Katharine Eliska Kimbriel
Author of Fires of Nuala
About the Author
Image credit: Author Photo by photographer Brenda Ladd. Copyright belongs to Katharine Eliska Kimbriel.
Series
Works by Katharine Eliska Kimbriel
If I Take the Wings of Morning 2 copies
Feather of the Phoenix 1 copy
Night calls (IN: Werewolves) 1 copy
Ducks [short story] 1 copy
Associated Works
Lord of the Fantastic: Stories in Honor of Roger Zelazny (1998) — Contributor — 174 copies, 1 review
Nevertheless, She Persisted: A Book View Cafe Anthology (2017) — Contributor — 48 copies, 18 reviews
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Kimbriel, Katharine Eliska
- Legal name
- Kimbriel, Katharine Eliska
- Other names
- Kimbriel, Cat
- Birthdate
- 19??-07-12
- Gender
- female
- Education
- Extensive
- Occupations
- Writer, LMT, Web Designer, Survivor
- Organizations
- Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America
Book View Cafe - Agent
- Jonathan Matson (Harold Matson Literary Agency)
- Short biography
- In the beginning Katharine Eliska Kimbriel was nominated for the Campbell Award for Best New SF/Fantasy Writer. Kimbriel wrote literate, character-driven SF and Fantasy. Then she became really ill and tried to die. Do you know that if you win the throw with Death, you become a wizard?
Katharine is a founding member of Book View Café. The SF has been re-released as e-books (FIRES OF NUALA, HIDDEN FIRES, and FIRE SANCTUARY.) She is revising a mystery with ghosts, and is writing the third Alfreda fantasy novel. Also on the horizon is a contemporary fantasy dealing with curses, dragons, very large cats and the principal that “you are what you eat.” Find her on the Internet on Live Journal (Alfreda89) Facebook (Katharine Eliska Kimbriel) and Twitter (Cat Kimbriel) - Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Indiana, USA
- Places of residence
- Texas Hill Country, USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- USA
Members
Reviews
Superb. Very deftly written coming-of-age urban fantasy about a young girl becoming a witch.
The setting is 1800s back-country USA, a small immigrant village in the south somewhere. Alfreda is the daughter of a Norwegian family who've settled there some time ago. There is also Irish and German blood mixed in. These old families have also brought their old gods and demons with them - the Dark ones. Three segments of her teenage years involve episodes with ghosts werewolves and vampires, show more leading her mum to agree that she must be properly trained, and hence Alfreda spends several months with her powerful Aunt who starts her instruction in the deeper Mysteries.
Each segment would almost stand alone, but they link together very smoothly. It all sounds very trite, but it really works very well. Very cleverly written, from Alfreda's view, sympathetic family and well rounded villagers whom you can believe exist. Consistent and limited magic, and a simple hard but comfortable village life that seems real for the 1800s. A much gentler feel than the polish Witcher stories, but a similar essence somehow.
Eagerly looking forward to the next in the series which says enough on it's own! show less
The setting is 1800s back-country USA, a small immigrant village in the south somewhere. Alfreda is the daughter of a Norwegian family who've settled there some time ago. There is also Irish and German blood mixed in. These old families have also brought their old gods and demons with them - the Dark ones. Three segments of her teenage years involve episodes with ghosts werewolves and vampires, show more leading her mum to agree that she must be properly trained, and hence Alfreda spends several months with her powerful Aunt who starts her instruction in the deeper Mysteries.
Each segment would almost stand alone, but they link together very smoothly. It all sounds very trite, but it really works very well. Very cleverly written, from Alfreda's view, sympathetic family and well rounded villagers whom you can believe exist. Consistent and limited magic, and a simple hard but comfortable village life that seems real for the 1800s. A much gentler feel than the polish Witcher stories, but a similar essence somehow.
Eagerly looking forward to the next in the series which says enough on it's own! show less
Got this through early reviewers, and now I cannot wait for the sequel to be out! Missed way too much sleep reading it.
I was totally surprised by this book, it's got great world building, fascinating characters with complex- and realistic- lives and storylines. There was a rich tapestry of style, cultural differences, and interesting quirks. I really liked a lot of the culture and the tribal divisions, and I hope we see more of that in the rest of the series.
It's not a perfect book, some show more pacing issues and other problems, but nothing glaring. Especially from a relatively new writer, it was just amazing, thrilling, and it touched on a complex political situation without being boring or going over my head. show less
I was totally surprised by this book, it's got great world building, fascinating characters with complex- and realistic- lives and storylines. There was a rich tapestry of style, cultural differences, and interesting quirks. I really liked a lot of the culture and the tribal divisions, and I hope we see more of that in the rest of the series.
It's not a perfect book, some show more pacing issues and other problems, but nothing glaring. Especially from a relatively new writer, it was just amazing, thrilling, and it touched on a complex political situation without being boring or going over my head. show less
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
Quite enjoyable complex 'soft' science fiction. Nominally the middle of a series, but perfectly readable as a standalone title.
