I doubt that anyone who’s read any of my fiction will be surprised to learn that I like strong women, both in my own life and as characters and as authors. I expect most people would be unsurprised to discover that I like literary universes with strongly recognized world building and stories which explore individual responsibility, risk-taking, and price-paying characters. Or that I love the English language.
So, I thought I’d talk briefly about five authors, all of whom fall within several of those parameters: Anne McCaffrey, Katherine Kurtz, Patricia McKillip, Mercedes Lackey, and Barbara Hambly.
I first met Anne McCaffrey in Dragonflight, which I read in serialized format while I was still in high school, and I thought “Wow!” I realize the Pern novels sort of straddle the line between fantasy and science fiction, but that’s fine. In fact, that’s a lot more than just fine. Her Pernese characters—from Lessa and F’lar through Jaxom, Robinton, Aivas, Moreta, and scores of others—are the very definition of responsible human beings (even though one of them is an AI), all with believable traits, desires, and goals that are fully realized, inhabiting a fully developed, totally internally consistent world of the imagination. I’ve liked almost everything else of hers I’ve read, as well, from Restoree to the Helga stories, and I’ve never read a weak McCaffrey story, but it wasn’t until a few years before her death that I truly realized the debt I owed her for underscoring for me so well the importance of fully building worlds from the ground up.
I first met Katherine Kurtz in Deryni Rising in 1970, the year it was published. As a historian by training myself, I deeply appreciated the rich tapestry she built out of medieval history, and who couldn’t fall in love with characters like Morgan, Duncan, Kelson, Jehenna, Duke Ewan, Sean Derry, and Richenda … or despise villains like Loris and Gorony? The importance of accepting responsibility, of honoring commitments despite brutal personal costs, and the understanding of what makes someone human—and of the cost when hatred makes one side inhuman when it regards the other as unhuman—is really the heart of what these books are about, and I have loved them from the very first chapter of Rising. In fact, I just finished rereading the entire Deryni canon, and I feel richly repaid.
Patricia McKillip is, without a doubt, one of my two or three all-time favorite authors. When I first read The Riddle-Master of Hed in 1978, I immediately went out and found Heir of Sea and Fire and then waited impatiently for Harpist in the Wind. In many ways, the Riddle-Master’s world is less fully articulated than Pern or Gwynedd, but I think that’s because so much of the detail is cooking quietly away in the background behind the land rulers. There’s a sense of an entire consistent, coherent foundation and history/backstory behind all of it, but the struggles of Morgon, Raerdale, and Deth take front stage with an intensity that reaches out and grabs the reader by the shirt collar and shakes him or her to the bone. Patricia’s prose is absolutely gorgeous and evocative and her stories fully satisfy the deep love for the language my parents taught me as a very young reader. I literally don’t think it’s possible to over-recommend this series … and the rest of her stuff is pretty darn good, too.
Mercedes Lackey is another world builder, although my personal feeling is that her fantasy universes, like Patricia’s, are stronger in the characters and the conflicts than in the world building blocks. Mind you, if I have to choose world building or strong, passionate characters, I’ll take the characters any day, and Misty never disappoints in that respect. Like all of the other writers in this group, she pays careful attention to the rules of magic in her universes, establishing the limits of the magic-user’s toolbox just as firmly—possibly even more firmly—as she establishes the capabilities within that toolbox. I first met her work in Arrows of the Queen in 1988, which meant (oh, frabjous day!) that both Arrow’s Flight and Arrow’s Fall were available for immediate follow-on consumption. It’s apparent that Arrows of the Queen is a first novel, and none of the trilogy’s volumes are as “finished” as some of her later work, which definitely deserves to share shelf space with Patricia’s, but the characters grabbed me immediately. Talia, Dirk, Selenay, Rolan, Karen, and—especially!—Skif are all among my favorite literary friends. I think these books are a marvelous introduction to the universe of Velgarth, especially for younger readers, but my three favorite Lackey characters are probably the delightfully improbable partnership of Tarma and Kethry and Kethry’s niece, Kerowyn. Misty’s urban fantasy is also very good, although I personally prefer Diana Tregarde and her “real world” elemental masters stories. I have to admit to a special weak spot for Rose Hawkins!
