Haydon, Elizabeth

PERSONAL:

Married. Hobbies and other interests: Travel, music, anthropology, folklore, and herbalism.

ADDRESSES:

Agent—Richard Curtis, 171 E. 74th St., New York, NY 10021. E-mail—elizabethhaydon@hotmail.com.

CAREER:

Writer and educational book editor.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books, SF Site Readers' Choice, 1999, for Rhapsody: Child of Blood.

WRITINGS:

"SYMPHONY FOR THE AGES" SERIES

Rhapsody: Child of Blood, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1999.

Prophecy: Child of the Earth, Tor Books (New York, NY), 2000.

Destiny: Child of the Sky, Tor Books (New York, NY), 2001.

Requiem for the Sun, Tor Fantasy (New York, NY), 2002.

Elegy for a Lost Star, Tor (New York, NY), 2004.

The Assassin King, Tor Fantasy (New York, NY), 2006.

OTHER

The Floating Island: The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme ("The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme" series for children), Starscape (New York, NY), 2006.

The Thief Queen's Daughter ("The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme" series for children), Tom Doherty Associates (New York, NY), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Elizabeth Haydon is the author of the "Rhapsody Trilogy," a fantasy series that takes place in a hugely complex created universe, part medieval, part underworld, which eventually grew past its initial three volumes and became the "Symphony for the Ages" series. Beginning in 1999 with the novel Rhapsody: Child of Blood, which a reviewer for Publishers Weekly called "one of the finest high fantasy debuts in years," this epic saga of magic, fellowship, and the triumph of good over evil continued in Prophecy: Child of the Earth and was brought to a conclusion in Destiny: Child of the Sky. Full of history, myth, and the power of music, the trilogy established Haydon as a powerful new voice in fantasy fiction. Novels of quest and high adventure, the "Rhapsody Trilogy" is a blend of "Celtic lore with Asian myth" that creates a "world both strange and hauntingly familiar," wrote Library Journal reviewer Jackie Cassada.

Haydon noted in a SFF World interview that she first thought of becoming a writer in the fourth grade. "Writing a play was one option in a history assignment, and it seemed easier than the others. Two friends and I put on a fairly awful play that I wrote called ‘The Clue in the Diary,’ and it was great fun." From that point on, writing fiction became a dream of Haydon's. In college she took creative writing classes, but felt she would never be able to make a living at it. Instead, she worked in the educational publishing industry as a textbook writer and editor. "Even after I began writing textbooks I still considered myself an editor, not a writer," Haydon noted in her SFF World interview.

Then came a fateful meeting. "I had read C.S. Lewis as a young child, Tolkien as an older one, and some fantasy in college, but had lost touch with the field after that," Haydon commented in a Barnes and Noble.com interview reproduced on her Web site. "In 1994, I met with an editorial friend and mentor in New Orleans at the American Library Association conference, and he asked me to write a fantasy that might cross over to other genres and contain some of the mutual interests we shared, like medieval music, history, anthropology, and herbalism."

Having never written a novel before, Haydon thought her friend might be joking; in the event, he was completely serious. But then she began researching such a novel, and became hooked. "I'm embarrassed by the amount of research that went into this book," Haydon mentioned in the Barnes and Noble.com interview. "I'm an editor by profession, and we tend to be anal-retentive when it comes to accuracy. It would be nice to be able to relax a little and just let the creativity flow, but alas, I fear it will be an uphill battle against my nature as long as I'm writing." In addition to research in books and online, Haydon also consulted experts in herbalism, music theory, archaeology, anthropology, military tactics, and weaponry to make sure she had gotten everything right in her fanciful world. For example, she based the knives of her Bolg folks on a triple-bladed throwing knife of the Bwaka people of central Africa; the weapon of one of her main characters, Achmed, is in the book called a "cwellam," the Old English word for "kill," and is based on a Mongolian crossbow. To create the events in her trilogy, she situated them almost in the middle of the timeline of her mythical world. Haydon thus needed to invent not only the events of her three books, but events prior to them and following them as well.

