Darkover Books in Order
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🎧 Listen to The Door Through Space on Audible
The Darkover series is a science fantasy saga set on the planet Darkover, a world shaped by ancient magic, feudal fiefdoms, and the lingering influence of the Comyn aristocracy. The series explores the collision of native traditions—centered on matrix magic and the enigmatic Hellers—with the arrival of Terran colonists and their technology, creating enduring tensions between cultures and belief systems. Recurring themes include the struggle for identity, the power of ancestral magic, and the complex relationships between humans, the chieri, and the planet’s hidden forces.
Books in this series
Ordered by first publication where known. The official numbering for this series is incomplete in our sources, so we don't show series numbers we can't verify.
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Buy on Amazon1961 · Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Door Through Space is a 1961 science fiction novel by Marion Zimmer Bradley. It is an expansion of her earlier story "Bird of Prey," which was…
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Buy on Amazon1962 · Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Sword of Aldones is a sword and planet novel written by American author Marion Zimmer Bradley. It is part of her Darkover series and was first…
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Buy on Amazon1962 · Marion Zimmer Bradley
A 1962 novel by Marion Zimmer Bradley. The Terran colony on the planet Darkover faces imminent destruction from a plague called Trailmen's Fever. The…
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Buy on Amazon1964 · Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Bloody Sun is a science fantasy novel by Marion Zimmer Bradley, part of her Darkover series. It was first published in 1964 by Ace Books. The…
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Buy on Amazon1964 · Marion Zimmer Bradley
A 1964 novel by Marion Zimmer Bradley, originally published in the June 1957 issue of "Other Worlds" magazine, tells the story of Mike Kenscott, who…
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Buy on Amazon1965 · Marion Zimmer Bradley
Star of Danger was first published in 1965 and serves as a foundational work for the Darkover series. It introduces key elements of the Darkover…
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Buy on Amazon1970 · Marion Zimmer Bradley
Darkover was a planet shrouded in mystery for Terrans, particularly due to its towering and treacherous Hellers. These mountains were home to strange…
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Buy on Amazon1971 · Marion Zimmer Bradley
The World Wreckers is a science fantasy novel by Marion Zimmer Bradley, part of her Darkover series. It was first published by Ace Books in 1971. The…
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Buy on Amazon1972 · Marion Zimmer Bradley
Darkover Landfall is a science fiction novel by Marion Zimmer Bradley, part of the Darkover series. It was first published in 1972 by DAW Books and…
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Buy on Amazon1974 · Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Spell Sword is a sword and planet novel by American writer Marion Zimmer Bradley, part of the Darkover series. It was co-authored by Paul Edwin…
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Buy on Amazon1975 · Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Heritage of Hastur is a novel set on the planet Darkover, where the descendants of forgotten peoples live in a complex relationship with the…
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Buy on Amazon1976 · Marion Zimmer Bradley
The 1976 novel by Marion Zimmer Bradley explores a world where only women can access the power of the matrix and secret sciences that protect…
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Buy on Amazon1977 · Marion Zimmer Bradley
This is the novel of four who defied the powers of the matrix guardians, fanatics who protected those powers so that the planet of the ruddy sun…
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Buy on Amazon1978 · Marion Zimmer Bradley
The novel is the first in a series set on Darkover, a planet under the Bloody Sun. It explores the planet's history before the arrival of Terrans,…
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Buy on Amazon1980 · Marion Zimmer Bradley
Two to Conquer (1980) by Marion Zimmer Bradley is a science fantasy novel in the Darkover series, set at the end of the Ages of Chaos during the…
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Buy on Amazon1981 · Marion Zimmer Bradley
Sharra's Exile is a science fantasy novel by American writer Marion Zimmer Bradley. It is part of the Darkover series and serves as a sequel to The…
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Buy on Amazon1982 · Marion Zimmer Bradley
Romilly uses her power to communicate with and control animals to aid the battle to depose the usurper of the throne of Darkover. The 1982 novel by…
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Buy on Amazon1982 · Marion Zimmer Bradley
This 1982 anthology, edited by Marion Zimmer Bradley, is a collection of all-original Darkover stories. It includes seventeen stories by various…
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Buy on Amazon1983 · Marion Zimmer Bradley
Thendara House is a science fantasy novel by Marion Zimmer Bradley, part of her Darkover series. It serves as a sequel to The Shattered Chain and was…
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Buy on Amazon1984 · Marion Zimmer Bradley
City of Sorcery is a 1984 novel by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Haunted by mysterious images of dark figures and strange birds, Magdalen Lorne, chief…
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Buy on Amazon1989 · Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Heirs of Hammerfell is a science fantasy novel by Marion Zimmer Bradley, part of her Darkover series. It was published in 1989 by DAW Books in…
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Buy on Amazon1993 · Mercedes Lackey and Marion Zimmer Bradley
Rediscovery is a science fantasy novel written by American authors Marion Zimmer Bradley and Mercedes Lackey. It is part of the Darkover series, a…
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Buy on Amazon1996 · Marion Zimmer Bradley
Exile's Song is a science fantasy novel written by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Adrienne Martine-Barnes, part of the Darkover series. It was published…
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Buy on Amazon1997 · Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Shadow Matrix is a 1996 novel by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Adrienne Martine-Barnes. After spending her youth in the Terran Empire, Margaret Alton…
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2013
Music of Darkover is a 2013 anthology of fantasy and science fiction short stories and poems edited by American writer Elisabeth Waters. The stories…
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2016 · Deborah J. Ross and Marion Zimmer Bradley
Thunderlord! is a 2016 science fiction novel written by Deborah J. Ross. It is the 24th novel in the Darkover saga but the third in chronological…
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Buy on AmazonYear unknown · Marion Zimmer Bradley
Set in the era of The Hundred Kingdoms, a time of war and unrest, King Carolin of Hastur and his friend Keeper Varzil Ridenow work to end destruction…
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Buy on AmazonYear unknown · Marion Zimmer Bradley and Deborah J. Ross
A never-before-published fantasy novel set in Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover universe. The story takes place on Darkover, a world that has remained…
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Buy on AmazonYear unknown · Marion Zimmer Bradley and Deborah J. Ross
The book is a long-awaited continuation of a popular science fiction saga. It focuses on Darkover's ruling class, the comyn, and their efforts to…
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Buy on AmazonYear unknown · Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Fall of Neskaya, Book One of the Clingfire Trilogy, is a 2001 novel by Marion Zimmer Bradley, marking her final return to Darkover before her…
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Frequently asked questions
What order should I read the Darkover series books in?
Read them in publication order — the list above is sorted by first publication where known, starting with “The Door Through Space”.
How many books are in the Darkover series series?
We list 43 books by Marion Zimmer Bradley , published between 1961–2016.
Where can I buy the Darkover series books?
Each title above links to Amazon. See our affiliate disclosure.
More series like Darkover series
Reading order compiled from author/publisher guidance and verified bibliographic data. Spotted a wrong order, a missing book, or any other mistake? and we'll correct it.