Nye, Jody Lynn
Entry updated 8 September 2025. Tagged: Author.
(1957- ) US author, married to Bill Fawcett from 1987, much but not all of whose work, certainly her fantasy, has been in collaboration, though she began publishing with the Crossroads Gamebook sequence (see Gamebook), a series of Ties to Anne McCaffrey's Pern universe beginning with Dragonharper (1987). This was followed by two sequences in collaboration with McCaffrey, the Doona sequence beginning with Crisis on Doona (1992), and the Brainship sf sequence beginning with The Ship Who Won (1994), carried forward the narrative of a young woman, encased in a life-support system for medical reasons, who becomes the "brain" of a Cyborg Spaceship crewed by the brain's human "brawn" partner. Arguably, her effect on the McCaffrey worlds is to intensify their fantasy tonality (see Planetary Romance). The long M.Y.T.H sequence beginning with Myth Alliances (2003) with Robert Lynn Asprin, all with Aspring until his death in 2008, represents perhaps her best-known as collaborator. The solo Dreamland sequence beginning with Waking in Dreamland (1998), set mostly in a dream world fantastically alternative to waking reality.
Nye is of sf interest primarily for such Space Opera series as Taylor's Ark beginning with Taylor's Ark (1993), whose protagonist, Dr Shona Taylor, travels in her ark-like Spaceship to various planets, applying her healing skills with the aid of an array of animals who are more companions with skills than pets. The View from the Imperium sequence beginning with View from the Imperium (2011) is Military SF, though laced with Humour. She also collaborated on a novel in the Assiti Shards: 1632 sequence: 1635: The Weaver's Code (2024) with Eric Flint. [JC]
see also: Piers Anthony; Robert Asprin; Gamebook.
Jody Lynn Nye
born Chicago, Illinois: 5 July 1957
works (selected)
series
Crossroads Gamebooks
- Dragonharper (New York: Tor, 1987) [tie to Anne McCaffrey's Pern: Pern: in the publisher's Crossroads Adventure Gamebook series: pb/Doug Beekman]
- Encyclopedia of Xanth (New York: Tor, 1987) [tie to Piers Anthony's Xanth: in the publisher's Crossroads Adventure Gamebook series: pb/Doug Beekman]
- Dragonfire (New York: Tor, 1988) [tie to Anne McCaffrey's Pern: Pern: in the publisher's Crossroads Adventure Gamebook series: pb/Doug Beekman]
- Ghost of a Chance (New York: Tor, 1988) [tie to Piers Anthony's: Xanth: in the publisher's Crossroads Adventure Gamebook series: pb/David Cherry]
Doona
- Crisis on Doona (New York: Ace Books, 1992) with Anne McCaffrey [Doona: pb/Michael Herring]
- Treaty Planet (London: Orbit, 1994) with Anne McCaffrey [Doona: hb/Mark Harrison]
Brainship
- The Ship Who Won (New York: Baen Books, 1994) with Anne McCaffrey [Brainship: hb/Stephen Hickman]
- The Ship Errant (New York: Baen Books, 1996) [solo work in McCaffrey Shared World: Brainship: hb/Stephen Hickman]
- The Ship Who Saved Worlds (New York: Baen Books, 2003) with Anne McCaffrey [anth/omni, combining the above two: Brainship: hb/Carol Heyer]
Taylor's Ark
- Taylor's Ark (New York: Ace Books, 1993) [Taylor's Ark: pb/Peter Peebles]
- Medicine Show (New York: Ace Books, 1994) [Taylor's Ark: pb/Peter Peebles]
- The Lady and the Tiger (New York: Ace Books, 2004) [Taylor's Ark: pb/Michael Herring]
Dreamland
- Waking in Dreamland (New York: Baen Books, 1998) [Dreamland: pb/Stephen Hickman]
- School of Light (New York: Baen Books, 1999) [Dreamland: pb/Pat Turner]
- The Grand Tour (New York: Baen Books, 2000) [Dreamland: pb/Gary Ruddell]
M.Y.T.H
- Myth Alliances (Decatur, Georgia: Meisha Merlin, 2003) with Robert Lynn Asprin [M.Y.T.H: hb/Michael Komarck]
