Esther M Friesner Books in Order

Cast out by his own brothers, Mustapha sets off with his magical dog Elcoloq into a world of warlocks, witches, and rising evil. It is a brisk quest with humor and Arabian Nights flavor.

A young woman lands in the middle of a struggle shaped by power, desire, and legend. It is fantasy with courtly danger, sharp turns, and very little room for innocence.

A dragon and the armored enemy hunting it bring an ancient conflict straight into Manhattan. The city is modern, but the trouble feels old and very hard to contain.

Prince Alban is cursed to love, lose, and keep searching for the woman taken from him. His quest leads through sorcery, danger, and the kind of fantasy world where curses never stay simple.

An amnesiac prince has enemies on every side and no safe place to stand. The story runs on pursuit, missing identity, and the pressure of finding out who he really is.

Twelve witches are each given one power and one share of a larger burden. Their struggle against evil turns this into a fairy-tale quest with real bite.

In an alternate Victorian Britain where druidic magic shaped history, a Holmes-like detective hunts a stolen grimoire tied to Queen Victoria's power. It is part mystery, part fantasy, and very pleased with both.

When the king of Elfhame crashes into ordinary life, one woman decides she needs something fantasy rarely mentions, a divorce lawyer. The setup is funny, but the story knows the human cost too.

Hellish bureaucracy meets mortal weakness in this opening comic fantasy. Politics, temptation, and supernatural scheming all look uncomfortably at home in the modern world.

The demonic mischief continues in a world where temptation, politics, and modern life make perfect fuel for trouble. Friesner keeps the tone playful while the stakes stay real.

A sphynx in human form heads for Atlantic City, bringing mythic trouble into a very modern playground. It is urban fantasy at its loosest, strangest, and most amused.

A mortal man is pulled toward the dangerous world of the waterfolk, where magic, politics, and old expectations run deep. The book leans on quest fantasy with a sly edge.

Los Angeles gives demons plenty to work with in this comic fantasy about faith, fear, and infernal opportunism. Show business only makes the chaos louder.

This short piece uses prehistory and satire to poke at human nature. It is one of those Friesner titles where the joke lands quickly and then leaves a sharper question behind it.

The wall between worlds is thinning, and fair folk are showing up in human homes everywhere. Ordinary teen Tim Desmond gets dragged into the mess whether he wants the job or not.

Tim Desmond's already chaotic teen life gets another supernatural shove when harpies and other magical trouble arrive. It is a funny collision of school stress and folklore gone loose.

This short-story collection shows Friesner's comic touch and her wider range, moving through fantasy and science fiction with equal ease. The stories are sharp, odd, and often slyly funny.

Becca grows up in a ruined, deeply patriarchal future where women are treated as property and sin is used as a weapon. Her fight to survive gives this dystopian fantasy its angry edge.

Becca reaches the city hoping for rescue and answers, but finds a new maze of power and hidden motives instead. The sequel stays dark, tense, and focused on the cost of survival.

Freshman Tim Desmond barely has control of normal life before magic wrecks it again. A missing girlfriend, a black magician, and gathering forces of destruction turn college into another supernatural crisis.

In 1492, a young nun joins a strange sea voyage on a magical golden ship. History, faith, and wonder mix as the journey heads toward danger and a possible new world.

Kendar Gangle is not exactly the student most people would trust with serious magic. Unfortunately for him, a botched start and a very unusual cat lead straight into real adventure.

Khalid gets his first lamp and makes one huge mistake, he forgets to limit his master to three wishes. Now he needs brains, luck, and a princess before servitude becomes permanent.

This omnibus gathers the early Chicks in Chainmail stories into one big dose of comic fantasy. If you want swords, sarcasm, and women taking charge of the story, it is an easy place to jump in.

Kendar Gangle's magical education keeps getting messier as illusion, identity, and bad decisions pile up. The fun comes from watching small mishaps bloom into ridiculous danger.

Kendar Gangle and his cat Scandal are back, facing raining poultry, strange beasts, and a kingdom that needs putting right. The whole thing moves with the cheerful chaos of comic fantasy.

A plague is tearing through Bajoran refugee camps just as prophecy points to a child who might change the planet's future. Bashir, Dax, and Sisko are pulled into a crisis where medicine and faith collide.

