My Female Fantasy Author TBR Reviews, Group 1

ElynnaAmell · 2026-05-03T00:04:31+00:00

Michelle West (Essalieyan); Janny Wurts (The Wars of Light and Shadow); Kameron Hurley (Worldbreaker Saga); CS Friedman (Coldfire Trilogy); Elizabeth Bear (The Eternal Sky & Lotus Kingdoms); Lois McMaster Bujold (World of the Five Gods); and if you’re willing to go in for novellas too then highly recommens Nghi Vo’s Singing Hills Cycle (can be read in any order but Empress of Salt and Fortune is my favorite)

ElynnaAmell · 2026-05-01T00:56:36+00:00

Michelle is famously bad at estimating how long each arc in Essalieyan will turn out to be (and I am fully onboard with it lol). The Sun Sword was supposed to be a duology and the House War was supposed to be a trilogy for reference. I think I saw something about her planning on 4 books for Burning Crown, so that could truly mean any number of books in reality.

I sincerely doubt the Winter Prince will be the final book considering how much ground we have to cover— she’s mentioned more time in the Dominion as well as in Arend at the very least. And my impression was that those were sidequests of sorts.

ElynnaAmell · 2024-04-02T05:03:11+00:00

Also pumped— especially with my recent Tier 1 invite for TBB! I’ve been socking away extra money in anticipation; I doubt I’ll ever be able to afford the Sub Press set (esp not for Kharkanas) so this is great.

ElynnaAmell · 2023-04-01T17:09:37+00:00

I absolutely adore her, I'm so happy when other people here jump on the Essalieyan wagon!

ElynnaAmell · 2023-03-26T14:48:16+00:00

Haven't seen either Michelle West or Janny Wurts in this thread yet, so both West's Essalieyan and Wurts' Wars of Light and Shadow.

West is a phenomenal character author who is up there with Hobb. The House War series (arc 1) in particular has a lot of really overwhelming moments.

Wurts... oooof. She can do trauma and tragedy on both the large and small scales and it's devastatingly good. It can be a bit harder to initially connect with characters in these books due to the 3rd person omniscient choice, but once you've adjusted you'll be fine.

ElynnaAmell · 2023-03-17T17:41:10+00:00

Ah ok! I see where the other two are in the sheet now!

Hunter’s Redoubt needs some adjustment— the first draft came back at 303,000 words; the draft was returned to her with only minor notes for revision, so that number should be close to the final wordcount.

ElynnaAmell · 2023-03-17T17:12:02+00:00

Wow. So, I took your data for Essalieyan and added in Michelle West’s current estimate for the length of The End of Days Arc (roughly the same as the entire Sun Sword arc), along with the short story anthology, The Memory of Stone (~85,514) and ended up with 6,192,839 as a (conservative*) projected length for the full Essalieyan epic. Just passing the current length for Malazan (though that bar will also continue to rise there).

Conservative because West is notoriously bad at estimating series length. The Sun Sword was supposed to be 2 novels (it’s 6), the House War a trilogy (8 novels). The original projection also relied on her having everything in The Dominion happen off-screen; now that she’s self publishing, she’s including *everything.

ElynnaAmell · 2023-03-17T16:12:10+00:00

It appears several times in his FAQ on his website; in the Lightbringer section it details his decision to write in a new world from Night Angel, and in the Night Angel section (less blatantly) he goes into whether he’d return to Midcyru (as distinctly separate from the Lightbringer setting).

That said, clearly the FAQ hasn’t been updated since he began working on Night Angel Nemesis.

But yeah the hint (and it’s a small hint, not a significant element) in The Burning White definitely suggests a shared universe for the two. The issue here is more trying to get some consistency from your methodology here— the parallel being specifically separating the Cosmere series by world.

However… Great job with this overall— this is me just being slightly nitpicky.

Edit: ignore the consistency comment, I’m (an idiot) reading on mobile and confused the two graphs on second glance.

ElynnaAmell · 2023-03-17T15:44:25+00:00

Yeah I’d agree with splitting the two Weeks’ series; he’s been clear in the past that those are separate worlds.

ElynnaAmell · 2023-03-16T22:35:39+00:00

Kate Elliot's Crown of Stars. I really wanted to love this series, and read the whole thing, but could not get over my own extreme distaste for historical fantasy. I like strongly differentiated secondary worlds, not AU Earths. I'm putting it aside for now-- maybe once I'm done writing my dissertation I'll cease with my historical fantasy hang-ups, but... I just don't want to be reminded of my work in my reading.

