P. C. Hodgell
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Patricia "Pat" Christine Hodgell (b. March 16, 1951, in Des Moines, Iowa) is an American fantasy writer, artist and professor.
Hodgell holds a master's in English literature and a doctorate in 19th-century English literature, both of which were earned from the University of Minnesota. She completed her Ph.D and subsequent dissertation on Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe between the publication of her first two fantasy novels, God Stalk and Dark of the Moon. She is a graduate of the Clarion and the Milford Writers Workshops. Hodgell has produced an audio-cassette-based course on science fiction and fantasy for the University of Minnesota. She taught for many years in the English Department at University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, but retired in 2006 to pursue a full-time writing career. Although her last publisher, Meisha Merlin, recently closed its doors, Baen is buying the next "Jame" novel and will be reissuing the previous ones, possibly in omnibus editions, [1]. The novels are also available as e-books from Baen.
The Kencyr books, beginning with Godstalk, focus on the three peoples of the Kencyrath, Highborn (leaders), Kendar (artisans and soldiers) and Arrin-Ken (cat-like judges). They were brought together by the Three-Faced God to oppose the threat of chaos called Perimal Darkling. Jame (Jamethiel), a Highborn, gradually discovers that she is the sister of Torisen Black Lord (Tori), the current Highlord of the Kencyrath. She also suspects, from her connection to the destructive side of the Kencyr deity, that she is one of the Tyr-Ridan, the three who would lead the final battle against Perimal Darkling. Her brother and her cousin Kindrie, a healer, seem likely to be the other two, representing Creation and Preservation.
Behind this story is another one, the betrayal of the Kencyrath by Gerridon Highlord three thousand years earlier on another world. He and his sister, Jamethiel Dream Weaver, almost destroyed the entire Kencyr host. The survivors of the Fall migrated to the world of Rathillien, on which the action of the novels takes place. Jame discovers that Gerridon had his sister mate with Ganth Gray Lord to produce a new Dream Weaver, who would reap souls to maintain his immortality. Instead he got twins, Jame and Tori, who have their own destinies.
Hodgell resides in a nineteenth-century wood-framed house which has been in her family for generations. Both her parents were professional artists. While at the University of Wisconsin, Hodgell divided her time between teaching and writing, with a strong emphasis on "anything that stirs the imagination." This includes attending science fiction conventions, collecting yarn, knitting, embroidering, and raising cats.
[edit] Bibliography
[edit] God Stalker Chronicles
- God Stalk, 1982 (ISBN 978-0425060797)
- Dark of the Moon, 1985 (ISBN 978-0689311710)
- Seeker's Mask, 1994 (ISBN 978-0739418871)
- To Ride a Rathorn [2], August 2006 (ISBN 978-1592221028)
- Short story collection
- Blood and Ivory: A Tapestry, 2002: contains some new stories, some previously released (hardcover: ISBN 978-1892065735, paperback: ISBN 978-1892065728)
- Hearts Of Woven Shadow
- Lost Knots
- Among The Dead
- Child Of Darkness (Hodgell's first ever story, set in an alternate universe when Jame and the Kencyrath arrive in a world—somewhat like ours—following a holocaust)
- A Matter Of Honor (the story which provided the genesis for God Stalk)
- Bones
- Stranger Blood (Hodgell's second story about Jame)
- A Ballad Of The White Plague (a Sherlock Holmes story)
- Omnibus editions
- Chronicles of the Kencyrath, 1987: contains God Stalk and Dark of the Moon (ISBN 978-0450424007)
- Dark of the Gods, 2000: contains God Stalk, Dark of the Moon, and short story Bones (ISBN 978-1892065261)
- Godstalker Chronicles, 2006: contains God Stalk, Dark of the Moon, Seeker's Mask, To Ride a Rathorn, and Blood and Ivory: A Tapestry in Baen ebook formats. [3]
