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Darkover (Publication Order) #3
L'esiliato di Darkover
Figlio di un'amazzone, Jeff Kerwin torna a Thendara, ignaro del clima di sospetto che lo circonda, alla ricerca della sua vera identità.
329 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1964
15 people are currently reading
1146 people want to read
About the author
Marion Zimmer Bradley
800 books4,882 followersMarion Eleanor Zimmer Bradley was an American author of fantasy novels such as The Mists of Avalon and the Darkover series, often with a feminist outlook.
Bradley's first published novel-length work was Falcons of Narabedla, first published in the May 1957 issue of Other Worlds. When she was a child, Bradley stated that she enjoyed reading adventure fantasy authors such as Henry Kuttner, Edmond Hamilton, and Leigh Brackett, especially when they wrote about "the glint of strange suns on worlds that never were and never would be." Her first novel and much of her subsequent work show their influence strongly.
Early in her career, writing as Morgan Ives, Miriam Gardner, John Dexter, and Lee Chapman, Marion Zimmer Bradley produced several works outside the speculative fiction genre, including some gay and lesbian pulp fiction novels. For example, I Am a Lesbian was published in 1962. Though relatively tame by today's standards, they were considered pornographic when published, and for a long time she refused to disclose the titles she wrote under these pseudonyms.
Her 1958 story The Planet Savers introduced the planet of Darkover, which became the setting of a popular series by Bradley and other authors. The Darkover milieu may be considered as either fantasy with science fiction overtones or as science fiction with fantasy overtones, as Darkover is a lost earth colony where psi powers developed to an unusual degree. Bradley wrote many Darkover novels by herself, but in her later years collaborated with other authors for publication; her literary collaborators have continued the series since her death.
Bradley took an active role in science-fiction and fantasy fandom, promoting interaction with professional authors and publishers and making several important contributions to the subculture.
For many years, Bradley actively encouraged Darkover fan fiction and reprinted some of it in commercial Darkover anthologies, continuing to encourage submissions from unpublished authors, but this ended after a dispute with a fan over an unpublished Darkover novel of Bradley's that had similarities to some of the fan's stories. As a result, the novel remained unpublished, and Bradley demanded the cessation of all Darkover fan fiction.
Bradley was also the editor of the long-running Sword and Sorceress anthology series, which encouraged submissions of fantasy stories featuring original and non-traditional heroines from young and upcoming authors. Although she particularly encouraged young female authors, she was not averse to including male authors in her anthologies. Mercedes Lackey was just one of many authors who first appeared in the anthologies. She also maintained a large family of writers at her home in Berkeley. Ms Bradley was editing the final Sword and Sorceress manuscript up until the week of her death in September of 1999.
Probably her most famous single novel is The Mists of Avalon. A retelling of the Camelot legend from the point of view of Morgaine and Gwenhwyfar, it grew into a series of books; like the Darkover series, the later novels are written with or by other authors and have continued to appear after Bradley's death.
Her reputation has been posthumously marred by multiple accusations of child sexual abuse by her daughter Moira Greyland, and for allegedly assisting her second husband, convicted child abuser Walter Breen, in sexually abusing multiple unrelated children.
(from Wikipedia)
Bradley's first published novel-length work was Falcons of Narabedla, first published in the May 1957 issue of Other Worlds. When she was a child, Bradley stated that she enjoyed reading adventure fantasy authors such as Henry Kuttner, Edmond Hamilton, and Leigh Brackett, especially when they wrote about "the glint of strange suns on worlds that never were and never would be." Her first novel and much of her subsequent work show their influence strongly.
Early in her career, writing as Morgan Ives, Miriam Gardner, John Dexter, and Lee Chapman, Marion Zimmer Bradley produced several works outside the speculative fiction genre, including some gay and lesbian pulp fiction novels. For example, I Am a Lesbian was published in 1962. Though relatively tame by today's standards, they were considered pornographic when published, and for a long time she refused to disclose the titles she wrote under these pseudonyms.
Her 1958 story The Planet Savers introduced the planet of Darkover, which became the setting of a popular series by Bradley and other authors. The Darkover milieu may be considered as either fantasy with science fiction overtones or as science fiction with fantasy overtones, as Darkover is a lost earth colony where psi powers developed to an unusual degree. Bradley wrote many Darkover novels by herself, but in her later years collaborated with other authors for publication; her literary collaborators have continued the series since her death.
