The Laran Gambit

When a power-mad tyrant turns to mind-control technology to silence the opposition, a diplomat’s daughter appeals to Darkover’s natural psychics to save both their worlds.

Terran child psychologist Bryn Haslund has her hands full, treating the young victims of the brutal Star Alliance. She’s tried to stay out of politics, leaving that to her charismatic statesman father, Ernst. Now he’s gone missing after delivering a speech in support of the Alliance’s tyrannical leader.

With the Alliance’s secret police hot on her heels, Bryn finally locates her father in the research labs on Alpha, only to discover that the Alliance scientists have implanted a mind-control device in his brain. Her search for a way to disable the device leads her to Darkover, a remote Lost Colony world circling a dim red star, where telepathic powers have been developed to an extraordinary degree. Here Bryn and her father face new dangers, from ice avalanches to blood-thirsty bandits to gigantic carnivorous birds. To make matters worse, the mind-control device seems to be tightening its hold, the Darkovan leaders have their own agenda, and Bryn’s newly awakened psychic powers might prove to be lethal.

The Laran Gambit is the new, long-awaited adventure in the beloved Darkover series. It’s perfect for both devoted fans and those new to the world of the Bloody Sun.