(1994), battling an evil sorceress, a plot repeated
with only slight variations in the next, The Secular
Wizard(1995). One of the newcomers returns to
his home reality in My Son, the Wizard(1997). The
Feline Wizard(2000) changes the tone of the series,
featuring a cat who is also an accomplished wizard
as the central character. The most recent volume
is The Haunted Wizard(2000).
The Star Stone duo is atypically quite serious
and perhaps not surprisingly more interesting. The
two volumes are The Shaman(1995) and The Sage
(1996). The backdrop this time is a magical world
where humans are a subordinate species domi-
nated by inhuman creatures, one of whom decides
to help humans achieve their own destiny. His
most recent novel, Saint Vidicon to the Rescue
(2005), appears to stand alone. A computer expert
is investigating the appearance of bibilical text in
computer files where it does not belong when he
discovers the existence of Saint Vidicon, a new
saint dedicated to protecting computer users from
a variety of pitfalls. The novel is an expansion of
an idea that first appeared in “The Afterlife of
Saint Vidicon” (2004).
Stasheff’s short fantasy fiction has been par-
tially collected in Sir Harold and the Monkey King
(1993) and Mind out of Time(2003). Like his nov-
els, the stories tend to be mild adventure mixed
with sometimes obvious humor. His best effort at
this length is “Sir Harold and the Hindu King”
(1995). Stasheff is one of a small group of writers
who have successfully built a career based primar-
ily on humorous fantasy and science fiction.
Stewart, Mary(1916– )
Mary Stewart began her writing career with a se-
ries of very popular romantic thrillers between
1955 and the 1970s that spawned scores of imita-
tors at the time but that are now less well remem-
bered than her Arthurian romances. Her first
fantasy novel was The Crystal Cave(1970), which
broke from tradition by concentrating on the char-
acter of Merlin, in this case a young man whose life
is forever altered when he begins to develop magi-
cally enhanced perception. The Hollow Hills
(1973) encompasses the most familiar parts of the
legend, Arthur’s rise to the throne, his manage-
ment of the Round Table, and his transformation
of Britain. Stewart reveals all of this through the
eyes of Merlin, who, from off stage, is actually the
architect for most of what takes place. The device
of stepping outside the central frame of the story
was adapted by many other writers, including A.
A. Attanasio, Marion Zimmer BRADLEY, and Diana
L. PAXSON. The original concept was for a trilogy
ending with The Last Enchantment(1979), which
follows the death of Arthur with Merlin’s own ru-
minations about his own future. Despite its not en-
tirely cheerful conclusion, it is the single best of
Stewart’s novels. The Wicked Day(1983) returns to
that setting to tell the story of Mordred, Arthur’s
rebellious son. The Prince and the Pilgrim(1995) is
also peripherally related.
Stewart returned to the thriller format during
the 1970s and 1980s, although two of her suspense
novels are also fantasy. The protagonist of Touch
Not the Cat(1976) has a telepathic link with a
man she has never met, and Thornyhold(1988), al-
though not properly a haunted house story, in-
volves the psychic effects on a tenant originating
from events in the past. A young girl with the
power to heal others upsets the religious establish-
ment in Grace(1989), and Rose Cottage(1997)
also involves some ambiguous psychic phenomena.
Stewart also wrote three fantasies for children. A
young girl discovers that she is a witch in The Little
Broomstick(1971), the reader takes a tour of the
zodiac in Ludo and the Star Horse(1974), and two
children with a magic amulet help a man escape
the curse of the werewolf in A Walk in Wolf Wood
(1980). Stewart’s Arthurian novels are among the
best and most influential in that subgenre, but her
contemporary fantasies are also quite entertaining.Stine, R. L.(1943– )
Robert Lawrence Stine started writing books for
young readers in the 1970s and had produced a
considerable number of titles under his own and
other names before switching to suspense and hor-
ror for both teens and preteens at the end of the
1970s. The popularity of that form was such that
he was soon turning out an amazing volume of
works, most of it gathered into two separate series,
although the Fear Street books for young adultsStine, R. L. 337