Storm Constantine

Storm Constantine (12 Oct., 1956 -14 January 2021) is a British science fiction and fantasy author, primarily known for her Wraeththu series, which began as one trilogy but has spawned many subsequent works. Beginning in the 1980s, Constantine's short stories have appeared in dozens of genre fiction magazines and anthologies. She is the author of over 30 published novels and non-fiction books, plus numerous other publications, including magical grimoires. In addition to her work as a writer, Constantine heads Immanion Press, an independent publishing company she founded in 2003 with the express purpose of publishing her own back catalog as well as works of other niche fiction and non-fiction writers.

Life and work

Since the late 1980s, Constantine has written more than 20 novels, plus several non-fiction books. She is often included in discussions of alternative sexuality and gender in science fiction and fantasy, and many of her novels include same-sex relationships, hermaphrodites or other variations of gender. Magic, mysticism, and ancient legends (like the Grigori) also figure strongly in her works. To ensure the life of her novels, Constantine has created her own publishing company, Immannion Press. Under this company, she publishes other authors including Tanith Lee, Graham Phillips and Andrew Collins.

After a brief stint in art college, which she found too restricting to her creativity, she worked a series of odd jobs until she began to devote herself fully to writing. The first book to be published was of the Wraeththu Chronicles, The Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit in 1987 by MacDonald Futura.

Once she had finished the Wraeththu Chronicles with the final instalment at the time, The Fulfillments of Fate and Desire (1989), she went on to manage a few bands until she came up with the idea for a magazine project called Visionary Tongues which would involve her and other authors to act as editors for up and coming authors so they could learn what a professional work environment could be like.

Constantine publishes a blog, Dreams of Dark Angels, to keep her fans up to date on current projects.

Multi-part Novels

Wraeththu Chronicles

• The Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit (1987)
• The Bewitchments of Love and Hate (1988)
• The Fulfillments of Fate and Desire (1989)
• Other editions:
  • Wraeththu (omnibus) (1993)
  • Revised editions of all three published by Immanion Press in 2003, 2007, and 2018
  • Der Zauber von Fleisch und Geist (German translation of The Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit) published by Zauberfeder Verlag in 2006

Artemis

• The Monstrous Regiment (1991)
• Aleph (1991)

Grigori Trilogy

• Stalking Tender Prey (1995)
• Scenting Hallowed Blood (1996)
• Stealing Sacred Fire (1997)

Magravandias

• Sea Dragon Heir (1998)
• The Crown of Silence (2000)
• The Way of Light (2001)

Wraeththu Histories

• The Wraiths of Will and Pleasure (2003)
• The Shades of Time and Memory (2004)
• The Ghosts of Blood and Innocence (2005)

Alba Sulh Sequence

• The Hienama (2005)
• Student of Kyme (2008)
• The Moonshawl (2014)

Stand-alone Novels

• Hermetech (1991)
• Burying the Shadow (1992)
• Sign for the Sacred (1993)
• Calenture (1994)
• Thin Air (1999)
• The Oracle Lips (1999)
• Silverheart (with Michael Moorcock) (2000)
• Blood, the Phoenix and a Rose: An Alchymical Triptych (2016)

Novellas

• The Thorn Boy (1999)

Short Story Collections

Sole Author

• The Oracle Lips (1999)
• Three Heralds of the Storm (1997)
• Mythophidia (2008)
• Mythangelus (2009)
• Mytholumina (2010)
• Mythanimus (2011)
• Splinters of Truth (2016)
• Mythumbra (2018)
• A Raven Bound with Lilies: Stories of the Wraeththu Mythos (2017)

Contributor and Editor

• Paragenesis: Stories of the Dawn of Wraeththu (2010) (with Wendy Darling)
• Para Imminence: Stories of the Future of Wraeththu (2012) (with Wendy Darling)
• Para Kindred: Enigmas of Wraeththu (2014) (with Wendy Darling)
• Night's Nieces: The Legacy of Tanith Lee (2015)
• Dark in the Day (2016) (with Paul Houghton)
• Para Animalia: Creatures of Wraeththu (2016) (with Wendy Darling)
• Songs to Earth and Sky: Stories of the Seasons (2017)
• The Darkest Midnight in December (2017)
• Para Spectral: Hauntings of Wraeththu (2018) (with Wendy Darling)

Contributor

List of select story collections in which Constantine's works have appeared

• Dante's Disciples (1991)
• Women of Wonder, the Contemporary Years: Science Fiction by Women from the 1970s to the 1990s (1995)
• The Crow: Shattered Lives & Broken Dreams (1999)
• Year's Best Fantasy (2001)
• The Mammoth Book of Vampire Stories by Women (2001)
• Ravens in the Library: Magic in the Bard's Name (2009)
• Magic: An Anthology of the Esoteric and Arcane (2012)
• Obsession: Tales of Irresistible Desire (2012)
• Blood Sisters: Vampire Stories by Women (audiobook) (2015)
• Dreams from the Witch House: Female Voices of Lovecraftian Horror (2016)
• Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers: Magical Tales of Love and Seduction (2002)
• Black Thorn, White Rose (Fairy Tale Anthologies Book 2) (2007)

Magical Grimoires

• Wraeththu: Grimoire Dehara
  • Grimoire Dehara: Kaimana (2011)
  • Grimoire Dehara: Ulani (2016) (with Taylor Ellwood)
  • Grimoire Dehara: Nahir Nuri (2017) (with Taylor Ellwood)
• Coming Forth By Day: A System of Khematic Magic (2019)

Miscellaneous Wraeththu Books

• From Enchantment to Fulfilment (role-playing Game) (with Gabriel Strange, Lydia Wood, 2005)
• Wraeththu: The Picture Book (photography based on Wraeththu books) (2007)

Non-fiction works

• The Inward Revolution (with Deborah Benstead) (1998)
• Bast and Sekhmet: Eyes of Ra (with Elouise Coquio) (1999)
• Egyptian Birth Signs: The Secrets of the Ancient Egyptian Horoscope (2002)
• Sekhem Heka: A Natural Healing and Self Development System (2008)
• What a Long Strange Trip It's Been: Wilderness Tips for World of Warcraft (2011)
• Whatnots & Curios: A Selection of Articles and Reviews (2015)
• SHE: Primal Meetings with the Dark Goddess (2019) (with Andrew Collins)

External links

• Official site
• Immanion Press
• Storm Constantine at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database

Reviews

Constantine's Wraethru Histories books have received both mixed and positive critical reception. Of The Wraiths of Will and Pleasure (2003), one reviewer states that it feels like the complex power struggle between one species and the other is sometimes lost but overall the novel was engaging. A reviewer of The Shades of Time and Memory mentions that it's a great story about love and trepidation but that only people already familiar with the series will be able to fully appreciate it at first glance because of the complexities of the language and world. In a review of The Ghosts of Blood and Innocence, Constantine is recognized for her intelligent, comprehensive understanding of magic and the arcane arts despite the recognition that the lack of female characters and "gay" sex might be a turn off for most people even though the characters are past human gender norms.