In the era of The Hundred Kingdoms, a time of war and unrest, King Carolin of Hastur and his friend Keeper Varzil Ridenow work selflessly to put an end to the
destruction caused by the long-range weapons of the magical matrix Towers. But Eduin Deslucido–who once called Carolin brother–has been consumed with a
vengeful rage and will stop at nothing to destroy the king and his plan for peace.

An exciting fantasy adventure set in Marion Zimmer Bradley’s popular world of Darkover

Court life for Prince Gareth Elhalyn, grandson of the legendary Regis Hastur, has become unbearable. In a desperate attempt to escape, Gareth appeals to his powerful grandmother, Linnea, and with her blessing, disguises himself and travels to the barbarous, warlike Dry Towns where no one will recognize a prince. In the Dry Towns, Gareth overhears rumors of deadly, illegal Terran blasters and stumbles upon a terrible reality no one could have suspected.

Meanwhile, Linnea has never ceased to search for her lost daughter, Kierestelli, whom she and Regis were forced to send into hiding with the native chieri. Almost by chance, Linnea reconnects along the telepathic relays with Kierestelli, now called Silvana of Nevarsin Tower. Silvana, convinced that her parents abandoned her, rejects her mother’s overture and returns to her hidden home among the chieri. But the chieri once roamed the stars themselves, and they have no forgotten the terror of warfare in space–lessons that they pass on to Silvana.

Unknown to the ruling Comyn, danger now fills the skies above Darkover, and Silvana holds half the key to protecting their world. Gareth holds the other half, if he can only stay alive long enough to discover where that key is….

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.

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.

Darkover, planet of wonder, world of mystery, has been a favorite of science fiction readers for many years. For it is a truly alien sphere–a world of strange intelligences, of brooding skies beneath a ruddy sun, and of powers unknown to Earth. In this novel, Marion Zimmer Bradley tells of the original coming of the Earthmen, of the days when Darkover knew not humanity. This is the full-bodied novel of what happened when a colonial starship crashlanded on that uncharted planet to encounter for the first time in human existence the impact of the Ghost Wind, the psychic currents that were native only to that world, and the price that every Earthling must pay before Darkover could claim him for itself

The colony ship from Earth had been on its way to the Coronis colony–a flourishing mining settlement–where crews of engineers and technicians had been working for ten years preparing the planet for settlement and studying its
ecology. But disaster had struck. Thrown off course by a gravitational storm, the ship had lost its orientation equipment in the first shock and been forced to locate the nearest star system with a potentially habitable planet and try to land.
One-third of the crew had been killed in the crash, and the ship had been critically damaged. But the remaining colonists still entertained the hope of repair and escape from the cold but beautiful planet with the huge red sun and four moons.
Until the ghost wind, carrying psychedelic pollen, started to blow, and Darkover’s aboriginal race claimed them for their own. …

A gripping fantasy novel set in Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Darkover universe.

Regis Hastur was the heir to the most powerful domain on Darkover. When his grandfather died, he would inherit the title Hastur of Hastur, Regent of Darkover–king in everything but name. But ironically, this mantle was the last thing Regis had ever wanted. For he dreamed of a different kind of life–a life with the freedom to live and love like an ordinary man, without the expectations and responsibilities of his position.

Yet even Regis recognized Darkover’s desperate need for strong, rational leadership–leadership only he had been trained to provide. But now that his time was at hand, was Regis willing to make the personal sacrifices necessary to lead his world? Or would he turn away from his destiny and finally make his real dreams come true? For on his grandfather’s deathbed Regis learns that he has a brother–an older half-brother who could finally relieve Regis of the burden of title he had never wanted. Would Regis finally let himself be free to be the man he had always dreamed of being?

She had rejected her noble birthright and embraced the freedom only a man could claim. She was Romilly who lived among the beasts of hill and forest and communicated with them, who tried humanity and turned it down for its evils and jealousies. She had the MacAran Gift, the rare Laran that conferred mastery over hawk and horse.

Romilly was an independent tomboy from a noble family, contrary to the social demands of Darkovan women. That was bad enough, but when Romilly’s father arranged her marriage to a nobleman she found repulsive, she rebelled. Disguising
herself as a boy, she fled into the deep forests. Living off the land was not nearly as difficult for Romilly as for most people, for she possessed a rare and highlytreasured gift–telepathic communication with hawk and horse. But Romilly soon
discovered her newfound freedom was far from complete. Pulled into the maelstrom of a civil war, could Romilly find her true role in life without sacrificing her ideals?

