| P. C. Hodgell | |
|---|---|
Worldcon 2006 (aka L. A. con IV) |
|
| Born | Patricia Christine Hodgell March 16, 1951 Des Moines, Iowa |
| Occupation | Novelist, short story writer, teacher |
| Genres | fantasy, Horror, science fiction, genre fiction, dark fantasy |
|
www.pchodgell.com |
|
Patricia "Pat" Christine Hodgell (b. March 16, 1951, in Des Moines, Iowa) is an American fantasy writer, artist and professor.
Dr. 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. Over the years, P.C. Hodgell was published by several publishing houses. Two of her more recent publishers, Hypatia Press and Meisha Merlin, went out of business, temporarily leaving her without a venue for future works. However, her work has been picked up by Baen, who published the fifth "Jame" novel, Bound in Blood, and has reissued the previous four books as a pair of omnibus editions, The God Stalker Chronicles and Seeker's Bane.[1] Baen also released the novels as e-books.
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, respectively.
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. Gerridon also fathered Kindrie on Ganth's sister Tieri, whose freedom their father bartered away to restore his evil older son, Greshan, to life.
P.C. 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, P.C. 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.
Contents |