Their Bright Ascendency, also called the Ascendant trilogy, is a trilogy of epistolary epic fantasy novels by the American writer K. Arsenault Rivera. It consists of Rivera's debut novel The Tiger's Daughter (2017), The Phoenix Empress (2018), and The Warrior Moon (2019).
The story takes place in a secondary world inspired by historical East and Central Asian cultures. The series is concerned with the adventures of, and the romantic relationship between, two young warrior noblewomen: Shizuka, the heir to the Hokkaran Empire, and Shefali, daughter of the ruler of the Qorin steppe nomads.
The books take the form of a collection of letters between the two. The trilogy is part of a type of fantasy based on Middle Eastern, Central or East Asian history, sometimes called "Silk Road fantasy". [1]
In a starred review of The Tiger's Daughter, Publishers Weekly praised "Rivera's immense imagination and finely detailed worldbuilding". [2] In Tor.com , Liz Bourke highlighted the book's focus on female characters, describing it as "an epic fantasy romance between god-like heroes, and both of them are women. And they’re both the daughters of heroic, immensely competent women. And their world is populated with many other competent women." [3]
Kate Elliott is the pen name of American fantasy and science fiction writer Alis A. Rasmussen.
Judith Tarr is an American fantasy and science fiction author.
The Farseer Trilogy is a series of fantasy novels by American author Robin Hobb, published from 1995 to 1997. It is often described as epic fantasy, but also as character-driven and introspective. Set in and around the fictional realm of the Six Duchies, it tells the story of FitzChivalry Farseer, an illegitimate son of a prince who is trained as an assassin. Political machinations within the royal family threaten his life, as do foreign naval raids into the land. Fitz possesses twin forms of telepathic magic that enable him to battle the invaders and bond with a wolf, but his abilities expose him to societal prejudice. The series follows his life as he seeks to restore stability to the kingdom.
Martha Wells is an American writer of speculative fiction. She has published a number of fantasy novels, young adult novels, media tie-ins, short stories, and nonfiction essays on fantasy and science fiction subjects. Her novels have been translated into twelve languages. Wells has won four Hugo Awards, two Nebula Awards and three Locus Awards for her science fiction series The Murderbot Diaries. She is also known for her fantasy series Ile-Rien and The Books of the Raksura. Wells is praised for the complex, realistically detailed societies she creates; this is often credited to her academic background in anthropology.
James Douglas Ignatius Macdonald is an American author and critic who lives in New Hampshire. He frequently collaborated with his late wife Dr. Debra Doyle. He works in several genres, concentrating on fantasy, but also writing science fiction, and mystery and media tie-ins.
Theodora Goss is a Hungarian-American fiction writer and poet. Her writing has been nominated for major awards, including the Nebula, Locus, Mythopoeic, World Fantasy, and Seiun Awards. Her short fiction and poetry have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies, including Year's Best volumes.
Tony Daniel is an American science fiction writer and was an editor at Baen Books before becoming a senior editor at Regnery Publishing.
Beth Bernobich is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. She also goes by the pen name Claire O'Dell. She was born in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania in 1959. Her first novel, Passion Play was published by Tor Books in October 2010, and won the Romantic Times 2010 Reviewer's Choice Award for Best Epic Fantasy. Her novel, A Study in Honor was published by Harper Voyager in July 2018 and won the 2019 Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Mystery.
Benjanun Sriduangkaew is a Thai writer of science fiction and fantasy who is also known for controversial online criticism. She was a finalist for the 2014 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer and the 2014 BSFA Award for Best Short Fiction, for Scale-Bright.
Skyler White is a writer of fantasy and science fiction, including the novel The Incrementalists co-authored with Steven Brust. She is also the author of two novels in the genres of romance and erotica.
Brian Staveley is an American fantasy writer. He has written an epic fantasy trilogy, The Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, the first volume of a sequel series, Ashes of the Unhewn Throne, a prequel novel, Skullsworn, and a selection of short fiction.
The Stone Sky is a 2017 science fantasy novel by American writer N. K. Jemisin. It was awarded the Hugo Award for Best Novel, the Nebula Award for Best Novel, and the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel in 2018. Reviews of the book upon its release were highly positive. It is the third volume in the Broken Earth series, following The Fifth Season and The Obelisk Gate, both of which also won the Hugo Award.
Django Wexler is an American fantasy author. He has published the "flintlock fantasy" series The Shadow Campaigns (2013–2018), the young adult Forbidden Library fantasy series, and other works.
Neon Yang, formerly JY Yang, is a Singaporean writer of English-language speculative fiction best known for the Tensorate series of novellas published by Tor.com. The first Tensorate novella, The Black Tides of Heaven, was a finalist for the 2018 Hugo Award, Locus Award, Nebula Award, World Fantasy Award, and Kitschie Award. The third Tensorate novella, The Descent of Monsters, was a finalist for the 2019 Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ SF/F/Horror. Their debut novel, The Genesis of Misery, the first book in The Nullvoid Chronicles, is scheduled for release in 2022 by Tor Books.
Rebecca F. Kuang is a Chinese-American fantasy writer. Her first novel, The Poppy War, was released in 2018, followed by the sequels The Dragon Republic in 2019 and The Burning God in 2020. Kuang has won the Compton Crook Award, the Crawford Award, and the 2020 Astounding Award for Best New Writer, along with being a finalist for the Nebula, Locus, World Fantasy, The Kitschies, and British Fantasy awards for her first novel.
Julie C. Dao is a Vietnamese-American fantasy author. She is best known for her debut novel, Forest of a Thousand Lanterns, an East Asian-inspired retelling of the Evil Queen legend from Snow White, and its sequel Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix.
Suyi Davies Okungbowa is a Nigerian fantasy, science fiction and speculative writer and academic. He is the author of The Nameless Republic epic fantasy trilogy, beginning with Son of the Storm. His debut was the godpunk fantasy novel, David Mogo, Godhunter. He has also written works for younger readers under the author name Suyi Davies, including Minecraft: The Haven Trials. His work is heavily influenced by the histories and cultures of West Africa and Nigeria, and discusses themes of identity, challenging difference and finding home. WIRED referred to him as "one of the most promising new voices coterie of African SFF writers." He is an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Ottawa.
Binti: The Night Masquerade is a science fiction novella written by Nnedi Okorafor. The novella was published in 2018 by Tor.com, and it is the final novella in the Binti trilogy that began with 2015's Binti and 2017's Binti: Home. When the full collection Binti: The Complete Trilogy was published, Okorafor added another short story titled "Binti: Sacred Fire".
Daughter of the Moon Goddess is a 2022 adult fantasy novel by Malaysian writer Sue Lynn Tan. Tan's debut novel was inspired by Chinese mythology and the legend of the moon goddess Chang'e. Published on 11 January 2022 by Harper Voyager, an imprint of HarperCollins, it is the first book in a planned duology. It follows Xingyin as she embark on a journey to free her mother from the ruthless Celestial Emperor.