A new age is coming…The King will come…and he will rule forever in Avalon.
Through the generations the women of Avalon prepare for the coming of the Defender, the sacred king who will guard the old ways of the Britons and save their land from destruction. On the holy isle of Avalon, hidden in the mists between the world of Faerie and the world of men, they wait.
For High Priestess Caillean, facing the Roman foe, salvation comes not through victory, but bitter sacrifice. Two hundred years later her successor, Dierna, faces a new enemy: the Saxon hordes who assail her people like savages. By the time of Viviane, Britain seems wholly lost. But a Merlin is made amongst the Druids once more, and the day of the Defender, who will come to be known as Arthur, draws close.
A spellbinding historical fantasy, Lady of Avalon links the bestselling novels in the Avalon series-The Forests of Avalon and The Mists of Avalon.

When a British princess falls in love with a Roman officer destined for imperial greatness, their forbidden desire exacts an unexpected price: banishment from Avalon. Journeying outside the enchanted isle, Helena grows from maiden to mother to wisewoman, experiencing both joy-with the birth of her child-and loss, when politics forces her lover to choose between the Empire and her.
Then Helena’s son, Constantine, becomes Emperor, and her position as Empress-Mother propels her to prominence at a crucial turning point in Western history. Seeking a way to bridge the pagan world of the Goddess and the new Christian Empire, Helena embarks on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to find the truth that transcends both the old religion and the new.

After the Age of Chaos had almost destroyed civilization on the planet of the Bloody Sun, even the Sharra had been exiled, but now the Sharra had returned, embodied in the image of a chained woman wreathed in flames, an image which could change the history of Darkover forever.

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 Age 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.

Originally published in 1965, Star of Danger lays the groundwork for the classic, bestselling Darkover series. The Darkovans are descendants of a long-lost Terran colony ship and distrust the Terrans, who have taken up residence on their planet,
fearing these strangers intend to disrupt the Darkover society. Many Terrans do feel that the people of Darkover should abandon their “backward” culture and join the Terran Empire.

Despite this mutual prejudice, Terran Larry Montray and Darkovan Kennard Alton forge a bond of friendship, allowing Larry to be one of the few Terrans to ever observe Darkovan life and customs firsthand. But Larry gets more than he
bargained for as he finds himself in the midst of an ancient feud fought by unknown beings, deadly beasts, and alien intelligences. When Larry and Kennard are forced to combine Darkover matrix magic with Terran technology to stand
against a common enemy, their alliance challenges the fate of both their cultures.

During the lawless Ages of Chaos, when the ruling families of Darkover ruthlessly inbred their laran-gifted offspring to gain powerful talents, a baby was born to the lord of Aldaran. This child, born on a dark and thunder-filled night—-, was possessed of a terrifying and uncontrolled talent: Dorilys, heiress to her father’s domain, could unwittingly call forth lightning, even while still a fretful child. Fearful for his daughter’s life and the safety of his domain, Lord Aldaran sent to a tower for help. But even the powers of a trained monitor and a Hastur lord might not be enough to save this painfully afflicted and deadly young woman.

During the lawless Ages of Chaos, when the ruling families of Darkover ruthlessly inbred their laran-gifted offspring to gain powerful talents, a baby was born to the lord of Aldaran. This child, born on a dark and thunder-filled night, was possessed
of a terrifying and uncontrolled talent: Dorilys, heiress to her father’s domain, could unwittingly call forth lightning, even while still a fretful child. Fearful for his daughter’s life and the safety of his domain, Lord Aldaran sent to a tower for help.
But even the powers of a trained monitor and a Hastur lord might not be enough to save this painfully afflicted and deadly young woman.

The long-awaited continuation to Marion Zimmer Bradley’s popular science fiction Darkover saga

After generations of struggle to protect the unique native culture of Darkover from the ambitions of the ruthless Terran Federation, the Terrans have finally been forced to abandon Darkover due to interstellar civil war.

