Lackey says the authors who influenced her the most have been Andre Norton, J. R. R. Tolkien, and C. J. Cherryh, who acted as her mentor during a crucial period. The first two writers are both known for multibook epics set in intricate fantasy worlds; it is easy to see how they may have influenced the creation of this one in a general way.

Norton's Witch World also interweaves gender role rules (and their violation) with magic. Tolkien's books have a variety of nonhuman characters, although they are only slightly reminiscent of the gryphons, Need, and other strange creatures that appear in Lackey's more recent Valdemar novels.

Women warriors appear in legend as far back as the Amazons of Greek mythology. More recent precursors of Kerowyn and the other fighting-heroines of this series might include C. L. Moore's Jirel of Joiry, M. Z. Bradley's Lythande, the...