Diana L. Paxson

About the Author

Diana L. Paxson, a noted fantasy author who collaborated with Marion Zimmer Bradley on much of her later work, lives in Berkeley, California. She has written twenty books including the Arthurian novel "Hallowed Isle". (Bowker Author Biography)

Includes the names: Diane Paxson, Diana L.Paxson, Diana L. Paxon, Diana L. Paxson, Diana L. Paxson, Diana L. Paxson, Dianna L. Paxson, Diana L.; Ed Paxson

Image credit: Diana L. Paxson (2011)
Photo: Wikipedia user Stepheng3

Series

The Chronicles of Westria

Wodan's Children

The Hallowed Isle

Chronicles of Fionn Mac Cumhal

Ruana Rulane

Works by Diana L. Paxson

Popular Recent

Priestess of Avalon (2000) 2,414 copies

Ancestors of Avalon (2004) 1,290 copies

Ravens of Avalon (2007) 641 copies

Warrior Woman (1985) 440 copies

The White Raven (1988) 439 copies

The Sword of Aldones (1962) 375 copies

Marion Zimmer Bradley's Sword of Avalon (2009) 329 copies

Taking Up the Runes: A Complete Guide to Using Runes in Spells, Rituals, Divination, and Magic (2005) 326 copies

Essential Asatru: Walking the Path of Norse Paganism (2006) 249 copies

The Wolf and the Raven (1993) — Author — 219 copies

The Serpent's Tooth (1993) 190 copies

Brisingamen (1984) 185 copies

Sword and Sorceress XXI (2004) — Editor — 183 copies

Trance-portation: Learning to Navigate the Inner World (2008) 169 copies

The Mistress of the Jewels (1990) 141 copies

Silverhair the Wanderer (1986) 129 copies

The Dragons of the Rhine (1995) — Author — 126 copies

Master of Earth and Water (1993) 112 copies

The Wind Crystal (1990) 104 copies

The Jewel of Fire (1992) 103 copies

Lady of Light (1982) 101 copies

The Lord of Horses (1996) — Author — 97 copies

The Earthstone (1987) 96 copies

The Book of the Sword (1999) 89 copies

White Mare, Red Stallion (1986) 87 copies

The Golden Hills of Westria (2006) 80 copies

The Shield Between the Worlds (1994) 77 copies

The Sea Star (1988) 75 copies

The Paradise Tree (1987) 72 copies

Lady of Darkness (1983) 69 copies

Odin: Ecstasy, Runes, & Norse Magic (2017) 69 copies

The Book of the Spear (1999) 66 copies

The Book of the Stone (2000) 63 copies

The Book of the Cauldron (1999) 57 copies

The Hallowed Isle: The Book of the Sword and The Book of the Spear (1999) 50 copies

Sword of Fire and Shadow (1995) 48 copies

The Hallowed Isle (2000) 44 copies

The Hallowed Isle: The Book of the Cauldron and The Book of the Stone (2001) 38 copies

The Way of the Oracle: Recovering the Practices of the Past to Find Answers for Today (2012) 37 copies

The Essential Guide to Possession, Depossession, and Divine Relationships (2015) 31 copies

