Delia Marshall Turner

It's unusual to be really really sad that you've finished a book. But I am. Because this was the second book by Turner that I've read - and those are the only two she's published. Moreover, her website surely does not get one's hopes up: "No, the next book is not going to be out soon."
Both this and her other book, which I read just about a year ago, 'Nameless Magery,' are really fun, enjoyable science-fantasy, with non-stereotypical feisty heroines. Both books take place in the same universe show more (and there are a few tie-ins for those who've read both!) but they are both stand-alone novels, and very different stories.
The protagonist here, Malka, is cute, petite and charming - but also short-tempered and anti-social, with an extreme reticence about talking about her past. She's been studying at a fencing school - but, we quickly learn, she's on the run from both the interplanetary Enforcers - and someone else. She also seems to have an awful lot of magic for someone who is adamant about not being a 'witch.'
Thrust against her will into the ship of a disrespected Monitor and his motley crew of magic-users, an adventure full of witchery, romance, and a good deal of swashbuckling action, not to mention a bit of world-saving, ensues.
Great stuff. show less

I got this as part of my recent quest to find all the "Del Rey Discovery" books that I haven't read, since whoever was doing the picking for that line was really doing an excellent job finding talented new sci-fi authors - I've liked all the ones I've read. Unfortunately, I don't think Del Rey is doing it anymore, and I haven't been able to just find a list...

"Nameless Magery" did not disappoint! This was a thoroughly fun, enjoyable book, with an unusual mix of sci-fi and fantasy, and a good show more sense of humor.
Lisane was raised to be queen of her people, a powerful user of magic, worshipped as a near-deity. However, violent aliens have destroyed her society and taken her people prisoner. As the book opens, only she has managed to escape the invaders, and now she is wandering a wasteland on an alien world, ragged and starving...
But, as luck would have it, she is discovered by a handsome wizard, Simon, and brought to his home, a school for mages, where she meets the intriguing Master Kaihan, and a fellow student who immediately becomes her nemesis, Detter.
Elements of school story, quest tale, romance and space opera combine here in a surprisingly successful way, brought together by Lisane's spunky, lusty, self-deprecating character (and Turner's funny chapter titles, which are priceless!).

Although this is a stand-alone novel, apparently, Turner also published a companion volume, "Of Swords and Spells." show less

Part school story, part romance, part coming-of-age story, this quirky gem of a book is hard to describe. This early sentence gives you a better taste for the book than anything else I could say: "I reflected that there was nothing like complete calamity to take one's mind off the daily grind of starving to death in an inadequately rat infested wilderness."

Not as good as the first one for sure; the title character is not as deep, or as fun.