Most Popular Books by Marion Zimmer Bradley

A follow-up to The Ages of Chaos omnibus, Thunderlord is a brand-new novel of the genre-bending Darkover universe, expanded by Marion Zimmer Bradley''s collaborator Deborah J. Ross. Far in Darkover''s past, the Ages of Chaos were a time of constant warfare, when immensely powerful psychic weapons ravaged the land and slaughtered entire armies. Perhaps none was more dangerous and unpredictable than the mental Gift to sense--and control--thunderstorms. When the realm of Aldaran and their Scathfell cousins came to blows, that Gift turned the tide of battle, and Aldaran prevailed. A generation later, the heir to Scathfell, Gwynn, has grown up in the shadow of that conflict, his life shaped by the loss of his entire family. Now he plots his revenge for his family’s humiliating defeat by seeking to marry a woman who carries the storm control Gift, so that his sons will be able to wield the terrible power of storms against Aldaran. Since childhood, Kyria has been able to sense approaching storms. She had never expected to marry a rich man; independent and athletic, she defied tradition by donning her brother’s castoff clothing and trapping small game to keep her family from starvation. When Gwynn’s emissary arrives with a marriage proposal that will secure her family’s financial future, she agrees. Along with her younger sister as her companion, she sets out for Scathfell, where she will be formally wed. During their passage through rugged mountains, a blizzard drives them to seek shelter in a traveler’s hut, where they meet Edric, the young heir to Aldaran. Edric has inherited the storm control, but he has never dared to use it. His whole life, he has been warned against the consequences, not just to his enemies but to everyone he loves. Now, disguised as an ordinary traveler, he journeys home after years of study, disciplining himself to control his powers. When he meets Kyria, he senses the presence of the same storm power, but unschooled and dormant. They know each other only as Edric and Kyria--for under shelter truth, all identities are concealed--and are drawn to one another. Thus begins the saga of two kingdoms, divided by bitter history and present-day suspicions, one armed with devastating power and the other determined to overcome it, no matter what the price. Can their love and resourcefulness overcome even the overwhelming power of a Thunderlord?

This second volume of The Best of Marion Zimmer Bradley''s Fantasy Magazine serves up a smorgasbord of magic and adventure. Encompassing a range of fantasy from classical to modern settings, this collection begins with an introduction by Bradley herself, in addition to her introductions to each individual story.

These two classic Darkover novels tell the epic tale of four people who challenged the ancient laws of the matrix towers.

The most dangerous matrix on all Darkover was the legendary Sharra. Embodied in the image of a chained woman, wreathed in flames, it was the last remaining weapon of the Ages of Chaos that had almost destroyed civilization on the planet of the Bloody Sun. The Sharra had been exiled off-planet among the far stars of the Terran Empire in the custody of Lew Alton ... until he found himself called back to his homeworld to contest his rights. But once the Sharra was back, the flaming image spread far and wide---and set in motion events that were to change the land, the domains, and the future of Darkover forever.

Leonie Hastur has a high degree of laran, the telepathic power of the Comyn caste, and wants to be Keeper of Arilinn Tower, which will give her as much power as her twin brother Lorill, Heir to Hastur. But she has a premonition that something strange and disturbing will come from the sky and change their world forever. She is correct. Ysaye Barnett loves life on shipboard and would happily stay right there, with her beloved computers, forever. Her best friend Elizabeth Mackintosh, a musician and anthropologist, and her fiance, linguist David Lorne, want to marry and have children, which means they need a planet they can settle on and make their lives'' work. They are very excited about the new planet, especially when they realize that it''s a lost Terran colony. As five young lives and their very different cultures meet, all of them will be changed by the encounter.

The full sweep of the rich history of Avalon -- from the fall of Atlantis to the founding of a new temple on the mist-shrouded isle of Britain -- is finally revealed in this magnificent tale.The priests and priestesses of Atlantis have known for many years that the Sea Kingdoms were doomed. But now the final destruction has arrived they find themselves less prepared than they had thought for what lies ahead.Micail and Tiriki, prince and princess of the last island to fall, as well as priest and priestess, are separated during the final escape. Micail and his cousin, Prince Tjalan, successfully arrive at their planned destination, a trading post in the Hesperides (the British isles) where Tjalan loses no time in taking charge. He dreams of continuing the traditions of Atlantis and founding a glorious new empire -- whether the local tribes like it or not. prophesy that they will build a great temple in this new land -- and set about finding a way to shift the huge blocks of granite that will become Stonehenge.Micail''s beloved wife Tiriki also arrives in the Hesperides, but, blown off-course by a storm, her ship lands on the wrong shore. She and the elderly priest Chedan lead their small group in forming a new community in harmony with the local population at the sacred Tor (Glastonbury). Once the two groups become aware of each other, conflict will become inevitable.A deeply moving and utterly convincing tale of faith in the face of adversity, filled with memorable characters and haunting landscapes.

