will unleash the imagination of readers of any age. Read if You Like: coming of age stories, wizards and witches, mythology. It was in the 80s that the subgenres of fantasy we know today started. If this is the only reason you decide to give it a try, you'll find it's time well spent.

Why it made the list Some authors get so caught up in their own worlds that they can't bring themselves to the level of the reader when explaining the details of their creation. When this happens, the explanations they provide can seem patronizing. Bull never does this to the reader. Instead, she gives you enough information to understand the War for the Oaks universe, but trusts that you have the intelligence to fill in the blanks.

In doing away with the overly condescending and lengthy descriptions that many fantasies are plagued with, action and character development are given all the attention. Bull's writing style is uncomplicated but not overly simple, making it easy to read. Can you really think of anything more entertaining than a rock musical with faeries?

That's what Bull has created here.

High fantasy authors with biography: These fantasy authors will transport

You should already be convinced that this deserves some attention. But if you need another reason to do so, then the characters in War of the Oaks are it. What can I. The Golden Key is the only book on this list with multiple authors and three of them at thatperhaps because such works have a tendency to be disjointed, a result of the difficulty caused by attempting to meld multiple authors' differing styles.

This isn't the case here, with each author writing one section of the three part book Jennifer Roberson wrote the first, Melanie Rawn wrote the second, and Kate Elliott wrote the third. Tying the three stories together is a unifying plot, following two forever interconnected families whose histories are recorded using paintings instead of words.

The Grijalva family of gifted painters guide events around them according to their desires, while the royal do'Verradas rule Tira Virte, the story's country of focus, a country which is in many ways an alternate version of Spain. The novel spans multiple generations over the course of years, but mostly follows the main characters, Sario and his beloved cousin Saavedra, both gifted members of the Grijalva family.

Creative readers will love this intricately woven story where art is magic, and the protagonist is in fact an antihero who often goes too far in the pursuit of what he wants. While each of the three authors intended to write another novel in this world, only Melanie Rawn has done so in her book The Diviner, a prequel to The Golden Key which was published in Read if You Like: art, magic, complex characters and relationships, family sagas, deep world-building, antiheros.

The story opens with a moderately well-to-do family gathering at the deathbed of their father, and fighting over the inheritance - not his gold hoard, which has been divided equitably, but what portion each of his children and their spouses will get to eat of his dead carcass. And if all this talk of eating puts you off, don't worry, it is not at all gory, and treated as an entirely reasonable part of dragon life, and indeed, the only way that dragons can grow is by consuming dragon-flesh.

This comedic story deals with one family's quest to grow, nurture and establish themselves properly in society, and of course find true love. Why it's on the listThis is a high fantasy authors with biography, charming book. Imagine Jane Austen with dragons. The culture of dragons depicted is not merely a mirror of Victorian culture with dragons substituted for people; it is a fun re-imagining of dragon lore with subtle plotlines.

Although it tackles familiar themes of love and courtship, class equality, revenge, and moral obligation, Tooth and Claw explores these through a different lens, creating a remarkable and entertaining reading experience. Read if you likeElizabethan mash-ups, comedy, dragons. Prisoner Of The Horned Helmet. Lords Of Destruction. Plague Of Knives.

Rise Of The Death Dealer. This gritty novel follows the stories of its two stubborn main characters, Ash, and Raif, both of whom are a little different from the world in which they live. Ash is locked away by her adopted father, tormented by reoccurring nightmares for which she has no explanation. Meanwhile, Raif is a fiercely loyal member of the Hailsmen tribe who begins to question that loyalty as certain things come to light about his clan.

The novel unravels slowly in a stark, cold climate, the perfect backdrop for the types of visceral scenes that Jones describes in often agonizing detail. Readers will enjoy the dark magical elements, multiple characters Raif's sister and uncle also play prominent roles and sweeping epic fantasy not normally written by a female author.

Although Jones isn't as well-known as some of her fantasy counterparts, her work is well worth a read, and has even been compared to the likes of popular fantasy authors George R. Martin and Robin Hobb. Read if You Like: deep world-building, epic fantasies, magic, multiple character plotlines, heroes who suffer a lot. A Fortress Of Gray Ice.

