Authors you love that no one seems to have heard about

[Linkelivar Miou'Mai]

One of my favorite authors is Gail Baudino. Her book Gossamer Axe is incredible as is the "Strands" series

 

[Thaddius al'Guy]

I like David B. Coe a lot but most people haven’t heard of him despite him writing two 5-book epic fantasy series and another 3 book trilogy over the last 20 years.

He also has written a ton of historical fantasy under a different name, D.B. Jackson.

 

[Merena Orithana]

I just started reading the Weather Warden series by Rachel Caine - it has been good so far! But I'd never heard of Rachel Caine before succumbing to the lure of the used bookstore a couple weekends ago...

 

[Jocasta Braithe]

Lynn Flewelling - I ran into her looking for Maine authors. She has a long fantasy series/gay romance (the Nightrunner Series) that introduced me to LGBT themes in fantasy. The later books are not as good but the first 3-4 are fantastic. She also has a trilogy (the Tamir Triad) that grapples a little hamhandedly with gender politics, but it was written in the 90s and was ahead of its time. She was really instrumental in breaking the anti-LGBT mindset I was raised with, changed who I am at a pretty major level.

Sheila Gilluly - she was my creative writing teacher in high school and her books are AWESOME. I think they're out of print now though. The Painter series is so good.

Gayle Greeno - the Ghatti's Tale, about humans who form bonded pairs with telepathic cats. Does it need more? No it does not.

 

[Polegnyn Nemeara]

Juliet Marrilier and her Sevenwaters series. The first book definitely comes with one, maybe two trigger warnings, though. There’s also another trigger warning (fire) later in the series.

 

[Morgana Arakos]

Not exactly unknown, but I wish more people knew about Lois McMaster Bujold.

 

[Jocasta Braithe]

I love both Bujold and Marillier but I don't think of them as unknowns. At least most fantasy/sci fi people that I know have read one or the other or both of them.

 

[Merena Orithana]

I haven't heard of either! So appreciate the suggestions!

 

[Merena Orithana]

Not exactly unknown, but I wish more people knew about Lois McMaster Bujold.

Where do you suggest someone new start with her works?

 

[Morgana Arakos]

Where do you suggest someone new start with her works?

She's written both science fiction and fantasy, so it kind of depends on your preference of genre! My personal favorite is her Miles Vorkosigan science fiction series. It's a space opera that has really incredible characters and great mystery plot arcs. You can start pretty much anywhere in the series, since each book has a contained story. But, I'd recommend starting with either The Warrior's Apprentice or Cordelia's Honor. The Warrior's Apprentice is the first book that actually features the titular main character. You can also find it as the first book in the omnibus Young Miles. And Cordelia's Honor is an omnibus of the two prequel books about Miles' mother, which have more of a fantasy feel.

For her fantasy works, The Curse of Chalion is a great historical fantasy series, and The Spirit Ring is a fun one-off novel.

 

[Tallan Daar]

BUJOLD <3 <3 <3

aaaahhhh

Okay, I'm good. But everything Morgana said (though I still haven't read The Spirit Ring - I'm saving it because I have a psychological need to have One More Bujold Book Left To Read, Always. Something like that.)

Not enough people are talking about Melina Marchetta - admittedly I've only read her fantasy (The Lumatere Chronicles), but it's stunning. YA, but dark - lots of trauma and abuse, so warning for that. Fans of Megan Whalen Turner should definitely give Lumatere a go, there's fandom overlap (as well as for the authors - Marchetta took inspiration from MWT).

 

[Jas'yn Al'Dragoran]

Steven R. Donaldson. He wrote the Thomas Covenant series which consists of nine books in three trilogies. The later books got on the New York Times bestseller list, but it seems that once they were of the list (almost) everybody forgot him.

I read these as a teenager! I wouldn’t say I found them fun but they did have a fascination for me.

 

[Linkelivar Miou'Mai]

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant are good.