The Ultimate Fantasy Series Ranking

Author page

R. A. MacAvoy

2 universes Last reviewed 2026-10-04

R. A. MacAvoy is an American author of fantasy fiction, born December 13, 1949, in Cleveland, Ohio. She earned a B.A. from Case Western Reserve University in 1971. Before becoming a full-time writer in 1982, she worked as an assistant to the financial aid officer at Columbia College from 1975 to 1978, followed by a position as a computer programmer at SRI International from 1978 to 1982. MacAvoy's fiction frequently draws on Celtic mythology and Zen Buddhist themes. Her notable novels include Tea with the Black Dragon (1983), a contemporary fantasy that established her reputation; the Damiano trilogy (1983–1984), set in Renaissance Italy and blending magic with historical detail; Lens of the World (1990); and The Grey Horse (1987), which incorporates Irish folklore. She won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 1984, recognizing her as one of the most promising new voices in speculative fiction at the time. MacAvoy married Ronald Allen Cain in 1978. In the early 1990s she was diagnosed with dystonia, a neuromuscular disorder that significantly affected her ability to write, but she has since managed the condition and resumed her literary career, continuing to be recognized as a distinctive voice combining lyrical prose with East-meets-West spiritual and mythological influences.

Universe(s)

Tea with the Black Dragon

  • Core Canon books: 2
  • Current rank: #539 in the official ranking
  • Weighted average: 3.92
  • Award recognitions: 1 won, 2 nomination

The Damiano Trilogy

  • Core Canon books: 3
  • Current rank: #635 in the official ranking
  • Weighted average: 3.83
  • Award recognitions: None recorded

Books

Aggregate across all universes

These are separate, unrelated universes; the totals below are plain sums of already-published per-universe facts, never a blended or averaged score across them. See each universe's own figures above.

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