Marion Zimmer Bradley

3 universes Last reviewed 2026-09-29

Marion Zimmer Bradley was an American author and editor of science fiction and fantasy, born June 3, 1930, in Albany, New York, and she died September 25, 1999, in Berkeley, California, at age sixty-nine. She began writing at age seventeen and started publishing professionally in the 1950s, earning a Bachelor of Arts from Hardin-Simmons University in 1965 and later pursuing graduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley, between 1965 and 1967. She became a prominent figure in science fiction and fantasy fandom, co-founding the Society for Creative Anachronism in 1966 and editing the long-running Sword and Sorceress anthology series, which championed female fantasy authors and helped launch numerous writing careers, including Mercedes Lackey's. Bradley is best known for The Mists of Avalon (1983), a celebrated feminist retelling of Arthurian legend from the perspective of its female characters, and for the extensive Darkover series, a science-fantasy universe spanning dozens of novels, many co-authored later in her career. She received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement posthumously in 2000. Her literary reputation was significantly damaged after 2014, when her daughter publicly accused her of child sexual abuse and of complicity in the crimes of her second husband, Walter Breen, against minors.

Universe(s)

Books

• The Planet Savers (1958) · Darkover Core Canon
• The Sword of Aldones (1962) · Darkover Core Canon
• The Bloody Sun (1964) · Darkover Core Canon
• Star of Danger (1965) · Darkover Core Canon
• The Winds of Darkover (1970) · Darkover Core Canon
• The World Wreckers (1971) · Darkover Core Canon
• Darkover Landfall (1972) · Darkover Core Canon
• The Spell Sword (1974) · Darkover Core Canon
• The Heritage of Hastur (1975) · Darkover Core Canon
• The Shattered Chain (1976) · Darkover Core Canon
• The Forbidden Tower (1977) · Darkover Core Canon
• Stormqueen! (1978) · Darkover Core Canon
• Two to Conquer (1980) · Darkover Core Canon
• Sharra's Exile (1981) · Darkover Core Canon
• Hawkmistress! (1982) · Darkover Core Canon
• The Mists of Avalon (1983) · The Mists of Avalon Core Canon
• Thendara House (1983) · Darkover Core Canon
• City of Sorcery (1984) · Darkover Core Canon
• The Firebrand (1987) · The Firebrand Core Canon
• The Heirs of Hammerfell (1989) · Darkover Core Canon
• Rediscovery (1993) · Darkover Core Canon
• The Forest House (1994) · The Mists of Avalon Expanded Canon
• Exile's Song (1996) · Darkover Core Canon
• Lady of Avalon (1997) · The Mists of Avalon Expanded Canon
• The Shadow Matrix (1998) · Darkover Core Canon
• Traitor's Sun (1999) · Darkover Core Canon
• Priestess of Avalon (2000) · The Mists of Avalon Expanded Canon
• The Alton Gift (2007) · Darkover Expanded Canon
• Hastur Lord (2010) · Darkover Expanded Canon
• The Children of Kings (2013) · Darkover Expanded Canon
• Thunderlord (2016) · Darkover Expanded Canon
• The Laran Gambit (2022) · Darkover Expanded Canon
• Arilinn (2024) · Darkover Expanded Canon

Aggregate across all universes

These are separate, unrelated universes; the totals below are plain sums of already-published per-universe facts, never a blended or averaged score across them. See each universe's own figures above.

• Total Core Canon books across all universes: 24 books
• Award recognitions across all universes: 4 (1 won, 3 nomination)

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