Rhapsody, the first novel in the trilogy, appeared in 1999. An avid musician—Haydon plays the harp and sings madrigals—the author built a sense of music into the entire series. The first book takes its very title from a piece of music with many different tonal colors all held together in a changing pattern. Haydon tells the story of three mismatched companions who escape the destruction of their homeland and journey across time to battle the evil that may have escaped with them. The eponymous protagonist of this tale, Rhapsody, is a former prostitute in the ancient city of Easton who now is studying the ancient musical arts of her Mother's people, the Lirin. She is learning to become a Namer—one who manipulates reality with musical magic and by the ability to use the true names of things. As she is running away from an angry former client, she runs into two unlikely characters: the gigantic, green-skinned Grunthor, a Firbolg mercenary, and the assassin known as the Brother. Both of these are in turn fleeing a demon who knows the Brother's true name and has control over him.

During the course of their meeting, Rhapsody uses her power to call the assassin "Achmed the Snake," an act of Naming which immediately snaps the control the demon has over him. Achmed is set free. But now Achmed and Grunthor decide to take Rhapsody with them as they leave the Isle of Serendair, for they do not know if her actions have saved the assassin or made things even worse for him.

The sorcerer, Tsoltan, servant of the fire demons known as F'dor, meanwhile sends his minions after the three to try and rebind the assassin to him. The trio of protagonists now escape into the roots of the World Tree, Sagia, following its roots into the very heart of the Earth. They emerge on the other side of time fourteen centuries into the future, in a place that has been colonized by the descendants of the people who left the Isle of Serendair before it was destroyed. However, as they cross this strange and very violent world torn by ethnic, religious, and magical warfare, the three begin to wonder if evil has not escaped along with them to populate this new world. In fact they are right, for their demonic pursuers have also crossed time and space. Finally, in order to battle these demons, Achmed determines to become king.

Reviewers generally had high praise for Haydon's debut. Booklist reviewer Sally Estes pointed out the "credible mythology and ancient lore" as well as the "convincing" characters and "leavening of humor" which combine "in a satisfying fantasy adventure that ends on just the right note to leave rapt readers craving a sequel." A contributor for Publishers Weekly felt this first novel was distinguished "by superior wit and intelligence" and opens "what looks to be an outstanding saga." The same critic also called Haydon's novel "huge and complex," and one that draws "expertly on scholarship" in fields such as Celtic and Norse mythology, myth, and history.

Haydon followed this first novel up with the second installment, Prophecy, which continues the adventures of Rhapsody, Achmed, and Grunthor. In this volume, Rhapsody travels with the mysterious Ashe, meets a dragon, trains with the Lirin, and battles to prevent an assassination. Meanwhile, Achmed and Grunthor are busy exploring the Loritorium, a hidden vault of deep magic in the mountain depths of the Firbolg. Together they all help to repel new attacks by the F'dor.

Booklist reviewer Estes felt that the second book of "Haydon's epic high-fantasy trilogy is as strong and compelling as its predecessor." Further praise was garnered from Library Journal contributor Cassada, who noted that this saga of "the endless battle between light and darkness resounds with the richness of ancient myths reworked into new forms." A reviewer for Publishers Weekly found that this second novel "has enough magic, good fights, and thrilling love scenes to make it a keeper." Estes concluded that "enthusiastic readers will be left eagerly awaiting the trilogy's conclusion."

The next installment, Destiny, appeared in 2001. In this novel, Achmed and Rhapsody search the kingdom for Rakshas, demon spawn who have the blood of F'dor in their veins, hoping that such blood will be able to lead them to the demon once and for all. Grunthor stays behind, training the Bolg for the war that is surely coming. Rhapsody also reunites the feuding factions of the Lirin and becomes their monarch. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly felt that Haydon concludes her trilogy "with a dark cataclysmic book filled with almost constant action." The same writer noted that Haydon uses "a fluid writing style to build a world uniquely and compellingly her own." Once again the author combines myth, music theory, and "exhaustive detail … in a resounding fugal crescendo," according to the Publishers Weekly critic. "Haydon has gathered and woven the threads of her story into a carefully patterned whole," wrote Estes in a Booklist review of Destiny, noting that the book is "complex but extremely satisfying."

