Greetings! I'm new to this group but not to SciFi or fantasy. :)

I would love some input/ideas into a book search. Robin McKinley is one of my favourite authors and I would love to find books that are similar to her works, especially Spindle's End, Beauty A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast, Deerskin, The Door in the Hedge.

I've just started reading The Bloody Chamber and it's brought back a flood of happy memories of reading Robin McKinley's works, since it's stylistically similar.

Basically, I'd like to find books with these elements or variations thereof:
1) basis of story in a fairy tale (can be common, like Beauty and the Beast, or more esoteric, like Donkeyskin)
2) Writing in an almost ornate, heavily-descriptive style, without seeing needlessly wordy or overblown (a tricky balance!)
3) The presence of magical elements
4) A sense of timeless, where the era is not precisely clear
5) Darkness/eerie suspicions (like the continual presence of a ghostly echo)
6) The eventual triumph of the heroine
7) This is hard to articulate -- but a strong power of trapping you in the story, where you're surprised to look up and realize your train is at your stop or that you've missed it altogether. I love the kind of book that tangles the mind like that.


I am fine with feminist retellings of old tales as long as role-reversal is not heavy-handed.

I'd love any input and I'm happy to clarify any of these points should they be unclear!

I haven't read any Robin McKinley yet, but from the criteria you give, maybe Patricia A. McKillip would fit the bill? The only thing that's missing as far as I can tell is an explicit basis in fairy tales; and also that some of them have a hero instead of a heroine. I'd give Alphabet of Thorn a try.

Patricia McKillip has a more poetic style, and writes absolutely gorgeous allegory type tales that are otherworldly and strange in a beautiful way. They have a faery tale quality, or dream quality to them. Her works avoid violence in general, and have some very deep themes.

A little closer to Mckinley - try Mary Brown, The Unlikely Ones or Pig's Don't Fly.

Another great pick, if you can find her work, closest to McKinley of all - Joy Chant's Red Moon and Black Mountain and The grey mane of morning. This author is not very prolific, but her work is an absolute treasure. Beautifully written.

Ah, I am so excited to get your suggestions! Thanks Janny and Edward.

Just to be clear, my list of attributes is more a list of great elements in a book -- not a list of criteria that must *all* be met for a book to be good. Even books with just a couple from the list would be excellent.

I am not familiar with Patricia McKillip, but am partial to Western mythic fiction. I'm not sure about the difference between a myth, fable legend and a fairy tale, but have my own definitions.

Some authors you might want to check out are Juliet Marillier, Stephan Grundy; Morgan Llywelyn; Julie Watson; Marion Zimmer Bradley; Stephen Lawhead; David Gemmell; Mary Renault

Personally, (BE WARNED) I don't think there is anyone out there 'like' Robin McKinley. I've been looking since Beauty was first published. The search has led me to lots of great, (but very different), authors however! ...So, it's all good.

Maybe try Sheri S. Tepper? Try Grass first.

Or Lois McMaster Bujold? Try the Chalion series or the Sharing Knife series.

Some of Diana Wynne-Jones books might work for you as well.

Maybe some of Sharon Shinn?

Diana Gabaldon's 'Outlander' series?

Robin Hobb's Assassin series? Start with Assassin's Apprentice

or The Decoy Princess by Dawn Cook

or Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

Jaran by Kate Elliott was eerily familiar after reading The Blue Sword. You might give it a try.

BTW, Robin McKinley's website has a link where many of her long time readers (and Robin herself) post book recommendations. It's called Pollyanna's Booklist. I've found some great recommendations that way. Here you go: http://robinmckinleysblog.com/polyannas-...

Wow, more thanks are in order! I can't wait to check out all the suggestions.

MB — I do read her blog but totally forgot about the Pollyanna list! Great idea; I'll look into it.

Caroline, the Pollyanna list is no longer updated and and they transferred a lot of it to LibraryThing. But I don't think the LibraryThing List is nearly as informative as the old Pollyanna's Booklist. PB is loooooong, but well worth reading through, as you have time. I recommend it because I've found some great recommendations that way. For instance, that's how I found out about Lois McMaster Bujold and Sharon Shinn! Woo hoo! That was my 'Finds of the Year!'