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In Marion Zimmer Bradley's masterpiece, we see the tumult and adventures of Camelot's court through the eyes of the women who bolstered the king's rise and schemed for his fall. From their childhoods through the ultimate fulfillment of their destinies, we follow these women and the diverse cast of characters that surrounds them as the great Arthurian epic unfolds stunningly before us. As Morgaine and Gwenhwyfar struggle for control over the fate of Arthur's kingdom, as the Knights of the Round Table take on their infamous quest, as Merlin and Viviane wield their magics for the future of Old Britain, the Isle of Avalon slips further into the impenetrable mists of memory, until the fissure between old and new worlds' and old and new religions' claims its most famous victim.
New York Times bestselling author Marion Zimmer Bradley brings the mesmerizing world of myth, romance and history to life in the spellbinding novel of epic grandeur!
Before the legend of King Arthur and Camelot, there was Avalon, a beautiful island of golden vales and silver mists. A land where the lives of three powerful priestesses shape the destiny of Roman Britian as they fight to regain the magic and traditions of a once gallant past...
Take the Lady of Avalon Quiz!
The Forest House—prequel to The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley’s beloved and enduring classic—is a mesmerizing epic of one woman’s mythic role at a turning point in history.
In a Britain struggling to survive Roman invasion, Eilan is the daughter of a Druidic warleader, gifted with visions and marked by fate to become a priestess of the Forest House.
But fate also led Eilan to Gaius, a soldier of mixed blood, son of the Romans sent to subdue the native British. For Gaius, Eilan felt forbidden love, and her terrible secret will haunt her even as she is anointed as the new High Priestess. With mighty enemies poised to destroy the magic the Forest House shelters, Eilan must trust in the power of the great Goddess to lead her through the treacherous labyrinth of her destiny.
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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.
Although many of us first encountered runes in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, this sacred alphabet is by no means a fabrication for books or movies. Similar to Hebrew letters in the sense that each symbol contains a meaning that transcends its original function as a letter, the runes are practical, flexible, and effective symbols with a variety of uses.
From the introduction: Effective use of the runes requires both the old wisdom and the new. The student must not only consciously study the meanings ascribed to the runes by earlier scholars, but must internalize them.
Today, the best-known application of rune lore is divination: chips or stones marked with the runes are drawn, cast, or laid out in patterns like tarot cards. In Taking Up the Runes, Paxson delves into the ancient historical meaning of each rune and explains their contemporary uses and meanings. We discover that the real power of runes comes from inside ourselves when we find the wisdom and power within each symbol and internalize them.
Taking Up the Runes is the ultimate workbook for using the runes on a psychic, spiritual, and magical level. Learn how to make your own rune set and how to use the runes in guided meditations and song.
Marion Zimmer Bradley?s beloved Avalon saga continues in ?a fine tribute to Bradley and the real-world triumphs and tragedy of Boudica.?(Publishers Weekly)
Epic in its sweep and peopled by the remarkable women who have always inhabited Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley?s Ravens of Avalon expands the legendary saga that has enchanted millions of readers over the years and is sure to please Bradley?s loyal readership and anyone who loves wonderfully told stories of history, myth, and fantasy.
Epic in its sweep and peopled by the remarkable women who have always inhabited Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley?s Ravens of Avalon expands the legendary saga that has enchanted millions of readers over the years and is sure to please Bradley?s loyal readership and anyone who loves wonderfully told stories of history, myth, and fantasy.
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?
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?
In the era of The Hundred Kingdoms, a time of war and unrest, a legendary friendship is forged between king and keeper which will lead to a new destiny for Darkover.
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.
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.
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.
These two classic Darkover novels tell the epic tale of four people who challenged the ancient laws of the matrix towers.
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...
The Ages of Chaos includes Stormqueen! and Hawkmistress!, two acclaimed novels by Marion Zimmer Bradley and part of the expansive, genre-bending Darkover series.
Set during the lawless Ages of Chaos, when the ruling families of the Seven Domains of Darkover ruthlessly inbred their psychic offspring to gain powerful and fearsome talents, two young women are born with "wild" psychic gifts. These stories—Stormqueen! and Hawkmistress!, one tragic and one triumphant—combine to give the reader a vivid and poignant picture of a devastating time period in the history of this fantastic world.
Stormqueen!
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.
Hawkmistress!
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 highly-treasured 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?
From the Paperback edition.
