Suzy McKee Charnas books

Suzy McKee Charnas is an American science fiction and fantasy author known for the Holdfast Chronicles, a feminist post-apocalyptic series, and The Vampire Tapestry.

Anthologies

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Best Science Fiction of the Year 10 1981 Buy
Fantasy Annual III 1981 Buy
Fantasy Annual IV 1981 Buy
Nebula Awards 16 1982 Buy
A Very Large Array 1987 Buy
Nebula Awards No. 22 1988 Buy
Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, July 1989 1989 Buy
Skin of the Soul 1990 Buy
The Seaharp Hotel 1990 Buy
A Whisper of Blood 1991 Buy
Omni Best Science Fiction One 1992 Buy
The Mammoth Book of Modern Science Fiction 1993 Buy
The New Hugo Winners, Vol. 3 1994 Buy
The Mammoth Book of Wolf Men / The Mammoth Book of Werewolves 1994 Buy
Women of Wonder, the Contemporary Years 1995 Buy
The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women 1995 Buy
Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, March 1996 1996 Buy
Women Who Run with the Werewolves 1996 Buy
Visions of Wonder 1996 Buy
Modern Classics of Fantasy 1997 Buy
Blood Thirst 1997 Buy
Children of the Night 1999 Buy
Isaac Asimov’s Werewolves 1999 Buy
Vanishing Acts 2000 Buy
The WisCon Chronicles, Volume 1 2007 Buy
Poe: 19 New Tales of Suspense, Dark Fantasy, and Horror Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe 2008 Buy
The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Two 2010 Buy
The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2010 Edition 2010 Buy
Teeth: Vampire Tales 2011 Buy
The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2012 2012 Buy
Blood Sisters 2015 Buy

Best Horror of the Year Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Best Horror of the Year: Volume One 2009 Buy
The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Two 2010 Buy
The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Three 2011 Buy
The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Four 2012 Buy
The Best Horror of the Year Volume Five 2013 Buy
The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Six 2014 Buy
The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Seven 2015 Buy
The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Eight 2016 Buy
The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Nine 2017 Buy
The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Ten 2018 Buy
The Best of the Best Horror of the Year: 10 Years of Essential Short Horror Fiction 2018 Buy
The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Eleven 2019 Buy
The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Twelve 2020 Buy
The Best Horror of the Year Volume Thirteen 2021 Buy
The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Fourteen 2022 Buy
The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Fifteen 2024 Buy
The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Sixteen 2024 Buy
The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Seventeen 2025 Buy

Holdfast Chronicles Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Walk to the End of the World 1974 Buy
Motherlines 1978 Buy
The Furies 1994 Buy
The Conqueror’s Child 1999 Buy

Suzy Charnas Plays

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Vampire Dreams 2001 Buy

Suzy Charnas Short Stories/Novellas Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Unicorn Tapestry 1980 Buy
Boobs (in Asimov’s) 1989 Buy
Advocates 1991 N/A
Beauty and the Opéra or The Phantom Beast (in Asimov’s) 1996 Buy

Suzy Charnas Short Story Collections Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Vampire Tapestry 1980 Buy
Moonstone and Tiger-Eye 1992 Buy
Listening to Brahms 1998 Buy
Music of the Night 2001 Buy
Stagestruck Vampires and Other Phantasms 2004 Buy
SnackReads Generations 1 2016 Buy

Suzy Charnas Standalone Novels Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Dorothea Dreams 1986 Buy
The Kingdom of Kevin Malone 1993 Buy
The Ruby Tear 1997 Buy
Strange Seas 2001 Buy
My Father’s Ghost 2002 Buy
Life’s Greatest Battles: Awareness is the start of breakthrough 2019 Buy

The Sorcery Hall Trilogy Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Bronze King 1985 Buy
The Silver Glove 1988 Buy
The Golden Thread 1989 Buy

The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2015 Edition 2015 Buy
The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2010 Edition 2010 Buy
The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2011 Edition 2011 Buy
The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy and Horror, 2012 Edition 2012 Buy
The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2016 Edition 2016 Buy
The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2017 Edition 2017 Buy
The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2014 Edition 2014 Buy
The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2018 Edition 2018 Buy
The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2013 Edition 2013 Buy
The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2019 Edition 2020 Buy
The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, Volume 1 2020 Buy
The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, Volume 2 2021 Buy
The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy and Horror, Volume 3 2022 Buy
The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, Volume 4 2023 Buy
The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, Volume 5 2024 Buy

Suzy McKee Charnas has been writing speculative fiction since the 1970s, and her work sits at the intersection of science fiction, fantasy, and feminist literature. The Holdfast Chronicles, beginning with Walk to the End of the World (1974), imagines a post-apocalyptic society where men have enslaved women, and traces the long struggle for liberation across four books spanning 25 years.

Her Vampire Tapestry (1980) takes a different approach to vampire fiction, presenting its vampire as an academic rather than a gothic monster. The story “Unicorn Tapestry” won a Nebula Award. Charnas has also written the Sorcery Hall Trilogy for younger readers, several standalone novels, plays, and short fiction. Her work has appeared in numerous anthologies of dark fantasy and horror, and her short story “Boobs” is a widely anthologized werewolf tale.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books has Suzy McKee Charnas written?

Suzy McKee Charnas has written 88 books across nine series.

What was Suzy McKee Charnas's first book?

Suzy McKee Charnas’s first book is Walk to the End of the World, published in 1974.

What is Suzy McKee Charnas best known for?

Charnas is best known for the Holdfast Chronicles, a four-book feminist science fiction series beginning with Walk to the End of the World (1974), and for The Vampire Tapestry (1980), a collection of linked stories about a vampire who is also a university professor.

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