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Janny Wurts

Goodreads Author

Website

http://www.paravia.com/JannyWurts

Twitter

jannywurts

Genre

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Member Since

January 2009

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/jannywurts

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Janny Wurts is the author of War of Light and Shadow series, and To Ride Hell's Chasm. Her eighteen published titles include a trilogy in audio, a short story collection, as well as the internationally best selling Empire trilogy, co authored with Raymond E. Feist, with works translated into fifteen languages worldwide. Her latest title in the Wars of Light and Shadow series, Destiny's Conflict, culminates more than thirty years of carefully evolved ideas. The cover images on the books, both in the US and abroad, are her own paintings, depicting her vision of characters and setting.

Through her combined talents as a writer/illustrator, Janny has immersed herself in a lifelong ambition: to create a seamless interface between words and picture Janny Wurts is the author of War of Light and Shadow series, and To Ride Hell's Chasm. Her eighteen published titles include a trilogy in audio, a short story collection, as well as the internationally best selling Empire trilogy, co authored with Raymond E. Feist, with works translated into fifteen languages worldwide. Her latest title in the Wars of Light and Shadow series, Destiny's Conflict, culminates more than thirty years of carefully evolved ideas. The cover images on the books, both in the US and abroad, are her own paintings, depicting her vision of characters and setting.

Through her combined talents as a writer/illustrator, Janny has immersed herself in a lifelong ambition: to create a seamless interface between words and pictures that will lead reader and viewer into the imagination. Her lavish use of language invites the mind into a crafted realm of experience, with characters and events woven into a complex tapestry, and drawn with an intensity to inspire active fuel for thought. Her research includes a range of direct experience, lending her fantasy a gritty realism, and her scenes involving magic crafted with intricate continuity. A self-taught painter, she draws directly from the imagination, creating scenes in a representational style that blurs the edges between dream and reality. She makes few preliminary sketches, but envisions her characters and the scenes that contain them, then executes the final directly from the initial pencil drawing.

The seed idea for the Wars of Light and Shadow series occurred, when, in the course of researching tactic and weapons, she viewed a documentary film on the Battle of Culloden Moor. This was the first time she had encountered that historical context of that brutal event, with the embroidery of romance stripped from it. The experience gave rise to an awakening, which became anger, that so often, our education, literature and entertainment slant history in a manner that equates winners and losers with moral right and wrong, and the prevalent attitude, that killing wars can be seen as justifiable solutions when only one side of the picture is presented.

Her series takes the stance that there are two sides to every question, and follows two characters who are half brothers. One a bard trained as a master of magecraft, and the other a born ruler with a charismatic passion for justice, have become cursed to lifelong enmity. As one sibling raises a devoted mass following, the other tries desperately to stave off defeat through solitary discipline and cleverness. The conflict sweeps across an imaginary world, dividing land and people through an intricate play of politics and the inborn prejudices of polarized factions already set at odds. Readers are led on a journey that embraces both viewpoints. The story explores the ironies of morality which often confound our own human condition - that what appears right and just, by one side, becomes reprehensible when seen from the opposite angle. What is apparently good for the many, too often causes devastating suffering to the nonconformist minority. Through the interactions between the characters themselves, the reader is left to their own discretion to interpret the moral impact of events.

Says Janny of her work, "I chose to frame this story against a backdrop of fantasy because I could handle even the most sensitive issues with the gloves off - explore the myriad angles of our troubled times with the least risk of offending anyone's personal sensibilities. The result, I can hope, is an expanding journey of the spirit that explores the grand depths, and rises to the challenge of mapping the ethereal potential of an evolving planetary consciousness... explore free thought and compassionate understanding."

