Marion Zimmer Bradley

Marion Zimmer Bradley was a prominent American author, best known for her works in the fantasy and science fiction genres. She was born in Albany, New York, in 1930 and went on to receive her B.A. from Hardin Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, in 1964. Bradley began writing professionally in 1952, selling her first short story to VORTEX SCIENCE FICTION. She wrote in various genres, including science fiction, fantasy, and even produced some gay and lesbian pulp fiction novels under pseudonyms.

Bradley is most famous for her Darkover series, which is set on a lost earth colony where psi powers have developed to an unusual degree. The series began with the publication of her 1958 story, The Planet Savers, and has since grown to include many novels written by Bradley and other authors. In addition to her work on the Darkover series, Bradley also edited the long-running Sword and Sorceress anthology, which gave many young authors, including Mercedes Lackey, their start in publishing.

Feminist views were a common theme in Bradley's fiction. Her 1983 novel, The Mists of Avalon, is a retelling of the Camelot legend from the point of view of Morgaine and Gwenhwyfar, and is probably her most famous single novel. The book grew into a series, which has continued to appear after Bradley's death in 1999.

It should be noted that Bradley's reputation has been marred posthumously by multiple accusations of child sexual abuse by her daughter Moira Greyland, and for allegedly assisting her second husband, convicted child abuser Walter Breen, in sexually abusing multiple unrelated children.
Darkover Books
# Title Year
1 The Planet Savers 1962
2 The Sword of Aldones 1962
3 The Bloody Sun 1964
4 Star of Danger 1965
5 The Winds of Darkover 1970
6 The World Wreckers 1971
7 Darkover Landfall 1972
8 The Spell Sword 1974
9 The Heritage of Hastur 1975
10 The Shattered Chain 1976
11 The Forbidden Tower 1977
12 Stormqueen! 1978
13 Two to Conquer 1980
14 Sharra's Exile 1981
15 Hawkmistress! 1982
16 Thendara House 1983
17 City of Sorcery 1984
18 The Heirs of Hammerfell 1989
19 Rediscovery 1993
20 Exile's Song 1996
21 The Shadow Matrix 1997
22 Traitor's Sun 1999
23 Zandru's Forge 2003
24 A Flame in Hali 2004
25 Hastur Lord 2010
26 Death of Brendan Ensolare 2011
27 The Children of Kings 2013
28 Thunderlord 2016
29 Ski the Hellers 2020
30 The Laran Gambit 2022
Darkover Series in Chronological Order
# Title Year
1 Darkover Landfall 1972
2 Stormqueen! 1978
3 Thunderlord 2016
4 Traitor's Sun 1999
5 Hawkmistress! 1982
6 The Heirs of Hammerfell 1989
7 Rediscovery 1993
8 The Shattered Chain 1976
9 The Spell Sword 1974
10 The Forbidden Tower 1977
11 Thendara House 1983
12 City of Sorcery 1984
13 Star of Danger 1965
14 The Winds of Darkover 1970
15 The Bloody Sun 1964
16 The Heritage of Hastur 1975
17 The Planet Savers 1962
18 Sharra's Exile 1981
19 The Sword of Aldones 1962
20 The World Wreckers 1971
21 Exile's Song 1996
22 The Shadow Matrix 1997
23 Two to Conquer 1980
24 Zandru's Forge 2003
25 A Flame in Hali 2004
26 Hastur Lord 2010
27 The Children of Kings 2013
28 Death of Brendan Ensolare 2011
29 Ski the Hellers 2020
30 The Laran Gambit 2022
Claire Moffatt/Occult Tales Books
# Title Year
1 Dark Satanic 1972
2 The Inheritor 1984
3 Witch Hill 1990
Hunters Books (with Paul Edwin Zimmer)
# Title Year
1 Hunters of the Red Moon 1973
2 The Survivors 1979
Sixth Sense Books
# Title Year
1 In the Steps of the Master 1973
Avalon Books
# Title Year
1 The Mists of Avalon 1979
2 The Forest House / The Forests of Avalon 1993
3 Lady of Avalon 1997
4 Priestess of Avalon 2001
5 Ancestors of Avalon 2004
6 Ravens of Avalon 2007
7 Sword of Avalon 2009
Avalon Series in Chronological Order
# Title Year
1 Ancestors of Avalon 2004
2 Ravens of Avalon 2007
3 The Forest House / The Forests of Avalon 1993
4 Lady of Avalon 1997
5 Priestess of Avalon 2001
6 The Mists of Avalon 1979
7 Sword of Avalon 2009
Web Of Light Books
# Title Year
1 Web of Darkness 1982
2 Web of Light 1983
3 The Fall of Atlantis 1983
Trillium Books
# Title Year
1 Black Trillium 1990
2 Blood Trillium 1992
3 Golden Trillium 1993
4 Lady of the Trillium 1995
5 Sky Trillium 1996
Light Books
# Title Year
1 Ghostlight 1995
2 Witchlight 1996
3 Gravelight 1997
4 Heartlight 1998
Glenraven Books (with Holly Lisle)
# Title Year
1 Glenraven 1995
2 In the Rift 1998
Standalone Novels
# Title Year
1 Year of the Big Thaw 1954
