Friday, January 12, 2007

Lynn Abbey

Over the years many women have added their unique voices to the Fantasy genre. They bring interesting perspectives and characters with their works into the genre. Fantasy author Lynn Abbey has added her unique voice with several books. Her books range from Epic to Contemporary Fantasy. She is creative with interesting worlds and populates them with fascinating characters and magic.

Ms. Abbey’s first books were the “Rifkind Saga” of Daughter of the Bright Moon and The Black Flame. These books tell the story of a witch with talents that is called to be a priestess of the goddess. The combination of magic, sword fighting and war blend to make an exiting adventure of the young woman. The strong woman character with talents will become the author’s trademark in future books.

Her next series involved another young woman with magical talents. The “Unicorn and Dragon” books take place in an Eleventh century world with a war between Anglo-Saxsons against invading Normans. Revolving around the theme of a Celtic pagan religion against a patriarchal one, this Historical Fantasy has strong women characters and interesting plots. Unicorn and Dragon and Conquest are the books in this series.

Ms. Abbey’s next books were The Wooden Sword and Beneath the Web. The Walensor web allows mages to commune with the gods. Berika wants to flee her abusive husband. A goddess sends Dart to help her. They venture to the main city to prevent the destruction of the web and all magic. The magic is intriguing in this different Fantasy world.

Siege of Shadows is the beginning of a planned trilogy. (The other books are on hold for now.) It is an Epic Fantasy about a mysterious gold throne called the Siege of Shadows. The twins, Kyle and Kiera, must overcome temptation and schemes to solve the mystery of the throne. Like her other books, this one has great characters and interesting magic.

Ms. Abbey ventured into the realms of elves with Jerlayne. The young woman of the title wants to marry another elf despite her families’s protests. She is drawn into a battle of wills and tragedy. Jerlayne is a strong woman characters with talents.

In recent years, Ms. Abbey added Urban Fantasy to her works. Out of Time is the story of Emma Merrigan, a librarian living a quiet life. She takes in a terrified girl that lead to trouble. Emma discovers she can slip through time and is a descendant of witches. The book revolves around the powerful themes of abuse and courage.

Lynn Abbey is a talented Fantasy author comfortable in many different Fantasy worlds. She populates her books with strong women characters with magic talents. Her books cover strong themes centered around plots full of adventure. She writes books set in role playing universes too. Many of her books are out of print, but worth finding. Her web site is at: http://www.lynnabbey.com

No comments: