C.S. Friedman

C.S. Friedman was born in 1957 and soon proved to be a precocious child, reading and writing well above her age level. She discovered Isaac Asimov’s writing at the tender age of twelve (and if you are familiar with Asimov, you know he’s well capable of blowing the mind of adept adults…you can imagine the effect on a twelve-year-old), and decided that science fiction was the ultimate literature. (She changed her mind at some point to include fantasy, which I will get to in good time.)

Before publishing her first novel, In Conquest Born, Friedman studied costume design and earned an MFA in that skill from the University of Georgia. She also learned the joy of groups like SCA (The Society for Creative Anachronisms) and the League of Renaissance Swordsmen. She enjoyed creating and wearing period costume and found theater and costume design a natural fit.

During all of this, she also managed to build a considerable amount of background material which she used to write her first novel about the societies of the Braxi and Azeans. This first book, In Conquest Born, was published in 1986 and kicked off a strange and fertile career.

The Cold Fire trilogy followed In Conquest Born. Technically, it’s a sci-fi story because it takes place on a planet colonized by humans. In practice, however, it is largely a fantasy series as the forces of the planet force the humans into a more medieval existence, and they are capable of using those same fae forces like magic. This story is also the first glimmer of Friedman’s interest in the idea that the use of magic can eat at the minds and souls of its users. Many people were initially drawn to Friedman through this series, not In Conquest Born, and it has a devoted following. I was enthralled with In Conquest born myself (thanks to the newsletter, Xignals, published by Waldenbooks at the time, and Michael Whalen’s fantastic cover art), and the Cold Fire series kind of turned me off. I never read further than the first book. But the Cold Fire series is definitely an epic story. If you enjoy it, you will find yourself in the company of a core of enthusiastic fans.

Several science fiction books later and we find Friedman’s latest foray into fantasy published in 2007. Feast of Souls once again revisits the idea that magic can, and does, have a serious consequence: witches burn away the energy of their own souls to practice magic. This idea is the foundation of the story, but the world Friedman builds has many layers, and through Feast and the second book, Wings of Wrath, she puts together a cast of deep, complex characters–some of which she is not afraid to kill–and introduces us to a rich land with an engaging history.

Although I have not read everything of hers, I can say that just about any book would be a fine place to start in her bibliography. As it’s the newest series and also my current favorite of hers, I would suggest the new Magister Series of Feast of Souls and Wings of Wrath. She writes deep, thick books at a ponderous production rate, but with a twenty-five year backlog of books, you’ll have a lot to digest.