Lythande (Daw science fiction) [Paperback]

Marion Zimmer Bradley (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: DAW (August 5, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0886772915
• ISBN-13: 978-0886772918
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,516,461 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Marion Eleanor Zimmer was born in Albany, NY, on June 3, 1930, and married Robert Alden Bradley in 1949. Mrs. Bradley received her B.A. in 1964 from Hardin Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, then did graduate work at the University of California, Berkeley, from 1965-67.
She was a science fiction/fantasy fan from her middle teens. She had written as long as she could remember, but wrote only for school magazines and fanzines until 1952, when she sold her first professional short story to VORTEX SCIENCE FICTION. She wrote everything from science fiction to Gothics, but is probably best known for her Darkover novels and for her Arthurian novel, THE MISTS OF AVALON.
In addition to her novels, Mrs. Bradley edited magazines, amateur and professional, including Marion Zimmer Bradley's FANTASY Magazine, which she started in 1988. She also edited an annual anthology called SWORD AND SORCERESS, which is still published annually under the title MARION ZIMMER BRADLEY'S SWORD AND SORCERESS.
She died in Berkeley, California on September 25, 1999, four days after suffering a major heart attack.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wandering the world until doomsday, March 16, 2002

By 

Michele L. Worley (Kingdom of the Mouse, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lythande (Daw science fiction) (Mass Market Paperback)

This volume contains all the Lythande stories written up to its publication; two more can be found in SPELL SINGERS, an anthology attributed to "Alan Bard Newcomer", but not here. Lythande also appeared as a supporting character in stories written by other authors in Thieves' World; those collected in this volume feature the Adept as protagonist.

Lythande is a mercenary magician; specifically, a Pilgrim Adept of the Order of the Blue Star. The Pilgrim Adepts are sworn to fight in the last battle, on the side of Law against Chaos, at the end of the world. Until that day, they wander, gathering knowledge and power as they will (hence 'Pilgrim' Adepts). The power of a Pilgrim Adept depends on keeping certain vows (e.g. never to eat or drink in front of men), but most of all, upon keeping a secret, specific to each adept. If that secret is ever spoken aloud by any man save the Master of the Star, it (and the magic bound into it) become void, so that the powerless adept becomes worthless to the order - and may be killed by anyone who pleases.

Lythande has chosen to uphold Law against Chaos always, but others have chosen to wait until the last day. The Adept was developed for the Thieves' World series, and is a special crony of Myrtis (the madam of the Aphrodisia House in Sanctuary). The vows of an Adept are extremely literal, so that Adepts can have *female* confidantes if they wish - and if they can find women to trust with their lives.

Check out the Magic in Ithkar series as well; Lythande has visited the fair occasionally.

"The Secret of the Blue Star" - Lythande comes to the rescue of an amazingly beautiful prostitute being roughed up in the street - only to find that Bercy's tormentor is Rabben the Half-Handed, the Adept's worst enemy in the order. But is the girl really a victim, or a spy set to ferret out the Secret - or both?

"The Incompetent Magician" - First appeared in the _Greyhaven_ anthology. Rastafyre the - ahem - Incomparable has lost his wand, to a master thief and magician he cuckolded. Lythande agrees to retrieve it, in exchange for an enchanted lute - to which is bound the soul of Koira, a woman Lythande once loved.

"Sea Wrack" - The seaside village has to rely on half-grown girls to work the fishing boats, because a mermaid has taken up residence nearby, and lures not only men, but grown women to their deaths (only those too young to have felt the tides of the heart are safe). Lythande, feeling secure in having cast off all such emotions, takes up the village's plea to deal with the mermaid...

"Somebody Else's Magic" - Lythande comes to the aid of a priestess of Larith, set upon by thugs in the street. Dying, the Laritha passes on her sword to Lythande in thanks. Unfortunately, the sword has a mind of its own: to avenge its bearer, then force Lythande to carry it back to the Temple - which only women may seek and return alive.

"The Wandering Lute" - As a younger son, the minstrel had gladly accepted the enchanted lute from his father's magician, with its compulsion to follow a migration as regular as the seasons. Now that his older brother has died, though, he must be free of it and return home. Lythande, who'd like a good lute (and who studied a LOT about unbinding spells after the Larith incident) takes it on, intending to disenchant it along the way. Pride goeth before a fall...

"Looking for Satan" - Satan is actually just the name of a wild youngster, caught in a trap and vanished into the empire of Sanctuary. His friends have come looking for him, and Lythande feels moved to help them. (This story, unlike the others, doesn't follow Lythande's viewpoint, but one of Satan's friends, a woman after Lythande's own heart.)

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Under the light of the blue star-- stories by MZB., July 5, 2005

By 

frumiousb "frumiousb" (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Lythande (Daw science fiction) (Mass Market Paperback)

Lythande is a series of stories written by Bradley both for and under the inspiration of the Thieves World series. The mysterious magician Lythande was created as one of the sorcerers in the original Thieves World cast of characters. She is a mysterious entity, committed to the cause of order and doomed to never reveal her identity as a woman.

Essentially, Bradley only contributed to the first volume of Thieves World, but the Lythande character lived on after that introduction. This volume contains not only the story from Volume 1 but also contains stories pubished elsewhere as stand alone fantasy stories. The last short story in the collection, "Satan", is actually written by Vonda N. Mcintyre for Thieves World and uses the Lythande character.

For established MZB fans, the forewords she wrote for each story are almost as good to read as the stories themselves. These are almost little essays that explain the evolution of Lythande and summarize Bradley's thinking on issues as diverse as feminism, mediocrity and humor.

If you are a fan of Thieves World, but are not familiar with Bradley, these stories should serve as a good introduction to her work. If you have read neither Thieves World nor any other Bradley, then I would begin elsewhere-- either with Volume 1 or with the Darkover series, respectively. These are enjoyable stories, but they do not really compare to the major body of work associated with either source.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An UNFORGETTABLE Sorcerer and Woman from an AMAZING Writer, April 26, 2000

By 

"bananajuice" (jakarta) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lythande (Daw science fiction) (Mass Market Paperback)

i will always cherish this book, which i discovered in canberra. mzbradley had created an unforgettable sorcerer. i wish she could have written more books on the sorcerer's journeys before she passed away. mz's death is a great loss to both the science fiction and fantasy worlds. i strongly recommend this book. read it, feel the magic and remember marion zimmer bradley...forever..