And, last but by no means least, Barbara Hambly. I’ve liked just about everything of Barbara’s I’ve ever read (and I’ve read a lot of it), but the Darwath books hold pride of place in my heart, probably because they were the first of her works I ever encountered. In fact, I found a copy of The Time of the Dark as a brand-new release with cover art by somebody who’s become one of my favorite artists over the years: David Mattingly. David has a wonderful gift for covers that actually reflect something that happens in the book, and any book with a cover that shows a robed, cowled wizard, sword-at-side, sitting at a dinette table with a glowing staff in one hand and a foaming-over can of beer in the other just has to be read, so I did. I loved it. It’s another example of wonderful world building, with Barbara’s special gift for characterization that deliberately cuts against the conventional tropes of whatever genre she happens to be writing in at the moment. Gil Patterson/Gil-Shalos, the history grad student turned woman-warrior; Ingold Inglorion, the utterly dedicated mage fighting a hopeless battle; Rudy Solis, biker groupie, airbrush artist, and wizard; Icefalcon, the barbarian Guard captain; Mindalde, widow of the king and mother of Altir, whose memories may (but don’t) hold the secret of defeating the Dark; and nasty villains like Uncle Alwin, who’s perfectly willing to betray anyone and anything in the pursuit of power. Who couldn’t fall in love with them? If pressed, I have to admit that some of her later work, especially her historical fiction, may be even better written, but Darwath will always be my favorite Hambly universe.
So there you have it. Five of my favorite female writers in the world. I could’ve added a lot more—Andre Norton, Carolyn Cherryh, Lois Bujold, Ursula Le Guin, Madeleine L’Engle, Leigh Brackett, Elizabeth Moon, Joan Vinge, and the list goes on forever—but they told me only five, so this is my pick. Any of you who have somehow managed to avoid meeting them should rectify that lack immediately!
Trust me, you’ll be glad you did.
David Weber is the author of the New York Times-bestselling “Honor Harrington” series, the most recent of which was At All Costs. His many other novels include Mutineers’ Moon, The Armageddon Inheritance, Heirs of Empire, Path of the Fury, and Wind Rider’s Oath. His latest novel, At the Sign of Triumph, is book nine in the Safehold series. He lives in South Carolina.
Any recommendation from David is worth checking out, so I’ll add a couple more to my ever growing list of books to be read. I might quibble with some of his assertions here, but he’s right more often than not.
Well, this makes perfect sense. One of my favorite authors suggesting that people read more of my favorite authors. :)
My first thought is – I can’t believe they didn’t include David Weber – then I saw the author.
I’d add Robin Hobb to the elite worldbuilding team, along with the old reliables – GRRM, Rothfuss, and Robert Jordan
If it’s female authors writing both great worlds and great characters, we need to add N.K. Jemisin. The “Inheritance” trilogy, the “Dreamblood” books, and the in-progress “Broken Earth” series, are all wonderful.
I’d also recommend Sofia Samatar’s “A Stranger in Olondria” and “The Winged Histories.” Lovely writing and a truly “rich and strange” setting.
@3 – I don’t know about Rothfuss. Much of his world is still a mystery. And we can’t even get a decent map.
David Weber, Ursula le Guin would like a word with you.
@6 – she’s mentioned in the list of almost included at the bottom of the piece.
@@.-@ – +1 re Jemisin.
I’d also add P.C. Hodgell — the world of her Jame/Kencyrath books is kind of remarkable.
Jo Clayton did some really unique worldbuilding in her series.
And I have to include Tanith Lee in my list. I just have to.
Brilliant authors recommended by another brilliant author.
All of these hold a special place in my heart….You tapped right into some of my most treasured stories and memories.
My father placed some of them in my hands and set me on a path that I continue to tread.
Though “Dragonsbane” from Barbara Hambly is my particular favorite from her works. I am in full agreement on Kethry and Tamra with their sword Need.
But I would be remiss if I did not thank you for the wonderful series of Honor Harrington and all of her own adventures.
