Darkover
#5873.89 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 22 books Status Complete 1958–1999 Reading commitment High Marion Zimmer Bradley Last reviewed 2026-08-15
Overview
An interstellar "Lost Colony" world: the psi-gifted human descendants of a crashed colony ship build a Hundred-Kingdoms medieval society on the planet Darkover, later rediscovered by a starfaring Terran Empire whose arrival forces the isolated Darkovans to reckon with the wider galaxy their ancestors had been cut off from for centuries. Marion Zimmer Bradley's second universe in this canon (alongside The Mists of Avalon), confirmed a wholly separate setting with no shared characters or continuity. A long-running science-fantasy series that Bradley herself said should be read in publication order, not an invented internal chronology, spanning more than two dozen novels written across four decades, from 1958's The Planet Savers through further volumes into the 1990s, and later continued by other authors under Bradley's estate after her death, extending one of the genre's longest-running blended science-fiction-and-fantasy sequences.
Epic fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (22 works) counts toward ranking
Darkover Marion Zimmer Bradley
| Work | Year | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Planet Savers | 1958 | core | 3.72 (2,062 ratings) |
 | The Sword of Aldones | 1962 | core | 3.67 (1,079 ratings) |
 | The Bloody Sun | 1964 | core | 3.92 (3,095 ratings) |
 | Star of Danger | 1965 | core | 3.72 (1,958 ratings) |
 | The Winds of Darkover | 1970 | core | 3.75 (2,050 ratings) |
 | The World Wreckers | 1971 | core | 3.72 (2,067 ratings) |
 | Darkover Landfall | 1972 | core | 3.86 (6,815 ratings) |
 | The Spell Sword | 1974 | core | 3.74 (2,209 ratings) |
 | The Heritage of Hastur | 1975 | core | 4.03 (3,361 ratings) |
 | The Shattered Chain | 1976 | core | 3.95 (3,029 ratings) |
 | The Forbidden Tower | 1977 | core | 4.06 (3,185 ratings) |
 | Stormqueen! | 1978 | core | 3.88 (4,652 ratings) |
 | Two to Conquer | 1980 | core | 3.70 (2,624 ratings) |
 | Sharra's Exile | 1981 | core | 3.96 (2,770 ratings) |
 | Hawkmistress! | 1982 | core | 4.00 (4,527 ratings) |
 | Thendara House | 1983 | core | 3.98 (2,967 ratings) |
 | City of Sorcery | 1984 | core | 3.76 (2,040 ratings) |
 | The Heirs of Hammerfell | 1989 | core | 3.70 (2,305 ratings) |
 | Rediscovery | 1993 | core | 3.86 (2,375 ratings) |
 | Exile's Song | 1996 | core | 4.05 (2,798 ratings) |
 | The Shadow Matrix | 1998 | core | 4.07 (2,628 ratings) |
 | Traitor's Sun | 1999 | core | 3.96 (2,372 ratings) |
Core Canon = the 22 novels published under Bradley's own credited authorship during her lifetime (1958-1999; some jointly credited with a co-author -- Mercedes Lackey on Rediscovery, Adrienne Martine-Barnes on Exile's Song/The Shadow Matrix/Traitor's Sun -- but always alongside Bradley herself). Per Bradley's own stated preference, publication order is used rather than the internal Darkovan chronology (Founding/Ages of Chaos/Hundred Kingdoms/Rediscovery/Modern eras), consistent with this project's deliberately-unrecorded-chronology pattern used elsewhere. Expanded Canon (the post-2000 continuation novels written entirely by Deborah J. Ross after Bradley's 1999 death -- the Clingfire Trilogy, The Alton Gift, Hastur Lord, The Children of Kings, Thunderlord!, The Laran Gambit, Arilinn) is deliberately deferred out of scope per the credited-authorship bright line (same approach as Pern's generational handoff), same treatment as InCryptid's and Solomon Kane's deferred Expanded backlogs; not populated as book records yet. The Door Through Space (1961) shares worldbuilding details but is explicitly not part of the Darkover setting per its own cover copy and is excluded. The Sword and Sorceress anthology series (which Bradley edited but did not herself write) is out of scope for the same reason Songs of the Dying Earth was excluded from Cugel's Saga.