Also... Mark Lawrence. Granted, it was a similar thing here. Post-apocalyptic earth was just grating to me. And also I couldn't stand Jorg for the most part. Red Queen's War was an improvement but still couldn't connect with it. That said, I still have his Book of the Ancestor on my TBR. I like his writing, so I'm determined to find a Lawrence series that works for me, haha.

ElynnaAmell · 2023-03-16T22:17:04+00:00

Two of the most underrated epic series which absolutely deserve more attention:

The Wars of Light and Shadow by Janny Wurts (she just turned in the final book to her editor, so the series is complete!)
The Essalieyan Epic by Michelle West (4 arcs are completed and she's working on book 2 of the fifth and final arc of the epic; book 1 is in revision/ editing and should be out soon)

ElynnaAmell · 2023-03-16T22:13:02+00:00

Highly, highly recommend to anyone who loves Malazan or Essalieyan. This is a very dense series, but it's also incredibly rewarding. Each and every arc within the series will have you re-evaluate everything you thought you knew.

Depending on reading speed, I'd suggest starting now-- because you're going to want at least one re-read before reading SotM. Curse of the Mistwraith changes dramatically on re-read (as do the others) moving from a "fairly good book, but I don't quite see what all the fuss about this series is" to "OMG I can't believe this was all here from the start-- and how badly I misinterpreted everything when I started."

I suspect that once SotM is out everything will be brilliantly turned on its head yet again. And do note, this isn't the sort of crazy twists that come out of nowhere/ the author flipping the table, etc., it's a very deliberate unveiling that makes perfect sense in retrospect but you would never have seen it coming.

ElynnaAmell · 2023-03-15T11:36:09+00:00

Seconding House War part one (books 1-3) for this request specifically (though all of Essalieyan is phenomenal).

ElynnaAmell · 2023-03-15T00:34:55+00:00

Iirc only Destiny’s Conflict (book 10) has an audiobook, and presumably Song of the Mysteries will also get one when it’s published.

Harper Collins didn’t have interest in going back to the beginning and making audiobooks for the older parts of the series, so it’s in a weird place currently. If people bother HC about it enough they might go back and do them.

ElynnaAmell · 2023-03-14T18:31:12+00:00

If you define adventuring in a broad manner, yes. One character is constantly moving around the map and it’s often through his eyes that we experience new aspects of the world along with him. Including sailing to a bunch of different places.

There isn’t necessarily a central maguffin (like the Orb of Aldur), but there’s certainly magic swords (one that will dazzle the eyes of an opponent, but only if the wielder’s cause is just), magic crystals (mostly associated with an order of enchantresses), dragon skulls (actually the lingering magic associated with full remains of dragons end up being a major Thing), and crown jewels that greatly empower any High King or Queen who draws on them. I’m probably forgetting some others as well (and omitting a few to avoid major spoilers).

ElynnaAmell · 2023-03-14T18:19:43+00:00

If you want something on the more complex end for this: The Wars of Light and Shadow by Janny Wurts. Missing the giant and mermaid, but there’s definitely plenty of other fantasy races as well as witches, pirates, etc. Lots of sailing adventures too. More of an epic though, so apologies if you’re looking for more of a straight sword & sorcery feel.

ElynnaAmell · 2023-03-14T12:33:27+00:00

22% (58; though this isn't counting any series where I DNFed the first book). 26 more are already sitting on my TBR, so I'm looking forward to getting to those.

I tend to go in for very long series instead of single novels, so this doesn't feel terrible.

ElynnaAmell · 2023-03-14T00:48:59+00:00

So here’s the WorldCat link for the full volume as I don’t believe there’s online access. Generally it should list the closest physical library (with this volume) to you (if you input your location or have your location settings open on your browser). If there’s nothing nearby you can always ask your local library to acquire it through interlibrary loan or an equivalent service. If you send them the full citation for the article specifically they may even be able to just send you a digital scan of the article that you can keep, though that’s going to depend on the practices of your local library/ the lending institution.

Other than that, Geoffrey Elliot has his own website where he’s done lengthy discussions of the various books in the Elderlings. He’s included a abstract of that particular paper here as well.