So, no male authors? J.R.R. Tolkien certainly built a memorable and well developed world. G.R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones and Wildcards were great world-building, Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis (M/F team) and the Dragonlance World, Michael Moorcock Elric/Eternal Champion books, Roger Zelazny’s Amber, and Frank Herbert’s Dune? At least one of these deserves honorable mention as some of the “greatest” world builders?
I love Jack Vance’s worldbuilding- he can pop out a dozen well-detailed planetary cultures in the course of a single short novel.
Uh, excuse me, I don’t know who David Weber is, but you don’t give a job to name the best 5 cereals to someone who’s only eaten 3. Ever heard of Robert Jordan??? J. R. R. Tolkien would have been my first choice, any day, and then Mr. Jordan. Come on. He can beat any of these writers on a bad day.
You missed Gael Baudino and her Strands of Starlight and her Swords series!more great books with world’s separated by both space an time, with incredibly strong Characters
And nobody’s yet mentioned Doris Lessing? For shame! (Admittedly her Canopus In Argos series is uneven: the last two books are not up to the standard of Shikasta, The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five, and The Sirian Experiments. But not many authors have done what she’s done with Shikasta and The Sirian Experiments – cover the same events from two wildly different perspectives ending in two totally different outcomes.)
And then there’s Steven King’s The Dark Tower series …
Always loved Barbara Hambly’s Bride of the Rat God, Interviewed her once for our podcast And we gushed an bout it. Fun well constructed with three dimensonal characters. Especiallly the eponymous character.who in the hands of a lesser writer could have been a ditz with no agenc
First of it seems I have a lot of reading up to do. Secondly, I will put 2 guys in the meele so to speak. First one is Stephen Erikson, just for the world building alone, not to mention a enourmus spectrum of characters involved in the Malazan series alone. 2. Brent Weeks, Dark Prism series has wonderful characters and a new spin on the magic system that I really like.
Barbara Hambly’s world-building is very well-informed by her deep knowledge of history. There are so many little “Easter Eggs” in her works for people with a solid background in medieval, Renaissance and Early Modern history. Admittedly, I’m a bit of an unabashed Hambly fan girl.
@12. Margaret: This is who David Weber is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Weber_bibliography
It makes me happy to see Barbara Hambly on this list! I’ve read a lot of her books ever since Jo Walton recommended her on this very site and enjoyed each one.
To the commenters complaining that Weber didn’t include this or that fave, please note that he never says anything like, “this is a list of the five best world-building fantasy authors” anywhere in the post – only that this is a list of five great world-building fantasy authors.
I appreciate a post that discusses authors outside of the traditional fantasy canon or current favorites.
N.K. Jemisen just won the Hugo Award and she should definitely be added to this list! (And as I’m currently plowing my way through every scrap she’s ever written, I can attest to her magical world building skills! Wowsa!)
I see the picks suggested here popping up times and times again and realise more and more what I am missing out with not having read them.
Supporting also all the ones that I know to be great by second-hand information, I humbly do the same for the ones I have read myself, so +1 for Jordan, Tolkien, and Martin. And of course, Brandon Sanderson.
You cannot justify posting ONLY women, because you like them as authors. There are a fair amount of male authors who have done a respectable job following your criteria. That aside, one egregious absence is Marion Zimmer Bradley who created the vast and truly deep DARKWORLD series. It is both SF and F, and – in its time – pushed the boundaries of sexual fluidity, as Ursula le Guin did with THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS. This is truly flawed and a too limited a selection of authors whose creations are “literary universes with strongly recognized world building and stories which explore individual responsibility, risk-taking, and price-paying characters.”
I’ve not read any of Barbara Hambly’s works (how is that?), but I love, love, LOVE, the others.
I wonder, when I see all the inevitable complaint posts whenever one of this lists is presented, whether the those posting these complaints have really paid attention to the initial discussion about the list in the first place. It seemed as though Weber was careful to explain and outline the criteria used to define the space the list creates. Let’s review, just for thoroughness’ sake, what criteria Weber presented:
1. Strong women
2. Literary universes with strongly recognized world building and stories which explore individual responsibility, risk-taking, and price-paying characters.