Beyond writing, Janny's award winning paintings have been showcased in exhibitions of imaginative artwork, among them a commemorative exhibition for NASA's 25th Anniversary; the Art of the Cosmos at Hayden Planet ...more

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Janny Wurts’s books

Average rating: 4.22 · 139,439 ratings · 4,709 reviews · 93 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Curse of the Mistwraith (Wars of Light and Shadow, #1) 3.77 avg rating — 6,009 ratings — published 1993 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Warhost of Vastmark (Wars of Light & Shadow #3) 4.07 avg rating — 3,563 ratings — published 1995 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Ships of Merior (Wars of Light & Shadow #2) 3.91 avg rating — 3,449 ratings — published 1994 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Fugitive Prince (Wars of Light & Shadow #4) 3.92 avg rating — 3,187 ratings — published 1997 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Grand Conspiracy (Wars of Light & Shadow #5) 4.13 avg rating — 2,488 ratings — published 1999 — 15 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Stormwarden (The Cycle of Fire, #1) by Janny Wurts (Goodreads Author) 3.80 avg rating — 2,349 ratings — published 1984 — 19 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Traitor's Knot (Wars of Light & Shadow, #7) 4.21 avg rating — 1,933 ratings — published 2004 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Peril's Gate (Wars of Light and Shadow #6) 4.18 avg rating — 1,946 ratings — published 2001 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Keeper of the Keys (The Cycle of Fire #2) 3.93 avg rating — 1,852 ratings — published 1988 — 14 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	To Ride Hell’s Chasm 3.84 avg rating — 1,667 ratings — published 2002 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Janny Wurts's Blog

CURSE OF THE MISTWRAITH to release in Audio book format

Curse of the Mistwraith, volume 1 of the Wars of Light and Shadow series is now forthcoming in audiobook format.

Pre-order pages are cropping up at several venues already, with more on the way.

Thank you for all of the interest and enthusiasm from the readership that has helped tip the scales.

This release will occur along with the audio for Song of the Mysteries, finale volume (11) that wraps up the Read more of this blog post »

30 likes · Like • 9 comments • flag

Published on January 22, 2024 08:33 • Tags: audiobook, curse-of-the-mistwraith, fantasy, janny-wurts, wars-of-light-and-shadow

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Series by Janny Wurts

Wars of Light and Shadow (11 books)
by

Janny Wurts (Goodreads Author)

4.02 avg rating — 26,361 ratings

Arc 3 - Alliance of Light (5 books)
by

Janny Wurts (Goodreads Author)

4.11 avg rating — 10,929 ratings

Arc 2 - The Ships of Merior (2 books)
by

Janny Wurts (Goodreads Author)

4.01 avg rating — 7,426 ratings

The Cycle of Fire (3 books)
by

Janny Wurts (Goodreads Author)

3.89 avg rating — 5,996 ratings

Arc 4 - Sword of the Canon (2 books)
by

Janny Wurts (Goodreads Author)

4.28 avg rating — 1,456 ratings

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Janny’s Recent Updates

Janny has read Gods of the Wyrdwood (Forsaken, #1) by R.J. Barker (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Original. Magnificent. Engrossing. RJ Barker's done it again. ...more
Oct 27, 2024 04:31PM · 17 likes · like · see review
Janny and 70 other people liked Matt's Fantasy Book Reviews's review of Sharpe's Tiger (Sharpe, #1): "4.5 stars rounded up. Full review coming soon..."
Oct 18, 2024 01:32PM · see review
Janny made a comment on Tori Tecken’s status in Seabiscuit: An American Legend " This book is brilliant and factual - I predict you will love it! "
Oct 07, 2024 02:36PM
Janny voted on a poll in the group Beyond Reality Fantasy Final Poll for Dec. 2024 BotM She voted for: Somewhere Beyond the Sea by T.J. Klune Somewhere Beyond the Sea by T.J. Klune ...more
Sep 30, 2024 02:04PM · like · take the poll
Janny made a comment in the group Beyond Reality — What are you reading in September 2024? topic " Just finished Deep Black by Miles Cameron, totally wonderful sequel to Artifact Space - delivered a fabulous finish to one of the best SF reads I've e ...more "
Sep 25, 2024 07:34AM
Janny made a comment on Stefan’s status in Against All Gods (The Age of Bronze, #1) " This is brilliant. "
Sep 14, 2024 05:55AM
Janny made a comment on Joseph Doan’s review of The Masters " The fact that the original trilogy was subdivided into shorter segments didn't do it any favors. The original break points made better sense, but they ...more "
Sep 08, 2024 08:38AM · see review
Janny answered Allison's question: Hello Janny! Will there be an ebook version of Song of the Mysteries available in the Canada Kobo store? I am able to see that it can be purchased from the US store but only the audiobook is listed as available in Canada. (Similarly Amazon/Kindle in Canada only offers the print and audiobook versions). Thank you for your clarification! Hi Allison, it should be there now - it is possible that they did not list it very well (you may have to poke about a bit) to see it. I will write to my editor today and inquire. But it totally should be there! If I find a reader who can give me a li See Full Answer
Sep 06, 2024 07:21AM · 1 like · like
Janny made a comment on CURSE OF THE MISTWRAITH to release in Audio book format " DEAL ANNOUNCEMENT! If you are in the UK and you have the Apple Books app (any apple device) - the E BOOK for CURSE OF THE MISTWRAITH is the FREE BOOK O ...more "
Sep 03, 2024 07:40AM · see blog post
Janny and 109 other people liked Mayim de Vries's review of Inda (Inda, #1): "“Power begets politics, and politics are more dangerous than war because there are fewer rules.” May I present you one of the best hidden gems under the radar of Goodreads hype I have ever discovered? Inda brings the best of traditional high fantasy:" Read more of this review »
Aug 18, 2024 09:18AM · see review