Bradley took an active role in science-fiction and fantasy fandom, promoting interaction with professional authors and publishers and making several important contributions to the subculture.
For many years, Bradley actively encouraged Darkover fan fiction and reprinted some of it in commercial Darkover anthologies, continuing to encourage submissions from unpublished authors, but this ended after a dispute with a fan over an unpublished Darkover novel of Bradley's that had similarities to some of the fan's stories. As a result, the novel remained unpublished, and Bradley demanded the cessation of all Darkover fan fiction.
Bradley was also the editor of the long-running Sword and Sorceress anthology series, which encouraged submissions of fantasy stories featuring original and non-traditional heroines from young and upcoming authors. Although she particularly encouraged young female authors, she was not averse to including male authors in her anthologies. Mercedes Lackey was just one of many authors who first appeared in the anthologies. She also maintained a large family of writers at her home in Berkeley. Ms Bradley was editing the final Sword and Sorceress manuscript up until the week of her death in September of 1999.
Probably her most famous single novel is The Mists of Avalon. A retelling of the Camelot legend from the point of view of Morgaine and Gwenhwyfar, it grew into a series of books; like the Darkover series, the later novels are written with or by other authors and have continued to appear after Bradley's death.
Her reputation has been posthumously marred by multiple accusations of child sexual abuse by her daughter Moira Greyland, and for allegedly assisting her second husband, convicted child abuser Walter Breen, in sexually abusing multiple unrelated children.
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 97 reviews
March 10, 2020
overall this was fine. an intensely emotional book, which is unusual for a classic science fiction adventure. i "enjoyed" it, i suppose, because i am good at compartmentalizing. but maybe not so good in this particular instance.
August 17, 2022
8/10. Media de los 18 libros leídos de la autora : 8/10
En su día estaba colgadito de su saga de Darkover (Fantasía). Hace no mucho re-leí parte de uno de estos libros y me resultó simplón, pero como estoy manteniendo la nota que les puse en su día, pues queda la autora con una media fantástica de "8".
La saga artúrica Las nieblas de Avalon tb está muy bien, es una novelación distinta pero bien escrita. Lo de siempre pero con otro toque, vamos. Y sus incursiones en CF tampoco defraudan.
En su día estaba colgadito de su saga de Darkover (Fantasía). Hace no mucho re-leí parte de uno de estos libros y me resultó simplón, pero como estoy manteniendo la nota que les puse en su día, pues queda la autora con una media fantástica de "8".
La saga artúrica Las nieblas de Avalon tb está muy bien, es una novelación distinta pero bien escrita. Lo de siempre pero con otro toque, vamos. Y sus incursiones en CF tampoco defraudan.
October 3, 2018
Antes que todo debe reconocer que me encanta el estilo de esta autora. La forma en que traspasa las emociones y los conflictos de los personajes es muy profunda y no por eso pierde el hilo de su narración. En particular, El sol sangriento -el primer libro que leo de la saga Darkover- es una novela íntegra, no solo porque se puede leer en forma independiente de cualquiera de los demás libro de la serie, sino porque además cuenta con todos los componentes de quienes gustan de este género: fantasía, ciencia ficción, acción, traición, redención, lealtad, amistad.
La autora logra crear y describir el planeta Darkover en su aspecto político, económico y cultural de tal forma, que se logra comprender el accionar de todos los personajes criados en este entorno. Es una mezcla entre la más compleja tecnología y un estilo de vida que me recuerda historias medievales.
Quedan algunos pasajes de la historia sin resolver y también hay mucha mención a acontecimientos y gloriosas batallas de héroes y heroínas de otras épocas, quedando sumamente claro que se desarrollan en otros libros de la saga. Muy recomendable, pero insisto, para quienes gustan del género.
La autora logra crear y describir el planeta Darkover en su aspecto político, económico y cultural de tal forma, que se logra comprender el accionar de todos los personajes criados en este entorno. Es una mezcla entre la más compleja tecnología y un estilo de vida que me recuerda historias medievales.