3. Love the English language.
While it is perfectly fine to recommend other authors Weber might have overlooked, it should also be strongly noted that Weber never claimed that this list was intended to be exhaustive, nor that he was speaking as an absolute authority on the subject. He is simply a tenured and well-respected author in the field, sharing some of his personal favorites on the topic. This same logic, Weber created the list to meet a specific and bounded need, would explain and warrant the exclusion of male writers, as Weber specifically tells us that he chose to focus on women contributors for this particular list. Does this mean that Weber doesn’t think that male writers are good world-builders? It’s a non-sequitur. He already told us this list would be limited to women. He is allowed to create the stipulations for his list; he is the guest author. Feeling the need to push the list outside the bounds of what the author intended seems to imply an unreasonable effort to ignore the purpose of the writing in the first place.
It amazes me the number of people who are quick to jump in with criticism without bothering to actually read the article! The reason such acknowledged world builders such as Tolkien, Zelazny, Martin ect. are ommitted is because this article is about great FEMALE world builders.
For female Sci-Fi and Fantasy, Octavia Butler for truly alien aliens and Zenna Henderson for great short stories. Not necessarily worldbuilding though for either.
Hmm… N.K. Jemisin, C. J. Cherryh, and Ann Leckie have done some great world/universe building.
I would include, or recommend for those who haven’t read her, Michelle Sagara West. Both her books under Michelle Sagara, The Chronicles of Elantra, and her books under Michelle West, start with the two books of The Sacred Hunt, are quite brilliant. I love her books in part because she recognizes that no story starts at the beginning. There is always a past behind the story, and it may or may not be explored but it is always present in the current story. Her worlds are fully evolved and her characters are complex with believable growth and realistic decisions.
I love this list, but it would be lovely to include authors like N.K. Jemison or Erin Bow instead of Anne McCaffrey.
McCaffrey was great for her time, and her world-building is fantastic. However, her women are only strong until a stronger man shows up to tame them, and her old-fashioned views extended to LGBT people and those with disabilities, too.
On world-building alone, she absolutely deserves a mention here. I wanted to go to Pern and Ballybran so badly as a kid. But if the focus is world-building PLUS good representation, she cuts her own hamstring on that.
I love this list!!
My first comment is that he said he loved STRONG WOMEN as authors and was listing five favorites in his first couple of sentences!! So to those of you who mentioned the great gentlemen authors in your comments, PLEASE read the intro next time!
I love Mercedes Lackey’s Velgarth books and I re-read them every few years. I started with Tarma and Kethry. They remain my favorites!! Skif is awesome. I always laugh with his story. He is so entertaining.
I have read many of Barbara Hambly’s books and really enjoyed them as well. They are on my read again list as it has been a quite while since I last read them.
I need to read the other three. I have read a few of Anne McCaffrey’s and they are wonderful. But I need to read them all.
In the list of others is another favorite Lois McMaster Bujold! I especially love Miles Vorkosigan. But everything she writes is wonderful! I was fortunate to meet her several years ago when she was GOH at Mile Hi Con. Or as it was called that year-MILES Hi Con!! I got to go with a group of her fans to dinner one evening and sat next to her. What a great night that was!
David being one of my favorite authors I was very interested in his recommendations. In a way I’m happy after reading his list because the ladies he lists would all make my top authors list but in a way I’m sad because I’ve already read them. As a lover of history I am particularly fond of Barbara Hambly’s Benjamin January mysteries but give me a book by any of these authors (including David Weber) and I’m a happy camper.
I’m amused at all the “but what about …”. He said “they told me only five”.
I’m also amused that for an article about (among other things) female writers that feature strong female characters, the featured artwork is … a male wizard/warrior with a beer.
… And then I finished reading and saw that David was also commenting on exactly this artwork, so the joke’s on me. :)
Anyway, I read some of the Deryni books long ago, and they left me kind of unimpressed. Perhaps my now older self would disagree. I like all the other authors he mentioned that I’ve read, so I’ll just have to check out the ones that I haven’t read. Happiness.
I agree with #31, Toni. Love all these authors. But no exciting discoveries. Nice article.
