The long-awaited continuation to the popular science fiction saga is the story of Darkover's ruling class, the comyn, and their struggles to reclaim their realm from the devastating effects of the Terran Federation. In the sequel to Traitor's Sun (1999), the Terrans have left Darkover, and little of their technology remains. Remnants of the Comyn are finding that governing the planet takes more energy and personnel than they have. Changes are needed, but squabbling over what changes continues. Its dream of a Terran-less world fulfilled, the conservative faction strives to restore its unquestioned lordship of the Domains. Domenic Hastur, heir to lordship of the Comyn, travels the Domains to assess the people's problems. When his father, the regent Mikhail, is assassinated, Domenic must assume the lordship just as a plague strikes Thendara. Sure to please Darkover fans. Murray, Frieda After the tragic, untimely death of Regis Hastur, a ruler who struggled lifelong to save the beloved world of his birth from the ambitions of the ruthless Terran Federation, the Terrans have finally abandoned Darkover to pursue interstellar civil war. As Lew Alton-returned home to the world of his birth after decades spent in exile as the Darkovan representative to the Terran Senate-wrestles with the dark shadows from his past, his daughter Marguerida's psychic Gifts warn her of impending danger. But danger to whom? For though her precognitive senses fill her with a feeling of imminent doom, she can see nothing specific in her visions of the ever-changing, uncertain future. Her husband Mikhail, as powerful head of the Hastur Domain, is her most obvious concern-for he's a likely target for assassination. Far too many would stand to gain from his demise. Meanwhile, unknown to Marguerida, her son, Domenic, searches for his place in a world of shifting loyalties-torn between love for two very different women-and struggles to come to terms with his destiny as the heir to Hastur. But while Francisco Ridenow, longtime adversary of the Hastur clan, plots to bring down Mikhail and Marguerida, and the rulers of Darkover think only of their own political issues, a far greater threat is facing their world. Even as increasingly desperate refugees flood the streets of Thendara, Darkover's capital city, in the wilds of the far-distant Hellers an ancient menace rises once again-a power against which neither swords nor the psychic sorcery of Darkover can prevail. Only an outlaw Terran, fleeing from a past he cannot remember, may hold the key to Darkover's survival. "For sheer skill in storytelling and world building, for wit, for strikingly intelligent development of the concept of telepathy, above all, for continuous concern for people, Bradley has put some more famous sagas in the shade." - Chicago Sun-Times "This is the best Darkover novel in a long time....It's a tale of culture clash, in classic Darkover style, a delightful return to a fascinating world, and a great read." - Locus (for Exile's Song ) "Filled with immensely intriguing characters and a compelling plot, this new Darkover adventure is topnotch." - Romantic Times (for Exile's Song ) "This new entry in Bradley's venerable series is an almost unalloyed pleasure from beginning to end and one of the few recent Darkover novels that someone unfamiliar with the series can pick up and get into immediately." - Booklist (for Exile's Song ) "Ms Bradley spins a mesmerizing tale with masterful craftsmanship. Filled with rousing adventure, intriguing Possibilities and fascinating characters...." - Romantic Times (for The Shadow Matrix ) "A remarkably intricate tale, with vivid descriptions...." - Booklog (for Shadow Matrix ) "Intricate characterization spiced with intriguing ideas and fresh wonder." - Romantic Times (for Traitor's Sun ) "Bradley's consummate skill at presenting complex political intrigue side-by-side with acute personal drama makes her Darkover series both involving and intricate." - Library Journal (for Traitor's Sun ) MARION ZIMMER BRADLEY was a professional writer for over forty years, publishing numerous novels and short stories. Among her best-selling works are The Mists of Avalon , and the Darkover series. Before her death in 1999, she and Deborah Ross planned the continuing novels in the Darkover series. DEBORAH J. ROSS became friends with Marion Zimmer Bradley when she sold a short story for the first Sword and Sorceress anthology. Ms. Bradley continued to encourage Deborah over the next two decades, through births, deaths, divorces, a sojourn in France, her literary apprenticeship, four dozen more short stories, two novels, and finally her work on the Darkover series.