The basic premise is fairly simple - an extended human presence across at least 7 Systems, and seeking to expand in to more. Some kind of cryogenic capability and lightspeed travel allows decade long interstellar space flights - with the attendant societal time lag consequences. One planet Nuala, was settled long ago, but found to be highly radioactive. A colony show more became established even so, with a matrilineal descent system requiring 'pure' genes, and frequent input of 'off-worlder' blood. These familial blood lines become independent city rulers, carefully guarded by clans of fierce blood sworn defenders. A hugely rare and extremely expensive metal ore was discovered there which boosts the worlds trade, but also encourages pirates. The story opens with a crew of 'free-traders' about to arrive planetside looking for a scam.
Having done so well with the 'time lag' issues it is a shame that Ms Kimbriel has failed so badly with the radiation. There's no reason that metals would decay or corrode faster than plastics (or people) and while over time the mutagenic effects could be close to how she's described them, the 'Healing' mutation is completely impossible. Having allowed such a thing to occur however should mean that a very wide range of other such mutations would randomly occur, but this seems not to be the case.
Our heroine is just about to embark on the opening of their scam when she is embroiled in plenty of others - a coup appears to be taking place! As an off-worlder, her presence is relatively safe, but the plans for a heist are in tatters. The rest of the plot is all fairly predictable, with the surviving ruler and her developing an interest in discerning who perpetrated such a crime, and how to stop them.
Davina has the POV most of the time, but unpredictably it jumps about a bit between one of the chief Guards and Sheel the ruler. This is managed in not too disconcerting a manner. Other wise it all reads very well, with nice capturing of atmosphere and balanced descriptions. The politicking gets a bit byzantine sometimes, and it's not always clear who is related to whom in what degree, nor if it matters. Rather than try and think my way through the puzzles though I let Ms Kimbriel guide me along the plot to its slightly muddled, but basically obvious, conclusions.
The society constructed worked well, although unlike the very best in SF, it doesn't offer much in the way of parallels for insight into modern life. It is also gushingly sentimental in many places, and contrives quite a bit to ensure no-one important dies. But it was well paced, well plotted, with interesting characters and a well imagined world. I'll certainly be looking out for the other two novels set in this world, when they're released as ebooks, and maybe some of the authors other works as well. show less
The basic premise is fairly simple - an extended human presence across at least 7 Systems, and seeking to expand in to more. Some kind of cryogenic capability and lightspeed travel allows decade long interstellar space flights - with the attendant societal time lag consequences. One planet Nuala, was settled long ago, but found to be highly radioactive. A colony show more became established even so, with a matrilineal descent system requiring 'pure' genes, and frequent input of 'off-worlder' blood. These familial blood lines become independent city rulers, carefully guarded by clans of fierce blood sworn defenders. A hugely rare and extremely expensive metal ore was discovered there which boosts the worlds trade, but also encourages pirates. The story opens with a crew of 'free-traders' about to arrive planetside looking for a scam.
Having done so well with the 'time lag' issues it is a shame that Ms Kimbriel has failed so badly with the radiation. There's no reason that metals would decay or corrode faster than plastics (or people) and while over time the mutagenic effects could be close to how she's described them, the 'Healing' mutation is completely impossible. Having allowed such a thing to occur however should mean that a very wide range of other such mutations would randomly occur, but this seems not to be the case.
Our heroine is just about to embark on the opening of their scam when she is embroiled in plenty of others - a coup appears to be taking place! As an off-worlder, her presence is relatively safe, but the plans for a heist are in tatters. The rest of the plot is all fairly predictable, with the surviving ruler and her developing an interest in discerning who perpetrated such a crime, and how to stop them.
Davina has the POV most of the time, but unpredictably it jumps about a bit between one of the chief Guards and Sheel the ruler. This is managed in not too disconcerting a manner. Other wise it all reads very well, with nice capturing of atmosphere and balanced descriptions. The politicking gets a bit byzantine sometimes, and it's not always clear who is related to whom in what degree, nor if it matters. Rather than try and think my way through the puzzles though I let Ms Kimbriel guide me along the plot to its slightly muddled, but basically obvious, conclusions.
The society constructed worked well, although unlike the very best in SF, it doesn't offer much in the way of parallels for insight into modern life. It is also gushingly sentimental in many places, and contrives quite a bit to ensure no-one important dies. But it was well paced, well plotted, with interesting characters and a well imagined world. I'll certainly be looking out for the other two novels set in this world, when they're released as ebooks, and maybe some of the authors other works as well. show less
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
Highly enjoyable! Although I was afraid that this "young adult" novel would feel a bit juvenile, it didn't. The author's prose is simple but pleasing and she does a fine job of drawing the reader into the world that she has constructed. (My favorite part was the reference to George Washington -- I hope that later books in the series expound a bit more on this.) Recommended for fantasy fans who like a touch of literary flair.
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Statistics
- Works
- 11
- Also by
- 9
- Members
- 607
- Popularity
- #41,416
- Rating
- 3.7
- Reviews
- 92
- ISBNs
- 18
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