Michelle Sagara


Michelle Michiko Sagara is a Japanese-Canadian author of fantasy literature, active since the early 1990s. She has published as Michelle Sagara, as Michelle West and as Michelle Sagara West.
She lives in Toronto and is employed part-time at Bakka.

Novels

The Sundered

A Tolkienesque tale of love, betrayal, and redemption. Previously out of print, this series has been reissued by BenBella Books under the Michelle Sagara West name, and is available in Kindle edition at Amazon.
  1. Into the Dark Lands, 1991
  2. Children of the Blood, 1992
  3. Lady of Mercy, 1993
  4. Chains of Darkness, Chains of Light, 1994

    The Sacred Hunt

The Kingdom of Breodanir is facing a threat unlike any seen for centuries. An orphan boy and his adopted brother struggle against the ties that bind them together as they complete an impossible journey to save the world - at the risk of their own destruction. These are the first books set in the Essalieyan universe to be published.
  1. Hunter's Oath
  2. Hunter's Death

    The Sun Sword

Sixteen years after the events of The Sacred Hunt, the Empire of Essalieyan and the Dominion of Annagar are at war due to machinations of the Kialli. The resulting struggle for power will define the lives of those who would bring an end to the Kialli threat. Events laid out in The Sacred Hunt are referenced, but are not necessary to follow the story.
The House Wars series intersects the Sun Sword series. Michelle Sagara published a synopsis of the Sun Sword series for readers of House Wars to give necessary background. The synopsis is in three parts linked from this page: https://msagarawest.wordpress.com/2012/01/06/skirmish-and-the-story-so-far/ The second and third parts, according to Michelle West, are written as novel text, rather than point-by-point summary.
  1. The Broken Crown
  2. The Uncrowned King
  3. The Shining Court
  4. Sea of Sorrows
  5. The Riven Shield
  6. The Sun Sword

    The House War

Set in the Essalieyan universe, The House War chronicles the story of Jewel and her rise in House Terafin. The first three novels return to the origin of Jewel and the discovery of her den. They also revisit some of the narrative from Hunter's Death, though told from different character perspectives.
  1. The Hidden City: A Novel of the House War, Book 1
  2. City of Night: A Novel of the House War, Book 2
  3. House Name: A Novel of the House War, Book 3
The concluding volumes, beginning with Skirmish, take place after events of The Sun Sword. Because of this timeline juxtaposition, the author recommends reading The Sun Sword series before Skirmish to maintain consistency.
  2. Skirmish: A Novel of the House War, Book 4
  3. Battle: A Novel of the House War, Book 5
  4. Oracle: A Novel of the House War, Book 6
  5. Firstborn: A Novel of the House War, Book 7
  6. War: A Novel of the House War, Book 8
War is the final novel in the House Wars arc.
;The Burning Crown
This is a set of 4 novels sold to DAW and previously called The End of Days arc. The Author expects the Burning Crown series to be roughly the same length as the Sun Sword series, which was 6 novels. This is the last arc of the Essalieyan universe.

  1. Chronicles of Elantra

Kaylin is a young woman with a complicated history. Although taking place in a fantastical universe, this series has a strong tone of urban fantasy and a single character perspective. The books tend to be more procedural than the author's other novels, but with an underlying, driving plot.
  1. Cast in Shadow
  2. Cast in Courtlight
  3. Cast in Secret
  4. Cast in Fury
  5. Cast in Silence
  6. Cast in Chaos
  7. Cast in Ruin
  8. Cast in Peril
  9. Cast in Sorrow
  10. Cast in Flame
  11. Cast in Honor
  12. Cast in Flight
  13. Cast in Deception
  14. Cast in Oblivion
  15. Cast in Wisdom
Cast in Moonlight is a novella that describes Kaylin's introduction to the Hawks of Elantra. It may be found in Harvest Moon, a short story collection released by Luna Books in 2010 or downloaded in kindle format from Amazon.
The Chronicles of Elantra have also been made available as audio books.

The Wolves of Elantra

Multiple races carefully navigate the City of Elantra under the Dragon Emperor’s wing. His Imperial Wolves are executioners, the smallest group to serve in the Halls of Law. The populace calls them assassins.
  1. The Emperor's Wolves

    Queen of the Dead

Emma Hall is a high school student whose first boyfriend died in the summer in a car accident She spends far too much time in the cemetery at Nathan's grave and begins to see things she's never seen, and to hear things that no one else hears. Distinctly more "contemporary" urban fantasy than her other series.
  1. Silence
  2. Touch
  3. Grave

    Short stories

Other short stories by Michelle Sagara West have appeared in magazines and anthologies under a variety of surnames. These are referenced at her complete bibliography.
The author has decided to release many, if not all, of her short stories as e-books, as her schedule permits. Additionally, the six stories specifically related to the Essalieyan novels are available together in a single-volume, on-demand print format titled Memory of Stone and other stories.
"Sigurne" is a short story created from material that was edited out of ORACLE. Michelle Sagara has made the short story available for free download in PDF format on her website.

Review columns

Under the name Michelle West, Sagara writes a long running book review column, Musing on Books, for The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. As of the end of 2019, she has written 56 columns.