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Historic Fantasy StoryBundle: But wait, there’s more...

Thursday, August 11, 2016 - 10:00

It’s no secret that offers like the Historic Fantasy StoryBundle aren’t acts of charity. The logic is multipronged. If you already like Author A, you should try Authors B and C who write in a similar genre. And if you like the bundled books by A, B, or C, perhaps you’ll like them enough to search out other books those authors have written.

According to the countdown clock on the StoryBundle site, there are 12 more hours to go, but given that people may not be reading this blog until close to the end, it's probably too late to be doing heavy promotion. So how about we take a look at what else the Historic Fantasy StoryBundle authors have written? This will be organized alphabetically for arbitrary fairness. (I’m largely relying on Goodreads for book listings, and in the case of the more prolific authors, this isn’t intended to be anywhere near complete.)

Geonn Cannon writes both series and standalone novels, in SFF and thriller/mystery genres. Most of his books have lesbian or gay male protagonists (or both) and typically have erotic content. His Goodreads page lists 59 books including three series: Underdogs (of which Stag and Hound is a sort of prequel spinoff in the same universe), Riley Parra which falls in paranormal/urban fantasy, and Claire Lance which appears to be non-SFF thriller. He has a number of free stories on his website geonncannon.com which also notes the forthcoming release of a second Trafalgar and Bone novel, Trafalgar and Boone in the Drowned Necropolis.

Jo Graham is a prolific author of authorized Stargate: Atlantis novels, both alone and in various combinations with co-authors Melissa Scott and Amy Griswold. The Emperor’s Agent is the fifth book in her Numinous World series, ranging across history from ancient Greece to Napoleonic France. Those who enjoy this StoryBundle book might be particularly interested in The General’s Mistress, which tells an earlier story of the courtesan Elza. Jo is co-author with Melissa Scott of the Order of the Air series, in which Steel Blues is the second of five books (so far). She blogs on LifeJournal as jo-graham.

Heather Rose Jones is a relative newcomer to novels. [Yes, it’s awkward talking about myself in the third person.] Daughter of Mystery is the first book in the Alpennia series, planned as seven or eight books (or however long it takes to get to the revolution). You can pick up the second, The Mystic Marriage to tide you over to the release of book three, Mother of Souls, in November. She also had a series of short stories in the Sword and Sorceress anthology series, which will be collected up with a new concluding novelette next year. Working title, Skinsinger: Tales of the Kaltaoven. See her website alpennia.com for more.

Melissa Scott has 71 distinct works attributed to her in Goodreads, so I’ll skip repeating any of those mentioned under Jo Graham’s entry above. Melissa has been publishing since the mid ‘80s (which is when I first encountered her work) focusing in those days on science fiction with strong sociological themes, such as The Game Beyond, Five-Twelfths of Heaven, The Kindly Ones, Mighty Good Road, Burning Bright, Trouble and her Friends, and many more. Her ventures into historically-rooted stories and fantasy began with this bundle’s feature, The Armor of Light, co-written with her late partner Lisa A. Barnett, who also co-authored the first two books of the secondary-world Astreiant fantasy series: Point of Hopes, Point of Dreams, Point of Knives, and Fairs’ Point. Whether science fiction or fantasy, her work regularly revolves around themes of non-default gender and sexuality. (The Astreiant books feature two men negotiating a delightful enemies-to-allies-to-lovers arc.) Melissa blogs on Live Journal as mescott.

I hardly even know where to start with the prolific Judith Tarr. I still remember encountering her medieval fantasy series The Hound and the Falcon back when I was fresh out of college and when springing for a hardcover trilogy all at once seemed a staggering luxury. And it was worth every penny. I’m most familiar with her historic fantasy novels from the ‘80s and ‘90s: A Wind in Cairo, Ars Magica, Alamut, The Dagger and the Cross. Moving farther away from the fields we know, but with the same flavor, is the six-volume Avaryan Rising series. Judith brings her deep knowledge and love of horses to bear in the four-book Epona series, beginning with White Mare’s Daughter. This StoryBundle’s feature about Alexander the Great, Lord of the Two Lands, is followed by two sequels (Queen of the Amazons and Bring Down the Sun). Her second work in this bundle, Pillar of Fire, is a stand-alone but represents a strong focus on characters and cultures of the ancient world, which also includes her time-traveling collaboration with Byzantine historian Harry Turtledove: Household Gods.

Martha Wells has two popular fantasy series. Ile-Rien is a not-quite-our-world gaslight fantasy series with the look and feel of an alternate France. In addition to the StoryBundle’s The Death of the Necromancer, this series includes The Element of Fire, The Wizard Hunters, The Ships of Air, and The Gate of Gods as well as many shorter works, some of which are included in her second StoryBundle contribution Between Worlds. Martha’s Raksura series is pure secondary-world fantasy, featuring adventure and courtly intrigues among a winged race, beginning in The Cloud Roads and stretching out for four novels at this point with more to come. Learn all the details at marthawells.com.

David Niall Wilson seems to specialize in horror and the supernatural, including his Dechance Chronicles quartet, as well as tie-in novels for properties such as Stargate: Atlantis, Vampire: The Dark Ages, and Star Trek: Voyager. His StoryBundle contribution, The Orffyreus Wheel, appears to be a stand-alone.  You can find more information on his work at davidniallwilson.com.