Part of Series
A gripping new fantasy novel set in Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover universe. Darkover, a Lost Colony far out on the galactic rim, a world of telepaths, nonhumans, and warlords … a world about to discover the terrible destructive power of weapons of the mind … Traumatized by psychic warfare as a child, a young woman with extraordinary psychic talents negotiates a treacherous path, risking unforeseen dangers to create a haven where she and others can use their skills for good. In Darkover’s dim past, before the tumultuous Ages of Chaos, small kingdoms still vied for power with sword and spear. But with the rise of psychic abilities called laran, unscrupulous leaders turned to half-trained sorcerers for an advantage. One such struggle arose between the realms of Hastur and its ambitious neighbor, Carcosse. Leora Hastur is still a child when her laran awakens, and the resulting crisis almost claims her life. Her beloved older sister, Neave, and her father’s small circle of telepathic workers manage to save her, but nothing can shield her from the horrors of the impending war. Leora’s younger sister perishes in the firestorm of laran-fueled destruction when Lord Carcosse and his sorcerer attack their home. Scarred and deeply traumatized, Leora is sent to a faraway Tower for healing. In the process, she grows to womanhood and develops her extraordinary Gifts, wanting nothing more than to live and work among fellow telepaths. But war is brewing once more … To prevent another catastrophe, Lord Hastur brokers an alliance, with marriage to Leora as part of the treaty. Rather than see others suffer as she has, Leora reluctantly agrees. As she and Neave travel to the wedding, one calamity follows another, from a flash flood to an attack by nonhuman catmen … and capture by ruthless Dry Towns slavers. To save her sister and their fellow captives, Leora must call forth a previously unknown Gift and summon the gods themselves to her cause. Arilinn is the new, long-awaited adventure in the beloved Darkover series. It’s perfect for both devoted fans and those new to the world of the Bloody Sun.
Authors
Marion Eleanor Zimmer Bradley was an American author of fantasy novels such as The Mists of Avalon and the Darkover series, often with a feminist outlook. Bradley's first published novel-length work was Falcons of Narabedla, first published in the May 1957 issue of Other Worlds. When she was a child, Bradley stated that she enjoyed reading adventure fantasy authors such as Henry Kuttner, Edmond Hamilton, and Leigh Brackett, especially when they wrote about "the glint of strange suns on worlds that never were and never would be." Her first novel and much of her subsequent work show their influence strongly. Early in her career, writing as Morgan Ives, Miriam Gardner, John Dexter, and Lee Chapman, Marion Zimmer Bradley produced several works outside the speculative fiction genre, including some gay and lesbian pulp fiction novels. For example, I Am a Lesbian was published in 1962. Though relatively tame by today's standards, they were considered pornographic when published, and for a long time she refused to disclose the titles she wrote under these pseudonyms. Her 1958 story The Planet Savers introduced the planet of Darkover, which became the setting of a popular series by Bradley and other authors. The Darkover milieu may be considered as either fantasy with science fiction overtones or as science fiction with fantasy overtones, as Darkover is a lost earth colony where psi powers developed to an unusual degree. Bradley wrote many Darkover novels by herself, but in her later years collaborated with other authors for publication; her literary collaborators have continued the series since her death. Bradley took an active role in science-fiction and fantasy fandom, promoting interaction with professional authors and publishers and making several important contributions to the subculture. For many years, Bradley actively encouraged Darkover fan fiction and reprinted some of it in commercial Darkover anthologies, continuing to encourage submissions from unpublished authors, but this ended after a dispute with a fan over an unpublished Darkover novel of Bradley's that had similarities to some of the fan's stories. As a result, the novel remained unpublished, and Bradley demanded the cessation of all Darkover fan fiction. Bradley was also the editor of the long-running Sword and Sorceress anthology series, which encouraged submissions of fantasy stories featuring original and non-traditional heroines from young and upcoming authors. Although she particularly encouraged young female authors, she was not averse to including male authors in her anthologies. Mercedes Lackey was just one of many authors who first appeared in the anthologies. She also maintained a large family of writers at her home in Berkeley. Ms Bradley was editing the final Sword and Sorceress manuscript up until the week of her death in September of 1999. Probably her most famous single novel is The Mists of Avalon. A retelling of the Camelot legend from the point of view of Morgaine and Gwenhwyfar, it grew into a series of books; like the Darkover series, the later novels are written with or by other authors and have continued to appear after Bradley's death. Her reputation has been posthumously marred 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. (from Wikipedia)
