"It has been a very great pleasure for me to have been, this past week, introduced to your two books dealing with the Craft…The likeness of your people to those of Manly Wade Wellman is strong — though he dealt mainly with male characters and I found your women really more interesting and thoroughly believable.
"…I have on order both volumes to send to a Wiccan friend who I am sure will find them absorbing reading. Do you intend to continue this series? I trust that is so.
"And I want to thank you very much for introducing me to your world."
— Andre Norton
"Take Little House on the Prairie, mix in a large dose of magic, shake well for adults and settle in for a very fun ride. I want the next installment of Alfreda Sorensson’s adventures right now."
— Laurell K. Hamilton, author of the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter novels
"With a clear, distinctive voice, Katharine Kimbriel invents and re-invents magic on America’s frontier, a place hardly explored by writers and long overdue for a visit. (Or should I say a visitation?) Love the book."
— Jane Yolen, author of Sister Light/Sister Dark and White Jenna
"She has a real gift for taking a story into interesting situations, and in directions you don’t expect. I keep dipping back into the book!"
— Ru Emerson, author of The Night-Threads Series
"If you can imagine Little House on the Prairie with werewolves,
vampires, and magic, you’ve got an idea what this delightful dark fantasy
novel is like. . . . Allie is a girl with newly developing talents that help
combat attacks by werewolves and vampires on the town of Sun-Return. Alfreda’s
father teaches her woodcraft, her mother teaches her herb lore, and other
relatives turn up to teach her the basics of magic. The way the community
and extended family work together is almost as important as the magic itself,
and much more so than the actual combat.
. . . the strong characters, the matter-of-fact tone, and the strong sense
of place make this something special."
— Locus Magazine
"I really wish Night Calls had a better title — one that more fully captured the flavor of the story. The cover describes it as a novel of dark magics. I would add in the tradition of Manly Wade Wellman.
"For after enjoying immensely these tales of the young lady, Allie, and her family and her discovery of her gift and on-the-job training (so to speak) in the Wise Arts, I felt as if I once again spent some time with Silver John. Theirs are similar worlds. In Allie's world there are werewolves and vampires and restless spirits and the skilled practitioners must use spells and charms and herbs to protect the good folks.
"Night Calls will leave you with that good feeling Wellman always gave--the feeling that though there may be dangers in the world, the powers of goodness and knowledge can overcome. Hopefully, Allie’s story has only begun."
— Baryon 61
"--this thing is a page-turner. Maybe you can afford to skip this novel--but you might regret it later."
---The Monthly Aspectarian
"Beautifully drawn, solid, compelling characters against a background so real and scary I left the lights on all night. It was great!"
---P.N. Elrod, author of The Vampire Chronicles
"Night Calls combines genuinely chilling occult elements
with a believable, gritty context that both convinces and compels. Allie
is a real person, living in a sort of alternate-history setting, and her
character, companions, and problems pull the reader into her story."
---Ardath Mayhar, author of The World Ends in Hickory Hollow
"I didn’t want to put it down. I kept wanting to see what Allie would get into next."
---Jane Lindskold, author of Brother to Dragons, Companion to Owls
"Fire Sanctuary, her first novel, is a new entry in the unnamed sub genre of science fiction where the Darkover Books of Marion Zimmer Bradley and the Pern books of Anne McCaffrey fall. The intricacies of the well-controlled plot are far too great to go into here -- there is much upheaval, much intrigue, and much romance. . .a particularly fine mix."
---LOCUS Magazine
"...the story reminded me of The Clan of the Cave Bear, overlaid by high-tech stage settings."
---South Bend Tribune
"Both the world and its inhabitants held me absolutely spellbound through two successive readings. Kimbriel was nominated for the John Campbell Award on the strength of this, her first novel. She didn’t win it, but...the prize would have been richly deserved."
---Science Fiction and Fantasy Forum
"An ambitious book, at once a cultural extrapolation, a love story, and the struggle for control of an unusual planet. A tale of loyalties, intrigue, action…entwining the fates of people and worlds."
---Roger Zelazny, author of The Chronicles of Amber
"Ms. Kimbriel once again catches our fancy with a subtle and complex
plot, weaving an intricate socio-political structure from an imaginative
premise."
---Rave Reviews (4 Stars)
"It’s the rare event of a second novel being better than the first. Recommended."
---LOCUS Magazine
"I will wager that once you finish this one, you will go searching through the bookstores for the first."
---Thrust Magazine
"There are books you read at one fast gulp, books you savor at a slower pace. For me, Kimbriel’s third action-packed science fiction novel is both: It isn’t necessary to read either of the other books to understand and enjoy Hidden Fires…but I’d highly recommend you do."
---Science Fiction Review
"…when one of Katharine Kimbriel’s Nuala books comes into my hands, I am instantly hooked. The climactic scenes in the trinium mines are equal to any I have ever read in excitement and impact."
---Quantum 39