Set during the lawless Ages of Chaos, when the ruling families of the Seven Domains of Darkover ruthlessly inbred their psychic offspring to gain powerful and fearsome talents, two young women are born with "wild" psychic gifts. These stories—Stormqueen! and Hawkmistress!, one tragic and one triumphant—combine to give the reader a vivid and poignant picture of a devastating time period in the history of this fantastic world.
Stormqueen!
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.
Hawkmistress!
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 highly-treasured 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?
From the Paperback edition.
The Heritage of Hastur:
Nominated for a Hugo Award, and described as “Bradley’s best [Darkover] novel” by Lous, THE HERITAGE OF HASTUR is a brilliant epic of the pivotal events in the love-hate relationship between the Terran worlds and the semi-alien off-spring of the forgotten colonists who peopled Darkover. This is the complex and compelling tale of the early life of Regis Hastur, Darkover’s greatest monarch. But HERITAGE also spins the terrifying and heartbreaking story of those who sought to control the deadly Sharra Matrix and tells how Lew Alton met and lost his greatest love, Marjorie Scott. This is the unforgettable showdown between these Darkovan lords who would bargain away their world for the glories of Terran science and those who would preserve the special matrix powers that are at once the prize and burden of Darkover.
Sharra’s Exile:
The most dangerous magical implement on all of Darkover was the infamous, legendary Sharra Matrix. Embodying the image of a chained woman wreathed in flames, it was the last remaining weapon of the Ages of Chaos—an era of uncontrolled laran warfare which had almost destroyed all life on Darkover. The Sharra Matrix had been exiled offworld to one of the far-flung planets of the Terran Empire, in the protective custody of one who had suffered gravely from its use: Comyn Lord Lew Alton.
But when Lew was called back to Darkover to contend for his rights, he had no choice but to bring this dangerous matrix back with him, and once the Sharra Matrix was black, her flaming image spread far and wide, setting motion events which would change the lands, the seven Domains, and the entire future forever.
Nominated for a Hugo Award, and described as “Bradley’s best [Darkover] novel” by Lous, THE HERITAGE OF HASTUR is a brilliant epic of the pivotal events in the love-hate relationship between the Terran worlds and the semi-alien off-spring of the forgotten colonists who peopled Darkover. This is the complex and compelling tale of the early life of Regis Hastur, Darkover’s greatest monarch. But HERITAGE also spins the terrifying and heartbreaking story of those who sought to control the deadly Sharra Matrix and tells how Lew Alton met and lost his greatest love, Marjorie Scott. This is the unforgettable showdown between these Darkovan lords who would bargain away their world for the glories of Terran science and those who would preserve the special matrix powers that are at once the prize and burden of Darkover.
Sharra’s Exile:
The most dangerous magical implement on all of Darkover was the infamous, legendary Sharra Matrix. Embodying the image of a chained woman wreathed in flames, it was the last remaining weapon of the Ages of Chaos—an era of uncontrolled laran warfare which had almost destroyed all life on Darkover. The Sharra Matrix had been exiled offworld to one of the far-flung planets of the Terran Empire, in the protective custody of one who had suffered gravely from its use: Comyn Lord Lew Alton.
But when Lew was called back to Darkover to contend for his rights, he had no choice but to bring this dangerous matrix back with him, and once the Sharra Matrix was black, her flaming image spread far and wide, setting motion events which would change the lands, the seven Domains, and the entire future forever.
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?
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?
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.
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 seen through the eyes of Kassandra-priestess, princess, and passionate woman with the spirit of a warrior.
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).
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).
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 mutlitude 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.
The ability to move from the ordinary into an altered state of consciousness is one of the most valuable skills in both magic and religion. From the ceremonial magician to the shaman, using trance work to explore inner realms is essential to the magical process of healing, transcendence, and wisdom desired throughout diverse occult and spiritual traditions. Trance-Portation offers a comprehensive and multi-spirited way to enter the inner realm. Blending the modern world with the ancient arts, Trance-Portation’s first three chapters, Travel Planning, Crossing the Threshold, and Getting Started, offer preparatory suggestions including meditations and relaxations, breathing, warding, shifting gears, and returning. Drawing on examples from varied traditions, from Western Mystery to Native American, Ancient Celtic to Eastern Mysticism, and peppered with folk lore and tales from popular science fiction stories, Trance-Portation explores spiritual journey work extensively, offering readers the chance to find their own ways into the inner realm, encounter their own guides and fellow travelers, and create divine relationships with the deities and gods and goddesses that they meet.
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....
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....
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.
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.
"One body, two minds--and a world in the balance!" Marion Zimmer Bradley has written some of the finest science fiction in print. She has been away from our pages too long. So this story is in the nature of a triumphant return. It could well be her best to date.
