Mary Gentle Books In Order

Publication Order of Book of Ash Books

Publication Order of Ilario Books

Publication Order of Orthe Books

Publication Order of White Crow Sequence Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Chapbooks

Publication Order of Collections

Publication Order of Isaac Asimov's Anthology Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Mary Gentle is a famous novelist from The United Kingdom, who is popular for writing fantasy and science fiction novels. She was born on March 29, 1956 as Mary Rosalyn Gentle in Eastbourne, Sussex. Eight of the novels written by her have received critical acclaim from the critics and authors of science fiction & fantasy books. Author Gentle has completed dual Masters degrees with respect to her academic studies. She is also an expert in sword fighting and lives in England. The first published book that author Gentle wrote in her career is known as Hawk in Silver. This young adult fantasy novel was published in 1977. Author Gentle gained prominence with the publication of the dual novels of the Orthe series, Golden Witchbread and Ancient Light. Some of the standalone books and short stories written by Gentle between 1990 and 1994 were clubbed together as a loosely linked book series in 2003. The books include Rats and Gargoyles, Left to His Own Devices, The Architecture of Desire, etc., and are collectively called as the White Crow series. The sequence written by author Gentle in the books depicts the retainment of many of the basic facts related to the two protagonists named Valentine and Casaubon. Valentine is referred to as White Crow. Except the basic facts, author Gentle has changed all the other details about them, including the kind of world inhabited by them, just like in the series by author Michael Moorcock about the antihero Jerry Cornelius. Some of the stories featuring the protagonists take place in the alternate history, showing the 17th century England.

The world shown by author Gentle in the books show a type of magic from the Renaissance Hermetic to have taken over the aspects of science. Another book from the club series is described as being set in a version of the near future. All the sequences are informed by the historically accurate exisiting ideas related to alchemy and esotericism and also depict obscure allusions to literature and history of the real world. Another popular book penned by author Gentle is called Grunts!. This book is a parody of the high fantasy books, depicting murderous halflings, racist elves, and heroic orcs. During the early 1990s, author Gentle became a part of the collection of Midnight Rose. In addition to writing under her original name, author Gentle has also written several erotic books under the pen name of Roxanne Morgan. One among author Gentle’s novels, Ash : A Secret History is published in the US in 4 volumes. This long novel was an epic science fantasy and went on to win the Sidewise Award in the category of the Best Alternate History in the year 2000. Since the publication of this book, author Gentle has published Ilario, which takes place in the same time frame.

The Book of Ash novel series written by Mary Gentle is comprised of four books in total, which were released between the years 1999 and 2000. This is an alternate history series and is set in the medieval Burgandy. The debut novel of this series is entitled ‘A Secret History’. It was released in the year 1999by the Eos publication. Author Gentle has set the plot of this book in the middle of the 15th century in Burgandy. At the start of the book, it is shown that during the fifteenth century Burgandy was considered as Europe’s jewel. It is powerful and opulent, and was considered as the center of the uncivilized world undisputedly. Ash is introduced as a girl in the epoch of madness and war. She was born in dung and mud. Ash slew men for the first time when she was just 8 years old. She was a beautiful girl, but ravaged and scarred. She rises up with time and goes on to lead a mercenary army well before reaching 20 years of age. Ash used to follow a sacred voice that proved very wise in the events of bloody battles and eventually attained a pinnacle that seemed very difficult for even the most potent legends. The time was such that the alliances and empires used to shift like sand. The bull named Mithras was worshipped alongside Christ freely, and a vigorous cloud had risen out of all of Africa and covered the sun. At the same time, the Visigoths arrived with their deadly machines. The machines were believed to be magically powered and was used by the Visigoths to target the rich Burgandians. The machines wrenched the civilization’s wheel in an unexpected and unknown direction. As the wrath of the Visigoths kept on increasing, an incomparable warrior who was raised on the ash heap of destiny became much more than no one had ever thought a woman could become.

The next popular book of the series is called as ‘Carthage Ascendant’. This book was also published by the Eos publishers in 2000. Once again, author Gentle has described the main lead of the story as Ash. At the beginning of the book, it is depicted that the sun has been extinguished by dark sorcery in the brutal age of miracles and bloodshed. During such testing times, the fate of Africa, Europe, and the rest of the world lay on the shoulders of Ash, the warrior woman. The Carthage army’s undefeated legions begin rampaging throughout the European kingdoms. Only Burgandy stood in the way of the hordes of Visgoth and their slave general named Faris. When he comes to know that deep inside the territory of the enemy, a stone idol containing frightening power stands and whispers into the ears of Ash, he realizes that it must be destroyed as soon as possible. Faris also learns that the stone idol has guided Ash through the military campaigns and she has emerged victorious in all such campaigns. However, a greater evil lurks in Carthage. This evil is known to have created the idol and shaped the existence of Ash. This evil is plotting the final annihilation of Burgandy with a deadly purpose and is looking to wipe it out completely from the surface of earth. As Burgandy lies in the center and is considered as a key for controlling the world and Europe’s richest prize, it automatically becomes the Carthaginian campaign’s jewel. The book was highly praised and well appreciated by the fellow authors of Gentle and the critics alike. It was even included in the Honor List of the James Tiptree Junior Award in 2000.