Darkover Anthology Series

The first anthology of short stories set on Darkover, spanning Darkovan history--from shortly after the arrival of the lost Terran ship, through the Ages of Chaos, the rise of the Comyn and the establishment of the Compact, and the eventual return the Terrans.  This anthology, first published in 1980, contains stories by Marion Zimmer Bradley, Elisabeth Waters, Diana L. Paxson, Susan M. Shwartz, Patricia Shaw Mathews, Cynthia McQuillin, Jacqueline Lichtenberg and Jean Lorrah, Linda MacKendrick, Kathleen Williams, Penny Ziegler, Eileen Ledbetter, Linda Frankel, and Paula Crunk.

This second anthology of all-original Darkover stories, first published in 1982, contains the following stories: Lesson of the Inn, by Marion Zimmer Bradley; A Sword Called Chaos, by Marion Zimmer Bradley; Dark Lady, by Jane Brae-Bedell; Of Two Minds, by Susan M. Hansen; Through Fire and Frost, by Dorothy J. Heydt; Way of a Wolf, by Lynne Holdom; A Recipe For Failure, by Millea Kenin; Where the Heart Is, by Millea Kenin; Di Catenas, by Adrienne Martine-Barnes; Camilla, by Patricia Shaw Mathews; Skeptic, by Lynn Mimms; Cold Hall, by Aly Parsons; A Gift of Love, by Diana L. Paxson; In the Throat of the Dragon, by Susan M. Shwartz; Legend of the Hellers, by Ty Nolan; Escape, by Leslie L. Williams; Rebirth, by Elisabeth Waters; Confidence, by Phillip Wayne; Wind-Music, by Mary Frances Zambreno.

This sixth anthology of all-original Darkover stories, first published in 1988, contains the following stories: House Rules, by Marion Zimmer Bradley; A Man of Impulse, by Marion Zimmer Bradley; The Devourer Within, by Margaret L. Carter; Out of Ashes, by Patricia B. Cirone; A King's Ransom, by Kay Morgan Douglas; Mourning, by Audrey J. Fulton; Festival Night, by Dorothy J. Heydt; Sort of Chaos, by Millea Kenin; My Father's Son, by Meg MacDonald; To Challenge Fate, by Sandra C. Morrese; The Jackel, by Vera Nazarian; Swarm Song, by Roxana Pierson; The Death of Brendon Ensolare, by Deborah J. Ross; Circles, by G.R. Sixbury; Death's Scepter, by Joan Marie Verba; A Laughing Matter, by Rachel R. Walker; Sin Catenas, by Elisabeth Waters.

The eighth Darkover anthology returns to stories about the Free Amazons, also called Renunciates. Here are twenty-two brand new tales about the Renunciates, including Marion Zimmer Bradley's account of how Camilla and Rafaella changed from enemies to best friends. Stories in this volume were written by Marion Zimmer Bradley, Deborah J. Ross, Mercedes Lackey, Diana L. Paxson, Elisabeth Waters, Emily Alward, Priscilla W. Armstrong, Lynne Armstrong-Jones, Chel Avery, Margaret L. Carter, Patricia B. Cirone, Mary Fenoglio, Kelly B. Jaggers, Judith Kobylecky, Jean Lamb, Vera Nazarian, Patricia Duffy Novak, Diann S. Partridge, Andrew Rey, Janet R. Rhodes, Annette Rodriguez, and Joan Marie Verba.

This fourth anthology of all-original Darkover stories, first published in 1987, contains the following:  Bride Price, by Marion Zimmer Bradley; Everything But Freedom, a novella by Marion Zimmer Bradley; Oathbreaker, by Marion Zimmer Bradley; The Other Side of the Mirror, a novella by Patricia Floss; Blood Hunt, by Linda Frankel & Paula Crunk.

The tenth anthology of all-original stories returns readers to Darkover to explore some of its most fascinating places: the Towers, where those gifted with laran join together to work, theoretically for the common good. Sometimes, however, politics takes over, resulting in the creation of the horrific weapons used in power struggles of the Comyn. This anthology contains stories by Marion Zimmer Bradley, Deborah J. Ross, Elisabeth Waters, Dorothy J. Heydt, Diana L. Paxson, Emily Alward, Lynne Armstrong-Jones, Aletha Biedermann-Wiens, Nina Boal, Margaret L. Carter, Patricia B. Cirone, Mary Ellen Fletcher, David R. Heydt, Judith Kobylecky, Lynn Michals, Patricia Duffy Novak, Diann Partridge, Charley Pearson, Alexandra Sarris, Glenn R. Sixbury, and Joan Marie Verba.