Introduces the legendary world of Cottman IV, at a time when the Terrans were desperately seeking a cure for a disease of epidemic proportions that threatened the lives of Darkovans and Terrans alike.

Morgaine, gifted with the Sight and fated with her brother-lover''s doom, recounts the glorious tragedy of Camelot''s brief flowering - not as a tale of knightly deeds, but as a woman''s rounded view of society in the crucible of change.

Former spy Colin MacLaren, who fought black magic in World War II, takes on black magic in present-day America. By the author of Gravelight.

A feud between the Hammerfell and Stornleads to the murder of the Duke of Hammerfell.

Darkover: for some the planet beneath the bloody far-off sun, had the reputation of being a half-frozen lump of dust on the edge of nowhere. For Jeff Kerwin, Jr, Darkover meant only one thing - home. Returning there after many long years, Kerwin had not been prepared for what he was to find . . . For from the first day he set foot on the planet he had been hounded by a sinister, swarthy man who made no secret of the shadowing. Then there was the strange discovery that there was no record anywhere of his birth and childhood on Darkover. All the dark forces of this mysterious world were banding together to deny him - and Jeff Kerwin vowed to risk everything to find out why.

The Colors of Space - Marion Zimmer Bradley - The Colors of Space is a 1963 science fiction novel by Marion Zimmer Bradley. - Can Bart Steele devise a plan to steal the secret of faster-than-light space travel from the Lhari, reptilian aliens who ruthlessly control warpdrive technology?

After Lew Alton unwittingly roused the fire demon Sharra, the Sword of Aldones was the only weapon that could lay her to rest again. But only one man could wield the sword, and getting it was an even bigger problem.

The Door Through Space is a 1961 science fiction novel by American writer Marion Zimmer Bradley. An expansion of Bradley''s story "Bird of Prey", which first appeared in the May, 1957 issue of the magazine Venture, it is her first novel, and was published by Ace Books, bound tête-bêche with Rendezvous on a Lost World by A. Bertram Chandler.

Haunted by mysterious images of hooded figures, Magdalen Lorne, chief Terran operative on Darkover, pursues a quest not only to the frozen ends of the physical world but also to the perilous limits of the spiritual world. And there she is tested by the evil sorcery of the Dark Sisterhood.

Torn between love and duty, a reluctant young acolyte will be called on to magically save her imperiled world in this enthralling chapter of the Saga of the Trillium Of the three royal siblings who made up the Petals of the Living Trillium, only Lady Haramis survives nine hundred years after the events that nearly devastated their realm. But the Archimage is old and ill, and a successor must be found if Ruwenda is to remain safe and protected. In Princess Mikayla, Haramis recognizes the ideal candidate. However, the impulsive teenager must be carefully schooled in the magic arts—and the headstrong youth isn’t certain she even wants the responsibility, especially if it means abandoning her one true love. But time is running out—for Haramis and for the kingdom. And with disaster looming, the fate of Mikayla’s endangered homeland may soon fall heavily on the shoulders of a young, only half-trained rebel, ready or not. Revisiting the magnificent world she created with fellow fantasy luminaries Julian May and Andre Norton in Black Trillium, the remarkable Marion Zimmer Bradley joins coauthor Elisabeth Waters to gaze into the far future of the World of the Three Moons. Lady of the Trillium is an enthralling, unforgettable tale of destiny, duty, magic, love, and the seemingly unbridgeable chasm between old and young.

"... While her writing is of course essentially science fiction, it could as easily be considered fantasy. Her themes vary, but she is frequently concerned with social issues in which societies are in conflict and where there are no simple solutions. She is also often concerned with the implications of sex roles and sex role stereotyping"--Book jacket.

A wounded Atlantean prince...a deadly battle between Dark and Light...and the sisters Deoris and Domaris, whose lives are changed utterly by the magic involving them. These are the elements of The Fall of Atlantis, Marion Zimmer Bradley''s epic fantasy about that ancient and legendary realm. On one side stand the Priests of the White Robe, guardians of powerful natural forces which could threaten the world if misused. Ranged against them are the Black Robes, sorcerers who secretly practice their dark arts in the labyrinthine caves beneath the very Temple of Light. Caught between are Domaris and Deoris, daughters of the Archpriest Talkannon, trapped in a web of deadly sorcery¾the same forbidden sorcery that could bring about The Fall of Atlantis Previously published separately as Web of Light and Web of Darkness. At the publisher''s request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).

