Walkabout Woman
#6184.10 adjusted 3.95 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 1988 Reading commitment Low Michaela Roessner Last reviewed 2026-11-02
Overview
Walkabout Woman is a standalone fantasy novel by Michaela Roessner, first published by Bantam Spectra in 1988 as her first novel. It is set in a remote part of the Australian outback in the present day. Raba, a young Aboriginal girl, enters the Dreamtime, a realm of spiritual power, and glimpses its strength. A missionary then takes her out of her community, and she is caught between her traditional world and his, with harmful results. To save herself and her people she must return to the Dreamtime, calm the anger of the Ancestors and learn their secrets. Roessner's later novels are not set in this world.
Mythic fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
Walkabout Woman Michaela Roessner
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Walkabout Woman | 1988 | 1 | core | 4.10 (49 ratings) |
A standalone fantasy set in the Australian outback and the Dreamtime.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Walkabout Woman? Walkabout Woman's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is Walkabout Woman finished? Complete (1988).
- How much reading does Walkabout Woman take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book).
- How is Walkabout Woman ranked? #618 in this site's official ranking, based on 49 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #618?
Ranked #618 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.10 across 1 core book.
- A smaller readership (49 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #617, Magic Shop (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.46.
Why explore this universe?
Highly rated · 1 book · Complete · 49 ratings · Ranks #618 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment mythic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
A single Core Canon work: no sequencing question to resolve.
Awards (verified)
- Mythopoeic Award, 1989: nominated: Walkabout Woman
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.10 across 49 ratings on 1 Core Canon book. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon Extension: 29 universes; Inda widened to Sartorias-deles; 5 candidates ruled out accepted 2026-11-02
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Worlds Without End Tier 2
- Wikipedia: Michaela Roessner Tier 2
- AbeBooks Tier 2
- PaperBackSwap Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-11-02
Rule: Core Canon = Walkabout Woman (1988).