Michelle Sagara


Michelle Michiko Sagara is a Canadian author of fantasy literature, active since the early 1990s. She has published as Michelle Sagara, as Michelle West and as Michelle Sagara West. Sagara has received two nominations for the John W. Campbell Award.
She lives in Toronto and is employed part-time at Bakka-Phoenix, a local bookstore.

Biography

Sagara is the eldest child of Japanese immigrants. As a child, Sagara loved reading Nancy Drew mysteries as well as the works of Enid Blyton and J. R. R. Tolkien. She studied physics, then English, at the University of Toronto before dropping out to pursue writing. After she married in 1990, she began publishing under Michelle West. Her debut book, Into the Dark Lands was published in 1991. She has said, in a 2008 interview: "I submitted the first novel to Del Rey books in 1987. It was rejected, but with a phone call, and in the end I revised the manuscript and sent it back. The revision was passed on to Lester del Rey, who was alive at the time. He rejected it with a four-page single space letter had all the trademark curmudgeonliness for which he was famed. But buried in that four-page letter was a very definite 'This flashback of 94 pages needs to be its own damn book, and it should be book one.' So... I wrote that novel, and I submitted that novel, and that's the novel they bought."

Novels

Books of the Sundered

Originally published as a Michelle Sagara work, Books of the Sundered is a Tolkienesque tale of love, betrayal, and redemption. Previously out of print, the series was reissued by BenBella Books under the name Michelle Sagara West.
  1. Into the Dark Lands, 1991
  2. Children of the Blood, 1992
  3. Lady of Mercy, 1993
  4. Chains of Darkness, Chains of Light, 1994

    The Sacred Hunt

The Kingdom of Breodanir is facing a threat unlike any seen for centuries. An orphan boy and his adopted brother struggle against the ties that bind them together as they complete an impossible journey to save the world—at the risk of their own destruction. These are the first books set in the Essalieyan universe to be published.
  1. Hunter's Oath
  2. ''Hunter's Death''

    The Sun Sword

Sixteen years after the events of The Sacred Hunt, the Empire of Essalieyan and the Dominion of Annagar are at war due to machinations of the Kialli. The resulting struggle for power will define the lives of those who would bring an end to the Kialli threat. Events laid out in The Sacred Hunt are referenced, but are not necessary to follow the story.
The House War series intersects The Sun Sword series in the Essalieyan universe. Michelle Sagara published a synopsis of The Sun Sword series to give necessary background to readers of The House War.
  1. The Broken Crown
  2. The Uncrowned King
  3. The Shining Court
  4. Sea of Sorrows
  5. The Riven Shield
  6. ''The Sun Sword''

    The House War

Set in the Essalieyan universe, The House War chronicles the story of Jewel and her rise in House Terafin. The first three novels return to the origin of Jewel and the discovery of her den. They also revisit some of the narrative from Hunter's Death, though told from different character perspectives.
  1. The Hidden City: A Novel of the House War, Book 1
  2. City of Night: A Novel of the House War, Book 2
  3. House Name: A Novel of the House War, Book 3
The concluding volumes, beginning with Skirmish, take place after events of The Sun Sword.
  2. Skirmish: A Novel of the House War, Book 4
  3. Battle: A Novel of the House War, Book 5
  4. Oracle: A Novel of the House War, Book 6
  5. Firstborn: A Novel of the House War, Book 7
  6. ''War: A Novel of the House War, Book 8''

    The Burning Crown

Set in the Essalieyan universe, The Burning Crown is the final arc in the overarching series.
  1. Hunter's Redoubt
  2. The Wild Road
  3. ''The Winter Prince''

    Chronicles of Elantra

Kaylin is a young woman with a complicated history. Although taking place in a fantastical universe, this series has a strong tone of urban fantasy and a single character perspective. The books tend to be more procedural than the author's other novels, but with an underlying, driving plot.
  1. Cast in Shadow
  2. Cast in Courtlight
  3. Cast in Secret
  4. Cast in Fury
  5. Cast in Silence
  6. Cast in Chaos
  7. Cast in Ruin
  8. Cast in Peril
  9. Cast in Sorrow
  10. Cast in Flame
  11. Cast in Honor
  12. Cast in Flight
  13. Cast in Deception
  14. Cast in Oblivion
  15. Cast in Wisdom
  16. Cast in Conflict
  17. Cast in Eternity
  18. Cast in Atonement
  19. Cast in Blood
Cast in Moonlight is a novella that describes Kaylin's introduction to the Hawks of Elantra. It was first published in Harvest Moon, a short story collection released by Luna Books in 2010, and later became available as a stand-alone work.
The Chronicles of Elantra have also been made available as audio books.

The Academia Chronicles

This series starts shortly after the events in "Cast in Eternity". The characters and events in The Academia Chronicles have substantial overlap with the Chronicles of Elantra series similar to the overlap with Wolves of Elantra.
  1. Shards of Glass
  2. ''Heir of Light''

    The Wolves of Elantra

Multiple races carefully navigate the City of Elantra under the Dragon Emperor's wing. His Imperial Wolves are executioners, the smallest group to serve in the Halls of Law. The populace calls them assassins. This series is the backstory of the character Severn Handred introduced in Sagara's Chronicles of Elantra series.
  1. The Emperor's Wolves
  2. ''Sword and Shadow''

    Queen of the Dead

Emma Hall is a high school student whose first boyfriend died in the summer in a car accident She spends far too much time in the cemetery at Nathan's grave and begins to see things she's never seen, and to hear things that no one else hears. Distinctly more "contemporary" urban fantasy than her other series.
  1. Silence
  2. Touch
  3. ''Grave''

    Short stories

Other short stories by Michelle Sagara West have appeared in magazines and anthologies under a variety of surnames.
The author has decided to release many, if not all, of her short stories as e-books, as her schedule permits. Additionally, the six stories specifically related to the Essalieyan novels are available together in a single-volume, on-demand print format titled Memory of Stone and other stories.
"Sigurne" is a short story created from material that was edited out of ORACLE. Michelle Sagara has made the short story available for free download in PDF format on her website.

Review columns and blog

Under the name Michelle West, Sagara writes a long running book review column, Musing on Books, for The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. As of the end of 2019, she has written 56 columns.
On her own , she writes a where she regularly gives updates on her writing and other events.