Raven's Choice Author of the Month Archive...

All of the authors on this page have been "Raven's Choice Author of the Month" authors. They go from most recent to oldest.

Authors of the Month, 2000

February: Though Robin McKinley has received the Newberry Medal for The Hero and the Crown, she remains generally underappreciated in the Fantasy community, perhaps because her books are usually classified as young adult novels. Many of those who love her work, however, are far beyond their teenage years, and more adults should be aware of her contributions to a different kind of feminist literature. In the Kipling-esque novels of Damar, McKinley put a twist into the fairy tale of the foreign princess who grows up to marry the prince- in these cases, the princess has to save the world herself before she can live happily ever after. The princess in Deerskin has a different problem: she must come to terms with a destructive past, which includes rape, before she can become her own person. Finally, Beauty and Rose Daughter are two lovely retellings of Beauty and the Beast, and though they are written in two different styles, they both center on a caring and pragmatic young woman who finds a way out of enchantment and into a gentle, realistic love. If you like fantasy and wish more of it focused on women, pick up something by McKinley and find yourself enchanted.

Authors of the Month, 1999

The Raven's Choice Author for November is Octavia Butler, creator of the "Patternist" series and "Xenogenesis" trilogy. Despite the fact that she has been writing in the genre for many years and has a powerful view of humanity at its best and worst, Butler remains relatively obscure and definitely undersold. Religion, race, gender, and all the divisions we make between each other are often the focus of her apocalyptic novels. Despite her tendencies toward pessimism, her novels are tough rather than maudlin, and she has a message of hope for those who can learn to adapt to the changing world.

The Raven's Choice Author for December is Julie E. Czerneda, creator of the Trade Pact universe. Thus far she has written three books, two closely linked and the other simply set in the same universe. It's a universe filled with alien creations that have a realistic feel of the alien to them, a goal to which every science fiction author should aspire. Her novels focus on beings balanced on the misunderstood fringes, which means even her humans can seem alien when compared to your average comfortable citizen, and may be the reason why her aliens are so believable. She's someone to watch in coming years.

-Bina

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Last Updated: January 22, 1999

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