Mighty Rome subjugated the isle of Britain only to abandon it, leaving behind a bloody patchwork of warring tribes. The fragile peace imposed by the conquerors has been shattered, compelling Artoria Argantel -- Lady of the Lake and Druid priestess -- to call upon the Spirit of War and Justice to deliver a champion who will unite the broken land. It is from Argantel's ancient and royal blood that the hero will spring; his sword will be forged from star-steel by ancient spells, carried by soldier-priests from the steppes of Asia to the edges of the Empire. Only one man can wield this holy steel, aided by the wizard Merlin, whose heritage is a magic wilder still. Only one man can free the sword from its prison of stone.
Artor, a fosterling of unknown parentage. The promised High King.
A new story and a new generation grows as Diana Paxson returns to Westria, her classic fantasy realm, in the first new novel in that land in more than a decade. Prince Phoenix has always been a bit restless, never quite measuring up to the expectations of his father King Julian. Sombra, Phoenix's childhood friend, believes in him, but she has her own duties as a student of the College of the Wise. Their relationship surpasses friendship, but their responsibilities take precedence over their feelings. Then Phoenix is abducted in a raid and sold to slavers. Eduring pain and humiliation, Phoenix must find a way to survive, even if that means losing his sense of self, and becoming a danger to the people that he loves.
While King Julian searches for his lost son, a growing army of fanatics led by the charismatic Mother Mahalial is conquering land after land, and its final destination is the golden land of Westria. The only person that can sense Phoenix's plight is Sombra, and her attempt to rescue him may decide the fate of the kingdom.
While King Julian searches for his lost son, a growing army of fanatics led by the charismatic Mother Mahalial is conquering land after land, and its final destination is the golden land of Westria. The only person that can sense Phoenix's plight is Sombra, and her attempt to rescue him may decide the fate of the kingdom.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
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!
Heartlight is the story of Bradley's greatest champion of good, Colin MacLaren, as he carries the banner of Light through the second half of the twentieth century. Ghostbuster, exorcist, student and teacher of the mystic arts, Colin meets Claire Moffat, who becomes his dearest friend, when he rescues her from a cult bent on human sacrifice.
The leader of that cult, Toller Hasloch, becomes one of Colin's greatest enemies. Working behind the scenes for the next thirty years, Hasloch subtly manipulates politics and the economy to turn America away from the Light. Colin, busy saving lives and teaching the next generation of psychic warriors, realizes almost too late how Hasloch has warped America's promise.
Now, Colin MacLaren is the only one who can face Hasloch and the hellhounds the younger man has unleashed. He must fight on, while the fate of America, and perhaps all mankind, hangs in the balance.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
From bestselling author of The Mists of Avalon comes Marion Zimmer Bradley's Gravelight.
Wycherly Musgrave is the perfect drunken, ne'er-do-well youngest brother. Beneath his lighthearted manner, however, lies . . . something dark. Now, afraid that in a drunken blackout he may have murdered a young woman, Wycherly has fled the family estate to try to dry out and see if he can remember what happened that terrible night.
Wycherly finds himself strangely attracted to Sinah, a famous actress whose ability to read minds and project exactly what people want to see has made her a star. Sinah fears her own identity is drowning under the characters she's played. Above these people looms a ruined sanitarium, a vortex of evil psychic powers. And both Wycherly and Sinah are ripe for possession.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Thorne Blackburn claimed to have magickal powers, to be able to tap into ancient wisdom. Others claimed he was a fake, cheating his many followers out of their money and destroying their free well.
The truth may never be known . . . one dark, climactic night thirty years ago, Blackburn's most powerful ritual went horribly awry, leaving his flock shattered and one woman dead. Blackburn himself vanished.
Now the scattered remains of Blackburn's followers have rallied around a new leader, the charismatic Justin Pilgrim. Hearing this, Thorne Blackburn's daughter, Truth, returns to the site of her mother's death and father's disappearance.
Truth has many unanswered questions. Where are her long-lost half-siblings? Was her mother's death accident or murder? Is Pilgrim a charlatan, or are his claimed powers real? If he completes Thorn's ritual, will someone else die?
The answers will lead Truth to deeply powerful truth of her own, one that will change her life forever.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Marion Zimmer Bradley, one of the most beloved and praised fantasy storytellers of our time, has once again written a compelling and powerful novel with larger-than-life characters.
Winter Musgrave's past is largely blank, her memories missing or tissue-thin. She seem to be possessed--objects shatter when she passes, the corpses of animal appear on her doorstep. And she has the terrible feeling that something horrible happened in her empty past--results of which are now haunting her with unbridled fury.
