Karen Lord Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Tremontaine Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Karen Lord
Karen Lord was born in Barbados in 1968. she holds a PhD in the sociology of religion from the University of Wales and a science degree from the University of Toronto.

Karen also judged the 2018 CODE Burt Award for Caribbean YA Literature and the 2019 Commonwealth Short Story Prize. She has also taught at the 2018 Clarion West Writers Workshop and the 2019 Clarion Workshop, and she was a co-facilitator of the 2018 Commonwealth Short Story Prize in Barbados. Karen’s been a featured author at literary festivals from Edinburgh to Adelaide to Berlin, and often appears at the Bocas Lit Fest in Tobago & Trinidad.

“Redemption in Indigo” is the first stand alone novel and was released in 2012. Winner of the Frank Collymore Literary Prize, the William L. Crawford Award, and the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature Best Book. This is an intricately woven story about magic, adventure, and the power of the human spirit.

Paama’s husband is a glutton and a fool. It is bad enough that he followed her to her parents’ home in the village of Makende, but he has now disgraced himself by stealing corn and murdering livestock. Paama leaves him for good, she attracts the djombi’s attention, who give her a gift: the Chaos Stick, which will allow her to manipulate the subtle forces of the world. Unfortunately, there is a wrathful djombi (undying ones) with indigo skin that believes this is a power that should be his only.

This is rich with fantastic detail and bursts with humor, it’s a clever, contemporary fairy tale which introduces readers to this dynamic new voice in Caribbean literature. Lord’s world filled with indigo immortals and spider tricksters that is inspired in part by a Sengalese folk tale, is going to feel instantly familiar, yet Paama’s adventures are utterly original, fresh, and surprising.

“The Best of All Possible Worlds” is the second stand alone novel and was released in 2013. One reserved and proud alien society finds its homeland getting destroyed in this unprovoked act of aggression, and the survivors don’t have any choice but to reach out to the indigenous humanoids of their adopted world, to whom they’re distantly related. They wish to preserve their cherished way of life yet come to learn that in order to preserve this culture of theirs, they might have to alter it forever.

Now a woman and a man from these two clashing societies have to work together in order to save this disappearing race, and wind up uncovering ancient mysteries with some far-reaching ramifications. While their mission is hanging in the balance, this unlikely team, one impulsive and fiery, and the other cerebral and cool, might just find in one another their own destinies, and a force which transcends all.

“The Galaxy Game” is the third stand alone novel and was released in 2014. For years, Rafi Delarua saw his family suffer under his dad’s unethical use of psionic power. Now the government has got Rafi under a close watch however, hating their crude efforts to analyze his brain, he flees to the planet Punartam, where his abilities are the norm, and not the exception.

Punartam is also the center for wallrunning, his favorite sport, and thanks to his best friend, he’s found a way to train with the elite. However Rafi quickly realizes that he is playing a different game entirely, for the galaxy’s changing: unrest continues to spread and the Zhinuvian cartels are plotting, making the stars a much more dangerous place to aim. There might be a solution, one that involves galactic power, the love of a beautiful game, and interstellar travel.

“Unraveling” is the fourth stand alone novel and was released in 2019. The dark truth behind a series of unusual murders leads to this otherworldly exploration of myth, memory, and spirits, that is steeped in Caribbean storytelling.

Dr. Miranda Ecouvo, forensic therapist of the City, recently helped put a serial killer behind bars. However she quickly finds that her investigation into seven strange murders isn’t quite complete yet. One near death experience throws her out of time and into this realm of spirits and labyrinths. While there, she encounters brothers Chance and the Trickster, who each have an otherworldly interest in the apparently mundane crimes from her files.

It seems that the real mastermind behind these murders is still on the loose, chasing one myth in order to achieve immortality. Together, the Trickster, Miranda, and Chance have to travel through conjured mazes, following threads of memory in order to locate this shadowy killer. While they journey deeper, they find even more questions which will take patience and pain to answer. Where’s the path to redemption? What’s the price of power? And how can they possibly stop this man (or monster) that would kill the innocent in order to live forever?

“The Blue, Beautiful World” is the fifth stand alone novel and was released in 2022. While first contact transforms Earth, this team of gifted visionaries race to create this new future.

The world is changing, and humanity has to change with it. Soaring temperatures and rising seas have radically transformed the face of Earth. At the same time, Earth’s being observed from afar by other civilizations, and now they’re ready to make contact.

This group of changemakers and dreamers are vying to prepare humanity for first contact, which includes: Charyssa (who’s a beloved celebrity icon with a passion for humanity work), Peter Hendrix (the genius inventor behind the most advanced of VR tech), and Kanoa (a member of this global council of young people drafted to reimagine the relationship between alien and human societies).

And they might have this unexpected secret weapon: Owen, who is a pop megastar whose ability to connect with his adoring fan base is more than mere charisma. His hidden talent could be the key to uniting Earth while it looks to the stars. However Owen’s abilities are so unique that nobody is able to control him and so seductive that he can’t help but use them. Can he possibly transcend his human limitations and find the real freedom that he’s always dreamt of? Or could he be doomed to become the dictator of his nightmares?