WALTON, Jo

PERSONAL: Married (marriage ended); married Emmet O'Brien, July 28, 2001; children: (first marriage) Sasha.

ADDRESSES: Home—5 Vivian Rd., Sketty, Swansea SA2 OUJ, England. E-mail—jo@bluejo.demon.co.uk.

CAREER: Writer.

WRITINGS:

science fiction

The King's Peace, Tor (New York, NY), 2000.

The King's Name, Tor (New York, NY), 2001.

Co-writer of games, including Realms of Sorcery and Into the Dark Continent. Contributor to periodicals, including Heroquest, Odyssey, and Pyramid.

WORK IN PROGRESS: A fantasy novel.

SIDELIGHTS: Jo Walton is a writer specializing in fantasy fiction set during the early Middle Ages. Her first novel, The King's Peace, is a medieval fantasy in which a young woman endeavors to bring about the destruction of raiders roaming her native land. The heroine, Sulien apGwien, pledges herself to King Urdo, who hopes to unite various factions and form a cohesive force capable of repelling the marauding invaders. Jackie Cassada, writing in Library Journal, described The King's Peace as "gracefully written" and deemed it "luminous." Roland Green, meanwhile, wrote in Booklist that Walton had realized a "most worthy" variation on the Arthurian legends, and Nancy K. Wallace affirmed in Voice of Youth Advocates that Walton's novel constitutes "a beautiful story of love and war." Another critic, writing in Kirkus Reviews, summarized The King's Peace as "a vivid, fluent narrative."

Walton followed The King's Peace with The King's Name, a sequel in which King Urdo attempts to end a civil war sparked by an unruly lord. Sulien apGwien once again charges into battle at the king's behest. Roland Green, in a Booklist assessment of The King's Name, observed that "the pacing is brisk, the emotional impact great," and a Publishers Weekly reviewer hailed Walton's second novel as a "fine work."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

periodicals

Booklist, October 1, 2001, Roland Green, review of The King's Peace, p. 327; October 15, 2001, Roland Green, review of The King's Name, p. 388.

Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 2000, review of The King's Peace, p. 1241.

Library Journal, October 15, 2000, Jackie Cassada, review of The King's Peace, p. 108.

Publishers Weekly, November 12, 2001, review of The King's Name, p. 41.

Voice of Youth Advocates, April, 2001, Nancy K. Wallace, review of The King's Peace, p. 28.*