They are many heroines of SWORD AND SORCERESS - brave women who have adopted the daring roles so often deemed to be the exclusive province of men.Join Diana L Paxson, Esther M Friesner, Rosemary Edghill, Leslie Fish, Dorothy j Heydt and their fellow spell-weavers as they carry on Marion Zimmer Bradley's proud, feminist tradition in the twenty-three original, swashbuckling and magical stories of SWORD AND SORCERESS XXI, where:A family of thieves is sorely disappointed by their daughter's wizarding ambitions...A warrior with amnesia is taught a lesson she could never have learned if she remembered her past...A girl is turned down by a school of magic because of her sex, only to become the disciple of a far more powerful mentor...An arrogant mage is taught that even the most powerful of sorcerers sometimes needs the help of material weapons...The best-selling "Sword & The Sorceress series continues with this thrilling 21st edition of all-original stories of action-packed adventure, ultimate magic, and fearsome, sword-wielding women by some of the best names in fantasy today.

    But the power of an Adept was always bound to a Secret, and whoever discovered this sorcerer's Secret could steal away the Blue Star power, leaving the Adept defenseless, fit only for death.And Lythande's secret was perhaps the most dangerous of all, setting the mage apart from all humanity, forcing Lythande to war against spell beast, sorcerer, thief, swordsman, and the magic of the gods themselves.…As an added bonus, Lythande includes a special guest appearance by Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author Vonda N. McIntyre.Contents:The Secret of the Blue Star • (1979) • novelette by Marion Zimmer BradleyThe Incompetent Magician • (1983) • novelette by Marion Zimmer BradleySomebody Else's Magic • (1984) • novelette by Marion Zimmer BradleySea Wrack • (1985) • novelette by Marion Zimmer BradleyThe Wandering Lute • (1986) • novelette by Marion Zimmer BradleyLooking for Satan • (1981) • novella by Vonda N. McIntyre

    They, forming the Friends of Darkover, have joined with Marion Zimmer Bradley to create this anthology of new stories of Darkover, written by its most talented followers. Here are stories that span the whole of Darkover history -- from the days after the original landfall, through the Ages of Chaos, the Pact of the Comyn, and the coming of the Terrans. Included are three original stories by Marion Zimmer Bradley and her editorial commentaries on each story.

    They are sword-wielding defenders or magical spell-casters - roles too often considered the exclusive province of men.Handpicked by the late Marion Zimmer Bradley, here are 25 original stories about bold and talented women created by such masterful word-weavers as Diana Paxson, Esther M Friesner, and Dorothy J Heydt. Journey with them now through enchanted realms of the imagination into perils both physical and magical:Where the respect a sorceress pays to a simple farm animal can cure an entire village suffering from a devastating plague...A young woman is able to free a goddess from her husband, the god of war, with one word...With the help of a healer, a group of animal "familiars" unite to vanquish the magician who slew their masters...When the mentor of an apprentice sorceress is killed, the young sorceress-to-be gains her power from the most unlikely source imaginable...Before her death in 1999, Marion Zimmer Bradley had prepared volumes 19 and 20 of the ever-popular Sword & Sorceress anthology series. Known for discovering and nurturing some of today's best-selling talents, Bradley has once again assembled a powerhouse collection of fantasy fiction, filled with women warriors and wizards.Contents:Introduction · Elisabeth WatersThe Curse of Ardal Glen · Laura J. UnderwoodWhen the King Is Weak · Barbara E. TarboxThe Sign of the Boar · Diana PaxsonA Matter of Focus · Penny BuchananInner Sight · Susan WolvenFamiliars · Michael H. PayneOrdeal · Robyn McGrewGrain · Esther FriesnerGifts of the Kami · Carol E. LeeverOne in Ten Thousand · Aimee KrattsLord of the Earth · Dorothy HeydtLady of Light · Jennifer AshleyAll Too Familiar · P. Andrew MillerArtistic License · Deborah BurrosEarth, Wind and Water · Bob DennisFire for the Senjen Tiger · Stephen Crane DavidsonFighting Spirit · Karen MagonPride, Prejudice and Paranoia · Michael SpenceA Simple Spell · Marilyn A. RacetteSword of Queens · Bunnie BesselBetter Seen Than Heard · Emily C. A. SnyderOpenings · Meg HeydtA Little Magic · P. E. CunninghamEloma’s Second Career · Lorie CalkinsSylvia · A. Hall

    And here they must face great challenges: recontact with Terra, the native chieri, and the laran powers they must control at all costs.

    Each of the writers was asked to write a new story based on one of his or her most famous series. Stephen King tells a tale of Roland, the Gunslinger, in the world of The Dark Tower, in "The Little Sisters of Eluria."Terry Pratchett relates an amusing incident in Discworld, of a magical contest and the witch Granny Weatherwax, in "The Sea and Little Fishes"Terry Goodkind tells of the origin of the Border between realms in the world of The Sword of Truth, in "Debt of Bones."Orson Scott Card spins a yarn of Alvin and his apprentice from the Tales of Alvin Maker, in "Grinning Man."Robert Silverberg returns to Majipoor and to Lord Valentine's adventure in an ancient tomb, in "the Seventh Shrine."Ursual K. Le Guin adds a sequel to her famous books of Earthsea, portraying a woman who wants to learn magic, in "Dragonfly."Tad Williams tells a dark and enthralling story of a great and haunted castle in the age before Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, in "The Burning Man."George R.R. Martin sets his piece a generation before his epic, A Song of Ice and Fire, in the adventure of "The Hedge Knight."Ann McCaffrey, the poet of Pern, returns once again to her world of romance and adventure in "Runner of Pern."Raymond E. Feist's Riftwar Saga is the setting of the tale of "The Wood Boy."Robert Jordan, in "New Spring," tells of crucial events in the years leading up to The Wheel of Time, of the meeting of Lan and Moiraine and the beginning of the search for the child who must grow to lead in the Last Battle.