- Myth-Told Tales (Decatur, Georgia: Meisha Merlin, 2003) with Robert Lynn Asprin [coll: M.Y.T.H: hb/Michael Komarck]
- Myth-Taken Identity (Decatur, Georgia: Meisha Merlin, 2004) with Robert Lynn Asprin [M.Y.T.H: hb/Phil Foglio]
- Class Dis-Mythed (Rockville, Maryland: Wildside Press, 2005) with Robert Lynn Asprin [M.Y.T.H: hb/Phil Foglio]
- Myth-Gotten Gains (Rockville, Maryland: Wildside Press, 2006) with Robert Lynn Asprin [M.Y.T.H: hb/Phil Foglio]
- Myth-Chief (Rockville, Maryland: Wildside Press, 2008) with Robert Lynn Asprin [M.Y.T.H: hb/Phil Foglio and Cheyenne Wright]
- Myth-Fortunes (Rockville, Maryland: Wildside Press, 2008) with Robert Lynn Asprin [M.Y.T.H: pb/]
- Robert Asprin's Myth Quoted (New York: Ace Books, 2012) [M.Y.T.H: pb/Walter Velez]
- Robert Asprin's Myth-Fits (New York: Ace Books, 2016) [audio version issued 2015: M.Y.T.H: pb/Walter Velez]
An Unexpected Apprentice
- An Unexpected Apprentice (New York: Tor, 2007) [An Unexpected Apprentice: hb/Michael W Kaluta]
- A Forthcoming Wizard (New York: Tor, 2009) [An Unexpected Apprentice: hb/Michael W Kaluta]
View from the Imperium
- View from the Imperium (New York: Baen Books, 2011) [View from the Imperium: pb/David Mattingly]
- Fortunes of the Imperium (New York: Baen Books, 2014) [View from the Imperium: pb/David Mattingly]
- Rhythms of the Imperium (New York: Baen Books, 2015) [View from the Imperium: pb/David Mattingly]
Assiti Shards: 1632
- 1635: The Weaver's Code (New York: Baen Books, 2024) with Eric Flint [Assiti Shards: 1632: hb/Tom Kidd]
individual titles
- The Death of Sleep (New York: Baen Books, 1990) with Anne McCaffrey [Planet Pirates: pb/Stephen Hickman]
- Planet Pirates (New York: Baen Books, 1993) with Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Moon [anth/omni of the above with Sassinak (1990) and Generation Warriors (1991), both by McCaffrey and Moon: Planet Pirates: pb/Stephen Hickman]
- License Invoked (New York: Baen Books, 2001) with Robert Lynn Asprin [pb/Gary Ruddell]
- Dragons Deal (New York: Ace Books, 2010) with Robert Lynn Asprin [pb/Rob Johnson]
- Robert Asprin's Dragons Run (New York: Ace Books, 2013) [pb/Eric Fortune]
- Wishing on a Star (Rockville, Maryland: Arc Manor/Phoenix Pick, 2015) [anth: through inclusion of an associated story by Angelina Adams: in the publisher's The Stellar Guild series: pb/]
- Moon Beam (New York: Baen Books, 2017) with Travis S Taylor [hb/Dominic Harman]
collections and stories
- The Omega Egg (Part 13 of 17): The Search for Bob (place not given: Fictionwise, 2006) [ebook: chapter of multi-author Round-Robin novel: na/]
nonfiction
- Piers Anthony's Visual Guide to Xanth (New York: Avon Books, 1989) with Piers Anthony [nonfiction: Xanth: pb/Darrell K Sweet]
- The Dragonlover's Guide to Pern (New York: Ballantine Books/Del Rey, 1989) with Anne McCaffrey [nonfiction: Pern: hb/Todd Cameron Hamilton]
- The Dragonlover's Guide to Pern, Second Edition (New York: Ballantine Books/Del Rey, 1997) with Anne McCaffrey [nonfiction: exp vt of the above: Pern: pb/Todd Cameron Hamilton]
works as editor
series
Writers of the Future
- L Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, Volume 39 (Los Angeles, California: Galaxy Press, 2023) with Dean Wesley Smith [anth: Writers of the Future: pb/Tom Wood]
- L Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, Volume 40 (Los Angeles, California: Galaxy Press, 2024) [anth: Writers of the Future: pb/Dan Dos Santos]
- L Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, Volume 41 (Los Angeles, California: Galaxy Press, 2025) [anth: Writers of the Future: pb/Craig Elliott]
individual titles as editor
- Launch Pad (Monument, Colorado: WordFire Press, 2014) with Mike Brotherton [anth: pb/]
links
previous versions of this entry