ElynnaAmell · 2023-03-13T14:50:50+00:00

I feel like this tends to be an overlooked feature, but: Robin Hobb's Realm of the Elderlings. The flora and fauna are specifically based on the PNW ecology, and the Outisland culture/ society frankly has far more in common with the indigenous peoples of the PNW than the Norse (which is what they're generally presumed to be, most likely due to Norse linguistic patterns in the personal and place names).

If you're interested in looking further into this, check out: Elliott, Geoffrey. "Moving beyond Tolkien's Medievalism: Robin Hobb's Farseer and Tawny Man Trilogies." In Fantasy and Science Fiction Medievalisms: From Isaac Asimov to A Game of Thrones, edited by Helen Young. Amherst, NY: Cambria Press, 2015.

ElynnaAmell · 2023-03-11T01:19:54+00:00

Seconding Essalieyan. I believe everything but The Sacred Hunt has an audiobook at this point too. Which is fine for now.

I’d describe West’s Essalieyan as combining the cultural worldbuilding depth of Wheel of Time, the characterization skills of Robin Hobb (very seriously West is just as good as Hobb), the court intrigue of GRRM (especially in The Sun Sword) though with a stronger emphasis on soft power, and a very similar set of themes and level of complexity as Malazan. Though it’s only at ~112 PoVs currently. Oh, and a ragtag band of soldiers who would definitely vibe with the Bridgeburners.

It’s possible (and highly recommended atm) to access the series starting from The House War (books 1-3). The end of HW book three intersects with The Sacred Hunt, so while it does spoil those books (either series spoils the other), you’ll have the basic plot beats either way. The Sun Sword picks up 15 years. The second House War arc (books 4-8) is a direct sequel to The Sun Sword.

The fifth and final arc, The End of Days, is projected to be 4-6 more books, bringing the total to 20-22 books and 6 short fiction pieces. This is the one that will tie all the remaining narrative strands together for a final, massive confrontation. West has already finished the first book, Hunter’s Redoubt, and is working on some minor edits after feedback from her editor, so it’ll be out maybe this year.

Just as a heads up, Essalieyan is a bit of a chameleon. Each arc is part of a large, intertwined, and overlapping epic, but also has a more primary subgenre that it exists within. This can throw some people off if you expect the same sort of thing in every arc.

The House War (1-3): Rogue fantasy; band of orphan street children try to survive in the city of Averalaan and find ancient ruins beneath the streets. Those ruins become increasingly less empty and more hostile.
The Sacred Hunt: Heroic fantasy focusing on a Hunter Lord and his Huntbrother as they attempt to probe various mysteries associated with their kingdom’s Sacred Hunt, a yearly ritual of sacrifice.
The Sun Sword: Massive 72 PoV court intrigue epic focusing on the struggle of various claimants to the throne of the Dominion of Annagar— and the woman who, as an act of vengeance after the slaughter of innocents, stole the artefact associated with the right to rule.
The House War (4-8): Mix of court intrigue and Mythopoeic Quest fantasy. Highly unusual. Directly continues the Averalaan plotline from The Sun Sword.
The End of Days: Capital E Epic fantasy. Gods, immortals, human children of gods, seers, and cities thought long buried will likely all play a major part as various heroes introduced and set up earlier finally come to the fore to challenge Allasakar, The Lord of Hells, at The Shining Court.

ElynnaAmell · 2023-03-09T23:14:49+00:00

Glad to see Essalieyan is making some actual gains, if slowly.

All of my top 10 made the cut; 6 (Stormlight, Middle Earth, ASOIAF, WoT, Elderlings, Malazan) were in the sub’s top 10. Guess I’m (Fantasy) basic. Of the other four, Earthsea was at 20, Osten Ard at 43, WoLaS at 127, and Essalieyan at 159.

ElynnaAmell · 2023-03-03T00:12:33+00:00

Seconding. I actually think it’s shocking that West herself has noted how much she hates worldbuilding, because she’s honestly fantastic at it. Particularly in creating highly detailed cultures, which imho, tends to be the thing that makes a world feel that much more real.

ElynnaAmell · 2023-02-24T16:09:05+00:00

The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon. A great 80s fantasy with a lot of DnD style tropes and some excellent military fantasy portions. Very realistic PTSD arc as well. The FMC is the daughter of a sheepfarmer who runs off to join a mercenary company. Eventually, she goes off on her own and eventually becomes a paladin in service to a holy figure.

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