I’m disappointed with all the comments whining about how there are no men on this list. Yes, there are a whole lot of brilliant male authors out there who have created amazing worlds in their fantasy and science fiction. Nobody is denying that. Nobody has EVER denied that. Those men have already received their due recognition as masters of the craft. Those men you’re listing? I already know full well who they are. I’ve read them all.
What David Weber is doing here is bringing up the work of a lot of talented women who don’t always get enough recognition. In fact, they get so little recognition that I, a sci-fi and fantasy fan with literally thousands of books in my home and who reads over a hundred books a year, have never read most of these authors. I haven’t even heard of some of them. And that’s on a list of only 5 authors (plus a whole bunch of honorable mentions)! A list like this inspires me to branch out and look for these highly recommended authors whom I might never have noticed on my own. So, bravo David Weber for highlighting their work. I’m always excited to add new authors to my reading list.
Who would I add to the list that Weber didn’t list in the honorable mentions? Octavia Butler, N. K. Jemisin, Ann Leckie, Kameron Hurley, and Robin Hobb, for a start.
@29: Agreed with you on McCaffrey. I love the Pern world, but I was really uncomfortable with the gender politics, to the point that I had to put down the series for a while and read something that wasn’t going to make me cringe. I haven’t gone back to it since then because every time I consider reading the next book in the series, I start thinking about those pseudo-rapey mating practices and go NOPE NOT TODAY.
Perhaps too obvious to mention, but you have to add Frank Herbert to the “old reliables” list — archetypal world-building at so many levels from geology to language to galaxy-spanning alien cultures.
Comedy gets no respect, but Terry Pratchett is also among the most literal of world-builders.
On a very different part of the SFF scale, I’ve been mightily impressed with Kameron Hurley‘s worlds, bleak as they may be.
I definitely concur with Anne McCaffery and Mercedes Lackey but I think a great world builder is Glenda Larke. I really can’t recommend her books highly enough.
I was so excited to see this list. I agreed with everyone listed, but especially with Barbara Hambly. I read Dragonsbane as a young girl and fell in love with the fantasy genre. One of the criteria used by Weber was a love of language, and Hambly more than qualifies. Her novels are nearly poetic in the descriptions, and her word choices are so specific and pertinent. In high school, I sometimes had to use a dictionary because I didn’t recognise some of the words – usually, the word was appropriate to a specific time period reflected in the work. I especially love that she still writes short fiction in the worlds she created, available on Amazon. Rumor has it that she’s working on some thing new, and I can’t wait!!!
OH my I should say Andre Norton would be on the list! My first sci-fi book ever was one of hers… it was Daybreak 2250 Star Man’s Son… that got me hooked forevermore on Sci Fi. I read all Norton’s books and I loved them all.
I just want to give a shout out to one of the authors mentioned but not highlighted–Joan Vinge. I wonder how many younger readers even know who she is? I loved her series featuring the human-alien hybrid Cat (all available as ebooks, I’m happy to see). The Snow Queen is her best, though–it won the Hugo and Locus awards and was nominated for the Nebula.
Tamora Pierce.
Butler? Or am I being to sensitive. I like David Weber and not sure he didn’t restrict himself to TOR ( don’t remember who published Butler or others on list) and I am not sure about word building but I would love to here why Webber didn’t include her.
“You cannot justify posting ONLY women, because you like them as authors.”
He really, really can.
I love most of these authors, and I agree with several of his other mentions (Elizabeth Moon is one of my more favorite ones). I would also say one of the newer authors that is proving herself to be very good in world building and tying in history with her fantasy would be Sabaa Tahir. But she’s still almost new, so not likely to get as much recognition as these greats for a while yet. :)
I would recommend Sharon Lee’s Liaden universe and Naomi Novik.
Anne McCaffrey is one of the reasons I love sci-fi and fantasy today. Totally agree there. But if we’re expanding beyond just female authors, I can’t believe no one’s mentioned Brandon Sanderson. I haven’t felt more a part of a world written down since J.R.R. Tolkien’ books.