Germanic Costume: From the Early Iron Age to the Viking Era (1992) 11 copies

Working Within: Heathen Spirituality in a Prison Setting (2007) 4 copies

Liturgy of the Lady: The Fellowship of the Spiritual Path 3 copies

The Secrets of Doctor Taverner 3 copies

The Turquoise Scepter 2 copies

The Heart of the Hill 2 copies

The Song of N'Sardi-el [short story] (1980) 2 copies

Equona's Mare {short story} 2 copies

A Gift of Love [short story] (1992) 2 copies

Words for Warriors (2012) 2 copies

Falcon's Shadow 2 copies

The Dark Mother 2 copies

Mirror Image [short fiction] 2 copies

Daughter of the Bear 1 copy

The Dancer of Chimaera 1 copy

Spirit Singer 1 copy

The Serpent's Tooth 1 copy

A Fugitive Art 1 copy

The Rhinoceros and the Unicorn 1 copy

The Color of Magic 1 copy

The Vision of Lalo 1 copy

Taking up the runes: a Guide to Study and Experience 1 copy

Germanic Costume 1 copy

Germanic Costume, From the Early Iron Age to the Viking Era 2nd Edition 1 copy

The Demon Lover 1 copy

Quicksilver Dreams 1 copy

When Coyote Came to Town 1 copy

Ytarra's Mirror 1 copy

The Feast of the Fisher King 1 copy

Idunna Issue 31 Winter/Spring 1997 ed. Diana L. Paxson — Editor — 1 copy

Shadow Wood 1 copy

The God-sword 1 copy

The Mist on the Moor 1 copy

The Sword Slave 1 copy

The Place Between [short story] (1994) 1 copy

The Mother Quest [novelette] (1985) 1 copy

Idunna Issue 32 Summer 1997 ed. Diana L. Paxson — Editor — 1 copy

The Naming of a King 1 copy

Idunna Issue 34 Winter 1997 ed. Diana L. Paxson — Editor — 1 copy

Blood Dancer 1 copy

Cauldron of Light 1 copy

Sword of Yraine 1 copy

Stopthrust 1 copy

The Phoenix Garden {short work} 1 copy

The Eye of Toyur 1 copy

Work Explorer

Associated Works

Shadows of Sanctuary (1981) — Contributor — 928 copies

Storm Season (1982) — Contributor — 872 copies

The Face of Chaos (1983) — Contributor — 795 copies

Sword and Sorceress I (1984) — Contributor — 688 copies

Wings of Omen (1984) — Contributor — 657 copies

The Keeper's Price (1980) — Contributor — 602 copies

The Dead of Winter (1985) — Contributor — 599 copies

Sword of Chaos and other stories (1982) — Contributor — 536 copies

Free Amazons of Darkover (1985) — Contributor — 516 copies

Sword and Sorceress III (1986) — Contributor — 511 copies

Blood Ties (1986) — Contributor — 493 copies

Sword and Sorceress II (1985) — Contributor — 476 copies

The Pagan Book of Living and Dying (1997) 462 copies

In Celebration of Lammas Night (1996) — Contributor — 438 copies

Red Sun of Darkover (1987) — Contributor — 415 copies

Sword and Sorceress IV (1987) — Contributor — 400 copies

Uneasy Alliances (1988) — Contributor — 373 copies

Sword and Sorceress V (1988) — Contributor — 359 copies

Sword and Sorceress X (1993) — Contributor — 356 copies

Bedlam's Edge (2005) — Contributor — 353 copies

The Blood of Ten Chiefs Vol. 1 (1986) — some editions — 345 copies

Stealers' Sky (1989) — Contributor — 338 copies

Sword and Sorceress IX (1992) — Contributor — 322 copies

Renunciates of Darkover (1991) — Contributor — 320 copies

Snows of Darkover (1994) — Contributor — 317 copies

Sword and Sorceress VII (1990) — Contributor — 315 copies

Sword and Sorceress XVI (1999) — Contributor — 311 copies

Sword and Sorceress XI (1994) — Contributor — 308 copies

Sword and Sorceress VIII (1991) — Contributor — 304 copies

Sword and Sorceress XV (1998) — Contributor — 303 copies

Sword and Sorceress XVII (2000) — Contributor — 302 copies

Sword and Sorceress VI (1990) — Contributor — 302 copies

Sword and Sorceress XII (1995) — Contributor — 301 copies

Out of Avalon: An Anthology of Old Magic & New Myths (15-in-1) (2001) — Contributor — 290 copies

Millennial Women (1978) — Contributor — 283 copies

Towers of Darkover (1993) — Contributor — 279 copies

Sword and Sorceress XIV (1997) — Contributor — 277 copies

Sword and Sorceress XIII (1996) — Contributor — 274 copies

Sword and Sorceress XVIII (2001) — Contributor — 254 copies

Sword and Sorceress XIX (2002) — Contributor — 248 copies

Elemental Magic (2012) — Contributor — 245 copies

Return to Avalon (1996) — Introduction, some editions; Contributor — 243 copies

No True Way: All-New Tales of Valdemar (2014) — Contributor — 239 copies

Elementary (2013) — Contributor — 236 copies

Grails: Quests of the Dawn (1992) — Contributor — 233 copies

Greyhaven (1983) — Contributor — 224 copies

Turning Points (2002) — Contributor — 207 copies

Sword and Sorceress XX (2003) — Contributor — 198 copies

Sisters in Fantasy 2 (1996) — Contributor — 185 copies

Winds of Change: The Blood of Ten Chiefs Vol.3 (1989) — Contributor, some editions — 174 copies