Library / Expanded (6 works)
Darkover: The Ross Continuation Novels Marion Zimmer Bradley, Deborah J. Ross
| Work | Year | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Alton Gift; Darkover continuation novel by Deborah J. Ross, credited jointly with Marion Zimmer Bradley, continuing the Alton/Hastur/Elhalyn political storyline after Traitor's Sun (1999). Registered Expanded Canon; Core Canon remains the 22 novels published under Bradley's own credited authorship (1958-1999), per this universe's existing scope note. | 2007 | N/A | |
 | Hastur Lord; Darkover continuation novel by Deborah J. Ross, credited jointly with Marion Zimmer Bradley, continuing the Alton/Hastur/Elhalyn political storyline after Traitor's Sun (1999). Registered Expanded Canon; Core Canon remains the 22 novels published under Bradley's own credited authorship (1958-1999), per this universe's existing scope note. | 2010 | N/A | |
 | The Children of Kings; Darkover continuation novel by Deborah J. Ross, credited jointly with Marion Zimmer Bradley, continuing the Alton/Hastur/Elhalyn political storyline after Traitor's Sun (1999). Registered Expanded Canon; Core Canon remains the 22 novels published under Bradley's own credited authorship (1958-1999), per this universe's existing scope note. | 2013 | N/A | |
 | Thunderlord; Darkover continuation novel by Deborah J. Ross, credited jointly with Marion Zimmer Bradley, continuing the Alton/Hastur/Elhalyn political storyline after Traitor's Sun (1999). Registered Expanded Canon; Core Canon remains the 22 novels published under Bradley's own credited authorship (1958-1999), per this universe's existing scope note. | 2016 | N/A | |
 | The Laran Gambit; Darkover continuation novel by Deborah J. Ross, credited jointly with Marion Zimmer Bradley, continuing the Alton/Hastur/Elhalyn political storyline after Traitor's Sun (1999). Registered Expanded Canon; Core Canon remains the 22 novels published under Bradley's own credited authorship (1958-1999), per this universe's existing scope note. | 2022 | N/A | |
 | Arilinn; Darkover continuation novel by Deborah J. Ross, credited jointly with Marion Zimmer Bradley, continuing the Alton/Hastur/Elhalyn political storyline after Traitor's Sun (1999). Registered Expanded Canon; Core Canon remains the 22 novels published under Bradley's own credited authorship (1958-1999), per this universe's existing scope note. | 2024 | N/A |
6 Darkover continuation novels written by Deborah J. Ross, credited jointly with Marion Zimmer Bradley, 2007-2024. Publisher's own announcement names Arilinn (2024) as the final Darkover novel.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Darkover? Darkover's Core Canon is 22 books, plus 6 more in the wider Library/Expanded material.
- What is the reading order for Darkover? Publication order, starting with The Planet Savers. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Darkover finished? Complete (1958–1999).
- How much reading does Darkover take? High reading commitment (estimated from 22 Core Canon books · ~7,107 pages).
- How is Darkover ranked? #587 in this site's official ranking, based on 62,968 reader ratings across 22 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #587?
Ranked #587 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.89 across 22 core books.
- A smaller readership (62,968 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Uneven reception: its books range from 3.67 to 4.07.
- Less than 0.01 behind #586, Lilith (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 22 books · Complete · 63k ratings · Ranks #587 overall
Good choice if you want a long-running epic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (22 Core Canon books)
- The Planet Savers (1958)
- The Sword of Aldones (1962)
- The Bloody Sun (1964)
- Star of Danger (1965)
- The Winds of Darkover (1970)
- The World Wreckers (1971)
- Darkover Landfall (1972)
- The Spell Sword (1974)
- The Heritage of Hastur (1975)
- The Shattered Chain (1976)
- The Forbidden Tower (1977)
- Stormqueen! (1978)
- Two to Conquer (1980)
- Sharra's Exile (1981)
- Hawkmistress! (1982)
- Thendara House (1983)
- City of Sorcery (1984)
- The Heirs of Hammerfell (1989)
- Rediscovery (1993)
- Exile's Song (1996)
- The Shadow Matrix (1998)
- Traitor's Sun (1999)
Awards (verified)
- Hugo Award (Best Novel), 1963: nominated: The Sword of Aldones
- Hugo Award (Best Novel), 1978: nominated: The Forbidden Tower
- Nebula Award (Best Novel), 1975: nominated: The Heritage of Hastur; sfadb registers this under its 1976 award-year listing; nebulas.sfwa.org's own nominated-work page is cited directly rather than resolving the exact ceremony-year label.
Related universes
- Same author The Mists of Avalon: Both by the same author (Marion Zimmer Bradley); confirmed wholly separate settings, an interstellar science-fantasy 'Lost Colony' world (Darkover) vs. Arthurian Britain (The Mists of Avalon).
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Suggestions computed from what Darkover and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- The Black Magician Trilogy and the Kyralia World Epic fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 4.03
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- The DemonWars Saga Epic fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 3.99
- Shannara Epic fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 3.99
Official resources
- The Hugo Awards: 1963 Hugo Awards
- The Hugo Awards: 1978 Hugo Awards
- The Nebula Awards: The Heritage of Hastur
- Wikipedia: Darkover series
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.89 across 62,968 ratings on 22 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Darkover admitted; Marion Zimmer Bradley's 2nd universe accepted 2026-08-15
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia: Darkover series Tier 2
- sfadb: Marion Zimmer Bradley Tier 2
- The Hugo Awards: 1963 Hugo Awards Tier 1
- The Hugo Awards: 1978 Hugo Awards Tier 1
- The Nebula Awards: The Heritage of Hastur Tier 1
Related universes: see the Related universes section above.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-17
Rule: Core Canon = the 22 novels published under Bradley's own credited authorship, 1958-1999 (some jointly credited with a co-author -- Mercedes Lackey on Rediscovery, Adrienne Martine-Barnes on the final 3 -- but always alongside Bradley herself). Expanded Canon (the post-2000 continuation novels written entirely by Deborah J. Ross after Bradley's 1999 death) is deliberately deferred out of scope this pass, per the credited-authorship bright line already used for Pern's generational handoff.