Along with Bujold and Hobbs, I love Kage Baker, writer of the Company series, Janny Wurst, writer of the The war of light and Shadow and the incredible Julian May, writer of The Pliocene Exile and the Galactic Milieu. (Who at 85 is still with us.)
Author mentioned above but in need of highlighting – CJ Cherryh’s Foreigner series, which is the deepest of deep worldbuilding dives, and still going strong with a book coming out the Spring.
I have loved Anne McCaffrey since I was a tween. It was her books that originally got me hooked on fantasy (though I didn’t end up finishing some of the last books). And my love of Katherine Kurtz’ Deryni books are probably part of the reason I studied history in college, she just made the idea of the Middle Ages come alive in a way no teacher really did. Even though hers was somewhat more fictional. :) Which leads me to sadly admit I haven’t read any of the other women on this list! The to-read pile never gets any smaller… Thanks for the recommendations!
I agree with other commentators that there is a disconnect between the headline and Weber’s choice to concentrate on women world-builders. Why not change the headline?
Hambly is a great pick who doesn’t get enough recognition IMHO. Ladies of Mandrigyn, The Silent Tower trilogy (I hope they’ve fixed the e-books, which were a hastily OCR’d mess when they first came out), Those Who Hunt The Night. I think Dragonsbane should be read standalone– the sequels take a disagreeable turn (having a sympathetic movie or book character be possessed by a malevolent entity and do despicable things is almost always a mistake IMHO.)
I would put le Guin and Bujold’s writing well above McCaffery’s, but more to the topic of world-building: I think comparing le Guin to other the acclaimed world builders is often comparing apples to oranges. Many incredibly detailed and wonderful fantasy worlds are still recognizable shades of feudal, for example. Whereas le Guin is willing to question our fundamental assumptions by exploring alien language, gender politics, even their poetry. (I’m not claiming one approach is superior, just that le Guin’s world building takes a different form.)
My list would also include Sheri Tepper.
But it’s nice that there are many more than 5 names to argue over. I’m sure the true list of candidates is much longer still.
Speaking of Sheri Tepper, I wonder how many people know she passed away in October 2016. I didn’t find out for a couple months and it was a blow.
I see that Tor.com mentioned it but I guess I missed it for all the other news that was dominating at the time.
I think I read “Five Authors with Magical World Building Skills”, not “Five FEMALE Authors with Magical World Building Skills”.
And really? No Robin Hobb? Not even in the special mentions? For shame.
If this included men though, of course classic Tolkien blows them all out of the water.
I love the authors you highlighted and that others have mentioned. One of my favorite authors who built a fully developed world is Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Darkover series
No one has mentioned my absolute favorite world-building author – Diane Duane – The books are called The Tale of The Five (The Door into Fire (1), The Door into Shadow (2), and The Door into Sunset (3)). I think there were to be more, but the publisher went belly up, and think that is it. I really enjoyed the world she built. She is also the author of lots of YA, and Star Trek (Rihannsu), and movie tie-Ins.
Time Of The Dark was the first Hambly I read (but most certainly not the last!). I was fascinated by the cover — and was unutterably delighted to find that exact scene in the actual book.
I’d have included Elizabeth Moon, myself, but one has to make some choices.
@@@@@ 49. MattDiamond I think Dragonsbane should be read standalone– the sequels take a disagreeable turn (having a sympathetic movie or book character be possessed by a malevolent entity and do despicable things is almost always a mistake IMHO.)
Yes.
I can’t abide any book except Draagonsbane in that sequence.
@@@@@ 29. Jenny McCaffrey was great for her time, and her world-building is fantastic. However, her women are only strong until a stronger man shows up to tame them, and her old-fashioned views extended to LGBT people and those with disabilities, too.
If you want to read Anne McCaffrey and fume about gender politics, read The Lady. It isn’t even her world building. It’s set in Ireland in the Seventies. You can’t legally charge a man for beating his wife, without three reliable witnesses willing to testify in court.
JRR Tolkien is of course the master world builder, but not everybody can be an Oxford philologist with a decades deep background in mythology.
Ursula Le Guin’s parents were anthropologists and that background shows in her Earthsea.