Favorite Author Friday - Jane Lindskold

 

Jane Lindskold is a reasonably new find for me. I browsed into her Firekeeper Saga and loved it. Since then I have slowly been working through her other novels. I like her writing style. I find the stories comfortably predictable enough to satisfy my 'potato-chip fiction' need, while still  with enough surprises to keep me entertained. She grew up near D.C. with both parents as attorneys. You can see the influence of that in how she deals with politics in her books- not our world politics necessarily (like an Ayn Rand) but the character's world politics.

The Firestarter books are about a young woman raised by wolves who ends up back in human society dealing with the politics there. Loved these!

The Land of Smoke and Sacrifice novels are really interesting. They're novels based on the Chinese Zodiac and the real game of Mah Jong (not just the matching tiles thing we play on the computer). Only a couple of the books are out so far.

I haven't read many of her other novels. I LOVED Child of a Rainless Year and couldn't get through The Buried Pyramid so I guess I have no definitive answer on the quality of her other books. Be aware her novels are usually pretty lengthy. All over 200 pages, with the Firestarter ones closer to 500-700 pages each.

Here's her bibliography (c/o Wikipedia):
     *once again title in red I have read

The Firekeeper Saga

• Through Wolf's Eyes (2001)
• Wolf's Head, Wolf's Heart (2002)
• The Dragon of Despair (2003)
• Wolf Captured (2004)
• Wolf Hunting (2006) 
• Wolf's Blood (2007)

The Athanor series

• Changer (1998)
• Legends Walking (1999)

The Land of Smoke and Sacrifice series

• Thirteen Orphans (2008)
• Nine Gates (2009)
• Five Odd Honors (2010)

Other novels

• Brother to Dragons, Companion to Owls (1994)
• Marks of Our Brothers (1995)
• The Pipes of Orpheus (1995)
• Smoke and Mirrors (1996)
• When the Gods are Silent (1997)
• Donnerjack (1997) with Roger Zelazny
• Lord Demon (1999) with Roger Zelazny
• The Buried Pyramid (2004)
• Child of a Rainless Year (2005)

Stories

• Noh Cat Afternoon in Catfantastic IV (1996)
• Queen's Gambit in Worlds of Honor (1999)
• Promised Land in The Service of the Sword (2003)