2 Falcons of Narebedla 1957
3 Seven from the Stars 1961
4 The Door Through Space 1961
5 I am a Lesbian 1962
6 The Strange Women 1962
7 The Colors of Space 1963
8 My Sister, My Love 1963
9 Spare Her Heaven / Anything Goes 1963
10 Twilight Lovers 1964
11 Castle Terror 1965
12 No Adam for Eve 1966
13 Knives of Desire 1966
14 Souvenir of Monique 1967
15 Bluebeard's Daughter 1968
16 The Brass Dragon 1969
17 The Endless Voyage / The Endless Universe 1975
18 Can Ellen Be Saved? 1975
19 Drums of Darkness 1976
20 The Ruins of Isis / Haunted Spaceship 1977
21 The Catch Trap 1979
22 The House Between The Worlds 1980
23 Survey Ship 1980
24 Night's Daughter 1985
25 Warrior Woman 1985
26 The Firebrand 1987
27 Tiger Burning Bright 1995
Lythande Short Stories/Novellas
# Title Year
1 Bird of Prey 1957
2 Men, Halflings & Hero Worship 1973
3 The Jewel of Arwen 1974
4 The Parting of Arwen 1974
5 The Gratitude of Kings 1997
6 The Once and Future Merlin 2012
Short Stories/Novellas (with Vonda N. McIntyre)
# Title Year
1 Lythande 1985
2 The Dark Intruder 2015
Short Story Collections
# Title Year
1 The Best of Marion Zimmer Bradley 1985
2 Jamie and Other Stories: The Best of Marion Zimmer Bradley 1992
3 The Marion Zimmer Bradley Short Story Collection 2014
4 Marion Zimmer Bradley, Science Fiction Collection 2014
Non-Fiction Books
# Title Year
1 Checklist: A Complete, Cumulative Checklist of Lesbian, Variant and Homosexual Fiction 1960
2 Experiment Perilous 1983
3 The Necessity for Beauty: Robert W. Chambers and The Romantic Tradition 2009
Sword and Sorceress Anthologies
# Title Year
1 Sword and Sorceress XXI 2004
Thieves' World Books
# Title Year
1 Thieves' World 1979
2 Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn 1980
3 Shadows of Sanctuary 1981
4 Storm Season 1982
5 The Face of Chaos 1983
6 Wings of Omen 1984
7 The Dead of Winter 1985
8 Soul of the City 1986
9 Blood Ties 1986
10 Aftermath 1987
11 Uneasy Alliances 1988
12 Stealers' Sky 1989
13 Sanctuary 2002
14 Turning Points 2002
15 Enemies of Fortune 2004
Clingfire Books (with Deborah J. Ross)
# Title Year
1 The Fall of Neskaya 1998
2 Zandru's Forge 2003
3 A Flame in Hali 2004
Children of Kings Books (with Deborah J. Ross)
# Title Year
1 The Alton Gift 2007
2 Hastur Lord 2010
3 The Children of Kings 2013
Darkover Books (with Mercedes Lackey)
# Title Year
1 Different Kind of Courage 1985
2 Set a Thief 1991
3 Rediscovery 1993
4 Poetic License 1994
5 An Object Lesson 2010
Marion Zimmer Bradley Anthologies
# Title Year
1 If This Goes On 1965
2 Demon Lovers and Strange Seductions 1971
3 Algol The Magazine About Science Fiction - Winter 1977 / 1978 1977
4 The Keeper's Price - Darkover Anthologies 1980
5 Shadows of Sanctuary 1981
6 Sword of Chaos - Darkover Anthologies 1982
7 Greyhaven 1983
8 Sword and Sorceress 1984
9 Moonsinger's Friends: An Anthology in Honor of Andre Norton 1985
10 Sword and Sorceress II 1985
11 The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, October 1985 1985
12 Free Amazons of Darkover - Darkover Anthologies 1985
13 Sword and Sorceress III 1986
14 Worlds Apart 1986
15 Sword and Sorceress IV 1987
16 The Other Side of the Mirror - Darkover Anthologies 1987
17 Red Sun of Darkover - Darkover Anthologies 1987
18 Sword and Sorceress V 1988
19 Four Moons of Darkover - Darkover Anthologies 1988
20 Spell Singers 1988
21 Spells of Wonder 1989
22 Domains of Darkover - Darkover Anthologies 1990
23 Sword and Sorceress VI 1990
24 Sword and Sorceress VII 1990
25 Renunciates of Darkover 1991
26 Sword and Sorceress VIII 1991
27 Leroni of Darkover 1991
28 Sword and Sorceress IX 1992
29 Sword and Sorceress X 1993
30 Towers of Darkover 1993
31 Darkover 1993
32 Snows of Darkover 1994
33 Sword and Sorceress XI 1994
34 The Best of Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine 1994
35 Sword and Sorceress XII 1995
36 Excalibur 1995
37 The Best of Marion Zimmer Bradley Fantasy Magazine, Volume 2 1995
38 Sword and Sorceress XIII 1996
39 Space Opera 1996
40 Sword and Sorceress XIV 1997
41 Sword and Sorceress XV 1998
42 Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Worlds 1998
43 The Chronicles of the Round Table 1999
44 Sword and Sorceress XVI 1999
45 Sword and Sorceress XVII 2000
46 Sword and Sorceress XVIII 2001
47 Sword and Sorceress XIX 2002
48 Sword and Sorceress XX 2003
49 Lesbian Pulp Fiction 2005
50 Music of Darkover 2013
51 Lieu: Science Fiction Short Stories 2015
52 Science Fiction Gems, Volume 9 2015