Sisters of the Night (1995) — Contributor — 168 copies

Year's Best Fantasy 2 (2002) — Contributor — 167 copies

The Best of Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine Vol. 1 (1994) — Contributor — 150 copies

Tales of the Witch World 2 (1988) — Contributor — 147 copies

Hecate's Cauldron (1982) — Contributor — 146 copies

Moonsinger's Friends: In Honor of Andre Norton (1985) — Contributor — 142 copies

Against the Wind (Blood of Ten Chiefs, No 4) (1990) — Author, some editions — 141 copies

Serve It Forth: Cooking with Anne McCaffrey (1996) — Contributor — 140 copies

Pathways: All-New Tales of Valdemar (2017) — Contributor — 136 copies

Elf Fantastic (1997) — Contributor — 125 copies

Excalibur (1995) — Contributor — 123 copies

The Shattered Sphere (1968) — Contributor — 122 copies

The Shimmering Door (1997) — Contributor — 117 copies

Enemies of Fortune (2004) — Contributor — 115 copies

Choices: All-New Tales of Valdemar (2018) — Contributor — 112 copies

Warrior Enchantresses (1996) — Contributor — 105 copies

At the Table of the Grail: No One Who Sets Forth on the Grail Quest Remains Unchanged (1984) — Contributor, some editions — 104 copies

Merlin (1999) — Contributor — 101 copies

Isaac Asimov: Science Fiction Masterpieces (1986) — Contributor — 100 copies

The Mammoth Book of Merlin (2009) — Contributor — 97 copies

The Change: Tales of Downfall and Rebirth (2016) — Contributor — 92 copies

Swords Against Darkness IV (1979) — Contributor — 88 copies

Camelot: A Collection of Original Arthurian Stories (1995) — Contributor — 86 copies

Spell Fantastic (2000) — Contributor — 86 copies

Wizard Fantastic (1997) — Contributor — 85 copies

Weird Tales from Shakespeare (1994) — Contributor — 85 copies

War in Hell (1988) — Contributor — 84 copies

Ancient Enchantresses (1995) — Contributor — 81 copies

After War (1985) — Contributor — 73 copies

Arabesques II (1989) — Contributor — 70 copies

Olympus (1998) — Contributor — 68 copies

Green egg omelette : An anthology of art and articles from the legendary pagan journal (2009) — Contributor — 63 copies

Warrior Fantastic (2000) — Contributor — 63 copies

Lace and Blade (2008) — Contributor — 60 copies

By the Light of Camelot (2018) — Contributor — 60 copies

Voices of the Goddess: A Chorus of Sibyls (1990) — Contributor — 53 copies

The Book of Kings (1995) — Contributor — 49 copies

The Household of the Grail (1990) — Contributor — 47 copies

Sword and Mythos (2014) — Contributor — 44 copies

Zodiac Fantastic (1997) — Contributor — 33 copies

Within the Hollow Hills: An Anthology of New Celtic Writing (1994) — Contributor — 32 copies

Phantoms of the Night (1996) — Contributor — 28 copies

Lace and Blade 2 (2009) — Contributor — 26 copies

Gifts of Darkover (2015) — Contributor — 23 copies

Grails: Quests, Visitations and Other Occurrences (1992) — Contributor — 23 copies

Stars of Darkover (2014) — Contributor — 22 copies

Tolkiens Geschöpfe (2003) — Contributor — 20 copies

Crossroads of Darkover (2018) — Contributor — 13 copies

Realms of Darkover (2016) — Contributor — 13 copies

Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Worlds (1992) — Contributor — 13 copies