This unsettling short story imagines a world where women must confront digital versions of the children they did not have. It is small in scale, but emotionally brutal.

This first anthology turns the old chainmail-bikini image inside out with funny, fantasy stories about women who get to be the hero, the fighter, and the punchline writer all at once.

A strong collection of Friesner's shorter work, including two Nebula winners. It moves from humor to darker, stranger territory without losing its grip.

A Robin Hood computer game stops feeling safely fictional once it starts pushing into real life. Friesner mixes virtual adventure, legend, and modern teen questions about who gets to be the hero.

On the eve of Caesar's assassination, Brutus is persuaded to spare him, and Rome swerves into a different history. What follows is political ambition, divine meddling, and a long reckoning with that choice.

The Enterprise races to help a plague-stricken colony by searching scattered sister worlds for a lifesaving plant. It is a Star Trek problem built from diplomacy, science, and a ticking clock.

The second Chicks in Chainmail anthology keeps skewering fantasy clichés while giving center stage to women who are clever, dangerous, and often much funnier than the men around them.

This anthology flips the usual sword-and-sorcery pose and keeps playing with fantasy gender clichés. The stories are funny, brisk, and happiest when the supposedly helpless women are anything but.

As the Dominion War closes in, Picard and the Enterprise face a mission built on secrecy, pressure, and the fate of the Alpha Quadrant. It is a war story with Star Trek's usual eye on duty and sacrifice.

This standalone story gives Roman frontier history a fantasy jolt. It feels rough, lively, and interested in the people stationed where empire gives way to rumor and myth.

More comic fantasy stories arrive in this Chicks in Chainmail anthology, where women warriors and clever troublemakers keep taking over the tale. The mood is light, but the laughs land cleanly.

Agent J needs the retired Agent K back on the job when a shape-shifting threat comes to Earth hunting the Light of Zartha. The result is a fast, jokey alien chase through New York.

This Chicks in Chainmail entry keeps the jokes sharp and the heroines sharper. It is a comic fantasy anthology full of women who can swing swords and puncture genre nonsense at the same time.

Looking for a summer job, Ilana winds up working for the three Fates themselves. Suddenly every small choice has cosmic consequences, and growing up gets a lot stranger.

Before she becomes Helen of Troy, she is a Spartan girl who wants adventure, training, and a say in her own fate. This retelling turns a legendary beauty into a determined young hero.

Helen refuses to stay safely at home when the Argonauts set sail. Disguises, sea danger, and the politics of myth push her toward the future that will one day make her famous.

Young Nefertiti is taken from her family and pulled into palace life as a useful pawn. Secret lessons, court danger, and her own fierce curiosity make ancient Egypt feel close and unpredictable.

Werewolves and other toothy problems move into suburbia in this follow-up anthology. The stories have fun with strip malls, family routines, and the chaos that starts once the monsters settle in.

Witches leave the big city for the subdivisions in this playful anthology of suburban sorcery. Expect magic mixed with malls, neighbors, school politics, and a lot of knowing humor.

This anthology brings vampires to the cul-de-sacs, bake sales, and guarded privacy of suburbia. The stories lean funny, but they also enjoy the idea that the undead might be perfect next-door neighbors.

Nefertiti's world grows more dangerous as palace politics harden into a struggle over power, faith, and survival. She must decide whom to trust while Egypt changes around her.

Raisa comes from a Polish shtetl to New York expecting to find her sister and a better life. Instead she lands in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, where hope and disaster are moving toward each other fast.

In third-century Japan, chief's daughter Himiko dreams of becoming a shaman instead of living the life chosen for her. Family duty, injury, and the spirit world all pull her toward a destiny she only half believes.

After a rival clan attacks her people, Himiko is thrown into slavery and war. To save those she loves, she must trust her wits, her growing powers, and what the spirits are trying to show her.

Maeve of Connacht grows up in a court where marriage can be used like a weapon. Headstrong and clever, she fights to shape her own future in a world that sees her as a prize.

This later Chicks in Chainmail volume rounds up more comic fantasy stories about capable women, bad assumptions, and adventures that refuse to take macho clichés seriously.

Maeve finally leaves her father's court, only to find that freedom comes with new bullies, rival suitors, and fresh political traps. She wants her own life, but everyone else has plans for a princess.