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I have finished reading all of Martha Wells's 90's and 00's work (excluding media tie in novels and one co-authored juvenile). Her output in that time consisted of five Il-Rien novels, two stand alone novels, and two Stargate Atlantis books in the late oughts (I have never watched Stargate Atlantis and avoided those).
Some general observations: Before she wrote her Raksura series (in which everyone is bi), Wells's characters were more inclined to be heterosexual. Her later work is also much more multiracial and careful to avoid default whiteness (describing everyone's appearance, leaving nobody unmarked) than the earlier work.
Wells's first four books have been re-issued by Tor in revised editions. I haven't been able to find anyone talking about what changes were made between the original vs the reissued stories: Wells has just said that she did what she could to bring them up to her current standard. The "Fall of Il-Rien" trilogy remains out of print (with the last volume being hard to find at affordable prices), but ebook versions are available.
Here are my reviews of Wells's first 7 novels plus a collection of Il-Rien short stories.
1. The Element of Fire. I reviewed this several months ago, pasting what I said about it then below. ( Read more... )
2. Death of the Necromancer: ( Read more... )
3. City of Bones: ( Read more... )
4. Wheel of the Infinite: ( Read more... )
5-7. The Fall of Il-Rien trilogy. (The Wizard Hunters, the Ships of Air, the Gate of Gods). ( Read more... )
8. Between Worlds: This is an ebook-only short story collection containing one story set a few years before the events of Element of Fire, one set before Death of the Necromancer, and four telling the back stories of Ilias and Giliead. If you enjoyed the trilogy and wanted to read more of about those two, this will please you.
Some general observations: Before she wrote her Raksura series (in which everyone is bi), Wells's characters were more inclined to be heterosexual. Her later work is also much more multiracial and careful to avoid default whiteness (describing everyone's appearance, leaving nobody unmarked) than the earlier work.
Wells's first four books have been re-issued by Tor in revised editions. I haven't been able to find anyone talking about what changes were made between the original vs the reissued stories: Wells has just said that she did what she could to bring them up to her current standard. The "Fall of Il-Rien" trilogy remains out of print (with the last volume being hard to find at affordable prices), but ebook versions are available.
Here are my reviews of Wells's first 7 novels plus a collection of Il-Rien short stories.
1. The Element of Fire. I reviewed this several months ago, pasting what I said about it then below. ( Read more... )
2. Death of the Necromancer: ( Read more... )
3. City of Bones: ( Read more... )
4. Wheel of the Infinite: ( Read more... )
5-7. The Fall of Il-Rien trilogy. (The Wizard Hunters, the Ships of Air, the Gate of Gods). ( Read more... )
8. Between Worlds: This is an ebook-only short story collection containing one story set a few years before the events of Element of Fire, one set before Death of the Necromancer, and four telling the back stories of Ilias and Giliead. If you enjoyed the trilogy and wanted to read more of about those two, this will please you.