As Lew Alton–returned home to the world of his birth after decades spent in exile as the Darkovan representative to the Terran Senate–wrestles with the dark shadows from his past, his daughter Marguerida’s psychic Gifts warn her of impending danger. But danger to whom? Her husband Mikhail, as powerful head of the Hastur Doman is her most obvious worry, for many would stand to gain from his demise.

Meanwhile, unknown to Marguerida, her son, Domenic, searches for his place in a world of shifting loyalties, torn by love for two very different women, and troubled by his destiny as the heir to Hastur.

But while Darkover’s powerful rulers face their personal demons, desperate refugees flood the streets of Thendara, Darkover’s capital city, for in the mountains an ancient menace is once again on the rise–a power against which neither sword nor the psychic sorcery of Darkover can prevail.

For Jeff Kerwin, Darkover meant home, the home he had left as a child, the home he had longed for through the many years. Yet, he was to be terribly disappointed when he finally returned. First he learned that there were not records of any kind of either his birth or childhood on Darkover. And then, after he renounced his Terran allegiance and joined the natives attempting to free Darkover from Earth’s control, the Darkovans accused him of being a spy. Someone was betraying them. Had Jeff been conditioned on Earth for just that purpose? Jeff Kerwin began to wonder just who, and what, he really was.

Jeff Kerwin spent the first decade of his life in the Spacemen’s Orphanage in the Terran Trade City on Darkover. Yet he never felt that he belonged. When Jeff is shipped back to Earth at the age of 12, he becomes haunted by dreams of the
world surrounding the Terran oasis that had once been his. He is convinced that only on Darkover can he discover his true identity.

Now an adult, Jeff finally returns to Darkover as a member of the Terran Spaceforce. Still, he feels out of place. Despite being mistaken for a member of the Comyn aristocracy with his red hair and possession of a powerful matrix jewel,
he has no memory of how he acquired such things. If only he could learn the secrets of the Towers, perhaps then he could hope to solve the mystery of his heritage.

The Fall of Neskaya, Book One of the Clingfire Trilogy, marks the legendary author’s final return to Darkover before her death. Set in the tumultuous era of
The Hundred Kingdoms, a terrible time of strife and war, this unique fantasy world is divided into a multitude of small belligerent domains vying for power and land.
One ambitious and corrupt tyrant will stop at nothing to control Darkover–even wield the terrifying weapons of the matrix.

Blending archaeological fact and legend, the myths of the gods, and the feats of heroes, Marion Zimmer Bradley breathes new life into the classic tale of the Trojan War. Reinventing larger-than-life figures as living people engaged in a desperate struggle that dooms both the victors and the vanquished, their fate is seen through the eyes of Kassandra–priestess, princess, and passionate woman with the spirit of a warrior.

A Darkover series volume, by the author of The Mists of Avalon, presents four challengers to the planet’s sacred traditions–ruling caste member Damon, his betrothed, Earthman Andrew, and Andrew’s betrothed, a Keeper of the Sacred Tower.

In this book of the Darkover series, four challengers rise up to defy the matrix guardians.

Callista leaves the Keepers to marry Andrew Carr, and her twin sister, Ellemir, marries Damon Ridenow, creating a shared four-way bond. But the Keepers have tampered with Callista’s channels, and the foursome must navigate a tangled web
of love, time travel, and prophetic dreams to challenge all the old traditions as they fight for a future of their choosing.

She was Eilan, the daughter of a Druidic warleader and gifted with visions. In a land struggling to survive both Roman conquerors and her own people’s enemies, surely fate had marked her to become a priestess of the Forest House.
But first Eilan had chosen a different, forbidden path-to love Gaius, a soldier of mixed blood among the legions sent to subdue her country. So she must hide a terrible secret when she is anointed as the new High Priestess. With mighty enemies poised to usurp the wealth of magic the Forest House sheltered, Eilan could only trust in the power of the great Goddess to find her destiny amidst the treacherous labyrinth in which fate had placed her.

