M. K. Hobson
Author of The Native Star
About the Author
Image credit: Photo by James W. Fiscus
Series
Works by M. K. Hobson
Daughter of the Monkey God 3 copies
The Warlock and the Man of the Word 3 copies
The Ladies and the Gentlemen 2 copies
God Juice 2 copies
Oaks Park 2 copies
Powersuit 1 copy
Severance Pay 1 copy
Votary 1 copy
What They Wanted 1 copy
Hell Notes 1 copy
Comus of Central Park 1 copy
Associated Works
Willful Impropriety: 13 Tales of Society, Scandal, and Romance (2012) — Contributor — 89 copies, 4 reviews
Beneath Ceaseless Skies Issue #298, Special Double-Issue for BCS Science-Fantasy Month 5 (2020) — Narrator, some editions — 8 copies, 2 reviews
Black Static 01 5 copies
Beneath Ceaseless Skies Issue #262 (Tenth Anniversary Month Double-Issue II) (2018) — Narrator, some editions — 5 copies, 1 review
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Hobson, M. K.
- Other names
- Mary Catherine Koroloff
M.K. Hobson - Birthdate
- 1969-01-21
- Gender
- female
- Education
- University of Oregon
- Occupations
- Marketing Consultant
- Organizations
- Historical Novel Society
Broad Universe
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA)
Romance Writers of America - Agent
- Ginger Clark (Curtis Brown, Ltd)
- Short biography
- M.K. Hobson was born in Riverside, California, but grew up in Portland, Oregon. She attended the University of Oregon, where she ran Catalyst Films (the campus film society), helped launch The Student Insurgent (a radical progressive ‘zine that’s still being published) and drove night-shift cab in nearby Springfield, Oregon. After graduating with a degree in English and Communications, she moved to Hiroshima, Japan to teach English. Returning to the United States two years later, she purchased The Northwest Neighbor, a community newspaper founded by legendary Portland mayor Bud Clark. She ran the paper for several years before moving on to a career in the field of corporate communications, working with Fortune 500 clients in the fields of retirement and healthcare.
Currently, she is one of the co-hosts of Podcastle, the acclaimed short fiction podcast. She lives in Oregon City, Oregon with her husband and daughter. - Nationality
- USA
- Places of residence
- Oregon City, Oregon, USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- Oregon, USA
Members
Discussions
The Native Star by M.K. Hobson in FantasyFans (December 2010)
Reviews
A pirate and a naval officer chasing him are sent by a hag to Ultima Thule, the bleakest land furthest from civilization… which happens to be rural Oregon in the 1980s. But the pirate is not an ordinary pirate – he’s a skin pirate, stealing others’ bodies, and he happens to claim the body of the protagonist’s gay best friend, and she’s not about to let him go without a fight. This one took me a little while to get into, and to get my bearings, but I wound up really enjoying it. I show more really like M. K. Hobson’s sly sense of humor – her stories, even when they’re dark, don’t take themselves entirely seriously, and this one was funny and a little dark and kind of sweet and very satisfying. show less
The Native star is a fun, "pioneer" fantasy with a somewhat romancey bent. Hobson is a competent writer and she knows how to craft an enjoyable romp that succesfully avoids either insulting the reader's intelligence, or taxing them unduly with bloated mythology on incoherent prose.
Emily Edwards is a timber camp witch who gets thrown into a mess of trouble one day after some ill-advised spell casting. The only person who can help her, it seems, is the insufferable warlock Dreadnought show more Stanton. As the two careen across the country with a passel of malevolent magicians chasing them, Emily will learn more about magic, and the human heart, than she anticipates.
Make no mistake, this book is workmanlike in some regards, but I'm of the opinion that competence is wildly under-rated these days. Hobson has built a solid novel that shows evidence of careful plotting, thoughtful characterisation and a mythology that stimulates rather than sedates.
The over-arching plot and character arcs are not exactly unpredictable, but she throws in enough right turns to keep the reader engaged and interested in finding out more about this world. There's a prosaic directness to The Native Star that I found quite refreshing - the book takes itself exactly as seriously as it needs to: a bit, but not too much - and things are explained without fuss.
This no-nonense approach extends to the characterisation, not the weakest part of the book, but perhaps the least dynamic. Emily and Dreadnought, and every other character, are pretty much exactly as they appear to be. That's fine - there's nothing wrong with getting what you order at the restaurant - but don't expect any surprises in this regard.
Thankfully the helter skelter plot doesn't leave too much time to focus on it. The Native Star sets a brisk pace that is successfully maintained until its suitably grand climax, replete with time-tested narrative devices that readers should appreciate.
The prose is likewise pragmatic, limpid, and easy-on-the-eyes. Hobson is no great stylist, per se, but she successfully evades the lure of showing off. The text doesn't draw attention to itself, letting you concentrate on the story and characters instead, who are in the main likable and frequently amusing.
Some people might find the above amounts to a wan recommendation, but honestly it's not intended that way. I enjoyed this book, and I'm of a mind to read the next in the series. This was Hobson's debut novel, and it's very rare to read a debut where the author so clearly understands the nuts and bolts of novel-writing, and possesses a respect for the reader and the reading experience - over their own need to get a story out or some such. Certainly, this means the book may not scale the dizzying heights of more personal and particular books, but it avoids the crevices they frequently plunge into as well. An enjoyable romp. show less
Emily Edwards is a timber camp witch who gets thrown into a mess of trouble one day after some ill-advised spell casting. The only person who can help her, it seems, is the insufferable warlock Dreadnought show more Stanton. As the two careen across the country with a passel of malevolent magicians chasing them, Emily will learn more about magic, and the human heart, than she anticipates.
