The Nine Lands are a world I began writing in early in my career, partly as a challenge to myself, to create a setting where there were many different — and truly different — cultures. As an anthropologist and folklorist, I enjoy reading fantasies where the settings are both vivid and varied, so I began making a world like that for myself.

I’ve written a number of short stories set in different parts of the Nine Lands. So far, seven have gotten published or won awards.

 

• The Nine Lands
  A young woman with an unreliable prophetic gift. A street musician searching for the magic she lost. A king whose voice is too dangerous for ordinary people to hear. This collection of short stories explores the Nine Lands, a realm created by award-winning author Marie Brennan. From the spirit-haunted jungle of the Nahele Peninsula to the cold archipelago of Kagesedo, from the occupied lands of Sahasrara to the decadent courts of Quilíbria, the Nine Lands offer you visions of fantasy, peril, and wonder.

 

• “Kingspeaker”
  She has not spoken with her own voice in nearly seven years.
• “Lost Soul”
  What is it about the busker that catches his eye?
• “Execution Morning”
  Sometimes there are no good choices.
• “Sing for Me”
  A peasant girl from an insignificant village has a priceless gift.
• “White Shadow”
  The fire of your heart. The rhythm of your breath.
• “The Legend of Anahata”
  He keeps seeing her, again and again.
• “Calling Into Silence”
  The daughter of their greatest shaman is a failure.