Seeking help, Winter turns to Truth Jourdemayne and learns that the key to unlocking her lost memories lies within herself--and in the magickal circle of friends in college. But the circle was broken long ago. Winter must reconstruct it is she is to save her life.
Not just the story of a woman's search for her missing past, Witchlight is a powerful novel of contemporary fantasy that pulls readers in and hold them until the final page. Anyone who loves good contemporary fiction will devour Witchlight.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Three royal sisters must undertake separate but equally perilous quests in order to defeat the dark sorcery that has ravaged their kingdom in book one of the Saga of the Trillium, an ingenious collaboration by three classic names in fantasy fiction
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.
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.
Once a rising star in the intelligence agency of the planet Wolf, Race Cargill has been relegated to a boring desk job for years after a particularly brutal case ended in bloodshed. Will the mysterious portal he has discovered help him regain his former prominence?
Protagonist Bart Steele has big plans for his father's spaceship taxi fleet. He wants to steal the secret of super-fast space travel from an insular race of aliens known as the Lhari -- and develops a daring plan to pull it off. Will Steele escape with the secret technology -- and his life?
Drawing from their combined expertise in spirituality, psychology, astrology, history, and mythology, internationally acclaimed teacher and witch Z. Budapest and mythographer and novelist Diana Paxson have created a guide to the general trends one can expect in each year of a person's life. Organized first by decade, then specific year within each decade, Celestial Wisdom: For Every Year of Your Life gives new insight and helpful prognostications to the total sweep of the human lifespan, from birth and before to 90 and beyond. Each year has a description exploring the issues, challenges, and joys specific to it. Stories of people experiencing life at that age are woven throughout, offering insight and perspective on the dynamics at play. Each age ends with a ritual, blessing, and suggestion for how to meaningfully celebrate it, especially at birthday time. For example, are you about to turn 29? Fasten your seatbelt, Saturn is about to return to where it was when you were born and you are in for a change. The changes could come in the areas of job, relationship, or where you live. The combined cosmic knowledge of Budapest and Paxson says, "Take a deep breath - change is afoot; see how that energy of change has manifested itself in the lives of others." For your 29th birthday, they suggest, counteract that "I'm almost thirty and I haven't?" syndrome by celebrating the things you have done. Tape a big piece of butcher paper to the wall. List each year since age twenty and next to it write down what you were doing. Get some colored pencils and have a party. Your friends might just contribute and surprise you. Two pagan powerhouses reveal the wisdom of the ages in an astrological and psychological guide to each year of a woman's life. Budapest and Paxson's combined book sales top two million. Light-hearted and playful, yet grounded in years of multidisciplinary study, this book reveals surprising new insights to the possibilities of each year of our lives.
After years of conflict, Britannia finally knows peace and Artor reigns from his throne at Camalot. But discontent rumbles through the kingdom. A new generation longs for the glory their fathers knew. Medraut, the son conceived by deceit, lusts for Artor's crown -- and his queen. Dreams of an empire draw the king to Gallia to battle again, leaving the sovereignty of the isle in Guendivar's hands. As Artor's painful absence grows longer, the land cries out for its champion -- and even the queen doubts his return. With the rise of revolt home to a country in turmoil. Only he can heal the land and reclaim the kingdom -- or else the hallowed isle will be ripped asunder once again.
A darkness born and bred for revenge shadows the nation. But one hope shines -- the Defender of Britannia.
The Romans came, conquered, and departed, leaving behind them a strange new religion called Christianity. The princes of Britannia have driven back the invading Saxons and dream of a return to bygone days, while others on the island invoke the magic of a time older still. For the revered ancient goddesses Eve on in the hearts and memories of the proud royal women of the old British tribes. And now, King Artor -- wounded in body and spirit -- proclaims that the sword and the spear must be put to rest, and summons his mother Igierne, Lady of the Lake, to use the powers of the Cauldron to heal a troubled, wartorn land. But old jealousies and new power struggles threaten disaster, as Artor's sister Morgause hides a deadly secretand a darker magic. It is Guendivar the queen who holds the key to their survival, if she can master her own power in time.
For a darkness is emanating from high places -- and it threatens to devastate a realm.
Bodiless, blind, I drifted and swayed and swung in the sound of the voices. The humming, like a million high-tension wires, sang around me and I felt myself cradled in the pull of a great magnet that held me suspended surely on nothingness and drew me down into the field of some force beneath. Far below me the voices faded. I swung free-fell-plunged downward in sickening motion, head over heels, into the abyss.... A Darkover Novel!
