The Sword of Knowledge is a trilogy of shared worldfantasy novels credited to the authors C. J. Cherryh, Leslie Fish, Nancy Asire, and Mercedes Lackey. The three novels in the series were all published by Baen Books in 1989: A Dirge for Sabis (Cherryh and Fish), Wizard Spawn (Cherryh and Asire), and Reap the Whirlwind (Cherryh and Lackey). The books were first released as a complete trilogy in an omnibus edition in 1995.
Although Cherryh is credited as a co-author on each of the books, she apparently did not write any of them. She did write a foreword for each book and may have helped plan the storylines, and therefore was credited as a co-author for all three novels. The publisher, however, eliminated Cherryh's introduction from most or all editions of the book.[1]
The novels are unusual for the genre in their treatment of magic. Specifically, although wizards exist in the books, they do not cast magic spells in the manner typical of works of high fantasy or tales of sword and sorcery. Instead, individuals with magical powers in these books are capable of only two feats: wishing good things upon people, and wishing ill upon people.
Additionally, the books take place in a culture beginning to develop cannon and other technology appropriate for a Late Middle Ages–style setting. Because of the limits of magical powers in these books and the technical developments portrayed in them, the novels could be considered examples of the low fantasy subgenre.
Citations
↑ "Bibliography C.J. Cherryh". C.J. Cherryh's Worlds. Retrieved 18 May 2022. Please note that the novels in the Sword of Knowledge trilogy were not written by C.J. Cherryh. They were written by Mercedes Lackey, Leslie Fish and Nancy Asire. C.J. Cherryh wrote only the foreword to each novel (which was removed by the publisher).
General references
Cherryh, C. J. and Leslie Fish. A Dirge for Sabis, Baen Books, 1989.
Cherryh, C. J. and Nancy Asire. Wizard Spawn, Baen Books, 1989.
Cherryh, C. J. and Mercedes Lackey. Reap the Whirlwind, Baen Books, 1989.
Cherryh, C. J. et al. The Sword of Knowledge (omnibus), Baen Books, 1995 (paperback); 2005 (hardcover).
Mercedes Ritchie Lackey is an American writer of fantasy novels. Many of her novels and trilogies are interlinked and set in the world of Velgarth, mostly in and around the country of Valdemar. Her Valdemar novels include interaction between human and non-human protagonists with many different cultures and social mores.
Larry Dixon is an American fantasy artist and novelist.
Thieves' World is a shared world fantasy series created by Robert Lynn Asprin in 1978. The original series comprised twelve anthologies, including stories by science fiction authors Poul Anderson, John Brunner, Andrew J. Offutt, C. J. Cherryh, Janet Morris, and Chris Morris.
Leslie Fish is a folk musician, author, and anarchist political activist.
Rusalka is a fantasy novel by American science fiction and fantasy author C. J. Cherryh. It was first published in October 1989 in the United States in a hardcover edition by Ballantine Books under its Del Rey Books imprint. Rusalka is book one of Cherryh's three-book Russian Stories trilogy set in medieval Russia in forests along the Dnieper river near Kyiv in modern-day Ukraine. The novel draws on Slavic folklore and concerns the fate of a girl who has drowned and becomes a rusalka. It is also an exploration of magic and the development of a young wizard.
Dave Freer is a South African–born, Australian-based science fiction author writing mostly humorous or alternate history novels.
Heroes in Hell is a series of shared world fantasy books, within the genre Bangsian fantasy, created and edited by Janet Morris and written by her, Chris Morris, C. J. Cherryh and others. The first 12 books in the series were published by Baen Books between 1986 and 1989, and stories from the series include one Hugo Award winner and Nebula nominee, as well as one other Nebula Award nominee. The series was resurrected in 2011 by Janet Morris with the thirteenth book and eighth anthology in the series, Lawyers in Hell, followed by eight more anthologies and four novels between 2012 and 2022.
Merovingen Nights is a series of shared universe science fiction books set in writer C. J. Cherryh's Alliance-Union universe. There are eight books in the series, a novel by Cherryh, Angel with the Sword, and seven short fiction anthologies which Cherryh edited. The books were published by DAW Books between 1985 and 1991.
American writer C. J. Cherryh's career began with publication of her first books in 1976, Gate of Ivrel and Brothers of Earth. She has been a prolific science fiction and fantasy author since then, publishing over 80 novels, short-story compilations, with continuing production as her blog attests. Cherryh has received the Hugo and Locus Awards for some of her novels.
The Russian Stories, also known as the Russian Series, the Russian Trilogy and the Rusalka Trilogy, are a series of fantasy novels by science fiction and fantasy author C. J. Cherryh. The stories are set in medieval Russia along the Dnieper river, in a fictional alternate history of Kievan Rus', a predecessor state of modern-day Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. The three books in the series are Rusalka (1989), Chernevog (1990), and Yvgenie (1991). Rusalka was nominated for a Locus Award in 1990.
The Ealdwood Stories, also known as the Arafel Stories, are a collection of fantasy works by American writer C. J. Cherryh. The books are works of high fantasy based in part on Celtic mythology. Arafel, a main character, is a Daoine Sidhe, the highest of the Sidhe faery-folk. She dwells in the magical small forest of Ealdwood, from which the tales take their name.
Reap the whirlwind may refer to:
The Last Herald-Mage is a trilogy of fantasy novels by American author Mercedes Lackey, published from 1989 to 1990. The story centers around a mage named Vanyel Ashkevron who lives in the fictional kingdom of Valdemar. It was the first high fantasy series with a gay protagonist from a mainstream publisher, and was well-received by critics, many of whom regard it as Lackey's best work.
Nancy Asire was an American fantasy and science fiction author, best known for her Twilight's Kingdoms fantasy trilogy and her contributions to the shared universe series Heroes in Hell, Sword of Knowledge and Merovingen Nights.
This is a list of books by Mercedes Lackey, arranged by collection.
The Sacred Band of Stepsons is a fictional ancient cavalry unit created by Janet Morris and based on the historical Sacred Band of Thebes, an elite strike force of paired lovers and friends that flourished during the fourth century BC in ancient Greece. The Sacred Band of Stepsons series of fantasy novels and stories take place in a myth-like milieu that mixes historical places such as Nisibis, Mygdonia and Chaeronea; warriors such as Theagenes ; gods such as Enlil, Maat and Harmonia; philosophers such as Heraclitus and Thales; cavalry tactics and customs such as homosexuality in the militaries of ancient Greece with those that exist only in fantasy. The exploits of the Stepsons are chronicled in eleven short stories and nine novels. In a fantasy context, this series explores the difficulties facing war-fighters in personal relationships and the enduring questions surrounding the military's historical mixing of homosexuals and heterosexuals in combat.
Heroes in Hell is an anthology book and the first volume of its namesake series, created by American writer Janet Morris. The book placed eighth in the annual Locus Poll for Best Anthology in 1987. "Newton Sleep" by Gregory Benford, originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, received a Nebula Award nomination in 1986, as well as placing 16th in its category in the Locus Poll.
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