Rosemary Kirstein Books In Order

Publication Order of Steerswoman Books

Writing high-quality and equally highly-regarded science-fiction novels, the American author Rosemary Kirstein has been creating her novels for some time now, as she has started to pick-up the pace now, releasing more and more books in recent years as more are also expected to follow shortly too. Both high-concept and high action as well, she not only offers well produced escapism, but her characters are also extremely well drawn too, with her story arcs being down to earth in a very real sense. This is something her audience have come to appreciate over time, as her audience continues to expand world-wide on an unprecedented scale.

Early and Personal Life

Born in 1953 in Leominster, Massachusetts in the United States, Rosemary Kirstein was the first child born in the USA from her German immigrant parents, as she then went on to grow up in the area of Connecticut where she was to spend the majority of her formative years and upbringing. This then held a strong influence over her work and the writing career that was to subsequently follow in the years to come, inspiring both her and her material. Taking in experiences from growing up and observations, she was able to give her characters and plots an even greater level of insight than she would’ve had otherwise.

Studying at the Central Connecticut University she spent some time there as she studied as a musician for a period of time, all before dropping out of the course and moving on to write songs of her own becoming a musician in her own right, moving to Greenwich Village for much of the eighties working as a folk singer there. During this time she also held a whole variety of different odd jobs, all allowing her to continue working as a musician in the meantime. All of this enabled her to find her voice over the years creatively and artistically, as she articulated who she was and what she wanted to say.

Working within the field of technology on numerous occasions as well, she has a wide-range of interests and skills, including writing in technology, programming and information technology, all of which allowed her to branch out and explore all the various different avenues available to her over the course of her work. Not only did this give her more skills though, but it also let her gain more experience, especially as she went into the field of science-fiction, given her interest in information technology and writing. Gaining insight and perspective into her craft, she was able to build upon the foundations of her style, setting up for the writing career that was soon to follow.

Previously living in Boston for some time she now lives back in Connecticut, residing near Springfield Mass where she continues to write to this very day. Taking up writing full-time now she has quit her other day job and devoted herself entirely to writing, something which she credits to her recent increase in output. With plenty more novels set to be released on the horizon as well, it looks as if she’s not going to be stopping anytime soon, as her career carries on into the foreseeable future.

Writing Career

Bringing out her first novel, The Steerswoman, in 1989, as she then went onto create a whole ongoing series from it spanning across the forthcoming decades. Focused around the Steerswoman science-fiction franchise her writing career quickly began to gain traction, and soon she quit her day job to focus on it full-time. This led to an increased output as she begun to quickly grow more and more fans world-wide, with fast building presence on the science-fiction literary scene.

Combining fantasy with science-fiction, she aims to upturn every cliche and convention of the genres, creating something new and all of her own in the process. Focusing on the subject matter in hand, she also looks to building a world that is set entirely around the characters and story without any superfluous action or descriptions. This is something she will continue doing for some time yet, as her audience builds day-by-day with her writing career growing from strength-to-strength.

The Lost Steersman

Initially published in 2003 on the 26th of August through the Del Rey publishing label, this was to be the third in the Steerswoman series of novels. With the leading protagonist of Rowan now firmly established, it works to provide further character development, along with also building the world as a whole. Continuing in much the same vein as the previous novels it managed to recapture both the style and the tone of them, as well as providing some twists and turns all of its very own.

Faced with a new threat the steerswoman Rowan must deal with the wizard Slado, a mysterious and deadly new presence. Defending both the Outskirts and the Inner Lands, Rowan must deal with this new challenge head-on and find Slado if the world is to ever stand a fighting chance. Looking through the Annex held in Alemeth, a small unassuming seaside town, she may just be able to do this, whilst also enlisting the help of Janus, another reluctant steersman who went missing. Will she be able to stop the destruction? What will become of them all? Can she ever gain the help of the lost steersman?

The Language of Power

First published in 2004 on 31st of August this time, brought out once again through the Del Rey label, this was set to continue directly from the last Steerswoman novel. Making up the fourth installment in the series overall it manages to provide more of what the audience have now come to expect, whilst keeping them engaged throughout. It also manages to further establish more of the world this time, building not only on the characterizations, but the world inhabited as well.

With the battle between steerswomen and wizards having raged on for eons, Rowan continues to seek Slado who is now attempting to lay waste to the Outskirts. Searching for clues the trail takes her into the city of Donner, which she enters with Bel, her Outskirter friend who is looking to accompany her. The secrets she finds though force her to ask some serious questions, some she may find that she really doesn’t want answered. What will become of them both? Will they be able to find and defeat Slado? Can they speak the language of power?