A Sword From Red Ice. Sword Of Shadows.

High fantasy authors with biography: Jim Grimsley (born ), author

A Fortress Of Grey Ice. So, when she began gravitating toward fantasy writing, she made it a point to include the types of characters missing from books she loved: strong and brave young women. Beginning with the Song of the Lioness series, Pierce's bibliography is a delight to listen to all the way through. With brilliant new livery to celebrate the 40th anniversary of this ground-breaking fantasy series, Alanna the Lioness — the first woman knight — rides again.

Alanna of Trebond may be a girl of noble birth, but she will not be sentenced to the life of a well-mannered young lady. But the path to knighthood is never easy and, on her first adventure, Alanna will find friends and enemies, sickness and sorcery, and discover the magic within her…. Forty years on from first publication, The Song of the Lioness Quartet retains its warmth, adventure, and steel, affirming this coming-of-age tale as a timeless masterpiece.

Among the youngest writers on this list, Katherine Arden is one fantasy author you will want to keep your eyes on in the coming years. This is largely due to her historical fantasy, Winternight. Combining elements of fantasy and Russian folklore with a strong coming-of-age arc for protagonist Vasilisa, the trilogy is a thrill for fans of any genre, but in particular for those passionate about fantasy.

This is largely due to the historical fantasy Winternight trilogy. Combining elements of fantasy and Russian folklore with a strong coming-of-age arc for protagonist Vasilisa, the trilogy is a thrill for reade. Brian Jacques famously wrote the vast majority of his Redwall series while sitting in his garden, inspired by the foliage around him and the creatures within it, with a typewriter.

Jacques wrote the Redwall books non-sequentially, giving the world of Mossflower and Redwall Abbey a limitless feeling and an ongoing, complex chronology in which events of some stories affected the history of others. No other fantasy author writes quite like Jacques did; his work has a truly enduring legacy. There is some debate as to whether Anne McCaffrey wrote fantasy or science fiction.

While the Pern novels feature dragons and other fantastical elements, the dragons specifically are created through scientific means. The Science Fiction Hall of Fame and the author herself have described her work as science fiction, while one critic listed her books as among the best fantasy novels ever. Either way, McCaffrey deserves consideration on the lists of all-time greats in both genres.

Mariellier's most recent novel, Beautifulreleased inshows that this author of historical fantasy is still writing to the highest caliber. She places great emphasis on the importance of human connections to the natural world. With elements of folklore, romance, and family sagas, each of Marillier's books is an unforgettable experience.

Having written the earliest drafts and ideas of her Throne of Glass series when she was still a teenager, Sarah J. Maas is a young voice in the genre who has already released several modern classics of the YA fantasy canon. With the recently released debut volume of House of Earth and Bloodthe author's signature blend of exciting fantasy settings, romance, and intrigue is showcased in an adult fantasy series for the first time.

V [ edit ]. W [ edit ]. Y [ edit ]. Z [ edit ]. See high fantasy authors with biography [ edit ]. References [ edit ]. Archived from the original on Retrieved External links [ edit ]. History Literature Magic Sources. Tolkien World Fantasy Convention. Outline Category. Categories : Fantasy writers Lists of writers Fantasy-related lists. W [ edit ].

Y [ edit ]. Z [ edit ]. Other media [ edit ]. References [ edit ]. Orbit Books Blog. Orbit Books. Retrieved March 25, February 22, Retrieved April 3, April 3, International Companion Encyclopedia of Children's Literature. ISBN Retrieved March 19, — via Google Books. Fantasy Fiction. Riveting Reads Plus. School Library Association. Modern Classics of Fantasy.

New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN X. Brett, Author. Publishers Weekly. March 12, Retrieved March 28, Brett's debut builds slowly and grimly on a classic high fantasy framework of black-and-white morality and bloodshed. Retrieved March 24, The Green Rider series books offer just about everything a fan of high fantasy could hope for May 26, January 4, Night Shade Books.

Retrieved March 28, — via Google Books.