The Complete Lythande by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Being an Adept is dangerous enough.  Everyone wants to use the mage's magic for their own needs and greeds and they don't care about the mage's safety.  What makes Lythande even more threatened is the fact that she's female; females DO NOT become Adepts.  She managed to but now she lives with a warning:  If anyone learns she's female instead of male, she will be killed.  All the words have to do is be said.  Woe to any man who figures it out because he has not much longer to live...

Marion Zimmer Bradley Literary Works Trust and Library Thing allowed me to download a copy of this ebook for review (thank you).  It's been published in November, so you can get a copy for your library now.

I've read Ms. Bradley's work for years.  She had an extraordinary imagination and I really enjoy getting lost in her tales.  She also adds true friendships and romance in her stories.  Even these short stories where the mage can have no man in her life there are friendships and love helping her guard her secret and stay alive.

She can't eat or drink in public.  Anytime she spends with a woman the men think she's doing what they would be doing with one.  All she can do is practice her craft to help people and not worry about what people think about her. Being a Blue Star Magician means she upholds the law and protects the innocent.  This can be quite a challenge in a land of chaos. 

Every one of these stories can stand on their own and I enjoyed them all.  There's humor, grief, love, physical challenges, and more.  You never know what kind of creature will be in the next story or how many characters will return in another story.  All I know is her style of writing and characters make me keep reading.  I read this anothology through to the end in one sitting.

If you enjoy magic, humor, and love, you will love Ms. Bradley's work.  If you haven't read her before, I can almost guarantee you that you'll be looking for more stories by her after you taste these...

Happy reading.