In the Spotlight: Elizabeth A. Lynn

[reviews_and_ramblings]

The Book: In the province of Ippa, the twin sons of Kojiro, the Black Dragon, contended using sorcery and fire to decide which of them would rule their father's kingdom. After his brother's death, Karadur - who has inherited his dangerous father's shape-changing gift - becomes the master of Dragon's County. Torn between the need to continue his line and a fear of his own perilous nature, Karadur has so far remained unwed and childless. But an encounter with Maia Unamira di Sorvino now leads him to make other choices...Meanwhile, her outlaw brother, Treion the Bastard, is terrorising the nearby countryside. His motive being vengeance against the one who drove his mother and sister from their home. When Treion is finally captured, it is Karadur who must decide his punishment. It should rightly be death - but Maia loves her brother...

Amazon: Dragon's Treasure
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Pan Macmillan (April 15, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0330355589
ISBN-13: 978-0330355582

The Author: Elizabeth A. Lynn (born 1946) is a US writer most known for fantasy and to a lesser extent science fiction. She is particularly known for being one of the first writers in science fiction or fantasy to introduce gay and lesbian characters; in honor of Lynn, the GLBT bookstore "A Different Light" took its name from her novel.

Elizabeth Lynn is an openly lesbian science fiction and fantasy writer who has written numerous works featuring positive gay protagonists. Her Chronicles of Tornor novels (1979-80), the first book of which, Watchtower, won the World Fantasy Award, were among the first fantasy novels to have gay relationships as an unremarkable part of the cultural background, and included explicit and sympathetic depictions of same-sex love. The other books in this series are The Dancers of Arun (1979); and Northern Girl (1980) - this third novel is of particular lesbian interest.

Lynn's early science fiction novels were similarly ground-breaking in their treatment of sexual themes. In The Sardonyx Net (1981), one of the primary characters is a sexual sadist. Her SF novel A Different Light (1978) featured a same-sex relationship between two men, and inspired the name of the LGBT bookstore and chain "A Different Light". The magical lesbian tale "The Woman Who Loved the Moon" also won a World Fantasy Award and is the title story in Lynn's The Woman Who Loved the Moon collection along with other gay speculative fiction stories. Both these novels featured the science fiction concept hyperspace.

Lynn more recently began a new fantasy series, again featuring gay relationships: Dragon's Winter (1998) and Dragon's Treasure (2004). (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_A._Lynn)

Top Gay Novels List (*)

First Decade (2000-2009): http://www.elisarolle.com/ramblings/top_100_gay_novels_2.htm

Second Decade (2010-2019): http://www.elisarolle.com/ramblings/top_100_gay_novels_2.2.htm

*only one title per author, only print books released after January 1, 2000.

Note: I remember to my friends that guest reviews of the above listed books (the top 100 Gay Novels) are welcome, just send them to me and I will post with full credits to the reviewer.

Other titles not in the top 100 list: http://www.librarything.com/catalog/top50MM

Comments

[khylara.livejournal.com]

I love The Sardonyx Net - it's one of my favorites. Will definitely look for her newer ones! Thank you!

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

Like an olf fashioned writer, she released a new book each 5/6 years. I bet they are good, she is probably measuring each single word.