Described as “Bradley’s best novel” by Locus, THE HERITAGE OF HASTUR, longest and most intricate of the Darkover books, is a brilliant epic of the pivotal event in the strange love-hate relationship between the Terran worlds and the semi-alien offspring of forgotten peoples. This is the novel of the Hastur tradition and of the showdown between those who would bargain away their world for the glories of star-borne science and those who would preserve the special “matrix” power that was at once the prize and the burden of ruddy-sunned Darkover. A Note From the Author: To the faithful followers of the chronicles of Darkover, whose greatest delight seems to be discovering even the most minute inconsistencies from book to book: This book tells a story which a great many of the friends of Darkover have asked me to tell – the story of the early life of Regis Hastur, and of the Sharra rising, and of Lew Alton’s first encounter with Marjorie Scott and the man who called himself Kadarin. The faithful followers mentioned above will discover a very few minute inconsistencies between the account herein, and the story as Lew Alton told it later. I make no apologies for these. The only explanation I can make is that in the years which elapsed between the events in this book, and the later novel dealing with the final destruction of the Sharra matrix, Lew’s memories of these events may have altered his perceptions. Or, as I myself believe, the telepaths of the Arilinn Tower may have mercifully blurred his memories, to save his reason. MARION ZIMMER BRADLEY

Described as “Bradley’s best novel” by Locus, The Heritage of Hastur, longest and most intricate of the Darkover books, is a brilliant epic of the pivotal event in the strange love-hate relationship between the Terran worlds and the semi-alien
offspring of forgotten peoples.

This is the novel of the Hastur tradition and of the showdown between those who would bargain away their world for the glories of star-borne science and those who would preserve the special “matrix” power that was at once the prize and the
burden of ruddy-sunned Darkover.

Terran child psychologist Bryn Haslund has her hands full, treating the traumatized young victims of the interplanetary Star Alliance. She’s tried to stay out of politics, leaving that to her charismatic statesman father, Ernst. Despite her best efforts to remain neutral, she gets caught in the crackdown
of a protest-turned-riot. Then Ernst delivers a robotic speech in support of the Alliance’s tyrannical leader and goes missing.

With the Alliance’s secret police hot on her heels, Bryn finally locates her father in the research labs on Alpha, only to find that a mind-control device has been implanted in his brain. Searching for a way to disable the device, she discovers the records of a remote, almost-forgotten planet where telepathic
powers have been developed to an extraordinary degree … Darkover, a Lost Colony world circling a dim red star far out on the galactic rim. In the desperate hope that natural telepathy can disable the mechanical device and free her father’s mind, she hustles him onboard a smuggler’s ship. When they
try to land on Darkover, however, powerful winds knock their shuttle off-course, and it crashes in a rugged, glaciated mountain range. As the shuttle spins out of control, Bryn cries out for help … … and someone answers her telepathic plea.

Darkover poses its own dangers, from ice avalanches to bandits to gigantic carnivorous birds.

Moreover, the planet has a complicated, often contentious history with Terra. When the Terrans rediscovered Darkover after millennia of isolation, the aristocratic Comyn struggled to maintain their unique culture, often at a terrible price. Using their extraordinary psychic abilities called laran, they
forced the Terrans to honor Darkover’s independence. The vicious interstellar wars waged by the Star Alliance eventually forced the Terrans to withdraw. Two generations later, smugglers, pirates, and rebels still use Darkover as a hidden base, threatening to drag the Comyn into their own battles. So far,
Darkover’s leaders have managed to avoid becoming a battleground for a larger conflict. Now Bryn and her father threaten to break that precarious isolation.

To make matters worse, the mind-control device seems to be tightening its hold over Ernst, the Darkovans have their own agenda, and Bryn’s newly awakened psychic powers just might turn out to be lethal.

Can Bryn convince Darkover’s telepaths to help when they are deeply suspicious of Terrans and would rather remain forgotten? What are these strange new powers she’s developing? And can she restore Ernst’s mind before the Alliance enforcers track them down?

In the tradition of T.H. White’s The Once and Future King, the author makes use of the prerequisites of the Arthurian legend: Excalibur, the Holy Grail, Lancelet’s illicit love for Gwenhwyfar, the destruction of Camelot, but with a twist–she presents the entire panoramic story from the female point of view. No passive by-standers, these earthy priestesses from Avalon literally breathe life into a musty, oft-told tale. In Book One: Mistress of Magic, the Lady of the Lake–Viviane–brings about the marriage of her younger sister Igraine to Uther Pendragon. Their only child, Arthur, is believed to be the last hope in the long standing war between Saxons and Romans. Meanwhile, Morgaine, Igraine’s daughter by her first marriage to Gorlois, has come under the apprenticeship of Viviane at Avalon. In spite of her great love and hope for Morgaine, Viviane is driven by an unrelenting vision. Miserable, but duty-bound, she tricks Morgaine and Arthur into becoming lovers during the night of the ritual fires. Enraged and shamed by what her aunt has done, Morgaine plans to rid herself of the child that has resulted from their union. Book one ends with Arthur’s coronation and Morgaine’s decision to leave Avalon.

