Darkover

After Lew Alton unwittingly roused the fire demon Sharra, the Sword of Aldones was the only weapon that could lay her to rest again. But only one man could wield the sword, and getting it was an even bigger problem.

The most dangerous matrix on all Darkover was the legendary Sharra. Embodied in the image of a chained woman, wreathed in flames, it was the last remaining weapon of the Age of Chaos that had almost destroyed civilization on the planet of the Bloody Sun.

Planetary Investments Unlimited — that was the company’s official name, but unofficially it was known as Worldwreckers, Inc. For a fee, its agent would infiltrate any world unwilling to give up its independence, and do enough damage that the natives would be forced to allow Terran investors to step in and salvage their planet. And now, once again, its agents were at work.

Regis Hastur was the heir to the most powerful domain on Darkover. When his grandfather died, he would inherit the title Hastur of Hastur, Regent of Darkover - king in everything but name. But ironically, this mantle was the last thing Regis had ever wanted. For he dreamed of a different kind of life - a life with the freedom to live and love like an ordinary man, without the expectations and responsibilities of his position.

Jeff Kerwin spent the first decade of his life in the Spacemen’s Orphanage in the Terran Trade City on Darkover. Yet he never felt that he belonged. When Jeff is shipped back to Earth at the age of 12, he becomes haunted by dreams of the world surrounding the Terran oasis that had once been his. He is convinced that only on Darkover can he discover his true identity.

The first new Darkover anthology in almost two decades, this volume focuses on the music of Darkover: stories with musical elements; the songs in the books; and the filk songs inspired by them, from "The Horsetamer's Daughter" by Leslie Fish to eight songs by Cynthia McQuillin. Original stories included are by India Edghill, Leslie Fish, Raul S. Reyes, Michael Spence, and Elisabeth Waters. There are also reprints of stories by Mercedes Lackey and Vera Nazarian.

Terran child psychologist Bryn Haslund has her hands full, treating the traumatized young victims of the interplanetary Star Alliance. She’s tried to stay out of politics, leaving that to her charismatic statesman father, Ernst. Despite her best efforts to remain neutral, she gets caught in the crackdown of a protest-turned-riot. Then Ernst delivers a robotic speech in support of the Alliance’s tyrannical leader and goes missing.

In Darkover’s dim past, before the tumultuous Ages of Chaos, small kingdoms still vied for power. 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.