Hours of great reading await, with tales from some of the 20th century's most renowned science fiction authors, Here are 25 science fiction stories:
WHAT’S HE DOING IN THERE? by Fritz Leiber
THE MARCHING MORONS, by C.M. Kornbluth
GHOST, by Darrell Schweitzer
DEATH WISH, by Robert Sheckley
THE WAVERIES, by Fredric Brown
ADAM AND NO EVE, by Alfred Bester
FOXY LADY, by Lawrence Watt-Evans
THIN EDGE, by Randall Garrett
COMPANDROID, by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
POSTMARK GANYMEDE, by Robert Silverberg
KEEP OUT, by Fredric Brown
THE HATE DISEASE, by Murray Leinster
UNIVERSAL DONOR, by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
THE GREEN BERET, by Tom Purdom
MR. SPACESHIP, by Philip K. Dick
BRKNK'S BOUNTY, by Jerry Sohl
THE BATTLE OF LITTLE BIG SCIENCE, by Pamela Rentz
THE EGO MACHINE, by Henry Kuttner
THE MAN FROM TIME, by Frank Belknap Long
THE SENSITIVE MAN, by Poul Anderson
REVOLUTION, by Mack Reynolds
THE THING IN THE ATTIC, by James Blish
KNOTWORK, by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
THE DUELING MACHINE, by Ben Bova and Myron R. Lewis
THE PLANET SAVERS, by Marion Zimmer Bradley
And don't forget to check out all the other volumes in the "Wildside Megapack" series! Search on "Wildside Megapack" in the ebook store to see the complete list...covering adventure stories, military, fantasy, ghost stories, and more!
An omnibus volume of three classic, long-unavailable Darkover novels--Star of Danger, The Bloody Sun, and Winds of Darkover--tell of two men of mixed Darkovan ancestry, who must choose where their true allegiances lie.
This omnibus features two classic, long-unavailable Darkover novels-Darkover Landfall and Two to Conquer-in one volume for the first time.
Return to the genre-bending world of Darkover, to a trilogy that follows the thrilling story of two Free Amazon women
In the three novels which comprise THE SAGA OF THE RENUNCIATES, Marion Zimmer Bradley tells the masterful tale of two valiant women who face and try to break the invisible chains of custom, convention, habit and expectation with which society binds women, and women bind themselves.
Magdalen Lorne is a Terran woman born and reared on Darkover. She thinks herself the perfect Terran undercover Intelligence agent, and disguises herself as a Free Amazon to enable her to fulfill a mission to free a Terran man from kidnappers. But when she herself is captured by a band of real Renunciates, she discovers they have a harsh punishment for any pretenders: she must swear the Oath of the Free Amazons, relinquish her former life, and become a Renunciate in reality.
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.
Together Magda, now known as Margali n'ha Tsabet, and her Guild-sister Jaelle will follow a twisting course neither could have predicted. A course which will lead them to question every aspect of themselves and of their two so-different societies. And one which will eventually set them on a life-threatening journey not only to the frozen ends of the physical world, but to the perilous limits of the spiritual overworld as well.
In the three novels which comprise THE SAGA OF THE RENUNCIATES, Marion Zimmer Bradley tells the masterful tale of two valiant women who face and try to break the invisible chains of custom, convention, habit and expectation with which society binds women, and women bind themselves.
Magdalen Lorne is a Terran woman born and reared on Darkover. She thinks herself the perfect Terran undercover Intelligence agent, and disguises herself as a Free Amazon to enable her to fulfill a mission to free a Terran man from kidnappers. But when she herself is captured by a band of real Renunciates, she discovers they have a harsh punishment for any pretenders: she must swear the Oath of the Free Amazons, relinquish her former life, and become a Renunciate in reality.
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.
Together Magda, now known as Margali n'ha Tsabet, and her Guild-sister Jaelle will follow a twisting course neither could have predicted. A course which will lead them to question every aspect of themselves and of their two so-different societies. And one which will eventually set them on a life-threatening journey not only to the frozen ends of the physical world, but to the perilous limits of the spiritual overworld as well.
An omnibus volume of two of Marion Zimmer Bradley's classic, long-unavailable Darkover novels, including the first Darkover novel ever written!
To Save a World includes The World Wreckers and the Planet Savers, plus the short story "The Waterfall."
The Planet Savers:
Originally published in Amazing Stories in December 1958, The Planet Savers was the very firs Darkover novel to see print. It was here readers were first introduced to the now legendary world of Cottman IV, at a time when the Terrans are desperately seeking a cure to a disease of epidemic proportions that threatens the lives of Terrans and Darkovans alike.