This imaginative return to the Arthurian legend as told from its pagan priestesses continues with Book Two: The High Queen. Morgaine, finally reconciled to the birth of her son, must relinquish him to her aunt Morgause in exchange for the kept secret regarding his parentage. Arthur marries the timid but dutiful Gwenhwyfar, while ongoing wars with the Saxon invaders continue to rage accross the land. Morgaine, tired of worldly concerns, attempts to return to Avalon, but disappears without a trace somewhere near the end of her journey. In a last bid for peace, Arthur compromises his loyalty to Avalon by carrying the Christian banner into battle. Gwenhwyfar’s inability to conceive has the kingdom despairing of an heir to the throne, while behind the scenes, her love for Lancelet grows more impassioned and desperate.

This imaginative retelling of the Arthurian legend centers around the pagan priestesses of Avalon, who compete for the soul of Great Britain against the rising tide of Christianity. Book Three takes the listener deeper into the political/religious rivalry in the years following Arthur’s coronation. Gwenhwyfar, in possession of a terrible secret, manipulates her husband to secure his loyalty to the Christian church, while Vivian’s decision to confront Arthur over his betrayal of Avalon results in tragedy. Behind the scenes, Morgaine arranges the marriage of Lancelet, who has become desperate over the hopeless triangle at Camelot. When Gwenhwyfar hears of his marriage, she vows revenge. Through her own marriage to Uriens of North Wales, Morgaine works to strengthen the cause of Avalon. She returns briefly to the Isle of Mists, only to discover that the time is not yet ripe for her to reign. Book Three concludes with the arrival of young Gwydion (Mordred) on the scene.

Book Four finds Morgaine moving closer to the fate that will set her intractably against Arthur–her lover, brother, and now, enemy. Returning to Camelot during the Feast of Pentecost, Morgaine accuses Arthur of compromising the crown, and demands that he return Excalibur to her. When he refuses, Morgaine arranges a confrontation between her lover, Accolon, and Arthur in the kingdom of Fairy, resulting in Accolon’s death. Grieving and still without Excalibur, Morgaine makes a hasty retreat to Avalon. When she finally returns to Camelot, it is to retrieve Avalon’s Holy Regalia, now being used in a Christian mass. Enraged at this betrayal, Morgaine calls upon the Lady’s magic, which results in the mysterious “disappearance” of the holy chalice, prompting the companions of the Round Table to embark on a 12-month quest to find it. Events spiral out of control when Lancelet returns, resumes his adulterous relationship with Gwenhwyfar, and is finally exposed. The novel closes with the King Stag’s death and Morgaine’s long-anticipated return to Avalon.

In the tradition of T.H. White’s The Once and Future King, the author makes use of the prerequisites of the Arthurian legend: Excalibur, the Holy Grail, Lancelet’s illicit love for Gwenhwyfar, the destruction of Camelot, but with a twist–she presents the entire panoramic story from the female point of view. No passive by-standers, these earthy priestesses from Avalon literally breathe life into a musty, oft-told tale. In Book One: Mistress of Magic, the Lady of the Lake–Viviane–brings about the marriage of her younger sister Igraine to Uther Pendragon. Their only child, Arthur, is believed to be the last hope in the long standing war between Saxons and Romans. Meanwhile, Morgaine, Igraine’s daughter by her first marriage to Gorlois, has come under the apprenticeship of Viviane at Avalon. In spite of her great love and hope for Morgaine, Viviane is driven by an unrelenting vision. Miserable, but duty-bound, she tricks Morgaine and Arthur into becoming lovers during the night of the ritual fires. Enraged and shamed by what her aunt has done, Morgaine plans to rid herself of the child that has resulted from their union. Book one ends with Arthur’s coronation and Morgaine’s decision to leave Avalon.

While only women can command the power of the matrix and the secret sciences which keep Darkover from Terran hands, in most respects they are still chattels. But the Free Amazons are considered equal to men, and it is they who provide the
key to the Terran-Darkover dilemma.

