Best Selling Books by Marion Zimmer Bradley

SUDDEN PANIC It was a week before the Lhari ship went into warp-drive, and all that time young Bart Steele had stayed in his cabin. He was so bored with his own company that the Mentorian medic was a welcome sight when he came to prepare him for cold-sleep, The Mentorian paused, needle in hand. Do you wish to be wakened for the time we shall spend in each of the three star systems, sir? You can, of course, be given enough drug to keep you in cold-sleep until we reach your destination. Bart felt tempted -- he wanted very much to see the other star systems. But he couldn''t risk meeting other passengers. The needle went into his arm. In sudden panic, he realized he was helpless. The ship would touch down on three worlds, and on any of them the Lhari might have his description, or his alias He could be taken off, unconscious, and might never wake up He tried to move, to protest, but he couldn''t. There was a freezing moment of intense cold and then nothing. . . . * Marion Zimmer Bradley was born in Albany, New York and before she started her writing career she was a file clerk, music teacher, and a carnival performer. Her hobbies are reading science fiction novels, going to the opera and listening to folk music. In addition to having written a number of other books, she has written more than thirty magazine stories and articles and has been writing professionally for the past ten years.

"The major thread and pattern concerns the role of women. 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 chattel ... Yet there are the strange bands of pledged women known as the Free Amazons, equal to men and outside the laws that keep the rest of their sex subservient. And it is the Free Amazons who provide the key to ... the Terran-Darkover dilemma."--Cover, page four, paperback edition.

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).

After spending her youth in the Terran Empire, Margaret Alton returns to Darkover, the planet of her birth. There she discovers she has the Alton Gift--forced rapport and compulsion--one of the strongest and most dangerous of the inherited Laran gifts of the telepathic Comyn--the ruling families of Darkover. And even as she struggles to control her newfound powers, Margaret finds herself falling in love with the Regent to the royal Elhalyn Domain, a man she has been forbidden to marry, for their alliance would irrevocably alter the power balance of their planet!

"... 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.

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....

Venture to the distant world of Darkover in Marion Zimmer Bradley''s thrilling space opera, "The Planet Savers." A classic of science fiction adventure, this timeless tale explores themes of telepathy, genetic engineering, and the struggle for survival on a unique and challenging planet. Immerse yourself in a world where human ingenuity and extraordinary mental abilities are tested against the harsh realities of a colonized world. Experience a meticulously prepared edition of this enduring story, perfect for readers who appreciate compelling narratives and imaginative world-building. Journey to Darkover and discover a planet on the brink, where the fate of its inhabitants hangs in the balance. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Jeff Kerwin had spent his early years in the Spacemen''s Orphanage on Darkover. Yet he''d never felt that he belonged there, for he was haunted by dreams of the world surrounding the Terran city. After being shipped back to Earth, Jeff finally returns to the planet of the bloody sun, where he hopes to unlock the mystery of his heritage.

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.

Haunted by fleeting, nightmarish memories of her childhood on Darkover, Margaret Alton flees her home with her uncommunicative, brooding father to take a job as assistant to musicologist Ivor Davidson, a career that takes her back to Darkover and a terrifying confrontation with the past.

They asked me about it, of course, before I boarded the starship. All through the Western sector of the Galaxy, few rules are stricter than the one dividing human from nonhuman, and the little Captain of the Vesta-he was Terran, too, and proud in the black leather of the Empire''s merchant-man forces-hemmed and hawed about it, as much as was consistent with a spaceman''s dignity. "You see, Miss Vargas," he explained, not once but as often as I would listen to him, "this is not, strictly speaking, a passenger ship at all. Our charter is only to carry cargo. But, under the terms of our franchise, we are required to transport an occasional passenger, from the more isolated planets where there is no regular passenger service. Our rules simply don''t permit us to discriminate, and the Theradin reserved a place on this ship for our last voyage." He paused, and re-emphasized, "We have only the one passenger cabin, you see. We''re a cargo ship and we are not allowed to make any discrimination between our passengers." He looked angry about it. Unfortunately, I''d run up against that attitude before. Some Terrans won''t travel on the same ship with nonhumans even when they''re isolated in separate ends of the ship. I understood his predicament, better than he thought. The Theradin seldom travel in space. No one could have foreseen that Haalvordhen, the Theradin from Samarra, who had lived on the forsaken planet of Deneb for eighteen of its cycles, would have chosen this particular flight to go back to its own world.

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.

The planet of Darkover bathed in its blood red sun served as a convenient space port for the Terran Empire. Beyond that the Terrans knew little of the planet''s strange landscape, its vast mountain ranges, its deadly winds and its hostile inhabitants. Dan Barron, a simple space port despatcher, found himself alone and helpless in this alien world.

Retells the legend of Arthur as perceived by Viviane, the Lady of the Lake and high priestess of Avalon, Arthur''s mother Igraine, his Christian wife Guinevere, and the sorceress Morgaine.