E-Reads is happy to announce that the complete collection of R. A. MacAvoy’s novels is now available both in paperback and e-book formats. Click here for the complete list, including five recent additions: The Book of Kells, The Third Eagle, and the Damiano trilogy.

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MacAvoy is the highly acclaimed author of imaginative and original fantasy fiction. Her debut novel, Tea with the Black Dragon, won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. She has also written the Damiano trilogy, the chronicles of a wizard’s young son set in an alternate Italian Renaissance; The Book of Kells, Twisting the Rope (the sequel to Tea with the Black Dragon), and the beloved Lens of the World trilogy. The Third Eagle is her only science fiction novel.

RC

R.A. MacAvoy won the John W. Campbell Award for best new writer of 1983. Her debut novel Tea With the Black Dragon was festooned with awards and nominations* and launched a career replete with highly acclaimed, imaginative and original fantasy novels.

With publication of The Book of Kells, the Damiano trilogy and The Third Eagle - her only science fiction novel – E-Reads offers the complete works of this uniquely gifted writer. You may purchase the downloads or wait for the print editions to appear, which are in production as I write this (keep an eye on this page for updates).

Set against the turbulent backdrop of the Italian Renaissance, the Damiano trilogy takes place in a world where real faith-based magic exists. Its hero is a wizard’s son, an alchemist and heir to dark magics. But he is also an innocent, a young scholar and musician befriended by the Archangel Raphael, who instructs him in the lute. To save his beloved city from war, Damiano leaves his cloistered life and sets out on a pilgrimage,seeking the aid of a powerful sorceress as he must walk the narrow path between light and shadow accompanied only by his talking dog. But his road is filled with betrayal, disillusionment and death, and Damiano is forced to confront his dark heritage, unleashing the hellish force of his awesome powers to protect those he loves. The further volumes of this tale are Damiano’s Lute and Raphael.

The Book of Kells treads the border between realism and fantasy. It centers around one of the most famous and beautiful illuminated manuscripts in history, the legendary (but entirely real) Book of Kells. Celtic history blends with magical fantasy for a strange and immersive tale of adventure.

A lovely review by D. D. Shade in the Lost Book Archives captures the essence of MacAvoy’s evocative and haunting style:

Roberta Ann MacAvoy applies words to a page as delicately as Monet added water colors to canvas and with the economy of Scrooge. When reading a work by R. A. MacAvoy, there is a deep sense of being in the hands of a master craftsman. There is also a touch of wonder. Clute and Grant note that most of MacAvoy’s novels are witty tales that cover unfamiliar ground. As such, her little known books make delightful, refreshing reading.

* Locus Magazine Award – 1983
Nebula Award Nomination – 1983
Philip K. Dick Memorial Award Nomination – 1984
Compton Crook Memorial Award-First Novel Nomination – 1984
Hugo Award Nomination – 1984
Locus Reader’s Poll-Best Fantasy Novel – 1984
Locus Reader’s Poll-Best First Novel – 1984
World Fantasy Award Nomination – 1984
Modern Fantasy-The Hundred Best Novels – 1988

In Lens of the World, the first novel of an action-packed and liltingly written trilogy, award-winning fantasist R. A. MacAvoy’s dwarfish hero Nazuret embarks on an adventure that will take him through a lifetime of challenges. His story is filled with surprising rewards and amazing adventures. By the hands of Powl, mentor, madman, and lens grinder, he is put to extreme mental and physical test and is blessed with knowledge. He embarks upon a journey to his destiny through war, darkness, and death. He is determined to emerge beyond the tiny status he was given at birth.

Here’s what Library Journal said about it:

In this, the first volume of a fantasy series, MacAvoy does not merely set the stage, hint at a plot to be unveiled later, or tease readers with suggested themes. Instead, she presents a fully developed novel that preserves interesting territory to be explored in the future. The plot crosses the classic quest fantasy with the bildungsroman, and the novel is composed in the epistolary style. Nazhuret, a child seemingly without family, is the ward of a military school for the sons of nobility. As an adolescent, he finds himself propelled into a weird relationship with the mysterious Powl. Their meeting is a memorable set-piece worthy of Poe. Nazhuret’s re-education under Powl involves trials to make the most hardworking student shudder. At the end of it, Powl sends Nazhuret into the world, a kind of beggar/philosopher, a lens-grinder on tour. It is here that MacAvoy’s intent becomes clear, because Nazhuret is indeed, for readers, the lens of the world, the optic through which they see the mysterious, shifting ambiguities that create a reality. This is a plot and a theme and a character so rich that revelations would be unforgivable. Add to these one of the most surprising supporting characters and plots in years and a fantasy setting that is always intriguing but never intrusive and you have a book that readers won’t want to end. –Cathy Chauvette, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

It will be hard for you to set the trilogy aside after the first book, so let me summarize the sequels.

King of the Dead follows the story of dwarf-like Nazhuret, a modest and fastidious lens grinder. Although he could have chosen an exalted and wealthy life as a noble member of the court, he wishes to live in humble and undisturbed poverty with his lady Arlin. But the ordinary life that Nazhuret wants is abruptly shattered when a vicious attack by paid assassins forces him to run. With possible enemies on all sides, the only place to go is the neighboring kingdom of Rezhmia, where Nazhuret has an ancient blood-tie. However, he finds that Rezhmia is no safe haven, for dark clouds are gathering there, intent on destruction of the homeland of Nazhuret’s heart. Evil tidings, treacherous family members and powerful sorcery threaten to overtake him, but Nazhuret must survive for the sake of those he loves.

In the climactic Belly of the Wolf, Nazhuret embarks on his final adventure. He must unwillingly end a long period of exile and once again take up the sword in defense of freedom. His old friend the King is suddenly and unexpectedly assassinated, leaving the kingdom in chaos. Nazhuret interrupts the peace of his old age to endure the horrors of war and the supernatural realm of the dead. Before his journey comes to an end, he must test his wisdom to its limit in the face of danger and treachery. He is accompanied by his beloved daughter Nahvah and, as Nazhuret’s final debt of honor is paid, he faces the darker side of human nature with both of their lives at stake.

R.A. MacAvoy is a highly acclaimed author of imaginative and original science fiction and fantasy novels. Her debut novel, TEA WITH THE BLACK DRAGON, won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. She has also written the DAMIANO trilogy, the chronicles of a wizard’s young son, set during the Italian Renaissance; THE BOOK OF KELLS, and TWISTING THE ROPE, the highly acclaimed sequel to TEA WITH THE BLACK DRAGON. Some of these books are available as E-Reads reprints and we hope to have all of them available within the year.

– Richard Curtis

Some author careers culminate with a masterpiece but few launch their careers with one. R. A. MacAvoy’s Tea with the Black Dragon was a first novel and a masterpiece, and it gained her the 1983 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. Would you say she was in good company if I told you that other winners of the award include Jerry Pournelle, Spider Robinson, Orson Scott Card, Lucius Shepard and Cory Doctorow?

Locus, the leading trade publication of the fantasy and science fiction field, called Tea with the Black Dragon “An astonishing fantasy debut.” But there were lots of astonishing novels to follow, and E-Reads has acquired every one of them including Twisting the Rope (the sequel to Tea), The Grey Horse and the “Lens of the World” trilogy consisting of Lens of the World, King of the Dead, and Belly of the Wolf. Coming your way are The Book of Kells and the Damiano Trilogy. All in all, a veritable bumper crop of fantasy masterpieces.

And by the way, her name is pronounced MACK-avoy.

– Richard Curtis