In Requiem for the Sun, Rhapsody and her husband Ashe once more stand against a F'dor demon, this time in the guise of a man Ashe thought dead. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly noted of the new installment to the series that Haydon "has smoothed out many of the rough edges" that were apparent in the earlier books, "toning down the most overt references to the series' roots in Welsh mythology and Regency bodice-rippers." The book is followed by Elegy for a Lost Star and The Assassin King, in which Rhapsody continues to fight the demon that gradually forces her kingdom toward war. Jackie Cassada, reviewing the latter volume for Library Journal, wrote that "character portrayal and world building make this an excellent choice."

The Floating Island: The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme, is the first title in Haydon's series for young readers, which is set in the same universe as her earlier works for adults. The book purports to be a selection of fragments from the journals of world traveler Ven Polypheme, whose adventures make for a lively story. Haydon uses this first volume in part to introduce Ven, who at fifty years of age is approximately thirteen in human terms, the youngest of thirteen children, and something of a misfit within the confines of his family of boat builders. Taking to the sea seems to be an inevitable conclusion for Ven. Mara Alpert, writing for School Library Journal, found the book "filled with fun details, interesting characters, fast-paced adventure, snappy dialogue, and plenty of humor and heart."

When asked in her SFF World interview what she hoped to accomplish in the future, Haydon was succinct in response: "First and foremost, I hope to be able to maintain a level of quality that readers consider to be high and I can be proud of; this is more important to me than churning out a lot of books or making a lot of money." Haydon in fact donated the royalties from Rhapsody and Prophecy to children's charities. Further, Haydon commented: "I'd like to write in a few other genres, and have some projects in the works. Most of all, I want to be a good, compassionate person. I continue to strive at this. I hope to be a worthy partner to my husband, and not to be an embarrassment to my kids at school functions. I seem to be doing better at the former than the latter."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, August, 1999, Sally Estes, review of Rhapsody: Child of Blood, p. 1986; May 15, 2000, Sally Estes, review of Prophecy: Child of the Earth, p. 1700; August, 2001, Sally Estes, review of Destiny: Child of the Sky, p. 2051; August 1, 2002, Roland Green, review of Requiem for the Sun, p. 1885; August 1, 2004, Sally Estes, review of Elegy for a Lost Star, p. 1913; September 1, 2006, Diana Tixier Herald, review of The Floating Island: The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme, p. 126; January 1, 2007, Roland Green, review of The Assassin King, p. 69.

Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 2002, review of Requiem for the Sun, p. 1182; October 15, 2006, review of The Assassin King, p. 1050.

Kliatt, September 1, 2005, Sherry Hoy, review of Elegy for a Lost Star, p. 26.

Library Journal, June 15, 2000, Jackie Cassada, review of Prophecy, p. 120; September 15, 2001, Jackie Cassada, review of Destiny, p. 116; November 15, 2006, Jackie Cassada, review of The Assassin King, p. 62.

Library Media Connection, February 1, 2007, Eileen Wright, review of The Floating Island, p. 64.

Publishers Weekly, August 30, 1999, review of Rhapsody, p. 58; July 3, 2000, review of Prophecy, p. 53; August 27, 2001, review of Destiny, p. 60; August 19, 2002, review of Requiem for the Sun, p. 71; July 12, 2004, review of Elegy for a Lost Star, p. 48; September 18, 2006, review of The Floating Island, p. 54; October 30, 2006, review of The Assassin King, p. 41.

School Library Journal, December 1, 2006, Mara Alpert, review of The Floating Island, p. 144.

Voice of Youth Advocates, December 1, 2002, review of Requiem for the Sun, p. 396; April 1, 2003, review of Requiem for the Sun, p. 12; February 1, 2005, Marsha Valance, review of Elegy for a Lost Star, p. 493; December 1, 2006, Tracy Piombo, review of The Floating Island, p. 442; February 1, 2007, Marsha Valance, review of The Assassin King, p. 539.