The PBS Blog Team is please to announce a new feature we call Author Spotlight. A huge Thank You to Barbara (femmefan) for this great idea!
Author Spotlight on Barbara Hambly
By Barbara (femmefan) 
Mystery. Historical fiction. Fantasy. Vampires. Sherlock Holmes. Graphic novels. Science fiction. Star Wars. Star Trek. Beauty and the Beast.
It’s quite an eclectic, something-for-everyone mix, with author Barbara Hambly as the common denominator. I discovered Hambly years ago with one of her Star Trek books, Ishmael. An odd crossover universe book, it was so faithful to the characters from both universes that it clicked for me, and I’ve followed her career ever since. I’ve read many of her titles although some, like the graphic novels or Beauty and the Beast, don’t appeal to me, while others are out of print and/or difficult to find, even with PBS as a resource.
Don’t get the idea that because Hambly is a prolific writer who works across many genres that she must be mistress of none of them. From outer space to ancient Rome, in unimagined worlds of fantasy, in mid-1800’s New Orleans or the pre-Revolution American colonies, Hambly maintains a sure touch with character, dialog, and story. Her prose is top-notch, with a wonderful clarity and careful word choices that say just exactly what the author wants to say.
That she performs meticulous background research is apparent; her college training in medieval history probably contributes to that inclination. What she does with that historical information, though, is amazing: she creates detailed worlds with characters who live and breathe there, who slip into their milieu with an ease and naturalness that pulls the reader right along behind in willing belief.
Settings and characters are often intriguingly complex. Don Simon Ysidro, vampire, is subtle yet dramatic, a heartbreaking blend of suave courtliness and deadly danger, who both loves and loathes his cold existence. Ben January, the “free man of color” in Hambly’s January series, is a black doctor who inhabits a world of both structured cruelty and unexpected goodness. In the fantasy Windrose Chronicles books, Joanna, the resourceful heroine (a type that Hambly favors) and Antryg, the wizard who is surely either demented or the wisest man alive, make a formidable pair.
Recently Hambly has turned to stories steeped in American history. The Emancipator’s Wife is a fictional treatment of Mary Todd Lincoln, while Patriot Hearts looks at our country’s early days through the eyes of some its most prominent women. One of those women, Abigail Adams, is featured in the history/mystery The Ninth Daughter (written as Barbara Hamilton).
Whatever the genre, although I liked some of her books more than others, I can honestly say I’ve never been disappointed by Barbara Hambly’s work yet–not even by The Bride of the Rat God, which was much better than its title and the cheesy cover art would lead you to think! I keep track of her series and upcoming titles, knowing I’ll want to read whatever is next. I hope that the featured books that follow will encourage you to judge for yourself.
(As a disclaimer, I probably should mention that I’m not a Hambly relative/dependent/hanger-on, nor am I on Barbara Hambly’s payroll. 🙂
A Free Man of Color (Benjamin January series book 1)
The Silent Tower (The Windrose Chronicles book 1)
The Time of the Dark (Darwath, book 1)
Those Who Hunt the Night (Asher/Ysidro book 1)
I have several of Hambley’s books on my TBR pile. You have inspired me to pick them up thanks!
I think the Author Spotlight is a BRILLIANT idea, and what a versatile example for the inaugural piece! Authors rarely leave the comfort zone of their favorite genre, and few who do venture beyond those bounds manage to do it well. Clearly Hambley is an exception!
Barbara, your disclaimer was particularly funny to me, because for a second I thought YOU were the Barbara on which the article was written LOL