Although Darkover was a world inhabited by humans as well as semi-humans, it was primarily forbidden ground to the Terran traders. Most of the planet’s wild terrain was unexplored…and many of its peoples seclusive and secretive. But for Andrew Carr there was an attration he could not evade. Darkover drew him, Darkover haunted him–and when his mapping plane crashed in unknown heights, Darkover prepared to destroy him. Until the planet’s magic asserted itself–and his destiny began to unfold along lines predicted only by phantoms and wonder workers of the kind Terran science could never acknowledge.

Although Darkover was a world inhabited by humans as well as semi-humans, it was primarily forbidden ground to the Terran traders. Most of the planet’s wild terrain was unexplored … and many of its peoples seclusive and secretive.
But for Andrew Carr there was an attraction he could not evade. Darkover drew him, Darkover haunted him–and when his mapping plane crashed in unknown heights, Darkover prepared to destroy him. Until the planet’s magic asserted
itself–and his destiny began to unfold along lines predicted only by phantoms and wonder workers of the kind Terran science could never acknowledge.

When a bandit gang seizes High Windward, holding the Storn family hostage, the laran powers of the oldest son Loran are the family’s only hope. Reaching out with those powers, he finds a young Terran, Dan Barron, and “overshadows” his mind,
sending him on a desperate rescue mission to Aldaran Castle. But the “help” that the powerful Aldaran family offers may be far more dangerous than any bandit. For what they offer is use of the terrible Sharra Matrix–dreaded weapon of the Ages of Chaos.

A classic novel in the bestselling Darkover series. For three quarters of a century, Darkover has resisted the Terran Empire’s efforts in colonization and industrialization. But the leader of Planetary Investments Unlimited (known as Worldwreckers, Inc.) has decided to take on this assignment herself . . . for long ago, she had called Darkover home.

Planetary Investments Unlimited–that was the company’s official name, but unofficially it was known as Worldwreckers, Inc. For a fee, its agent would infiltrate any world unwilling to give up its independence, and do enough damage
that the natives would be forced to allow Terran investors to step in and salvage their planet. And now, once again, its agents were at work.

In the 78 years since the planet Cottman IV–called Darkover by its natives–was rediscovered by the Terran Empire, all efforts to colonize and industrialize this exotic world had failed.

And the person in charge of Worldwreckers, Inc.–a centuries-old being who appeared to be a woman–had decided to take on this particular assignment herself. After all, she had special insight into this world, for long ago–lifetimes
ago–she had called Darkover home. …

Jaelle has been raised in the harsh patriarchal environment of the Dry Towns. Her mother Mellora is a Comyn woman who has been kidnapped in order to breed laran-gifted offspring for her barbarian “husband.” But when a desperate, pregnant Mellora dies in childbirth following a daring escape aided by a band of Renunciates, the still young Jaelle is adopted into the Guild, and becomes the Free Amazon Jaelle n’ha Mellora, a woman who has never known kindness from a man.

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.

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?

What forces would operate if there were two objects that were absolutely identical in form and substance? This problem has occupied both workers in magic and the scientists of physics and psychology. It is the pivot of Marion Zimmer Bradley’s novel of Darkover during the final flaming days of the Ages of Chaos. This is the story of the era when the planet of the Bloody Sun was divided into a hundred warring kingdoms and civilization teetered on the edge of oblivion. It is the story of Bard di Asturien, ambitious soldier-outlaw, and of his opponent, Varzil the Good, who struggled to establish the Compact. And it is also the story of a man from distant Terra named Paul Harrell who was the exact duplicate of Varzil’s enemy. Two to Conquer is a novel of social forces in combat, of the use and misuse of science, of war, of rape, and of witchcraft.

After the flaming final days of the Ages of Chaos, when the Keeper known as Varzil the Good struggled to bring peace to the warring Hundred Kingdoms through a law called the Compact, there were still those who fought against him for their
own ends. And Bard Di Asturian, the outlaw known as The Wolf of the Kilghard Hills, would go to any extreme to bring all those near him under his brutal sway. When matrix magic enables him to bring his double–an Earthman named Paul
Harrell–through the vast reaches of space to Darkover, he feels he will now be invulnerable. But will his equally brutal doppelganger be the man to finally teach him the cost of violence?