This fifth anthology of all-original Darkover stories, first published in 1987, contains the following stories:  Ballad of Hastur and Cassilda, by Marion Zimmer Bradley; The Shadow, by Marion Zimmer Bradley; Flight, by Nina Boal; Devil's Advocate, by Patricia Buard; Different Path, by Penny Buchanan; The Promise, by Mary Fenoglio; The Sum of the Parts, by Dorothy J. Heydt; Coils, by Patricia Shaw Mathews; Kihar, by Vera Nazarian; Salt, by Diann Patridge; A Different Kind of Victory, by Diana L. Paxson; Wasteland, by Deborah J. Ross; Playfellow, by Elisabeth Waters; The Dare, by Marny Whiteaker; A Cell Opens, by Joseph Wilcox.

This third anthology of all-original Darkover stories, first published in 1985, concentrates on the Free Amazons and contains the following stories: Knives, by Marion Zimmer Bradley; Legend of Lady Bruna, by Marion Zimmer Bradley; On the Trail, by Barbara Armistead; Tactics, by Jane M.H. Bigelow; Meeting, by Nina Boal; Her Own Blood, by Margaret L. Carter; Camel's Nose, by Susan Holtzer; Banshee, by Sherry Kramer; A Different Kind of Courage, by Mercedes Lackey; Girls Will Be Girls, by Patricia Shaw Mathews; Oath of the Free Amazons: Terran Version, by Jaida n'ha Sandra; The Mother Quest, by Diana L. Paxson; To Open a Door, by P. Alexandra Riggs; Midwife, by Deborah J. Ross; Recruits, by Maureen Shannon; Growing Pains, by Susan M. Shwartz; Cast Off Your Chains, by Margaret Silvestri; This One Time, by Joan Marie Verba; Child of the Heart, by Elisabeth Waters.

The seventh anthology of all-original Darkover stories adds to the legends of the Planet of the Bloody Sun. This volume contains stories by Deborah J. Ross, Mercedes Lackey, Lynne Armstrong-Jones, Barbara Denz, Cynthia Drolet, Mary Frey, Dorothy J. Heydt, Judith Kobylecky, Meg MacDonald, Patricia Duffy Novak, Diann Patridge, Janet Rhodes, Judith Sampson, Micole Sudberg, Joan Marie Verba, L.D. Woeltjen, and Elisabeth Waters & Marion Zimmer Bradley.

This ninth anthology of all-original Darkover stories, first published in 1991, covers events from the founding of the Comyn Council to centuries-later encounters of Terrans with chieri. This volume contains stories by Elisabeth Waters, Margaret L. Carter, Dorothy J. Heydt, Priscilla Armstrong, Lynne Armstrong-Jones, Chel Avery, Patricia Cirone, Mary K. Frey, Diana Gill, Jacquie Groom, Aimee Kratts, Deborah J. Mays, Lynn Michals, Patricia Duffy Novak, Roxanne Pierson, Diann Partridge, Diana Perry & Vera Nazarian, Janet Rhodes, Lawrence Schimel, Janni Lee Simner, Joan Marie Verba, and Lana Young.

This is the twelfth anthology of short stories set on Darkover, edited by Marion Zimmer Bradley, and first published in 1994. This anthology contains stories by Marion Zimmer Bradley, Mercedes Lackey, Deborah J. Ross, Elisabeth Waters, Lynne Armstrong-Jones, Chel Avery, Lee Martindale, Diana L. Paxson, Patricia Duffy Novak, Roxana Pierson, Joan Marie Verba, Janet R. Rhodes, Cynthia McQuillin, Patricia Shaw Mathews, Lena Gore, Jane Edgeworth, Toni Berry, C. Frances, Nina Boal, Suzanne Hawkins Burke, Linda Anfuso, Alexandra Sarris, and Glenn R. Sixbury.