For every forty-eight years, Trailmen’s fever, a childhood illness among this native and venerable race, becomes pandemic, decimating the human population of this rustic planet. Now, one brave Terran doctor must join a Darkovan expedition into the wild mountainous terrain of the Trailmen in a desperate attempt to create a vaccine and eradicate this terrible plague once and for all.
The World Wreckers:
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….
To Save a World includes The World Wreckers and the Planet Savers, plus the short story "The Waterfall."
The Planet Savers:
Originally published in Amazing Stories in December 1958, The Planet Savers was the very firs Darkover novel to see print. It was here readers were first introduced to the now legendary world of Cottman IV, at a time when the Terrans are desperately seeking a cure to a disease of epidemic proportions that threatens the lives of Terrans and Darkovans alike.
For every forty-eight years, Trailmen’s fever, a childhood illness among this native and venerable race, becomes pandemic, decimating the human population of this rustic planet. Now, one brave Terran doctor must join a Darkovan expedition into the wild mountainous terrain of the Trailmen in a desperate attempt to create a vaccine and eradicate this terrible plague once and for all.
The World Wreckers:
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….
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....
Epic in its sweep and peopled by the remarkable women who have always inhabited Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley's Sword of Avalon expands the legendary saga that has enchanted countless readers over the years and is sure to please Bradley's loyal readership and anyone who loves wonderfully told stories of history, myth, and fantasy.
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.
Mr. Emmett did his duty by the visitor from another world--never doubting the right of it.
In 'The Planet Savers' Marion Zimmer Bradley introduced the world to her amazing Darkover series. A disease threatens all of Darkover and the only man that can save Darkover has a multiple personality disorder. He is two distinct men, but two men who hate one another and vie for possession of their one body. But to save Darkover they must work together.
Marion Zimmer Bradley is best known for her science fantasy series set in the Darkover universe and as the author of 'The Mists of Avalon.' A World Fantasy Award winner, her fiction is both memorable and powerful. This collection includes four novels and eleven short stories that helped make Bradley's reputation as one of the best writers the science fiction and fantasy field ever produced. 200,000 words and more than 500 pages of top notch science fiction and fantasy. Included are: 'Falcons of Narabedla,' 'Death Between the Stars,' 'The Dark Intruder,' 'The Door Through Space,' 'Black & White,' 'Treason of the Blood,' 'Jackie Sees a Star,' 'The Planet Savers,' 'The Stars Are Waiting,' 'Exiles of Tomorrow,' 'The Colors of Space,' 'The Crime Therapist,' 'Year of the Big Thaw,' 'The Wild One,' 'The Wind People.'
Bestselling author of several fantasy novels, including Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Ancestors of Avalon, Diana L. Paxson now turns her attention to Trance Possession. Specifically, how to safely and effectively enter and to exit possessory trance. In possessory trance, one voluntarily offers one’s body as a vehicle for spirit work. This differs from other forms of trance in that one’s “normal” personality is replaced by a personality that is identified by oneself and one’s community as a spirit or a god.
Here Paxson explores all aspects of trance possession, including:how to prepare for possessory trancehow to enter and exit trance possession safely—and what to do if things get too heavyconnecting with Saints and Spirits, including those found in Afro-Diasporic religions
Here Paxson explores all aspects of trance possession, including:how to prepare for possessory trancehow to enter and exit trance possession safely—and what to do if things get too heavyconnecting with Saints and Spirits, including those found in Afro-Diasporic religions
A practical book of particular interest to witches and pagans, each chapter includes two to five exercises that will assist you in your personal experiences with possession.
Throughout history, the uncertainties of life have driven people to seek counsel from prophets, seers, and oracles on everything from love to livelihood: people want to talk to their lost loved ones, heal old family traumas, find out about work, and determine what the future will bring.
In The Way of the Oracle, bestselling author, scholar, and priestess Diana L. Paxson offers a broad overview of the traditions of famous oracles in history: from the pythia at Delphi, the son of Beor, the Irish druidess, and the Greenland völva, to today’s modern seers who are resurrecting ancient skills to serve their communities.
Paxson identifies the core elements of prophetic practice, her belief in probability rather than predestination, and offers exercises and examples to demonstrate how anyone can be trained to do oracle work. Her methods focus on trance skills and improving communication between one’s unconscious and conscious mind to encourage selfknowledge and decision making.