    1979 ACE mass market paperback,2nd impression, no ISBN. Robert Asprin, Lynn Abbey. A fantasy anthology with a twist. All different stories from different authors, all in the same town.

    Authors include Elizabeth Moon, Jody Lynne Nye, Harry Turtledove and Margaret Ball.

    Here dwell the Free Amazons, who have set themselves apart from their male-ruled world, owing loyalty only to each other, living their lives as free citizens, equal to any man or woman, soldier or lord. The eighteen tales in this collection, including two by Marion Zimmer Bradley herself, tell the story of these Free Amazons, and are certain to enchant anyone who has fallen under the spell of the Amazon heroines of Thendara House and City of Sorcery.On the Trail - Barbara ArmisteadTactics - Jane M.H. BigelowThe Meeting - Nina BoalKnives - Marion Zimmer BradleyThe Legend of Lady Bruna - Marion Zimmer BradleyThe Oath of the Comhi Letzii, Or "Order of the Renunciates" - Walter BreenHer Own Blood - Margaret L. CarterThe Camel's Nose - Susan HoltzerThe Oath of the Free Amazons: Terra, Techno Period - Jaida n'ha SandraThe Banshee - Sherry KramerA Different Kind of Courage - Mercedes R. LackeyThe Mother Quest - Diana L. PaxsonTo Open a Door - P. Alexandra Riggs Growing Pains - Susan M. SchwartzRecruits - Maureen ShannonGirls Will Be Girls - Patricia Shaw-MathewsCast Off Your Chains - Margaret SilvestriThis One Time - Joan Marie VerbaChild of the Heart - Elisabeth WatersMidwife - Deborah J. Wheeler

    Authors who have appeared within the pages of Sword and Sorceress represent the full spectrum of some of the brightest talent working today -- from C.J. Cherryh, Charles de Lint, and Emma Bull . . . to Deborah J. Ross, Diana L. Paxson, and Laurell K. Hamilton.We are proud to continue the classic and vibrant feminist tradition with this twenty-fourth volume of new magical adventures edited by Elisabeth Waters, secretary and co-editor to Mrs. Bradley.Here are seventeen original stories of remarkable women of power, swashbuckling and magic, spells and duels, arcane sorcery and fabled heroism, written by familiar word-weavers of excitement and adventure, and bright newcomers who are sure to become favorites.Enter a wondrous universe . . .Marion Zimmer Bradley's Sword and SorceressSword and Sorceress 24 includes stories by Deborah J. Ross, Helen E. Davis, Elisabeth Waters & Michael Spence, Brenta Blevins, K.D. Wentworth, Teresa Howard, Catherine Soto, Josepha Sherman, Cate McBride, Cynthia Ward, Jonathan Moeller, Dave Smeds, Therese Arkenberg, Michael H. Payne, Annclaire Livoti, Julia H. West, and Melissa Mead.

    Here are the writers whose novels have placed them among the leaders in fantasy who have written for this volume original and exciting adventures of women who dare to pick up the sword and go a'venturing.

    "Bradley's Darkover series grows richer by the book."--Science Fiction Review.Introduction: And Contrariwise by Marion Zimmer BradleyAcurrhir Todo; Nada Perdonad by Deborah J. RossObject Lesson by Mercedes LackeyBeginnings by Cynthia DroletClingfire by Patricia Duffy NovakDeath in Thendara by Dorothy J. HeydtFiretrap by Elisabeth Waters & Marion Zimmer BradleyFriends by Judith KobyleckyManchild by L.D. WoeltjenJust a Touch… by Lynne Armstrong-JonesMind-Eater by Joan Marie VerbaMist by Meg MacDonaldOur Little Rabbit by Mary FreyGift from Ardais by Barbara DenzHorse Race by Diann PatridgePlague by Janet RhodesTapestry by Micole SudbergTo Serve Kihar by Judith Sampson

    And now, the latest tale in this epic, generations-spanning saga is sure to become a favorite of both long-time readers and newcomers.

    the story of two sisters who will discover they have far more power than they ever envisioned...In a small village in the nation of Droevinka, orphaned sisters Céline and Amelie Fawe scrape out a living selling herbal medicines in their apothecary shop. Céline earns additional money by posing as a seer and pretending to read people’s futures.But they exist in a land of great noble houses, all vying for power, and when the sisters refuse the orders of a warlord prince, they must flee and are forced to depend on the warlord prince’s brother, Anton, for a temporary haven.A series of bizarre deaths of pretty young girls are plaguing the village surrounding Prince Anton’s castle. He offers Céline and Amelie permanent protection if they can use their "skills" to find the killer.With little choice, the sisters enter a world unknown to them — of fine gowns and banquets and advances from powerful men. Their survival depends on catching a murderer who appears to walk through walls and vanish without a trace — and the danger around them seems to grow with each passing night.

    Is Raistlin truly dead?The answer lies in the new Dragonlance novella by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, which gazes into the future of Caramon and his mage-son, and into the dark nether-past of Raistlin.Untold tales of Krynn.Tales of sea monsters, dark elves, ice bears, hideous hydra-headed serpents, and loathsome draconian troops.Further adventures of the kender Tas; the innkeeper Otik and young Tika; the dwarf Flint and Tanis, leader of the companions; Caramon and Raistlin, twon brothers, one, a genial warrior, the other, a sickly magician and scholar.Nine short stories by superlative writers, plus an exciting new novella by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman.The Dragonlance Saga goes on!