Make no mistake, this book is workmanlike in some regards, but I'm of the opinion that competence is wildly under-rated these days. Hobson has built a solid novel that shows evidence of careful plotting, thoughtful characterisation and a mythology that stimulates rather than sedates.
The over-arching plot and character arcs are not exactly unpredictable, but she throws in enough right turns to keep the reader engaged and interested in finding out more about this world. There's a prosaic directness to The Native Star that I found quite refreshing - the book takes itself exactly as seriously as it needs to: a bit, but not too much - and things are explained without fuss.
This no-nonense approach extends to the characterisation, not the weakest part of the book, but perhaps the least dynamic. Emily and Dreadnought, and every other character, are pretty much exactly as they appear to be. That's fine - there's nothing wrong with getting what you order at the restaurant - but don't expect any surprises in this regard.
Thankfully the helter skelter plot doesn't leave too much time to focus on it. The Native Star sets a brisk pace that is successfully maintained until its suitably grand climax, replete with time-tested narrative devices that readers should appreciate.
The prose is likewise pragmatic, limpid, and easy-on-the-eyes. Hobson is no great stylist, per se, but she successfully evades the lure of showing off. The text doesn't draw attention to itself, letting you concentrate on the story and characters instead, who are in the main likable and frequently amusing.
Some people might find the above amounts to a wan recommendation, but honestly it's not intended that way. I enjoyed this book, and I'm of a mind to read the next in the series. This was Hobson's debut novel, and it's very rare to read a debut where the author so clearly understands the nuts and bolts of novel-writing, and possesses a respect for the reader and the reading experience - over their own need to get a story out or some such. Certainly, this means the book may not scale the dizzying heights of more personal and particular books, but it avoids the crevices they frequently plunge into as well. An enjoyable romp. show less
This author created a very interesting alternate history of the US in the late 1800s in her first two books, The Native Star and The Hidden Goddess, where magic is incorporated into historical detail. This book takes place some 40 years later in 1910 in that same world.
First of all, this book ends in the middle of the story with no closure. That is frustrating, and it was unexpected as the author had created closure for her earlier books. Secondly, the book seemed divided into two halves, show more with the first being fairly rational and interesting and the second devolving into over-the-top horror. And I did not like the big reveal at the end at all. I may still read the sequel just to find out what is really going on here, and it may integrate back into the first part of the book to improve my rating. But I really do not like horror for horror's sake, which is what this felt like. show less
First of all, this book ends in the middle of the story with no closure. That is frustrating, and it was unexpected as the author had created closure for her earlier books. Secondly, the book seemed divided into two halves, show more with the first being fairly rational and interesting and the second devolving into over-the-top horror. And I did not like the big reveal at the end at all. I may still read the sequel just to find out what is really going on here, and it may integrate back into the first part of the book to improve my rating. But I really do not like horror for horror's sake, which is what this felt like. show less
In the year 1876, Emily Edwards is a small-town Witch serving the Western hamlet of Lost Pine. Her most pressing worry is scraping together enough money to provide for herself and her adoptive father Pap. However, everything changes when the zombies who work in the nearby mines suddenly run amok: in an attempt to avert the crisis, Emily is left with a magical artifact inexplicably embedded in her hand. Now, with the help of Dreadnought Stanton, an insufferably pompous Warlock from New York, show more Emily must get this artifact removed. What starts as a relatively simple journey soon turns into a dangerous flight for survival, as various practitioners of magic seek to control the powerful artifact in Emily’s possession. Will Emily and Dreadnought be able to keep the artifact from falling into the wrong hands?
This novel is an exciting blend of fantasy, steampunk elements, and the Wild West. Emily is a tough, likeable heroine with a sense of humor; although she isn’t afraid to act “common,” she never expresses a sensibility that’s too modern. It was refreshing to meet a strong heroine who doesn’t feel like a transplant from the twenty-first century. The plot is captivating and full of action, so reading didn’t feel like a chore. A few of the story’s elements didn’t quite work for me – the involvement of the Native American holy woman, for example, and Emily’s mystical experiences (there are a few, but that’s not too big a spoiler). Also, the last several chapters of the novel become extremely complicated, as many hidden motives and secrets are revealed. I can forgive that, though, since it’s obviously a set-up for the sequel (coming in April!). There is a romantic aspect to this book as well, though it’s not really the focus of the story. I would have liked a little more of it, personally, but that’s just my own preference. All in all, I definitely liked this book and would recommend it if the premise sounds appealing. I’ll be picking up the sequel when it comes out! show less
This novel is an exciting blend of fantasy, steampunk elements, and the Wild West. Emily is a tough, likeable heroine with a sense of humor; although she isn’t afraid to act “common,” she never expresses a sensibility that’s too modern. It was refreshing to meet a strong heroine who doesn’t feel like a transplant from the twenty-first century. The plot is captivating and full of action, so reading didn’t feel like a chore. A few of the story’s elements didn’t quite work for me – the involvement of the Native American holy woman, for example, and Emily’s mystical experiences (there are a few, but that’s not too big a spoiler). Also, the last several chapters of the novel become extremely complicated, as many hidden motives and secrets are revealed. I can forgive that, though, since it’s obviously a set-up for the sequel (coming in April!). There is a romantic aspect to this book as well, though it’s not really the focus of the story. I would have liked a little more of it, personally, but that’s just my own preference. All in all, I definitely liked this book and would recommend it if the premise sounds appealing. I’ll be picking up the sequel when it comes out! show less
Awards
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Statistics
- Works
- 21
- Also by
- 19
- Members
- 976
- Popularity
- #26,388
- Rating
- 3.6
- Reviews
- 64
- ISBNs
- 9
- Favorited
- 1
