Darkover Books in Order

How many Darkover books are there?

Darkover has 36 books, released between 1962 and 2024.

Darkover Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 36 Darkover books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

Darkover Books in Chronological Order

In story order, Darkover Landfall comes first and Arilinn comes last. Chronological order follows the events inside the story rather than the release dates. The 32 books with a recorded story position run in that sequence below.

Do you have to read Darkover books in order?

You should read the Darkover books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Darkover book also stands alone.

Where to start with Darkover

Start with The Planet Savers (1962), the earliest published title. In the chronological order, Darkover Landfall comes first.

What is the newest Darkover book?

Arilinn (2024) is the newest Darkover book released so far.

Is there a new Darkover book coming?

No next Darkover book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Award nominations for Darkover

Wikidata records 12 nominations for Darkover. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

• Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel1985Shortlistedfor City of Sorcery
• Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel1984Shortlistedfor Thendara House
• Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel1983Shortlistedfor Hawkmistress!
• Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel1982Shortlistedfor Sharra's Exile
• Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel1981Shortlistedfor Two to Conquer
• Locus Award for Best Novel1979Shortlistedfor Stormqueen!
• Hugo Award for Best Novel1978Shortlistedfor The Forbidden Tower
• Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel1978Shortlistedfor The Forbidden Tower
• Locus Award for Best Novel1977Shortlistedfor The Shattered Chain
• Locus Award for Best Novel1976Shortlistedfor The Heritage of Hastur
• Nebula Award for Best Novel1976Shortlistedfor The Heritage of Hastur
• Hugo Award for Best Novel1963Shortlistedfor The Sword of Aldones

Darkover at a glance

Still running

Darkover is still running, with a title published as recently as 2024.

Release pace

Darkover books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.

Length

7,966 pages across the 21 of 36 books with a recorded length, a median of 408 pages each.

Busiest decade

Most Darkover books, 8 of 36, were published in the 1970s.

Attribution

Of the 36 titles, 28 are credited to Marion Zimmer Bradley, 5 to Mercedes Lackey, 4 to Deborah J. Ross and 1 to Elisabeth Waters. 2 titles carry no credit.

What the Darkover books are about

26 of the 36 Darkover books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: science fiction is tagged on 23 of 26. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

• Science fiction 23 of 26 books
• Life on other planets 10 of 26 books
• Fiction in English 9 of 26 books
• Fantasy 6 of 26 books
• Life on other planets in fiction 2 of 26 books

Other series by Marion Zimmer Bradley

The series linked below has its own reading-order page.

• Avalon books in order 7 books