The Way of the Oracle introduces the practice of oracle work to a wider audience, and shows how exploring the potential of other minds can expand our own.
Here, in a single volume, it has been our intention to list, document and review every novel dealing, however slightly, with female variance, lesbianism or intense emotional relationships between women. We have also included a majority of the better known novels which, dealing primarily with male homosexuality, are of interest to the collector of variant fiction in general.
In related supplements we have compiled lists of variant poetry, variant films, of the major book services and publishing houses where these books can be obtained, and of the homosexual press.
The titles in the major portion of the Checklist are listed in a single comprehensive index by author. Information includes date published, number of reprints and publisher’s name. Brief reviews are included of most titles. An effort has been made in each case to distinguish whether the work under discussion is a novel about lesbianism, whether the variant content has been included mostly for shock effect, or whether (as in some excellent modern novels) homosexual characters appear incidentally to the other main themes of action in the book.
In such a comprehensive listing, reviews must of necessity be brief. For further discussion of many of the titles listed here, with excellent and complete critical analysis of their variant content, the serious student or collector is earnestly urged to invest in the definitive and major work on the subject:
FOSTER, Jeannette Howard; Sex Variant Women in Literature. N. Y. Vantage Press, 1956.
Although now officially out of print, this book can occasionally be obtained second hand, and copies will soon be offered for sale through the Daughters of Bilitis publication, THE LADDER. (See appendix.) We have made no effort to give more than cursory reviews of titles which are discussed at length in Dr. Foster’s work. However, since the publication of the Foster book, many new novels of lesbianism have been published, and the diligent search of many collectors, working with the Checklist editors, has brought many old ones to light.
We have tried to review in some detail the novels which were omitted from Dr. Foster’s work, and to strive for completeness, even at the expense of discriminatory judgment about the excellence or otherwise of the works included. Therefore this Checklist includes many works whose lesbian content was too slight, too subtle—or too “trashy”—to have come within the scope of the scholarly studies of Dr. Foster or the running column, Lesbiana, conducted by junior editor Gene Damon in the pages of THE LADDER.
It is our further contention that many novels dealing with male homosexuality come also within the province of the serious collector of lesbiana. We make, however, no claim for completeness for novels which fall within the homosexual, rather than the lesbian province. In general, the male titles included in this list—clearly defined, in each case, by the sign (m)—have been included because they were of special interest to the editors and therefore are presumably of interest to other collectors of lesbiana.
For those who wish a complete list of works dealing with male homosexuality, we suggest the comprehensive bibliography compiled by Noel I. Garde, discussed in the Appendix of Related Publications. Mr. Garde has indexed virtually every homosexual work from antiquity to the latest paperback shocker, and has also performed the mighty task of separating them into categories ... a task from which the Checklist editors have shrunk, though we have made some attempt at classification in our reviews and by awarding a plus sign to books of exceptional value.
In related supplements we have compiled lists of variant poetry, variant films, of the major book services and publishing houses where these books can be obtained, and of the homosexual press.
The titles in the major portion of the Checklist are listed in a single comprehensive index by author. Information includes date published, number of reprints and publisher’s name. Brief reviews are included of most titles. An effort has been made in each case to distinguish whether the work under discussion is a novel about lesbianism, whether the variant content has been included mostly for shock effect, or whether (as in some excellent modern novels) homosexual characters appear incidentally to the other main themes of action in the book.
In such a comprehensive listing, reviews must of necessity be brief. For further discussion of many of the titles listed here, with excellent and complete critical analysis of their variant content, the serious student or collector is earnestly urged to invest in the definitive and major work on the subject:
FOSTER, Jeannette Howard; Sex Variant Women in Literature. N. Y. Vantage Press, 1956.
Although now officially out of print, this book can occasionally be obtained second hand, and copies will soon be offered for sale through the Daughters of Bilitis publication, THE LADDER. (See appendix.) We have made no effort to give more than cursory reviews of titles which are discussed at length in Dr. Foster’s work. However, since the publication of the Foster book, many new novels of lesbianism have been published, and the diligent search of many collectors, working with the Checklist editors, has brought many old ones to light.
We have tried to review in some detail the novels which were omitted from Dr. Foster’s work, and to strive for completeness, even at the expense of discriminatory judgment about the excellence or otherwise of the works included. Therefore this Checklist includes many works whose lesbian content was too slight, too subtle—or too “trashy”—to have come within the scope of the scholarly studies of Dr. Foster or the running column, Lesbiana, conducted by junior editor Gene Damon in the pages of THE LADDER.
