Rowling introduced her major characters and
the ongoing plot in the opening volume and devel-
oped both in HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER
OF SECRETS(1998), providing hints of the darker
scenes that would follow. The third volume, HARRY
POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN(1999)
has such a complex plot that there was some con-
cern that young readers would not be able to fol-
low its intricacies, but these fears proved to be
unfounded. HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF
FIRE(2000) runs more than 700 pages, but readers
of all ages took it in stride, as they also did the
considerably darker tone that Rowling continues
to develop. Good characters die in the course of
the story, which makes no effort to disguise the
deep cruelty of the villains and the occasional
thoughtlessness of even the more admirable char-
acters. HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE
PHOENIX(2003) is even longer and more convo-
luted. The sixth book is titled Harry Potter and the
Half Blood Prince.A seventh and final volume will
follow.
In addition to her financial success, Rowling
has won considerable critical acclaim and the
Hugo Award for best novel of the year. On the
other hand, she has encountered some contro-
versy, primarily from parties who are critical of her
depiction of magic as anything other than evil and
for what is perceived as a disrespectful attitude ex-
hibited by the child characters toward some of the
adults. Rowling has also provided some short de-
scriptive books related to the series, including
Quidditch through the Ages(1999), Goodbye Privet
Drive(2001), and Harry at Hogwarts(2001). Her
success has single-handedly given fantasy literature
a significant boost. The first three books have all
resulted in exceptionally good motion pictures.
Rusch, Kristine Kathryn (1960– )
The very prolific Kristine Kathryn Rusch began
writing short stories in the late 1980s, both science
fiction and fantasy, won the John W. Campbell
Award for best new writer, and has worked in both
fields ever since under her own name and using
pseudonyms, often in collaboration with Dean
Wesley Smith. Her first fantasy title of interest is
the short novel The Gallery of His Dreams(1991),
a story of magical time travel. The White Mists of
Power(1991) is more conventional, with a bard
and a magician fleeing enemies and seeking refuge
despite a dark destiny linked to the former. Rusch’s
third early fantasy novel is Afterimage(1992), a
collaboration with Kevin J. Anderson in which the
victim of a serial killer is magically changed into
his simulacrum and given the task of tracking him
down. The novel was reprinted in 1998 as Afterim-
age Aftershock,with the story extended.
Heart Readers(1993) is an interesting story of
court intrigue set in a typical fantasy world. The
local king is of a line that always has twin sons.
The heart readers have the power to mystically
examine the two and determine which should be
the heir, but an ambitious lord decides to corrupt
the process so that he can manipulate the more
pliable brother. Traitors(1993) is a similar varia-
tion from the expected. A man whose family was
unjustly executed vows to kill those responsible,
including the royal family, but finds his plans
going awry when he falls in love with the queen.
In 1995 Rusch began the Fey series, which con-
sists of The Sacrifice (1995), The Changeling
(1996), The Rival(1997), The Resistance(1998),
and Victory(1998). The series opens with a crisis
because the presumed heir to the throne has not
experienced a mystical vision that is a prerequisite
to the succession. A horde of invaders and a civil
war follow, and the conflict is eventually resolved
when two races successfully intermarry.
The Black Throne duo includes The Black
Queen(1999) and The Black King(2000), a compar-
atively minor story about a queen who is in danger
of being possessed by an evil spirit. Fantasy Life
(2003) is much better and is set in a remote part of
North America where the creatures of legend still
exist. A collection of Rusch’s better fantasy short
stories appeared as Stories for an Enchanted After-
noon(2001). Much of her recent fantasy fiction has
been romantic comedy written under the name
Kristine Grayson, lightweight but refreshingly clever.
A lawyer represents the magician who put Sleeping
Beauty to sleep in Utterly Charming(2000), a rein-
carnated princess has trouble controlling her magi-
cal powers in Thoroughly Kissed (2001), one of
Cupid’s minions falls in love with a mortal in Com-
pletely Smitten(2002), and the Fates show up in ourRusch, Kristine Kathryn 297