Citadels of Darkover (2019) — Contributor — 10 copies

Lace and Blade 4 (2018) — Contributor — 9 copies

The Feathered Edge (2012) — Contributor — 9 copies

Ásatrú: Die Rückkehr der Götter (2015) — Preface, some editions — 5 copies

Mythlore LXV — Contributor — 4 copies

Beyond the Fields We Know (1978) — Contributor — 4 copies

The ADF Study Manual, 1st Edition — Contributor — 2 copies

Tagged

anthology (3,458) Arthurian (298) Arthurian legend (97) Avalon (270) collection (110) Darkover (622) DAW (178) ebook (168) fantasy (6,983) fiction (2,495) historical (78) historical fiction (179) King Arthur (101) magic (307) Marion Zimmer Bradley (143) mythology (124) MZB (173) own (95) pagan (101) paganism (128) paperback (289) read (202) religion (90) runes (78) S&S (80) science fiction (1,071) Science Fiction/Fantasy (294) series (307) sf (463) sff (597) shared world (244) short fiction (89) short stories (1,469) speculative fiction (125) Sword and Sorceress (400) sword and sorcery (266) Thieves' World (595) to-read (975) unread (208) women (169)

Common Knowledge

Birthdate: 1943-02-20
Gender: female
Nationality: USA
Birthplace: Detroit, Michigan, USA
Places of residence: Berkeley, California, USA
Education: University of California, Berkeley (MA - Comparative Literature)
Mills College (BA)
Relationships: DeCles, Jon (husband)
Bradley, Marion Zimmer (sister-in-law)
Organizations: Society for Creative Anachronism (founder)
Awards and honors: Mythopoeic Fantasy award

Members

Reviews

Taking Up The Runes: A Complete Guide To Using Runes… by Diana L. Paxson

Working through this book all of 2011 with a class! More to come at the end of the year!

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wanderlustlover | 1 other review | Dec 26, 2022 |

The Book of the Sword / The Book of the Spear… by Diana L Paxson

This is a terrific and daring take on the re-telling of the Arthurian legend. It starts with Vortigern and the after-effects of the Romans leaving Britain, where a good number of families live on their Roman estates. They are trying to cope with the infighting of the clans and the invasions of the Anglo Saxons. Two Priestesses of the Isle of Women, Maderun and Argantel, occupy many of the events of the early chapters of Book 1, including the sanctifying of the sword and the alliances and warring clans.

By Merlin's birth, the POV changes and we see Vortigern's alliances to the Anglo Saxon chieftains through his eyes, with his gifts in full flower. Merlin's difference from his fellows, both physical and his Gift, are troubling to him. He witnesses the Night of the Long Knives and does what he can to honor the dead. Arthur is fostered, and we then move to Book 2.

Where the action is seen from the view of the Saxons: their lands are flooding, their people are leaving, greener shores are elsewhere, and yet the kinds are beholden to their land. And Book 2 does not deviate from this POV: that's what makes this set? series? so unique and deserving of 5 stars. Paxson brings in the culture of the Anglo Saxons as something other than The Enemy of the Britons.

Neither culture is fully Christianized, save for the one of Lesser Britain (per one of the young noblemen at young Arthur's court), so the shifting is well-drawn. And the dilemma of young Oesc, the Saxon noble, who is a hostage at Arthur's court and yet finds himself growing to respect this young king, is a good storyline woven into the overall tapestry.… (more)

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threadnsong | Dec 17, 2022 |

Essential Asatru: Walking the Path of Norse Paganism by Diana L. Paxson

I found this a thorough and interesting introduction to Asatru. There are an enormous amount of references to follow up on, and the book is easy to read. It's not dry, but it's also got enough academic meat to it to be credible. I especially like the fictional gathering that leads us through the chapters.

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dcrampton | 2 other reviews | Apr 20, 2022 |

Odin: Ecstasy, Runes, & Norse Magic by Diana L. Paxson

This was not at all what I thought it might be -- a retelling, an exploration of the Odin myth. This is a guide to personal practice in the religious sense. A spiritual exploration rather than a literary one. I'm glad that such a book exists, and that paganism is returning because more spiritual viewpoints are good, but I don't think I'll be reading this through to the end, because Odin is too fierce a divinity for me, and that feels like trespassing on mysteries.

Advanced Reader's Copy Provided by Edelweiss… (more)

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jennybeast | Apr 14, 2022 |

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