Isobelle Carmody Books In Order

Publication Order of The Gateway Trilogy Books

Publication Order of The Kingdom of the Lost Books

Publication Order of The Legendsong Books

Publication Order of Little Fur Books

Publication Order of The Obernewtyn Chronicles Books

Publication Order of The Quentaris Chronicles Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Picture Books

Publication Order of Chapbooks

Publication Order of Collections

Publication Order of Tales from the Tower Books

Publication Order of The Year's Best Australian Fantasy and Horror Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Isobelle Carmody is one of the most popular fantasy and science fiction authors from Australia who made her name with the Obernewtyn Chronicles. However, that is not the entirety of her works as she has also written several standalone young adult and children novels and series.

Carmody is for the most part a fantasy author though she sometimes pens some horror and science fiction novels for young adults.
Carmody attended the Keesing Writers’ Studio in Paris after she was the winner of Australian Council’s grants. Over the years, she has been the winner of several awards including the Aurealis Awards while “Evermore,” her blockbuster graphic novel, was the winner of the Ledger Award.
Isobelle holds a doctorate she earned from the University of Queensland and now spends much of her time between Brisbane and Victoria.

Carmody was born on 16 June 1958 in Wangaratta, the first born of eight children. Growing up, all she ever wanted to do was become a scientist and in her early teens while other girls were thinking of boys she had her magnets, bug catcher and Bunsen burner.

She would start writing her debut novel “Obernewtyn Chronicles” when she was just fourteen following a tragic accident that robbed her of her father. Still a high school student, working on the novel was what she needed to get her mind off the death of her father.
Carmody soon realized that she was bad at math and would make a bad scientist and decided to change course to pursue journalism and public relations. Surprisingly, she never stopped writing her novel even as she pursued her degree and began working after graduation.

In addition to her young adult novels she has also written several middle grade audiences. The Gateway trilogy has often been compared to the “Chronicles of Narnia” and the “Wizard of Oz” series, which is very high praise indeed.
Given how much her work has impacted Australian fiction, she attended the 2007 Australian National Science Fiction Convention as the guest of honor.

For Isobelle Carmody, writing was never meant to be a new career as she at first used it to escape from the ugly and harsh world around her. She started writing her debut novel Obernewtyn as a means to step away from it all and survive.
Following the death of her father, she was left responsible for her seven siblings that she lived with in a housing commission house. At fourteen years old, she was just a child but she thought the best way to do this was by telling them stories.

It was during this time that he realized that she was a good storyteller that could control and entertain others with her stories. While it was a hard time for the teen, it provided her with confidence and tools she would need to become a creative fiction author in later life.
The telling of stories was on one side an intense personal exploration and on the other a skill for the development of an audience. Writing Obernewtyn, her first novel shaped her teenage years and also helped her to survive as her writing was like escaping to a world where she could think and someone she could talk to.

“Obernewtyn” by Isobelle Carmody is a novel set in the future where humanity nearly destroyed their world. After the Chaos and the Great White the only thing that had not been ruined by the poison that had destroyed everything was the farmlands.

The farmers had banded together against the horde of refugees from the cities and formed a council that resolved to kill any refugees that tried to force themselves onto the land.

To cement their power on the survivors and the land, they empowered the Herder Faction, a fledgling religion which believes that the Great Whie was a punishment on the earth for the wickedness of humans. Apparently, Lud the creator was angry with them for their books, machines and meddling which had been against the law.

It is not long before anyone who spoke out against the Herders or the Council was labelled a seditionist and was either burnt or sent to Council farms for reeducation. Elspeth Gordie’s parents are among those found guilty leaving her and Jes, her older brother as orphans living all alone with an uncertain future.
Things get interesting when Elspeth discovers that she has mutant powers which estranges her from her friends and even her brother who wants to stay on good terms with the Herders.

Isobelle Carmody’s “The Farseekers” is set two years after Rushton and Elspeth successfully managed to oust Madam Varga and Alexi from Obernewtyn after they left the lands ruled by the Council. They had also installed Rushton as the rightful leader and Master of the land.

Since then they have experienced peace and many of the Misfits have embraced their differences and even established guilds where they hone their unique talents. Obernewtyn has become a refuge for people who do not like the Council as it is far enough that nobody bothers with them.

As mistress of the Farseeker guild, Elspeth convinces the Technoguild to go on an expedition to find some Beforetime books and artifacts they believe will provide a wealth of useful information. It will be a dangerous mission as they will have to leave the safe confines of Obernewtyn.

Things are very different now as their settlement is becoming self-sustaining and their dream of a home for Misfits is becoming reality. But the threat from the totalitarian Council has not yet been vanquished.

The only hope they have is to develop their mental powers and work hard to ensure they are ready before what is an inevitable confrontation. But then Elspeth is lured off the path and captured while on an expedition and this means the fate of their new colony now hangs in the balance.

“Ashling” by Isobelle Carmody is a great new addition following the second of the series. At the opening of the novel, Elspeth just rescued a gypsy woman that had been captured and was about to be executed by the Herders. But her action is what sets off a most unexpected series of events that results in an exciting adventure.

She takes the woman to Obernewtyn but when she does not recover, she consults Maryon the fortune teller who says they need to go to Sutrium to return the woman to her family within seven days or they would die.

Elspeth heads south with several others and along the way they learn about the gypsies who seem to have some kind of link to ancient enemies of the Misfits. They eventually travel to Sador on a quest to determine if they can work with several groups in the area that want to throw off the yoke of the tyrannical Council.
Tied into all these are hints into what caused the catastrophe known as the Great White and indications that Elspeth may end up as a Seeker.

One Response to “Isobelle Carmody”

1. Jan Shortt: 4 weeks ago

   I had a fall a couple weeks ago and am not able to do a lot of things as I’m hobbling around on crutches and my sister left me the books Obernewtyn and the Farseekers. I’m hooked and looking forward to continuing the adventure of Elspeth and the rest. Thanks for passing the time for me!!

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