fantasies, a tendency that recurs in much of her
subsequent work.
More series followed, sometimes with consid-
erable gaps between volumes. Dragonsbane(1985),
Dragonshadow (1999), and Knight of the Demon
Queen(2000) open with a quest novel, but the
quest is turned on its head when the dragon being
sought is discovered to be innocent. Another
dragon helps the protagonist rescue his kidnapped
child from demons in the second volume, and re-
peating the reversal, the demons become his ally in
the conclusion. The Sun Wolf series, consisting of
The Ladies of Mandrigyn(1984), The Witches of
Wenshar(1987), and The Dark Hand of Magic
(1990), is less unconventional than most of Ham-
bly’s other fantasies. A warrior is coerced into pro-
tecting a group of women from a bellicose king,
accompanies a witch during the exploration of a
long-abandoned city, and battles treachery as well
as more obvious enemies in the closing volume.
The Windrose series includes The Silent Tower
(1986), The Silicon Mage(1988), The Dog Wizard
(1993), and Stranger at the Wedding(1994, also
published as The Sorcerer’s Ward). In this series
Hambly superimposes magic on technology, in the
second novel in particular when a wizard plots to
transfer his personality into a computer to advance
his plan for world conquest. The barriers between
worlds continue to deteriorate, allowing intruders
to cross freely, but a typical misunderstood rene-
gade wizard comes to the rescue. The final volume
is, unfortunately, the weakest. A sorceress has a
premonition that her sister’s wedding will end in
tragedy, so she uses magic to delay it in order to
have time to solve the mystery. Rainbow Abyss
(1991) and The Magicians of Night(1992) make up
a shorter sequence and include some of Hambly’s
best writing. In the first title a blind wizard goes to
the aid of a universe where magic has disappeared
and in the second finds himself in Nazi Germany
in our world, where a local group of less-talented
magicians try to enlist his aid in opposing the gov-
ernment. Mother of Winter(1996) and Icefalcon’s
Quest(1998) make up another duo, both well writ-
ten but more traditional in plot and treatment.
Three of Hambly’s fantasies involve the super-
natural, and all three are among her very best
work. Those Who Hunt the Night(1988, also pub-
lished as Immortal Blood) and its sequel, Traveling
with the Dead(1995), are both Victorian vampire
novels with a twist. The first and better of the two
describes a vampire community living secretly in
London. Someone has recently begun to methodi-
cally destroy them, and they are forced to resort to
hiring a human detective to solve the crime and
protect themselves. The sequel less remarkably but
still quite entertainingly deals with an interna-
tional plot that pits vampires against each other.
Bride of the Rat God(1994) is Hambly’s best novel,
set during the 1920s in Hollywood. An actress at-
tracts the unwelcome attention of the Oriental rat
god, whose minions begin picking off members of
her acting company in an effort to influence her.
Hambly recreates the period setting convincingly
and adds a suspenseful and smoothly paced plot.
Hambly has also written science fiction, tele-
vision tie-in novels, and most recently straightfor-
ward historical novels. Her very infrequent short
stories are generally of very high quality, particu-
larly “The Changeling” (1991) and “The Little
Tailor and the Elves” (1994). Her most recent fan-
tasy, Sisters of the Raven(2002), examines feminist
issues superimposed on a typical fantasy world set-
ting and may be the beginning of another series.Hamilton, Laurell(1963– )
Laurell Hamilton’s first novel, Nightseer(1992), is
a competent but unexceptional fantasy adventure
notable primarily because its protagonist, a woman
granted a magical power in order to avenge a
crime, anticipates her popular Anita Blake series in
that she has to tread a thin line between imposing
justice and using power for its own sake. Her only
other stand-alone novel, Death of a Darklord
(1995), part of the multiauthor Ravenloft series,
also reflects her interest in mixing supernatural
and fantastic themes, but it was with the publica-
tion of Guilty Pleasures(1993) that Hamilton came
into her own.
Anita Blake lives in a world that is very much
like ours, except that vampires, werewolves, and
other supernatural creatures exist openly and even
enjoy civil rights, although there are rules limiting
their behavior. Neither is Blake entirely normal
herself. She has some dark magical talents thatHamilton, Laurell 151