The Spell Sword

Although Darkover was a world inhabited by humans as well as semi-humans, it was primarily forbidden ground to the Terran traders. Most of the planet's wild terrain was unexplored... and many of its peoples seclusive and secretive.
But for Andrew Carr there was an attraction he could not evade. Darkover drew him, Darkover haunted him – and when his mapping plane crashed in unknown heights, Darkover prepared to destroy him. Until the planet's magic asserted itself – and his destiny began to unfold along lines predicted only by phantoms and wonder workers of the kind Terran science could never acknowledge.
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Marion Zimmer Bradley was an American fantasy and science fiction author. She was born 1930 and died 1999 after suffering a major heart attack.
Writing for over 4 decades, Marion Zimmer Bradley is best known for her Darkover science fantasy series and her Arthurian masterpiece, The Mists of Avalon. She also edited anthologies for several years and published Marion Zimmer Bradley's FANTASY Magazine.
Photo by Modern Arts Studio, Oakland, California. Source: Marion Zimmer Bradley Literary Works Trust.
Darkover
Series contains 28 total works. Current series reading order on below.
Related series Darkover (anthologies)
Related series The Clingfire Trilogy
Related series Children of Kings