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Quotes by Janny Wurts (?)

“When hope dies, you breathe it back to life again! No matter how long it takes, or what time's required to heal the wound. Disappointment will not last a lifetime unless you lie down and give in.”
― Janny Wurts, Initiate's Trial

tags: inspirational

20 likes

“An illusion threatens no one with harm. Neither can it be dispelled by armed force.”
― Janny Wurts, The Curse of the Mistwraith

tags: illusion

12 likes

“Show me a hero and I’ll show you a man enslaved by his competence.”
― Janny Wurts, The Curse of the Mistwraith

7 likes

See all Janny Wurts's quotes »

Polls

2nd Quarter 2021 - Fantasy #3

All the Murmuring Bones by A.G. Slatter, 368p

5 votes, 35.7%

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, 500p

2 votes, 14.3%

Godblind by Anna Stephens, 408p

2 votes, 14.3%

Witherward by Hannah Mathewson, 400p

2 votes, 14.3%

Hall of Smoke by H.M. Long, 403p

1 vote, 7.1%

The Mask of Mirrors by M.A. Carrick, 672p

1 vote, 7.1%

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger, 362p

1 vote, 7.1%

The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart, 494p

0 votes, 0.0%

The Curse of the Mistwraith by Janny Wurts, 830p

0 votes, 0.0%

Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline, 307p

0 votes, 0.0%

The Bone Doll's Twin by Lynn Flewelling, 524p

0 votes, 0.0%

Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K.J. Parker, 350p

0 votes, 0.0%

The Forgetting Moon by Brian Lee Durfee, 800p

0 votes, 0.0%

Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff VanderMeer, 368p

0 votes, 0.0%

14 total votes

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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Beyond Reality: Nominations for August	21	95	May 20, 2009 09:17AM
SciFi and Fantasy...: What am I also reading in May	46	134	May 26, 2009 11:10AM
Fantasy Book Club: What Are You Reading in May?	75	176	Jun 05, 2009 04:47AM
Fantasy Book Club: May-June Nominations -- GR Authors	34	132	Jun 19, 2009 11:54PM
SciFi and Fantasy...: What I am Also Reading in June	69	219	Jun 27, 2009 08:51AM
Beyond Reality: What are you reading right now?	180	510	Jul 01, 2009 01:34AM
Beyond Reality: Nominations for October!	16	143	Jul 20, 2009 11:00AM

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Janny’s Quotes

“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.”
― Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood

tags: books, thought

30953 likes

“Myth is much more important and true than history. History is just journalism and you know how reliable that is.”
― Joseph Campbell

tags: inspirational, journalism, myth, story, truth-telling

412 likes

“A man with a scant vocabulary will almost certainly be a weak thinker. The richer and more copious one's vocabulary and the greater one's awareness of fine distinctions and subtle nuances of meaning, the more fertile and precise is likely to be one's thinking. Knowledge of things and knowledge of the words for them grow together. If you do not know the words, you can hardly know the thing.”
― Henry Hazlitt, Thinking as a Science

tags: language, power-of-words, vocabulary, words

223 likes

“You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.”
― Winston Churchill

tags: attributed-no-source, convictions, criticism

7774 likes

“Don't loaf and invite inspiration; light out after it with a club.”
― Jack London

tags: club, inspiration

682 likes

More of Janny’s quotes…