Marion Zimmer Bradley''s legendary saga of Avalon''s extraordinary women continues with a tale of fiery visions, a lost king, and a forthcoming destiny... A boy raised in secret after traitors kill his parents will return to Avalon-and when he does, he''ll be faced with a formidable task: to prove his worth as a son of the kings and priestesses of his land and lead his followers to victory, wielding the newly-forged sword Excalibur.

Traitor''s Sun continues the epic saga of Darkover, the award-winning series by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Her most brilliant and popular creation, the Darkover books take readers to a planet torn by rebellion--and struggling for freedom...

She was Margaret Alton, the daughter of Lew Alton, the Darkovan representative to the Terran Imperial Senate, but she remembered almost nothing about the planet of her birth, or her early and tumultuous childhood. What fleeting memories disturbed her sleep were fragments of terror - a strange silver man and a screaming woman with hair that circled her head like a ring of fire. As soon as Margaret was of age, she fled her stormy home and took refuge on University where she was granted the position of assistant to a renowned musicologist. This prestigious job took her to many worlds, and when she was assigned to collect folk songs on Darkover, Margaret was curious and pleased. But under the light of the red sun, Margaret''s innocent excitement quickly waned. The world of her birth evoked long-buried memories, painful and terrifying, and she soon found herself driven by a destiny more dreadful than any nightmare. For the screaming woman and the silver man were merely markers on a trail - a trail which led into Margaret''s own mind, and toward a trap which had been set for her centuries before her birth...

Marion Zimmer Bradley''s beloved Avalon saga continues with the dramatic story of the ancestors of Avalon, from their life on the doomed island of Atlantis to their escape to the mist-shrouded isle of Britain.

Three fan-favorite authors present "a classic fantasy quest involving mysterious wizards, rites of passage, and the salvation of a kingdom" ( Library Journal ). Peace has long reigned in Ruwenda thanks to the magical protection of the Archimage Binah. The realm''s devoted guardian is aging, however, and her magic is weakening. When the kingdom''s triplet princesses were still infants, Binah gave each of them the mystical power of the Black Trillium. But the unthinkable occurs too soon, and Ruwenda is overrun by the ravaging armies of neighboring Labornok before the sisters, Haramis, Kadiya, and Anigel, have time to learn how to use their great gift. Forced to flee, the young princesses must follow their separate destinies through a dangerous and unfamiliar world of Oddlings and enemies—for only the combined power of three magical talismans can help them defeat the malevolent sorcerer who has brought chaos and death to their once-idyllic home. But it will take new kinds of strength and wisdom to confront the great evil that has descended on the World of the Three Moons. Marion Zimmer Bradley, Julian May, and Andre Norton, three of the most honored names in fantasy fiction, have joined forces to create an extraordinary world and culture in the first book of the remarkable Saga of the Trillium, a breathtaking tale of duty, peril, love, and magic.

The novel that truly begins the bestselling Avalon saga...

Warrior Woman is Marion Zimmer Bradley''s response to the Gor novels - where men were men and women were slaves. Yes, this book does start out with a heroine who has been captured and is being sold as a slave, who has amnesia and remembers nothing of her life before the trip across the desert with the slavers - and, due to a head injury, remembers mercifully little of that. But she does know that she would rather fight in the arena than be a harlot for the men who do, and that choice changes the rest of the book. In a Gor-style novel the woman would become less her own person, eventually learning to be a contented and obedient slave. In this book, even while the heroine, called Zadieyek of Gyre, remains a slave, she is something quite different from the typical ''slave girl'' - she grows and develops, always searching for her memory and her past, convinced that this is not how her life is supposed to be. And, of course, she''s right.

The cross-currents of two cultures, one male-dominated, one egalitarian, combined with the human problems of two who switched allegiances, brings into focus all the deepest questions of love and marriage, justice and injustice. THENDARA HOUSE is a novel of speculation which has become a classic masterwork on the role of women on any world, past, present, or future.

Originally published in Amazing Stories in December 1958, The Planet Savers was the very first Darkover novel to see print. It was here that readers first encountered the now legendary world of Cottman IV, at a time when the Terrans were desperately seeking a cure for a disease of epidemic proportions that threatened the lives of Darkovans and Terrans alike.The Planet Savers introduced many readers to the wondrous world of the red sun, and it remains today a powerful evocation of the magic and mystery of Darkover.

A volume in the Darkover saga presents four challengers to the planet''s sacred traditions--ruling cast member Damon; his betrothed; Earthman Andrew; and Andrew''s betrothed, a Keeper of the Sacred Tower

When a Terran ship crashed on Darkover, many of the colonists and crew wished to stay and build an Earthlike society on the alien planet. They might be the most intelligent species on that world and could make themselves its lords and masters. They didn''t realize the dangers that lurked until the Ghost Wind began to blow and the powers of Darkover worked to claim them completely...