It is our further contention that many novels dealing with male homosexuality come also within the province of the serious collector of lesbiana. We make, however, no claim for completeness for novels which fall within the homosexual, rather than the lesbian province. In general, the male titles included in this list—clearly defined, in each case, by the sign (m)—have been included because they were of special interest to the editors and therefore are presumably of interest to other collectors of lesbiana.
For those who wish a complete list of works dealing with male homosexuality, we suggest the comprehensive bibliography compiled by Noel I. Garde, discussed in the Appendix of Related Publications. Mr. Garde has indexed virtually every homosexual work from antiquity to the latest paperback shocker, and has also performed the mighty task of separating them into categories ... a task from which the Checklist editors have shrunk, though we have made some attempt at classification in our reviews and by awarding a plus sign to books of exceptional value.
A Saxon of royal blood, Oesc has fled the drowned, doomed country to which he is heir in order to claim rich lands in Britannia. Though sworn to the spirits of his new home, he truly serves an older god...and a darker sorcery: the power of the Spear. But the Spear's magic is opposed by that of the Sword of Rome, a weapon now wielded by young King Artor, and before him by Artor's father Uthir. In Uthir's hand, the blade slew Oesc's own father, and now vengeance burns fiercely in Oesc's heart--a lust for revenge that could destroy a greatness before it fully flowers.
Destiny lies in the clashing of magic steel. The hope of all Britain rests in the hands of the warrior sons.
... across half a Galaxy, the Terran Empire maintains its sovereignty with the consent of the governed. It is a peaceful reign, held by compact and not by conquest. Again and again, when rebellion threatens the Terran Peace, the natives of the rebellious world have turned against their own people and sided with the men of Terra; not from fear, but from a sense of dedication. There has never been open war. The battle for these worlds is fought in the minds of a few men who stand between worlds; bound to one world by interest, loyalties, and allegiance; bound to the other by love. Such a world is Wolf. Such a man was Race Cargill of the Terran Secret Service.
Xanadu. Not the Xanadu of Coleridge's poem, but-to the half-forgotten space drifter who discovered the place thirty years ago-a reasonable facsimile. It was a cloistered nun of a city, hidden behind a wide skirt of the most impassable mountains on Mars. And the city was more impassable than the mountains. No human being had ever entered it-yet. They'd tried. Two expeditions, twelve years apart, had vanished without trace, without explanation other than the dusty notebook Andrew had unearthed, today, from the rotted shreds of a skeleton's clothing.
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.
Sometimes she had walked for days at a time in that dream; she would wake to find food that she could not remember gathering. Somehow, pervasive, the dream voices had taken over; the whispering winds had been full of voices and even hands. She had fallen ill and lain for days sick and delirious, and had heard a voice which hardly seemed to be her own, saying that if she died the wind voices would care for Robin.
This is a story that they tell on the solitary farms on the borders of the Catskill mountains, where I grew up. It is a mistake to think that country is settled and modern, just because the big highways stretch from city to city, and the factories hold out clean jobs that pay better than the scratch-the-soil farming on shale rock. For between every farm is a stretch of woodland, and every farm has its own woods, and by night there are deer and rabbits and even wolves and the big lynxes that prowl south of Canada in a hungry season. And every now and again, to some lonely farm-girl who roams the edges and center of the deep woods by night, a child will be born like Helma Lassiter . . .
... across half a Galaxy, the Terran Empire maintains its sovereignty with the consent of the governed. It is a peaceful reign, held by compact and not by conquest. Again and again, when rebellion threatens the Terran Peace, the natives of the rebellious world have turned against their own people and sided with the men of Terra; not from fear, but from a sense of dedication. There has never been open war. The battle for these worlds is fought in the minds of a few men who stand between worlds; bound to one world by interest, loyalties, and allegiance; bound to the other by love. Such a world is Wolf. Such a man was Race Cargill of the Terran Secret Service.
He came to her handsome and youthful in appearance. He had been alive far longer than she could have imagine. In that time he had faced many dangers, but was she the danger that would undo him and send him to eternal damnation?
With The Winter King, the first volume of his magnificent Warlord Chronicles, Bernard Cornwell established himself as the storyteller who could reinvent the legend of King Arthur for our time.
Now with Enemy of God, Cornwell's magical re-creation continues. Having defeated the last holdouts of civil war in southern Britain, Arthur has secured Mordred's throne. But he must still face raging conflicts between the old ways and the new, as well as foes more powerful and more dangerous--because they pose as friends.
Brilliantly written and peopled with the familiar faces of legend along with new ones, Enemy of God is an immensely powerful continuation of a modern classic.