...an incredible blending of fantasy and science fiction. Eventually the Terrans rediscover their long-lost -- and now alien -- colony: Darkover. Things are different there. While adolescent male homosexuality is generally tolerated on Darkover, men are expected to outgrow it. When Dyan Ardais takes lovers young enough to be his sons, he risks not just his reputation, but his life. Life in a Tower as a Keeper, the chaste virgin who holds a circle together, is grueling. Few succeed in the long, painful years of training. The ones who do have power greater than any queen, but what happens to the ones who don't? Darkovan technology is based on matrix stones that amplify psychic gifts, and people with those gifts work in the Tower circles. But duty to family outweighs everything else, and anyone can be called home from the Tower to marry as her family dictates. A Comyn lady can have lands, wealth, family...everything but freedom. Women can become Free Amazons, but that life has its own set of challenges. Before a candidate's trial period ends, she must decide if she is truly meant to cope with everything being a Free Amazon entails.

Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover remains one of the longest-running and best-loved series of all time, one that has touched the hearts and fired the imaginations of generations of readers. Now Darkover comes alive as never before in the hands of talented authors, many of whom found inspiration for their own careers in the world of the Bloody Sun. On a wondrous planet of telepaths and swordsmen, non-humans and ancient mysteries, a technologically advanced, star-faring civilization comes into inevitable conflict with one that has pursued psychic gifts and turned away from weapons of mass destruction. Darkover offers many gifts, asked for and unexpected. Those who come here, ignorant of what they will find, discover gifts outside themselves and within themselves. The door to Darkover's magic swings both ways, however, and many a visitor leaves the people he encounters equally transformed. This anthology includes stories by Robin Wayne Bailey, Jane M. H. Bigelow, Barb Caffrey, Margaret L. Carter, Rosemary Edghill & Rebecca Fox, Jeremy Erman, Leslie Fish, Shariann Lewitt, Deborah Millitello, Ty Nolan, Diana L. Paxson, and Marella Sands.

The first new Darkover anthology in almost two decades, this volume focuses on the music of Darkover: stories with musical elements; the songs in the books; and the filk songs inspired by them, from "The Horsetamer's Daughter" by Leslie Fish to eight songs by Cynthia McQuillin. Original stories included are by India Edghill, Leslie Fish, Raul S. Reyes, Michael Spence, and Elisabeth Waters. There are also reprints of stories by Mercedes Lackey and Vera Nazarian.

Orbiting a distant red sun, the planet Darkover was settled long ago by human colonists and then cut off from the rest of civilization. Over millennia of isolation, it gave rise to a rich culture ruled by a telepathic aristocracy, but was also home to nonhuman races, both hostile and friendly. As kingdoms rose and fell, the enhanced psychic gifts called laran, channeled through starstone gems, transformed not only individual lives, but the entire world. In the spirit of a masqued revel, here is a gala presentation of tales set in Marion Zimmer Bradley's beloved world of the Bloody Sun. Some of these stories are humorous, others dark, some gritty, and others whimsical or romantic, but all reflect the richness and breadth of adventures to be found on Darkover. This volume includes stories by Robin Wayne Bailey, Jane M. H. Bigelow, Evey Brett, Leslie Roy Carter and Margaret L. Carter, India Edghill, Rosemary Edghill, Rebecca Fox, Steven Harper, Shariann Lewitt, Meg Mac Donald, Ty Nolan, and Marella Sands.

Darkover’s position on the galactic arm renders it strategically important, a crossroads in space.  It’s also a place where cultures meet and clash, where strangers encounter one another, and where lives are forever transformed. Whether the tale features a literal branching of the road, a fateful decision, a twist of fate, or a life-changing realization, the theme of “crossroads” echoes through these pages. Here assumptions are challenged, dangers braved, and hidden truths revealed. Add a touch of Darkover’s special romance, a bit of humor here and there, and the result is a thrilling journey, no matter which road you follow. This volume includes stories by Robin Wayne Bailey, Jane M. H. Bigelow, Evey Brett, Rosemary & India Edghill, Leslie Fish, Rebecca Fox, Gabrielle Harbowy, Shariann Lewitt, Pat MacEwen, Deborah Millitello, Diana L. Paxson, Jenna Rhodes, Robin Rowland & Deborah J. Ross, and Marella Sands.

Marion Zimmer Bradley's beloved world of Darkover encompasses many realms, from glacier-shrouded mountains to arid wastelands, from ancient kingdoms to space-faring empires. Now this all-new anthology welcomes old friends and new fans to explore these landscapes of time and place, history and imagination. Darkover's psychic gifts known as laran bestow the ability to reach across the stars, meld with another's mind, and experience past and possible futures. These talents are not limited to Darkover's human inhabitants, for the planet is also home to nonhuman races, many with powerful mental abilities of their own. In these stories, a swordsman on the track of an assassin forges a telepathic bond with a great owl...a shapeshifter from Earth discovers kinship with a Darkovan catman...a boy from the desert Dry Towns displays a deadly form of weather-control...rescuers make their way across blizzard-cloaked mountains, afoot or on skis...and an intrepid young woman challenges the male establishment in her dream of becoming a judge. This volume contains stories by Robin Wayne Bailey, Jane M. H. Bigelow, Barb Caffrey, Margaret L. Carter & Leslie Roy Carter, Rosemary Edghill & Rebecca Fox, Leslie Fish, Shariann Lewitt, Deborah Millitello, Ty Nolan, Diana L. Paxson, Marella Sands, and Michael Spence.

For more than six decades, readers have fallen in love with Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover, a "Lost Colony" world of telepaths, swordsmen, intelligent alien races, and long-buried mysteries. From the glacier-shrouded Hellers Mountains to the arid Dry Towns, the ancient realms of the Ages of Chaos, and the star-faring Terran Federation, Darkover is brimming with adventure, intrigue, and romance. Editor Deborah J. Ross proudly presents this all-original collection in the finest spirit of Darkovan tales for your reading delight.   Evey Brett + Barb Caffrey + Margaret L. Carter and Leslie Roy Carter + Lillian Csernica + India and Rosemary Edghill + Leslie Fish + Shariann Lewitt + Marella Sands + Deborah Millitello + Diana L. Paxson + Rhondi Salsitz

Strongholds of rock . . . fortresses of the spirit . . . a planet set apart . . . A castle high in snow-covered mountains beneath a ruddy sun, a place at once romantic and bleak, alien and richly nostalgic . . . a heart besieged and then re-awakened . . . secrets locked away by stone and spell . . . the last refuge of desperate folk . . . Towers where laran-Gifted circles work their magic . . . and Darkover itself, a world apart, yet under repeated assault by those who would exploit its natural resources, including its unique telepathic Gifts . . .  Citadels can be psychic, emotional, and cultural as well as military, and the wonderfully imaginative contributors to this volume have taken the basic idea and spun out stories in different and often unexpected directions.  This volume contains stories by Robin Wayne Bailey, Jane M. H. Bigelow, Barb Caffrey, Evey Brett, Lillian Csernica, Leslie Fish, Rebecca Fox, Steven Harper, Shariann Lewitt, Diana L. Paxson, Robin Rowland, and Marella Sands.

Return to the world of the Bloody Sun  Over fifty years ago, master story-teller Marion Zimmer Bradley introduced readers to a compelling new world. Darkover, a distant planet circling a red sun, was home to telepaths and rebels, lovers and rivals, nonhuman races both friendly and deadly, ancient traditions and even more ancient feuds, and psychic gifts of unimaginable power, channeled through starstone gems and capable of changing not only individual lives, but the entire world.  Generations of fans have fallen in love with Darkover, and many of them have gone on to notable literary careers of their own. Now editors Deborah J. Ross and Elisabeth Waters have gathered together luminaries of fantasy in this star-studded anthology of original stories that illuminate Darkover's rich history and culture. From the Ages of Chaos to re-contact with the Terrans, from the Dry Towns to the back streets of Thendara to the horse pastures of Armida, these tales offer action, courage, and humor, set in the wondrous world that is Darkover.  This volume contains stories by Robin Wayne Bailey, Rachel Manjia Brown, Barb Caffrey, Debra Doyle and James D. Macdonald, Rosemary Edghill and Rebecca Fox, Leslie Fish, Gabrielle Harbowy, Steven Harper, Shariann Lewitt, Vera Nazarian, Diana L. Paxson, Janni Lee Simner, Kari Sperring, Judith Tarr, Ann Sharp and Elisabeth Waters.

This is a collection of Darkover stories written by Elisabeth Waters. Except for the title story, they were previously published in Darkover anthologies between 1980 and 2014.