Quedan algunos pasajes de la historia sin resolver y también hay mucha mención a acontecimientos y gloriosas batallas de héroes y heroínas de otras épocas, quedando sumamente claro que se desarrollan en otros libros de la saga. Muy recomendable, pero insisto, para quienes gustan del género.
July 29, 2011
This is the 3rd novel written in the science fictional Darkover series, first published in 1964. The only version now available (and the one I'm reviewing) was updated in 1979 and incorporated some material that was cut from the first edition for length reasons and some new material that took into account later Darkover books written in the 60s and 70s.
This edition is much more polished than the first two books, The Planet Savers and The Sword of Aldones. I don't know how much of that is the original edition and how much is the 1979 re-write. The main theme here, as in most of the early Darkover novels, is the clash between the technological Terran civilization and the fedual Darkovan civilization that wants to retain its ways and customs. There's a little bit of the feminist theme that came to dominate the later books in the series.
This is a relatively straightforward suspense story, with the central mystery revolving around a main character with fragmentary memories of his childhood. He is torn between the two civilizations and doesn't know where he fits in. Even worse, he could be a "sleeper agent" or mole planted by one faction to spy on or destablize the other. The plot moves along fairly well, with interesting characters. The writing is still a bit melodramatic, but this is, overall, one of the stronger Darkover stories.
This edition also includes a short story that tells the backstory of some minor characters from another novel.
This edition is much more polished than the first two books, The Planet Savers and The Sword of Aldones. I don't know how much of that is the original edition and how much is the 1979 re-write. The main theme here, as in most of the early Darkover novels, is the clash between the technological Terran civilization and the fedual Darkovan civilization that wants to retain its ways and customs. There's a little bit of the feminist theme that came to dominate the later books in the series.
This is a relatively straightforward suspense story, with the central mystery revolving around a main character with fragmentary memories of his childhood. He is torn between the two civilizations and doesn't know where he fits in. Even worse, he could be a "sleeper agent" or mole planted by one faction to spy on or destablize the other. The plot moves along fairly well, with interesting characters. The writing is still a bit melodramatic, but this is, overall, one of the stronger Darkover stories.
This edition also includes a short story that tells the backstory of some minor characters from another novel.
April 21, 2010
I'm a fan of Marion Zimmer Bradley, but my affection for her rests not on the Avalon books, which I didn't care for, but her Darkover series. Darkover is a "lost colony" of Earth that falls into a medieval society. Ruled by a psychic aristocracy, it is later rediscovered by a star-spanning high-tech human federation after centuries, giving the series a feel of both science fiction and fantasy. Most books in the series examine this culture clash and this book is no exception as it focuses on a Terran, Jeff Kerwin, returning to Darkover only to discover it's very much part of his heritage. The series as a whole features strong female characters, but it has enough swashbuckling adventure to draw the male of the species, and indeed this series was recommended to me by a guy (when we were in high school!)
Although some books are loosely connected, having characters in common, they were written to be read independently and were written out of sequence. This makes it difficult without a guide to know what story to start with, as MZB really didn't come into her own as a writer until the mid-seventies, and books published before that are among the weaker in the series. This book, although originally published early on in 1964, was however, later expanded and extensively rewritten in 1979. Make sure you get that later edition. If you do, than this makes a good entry point into a captivating series.
Although some books are loosely connected, having characters in common, they were written to be read independently and were written out of sequence. This makes it difficult without a guide to know what story to start with, as MZB really didn't come into her own as a writer until the mid-seventies, and books published before that are among the weaker in the series. This book, although originally published early on in 1964, was however, later expanded and extensively rewritten in 1979. Make sure you get that later edition. If you do, than this makes a good entry point into a captivating series.
April 14, 2021
La fantascienza dal sapore fantasy di Darkover è in questo libro perfettamente calibrata con le belle atmosfere medievali del pianeta; si mescola poi a una spy-story tesissima, senza tralasciare uno dei temi cardine di questa saga ovvero l'amore: che sia quello fra fratelli, sorelle, amanti o della particolare struttura famigliare darkovana, sull'amore si riflette sempre tanto e bene in questi libri di Marion Zimmer Bradley. La bella scrittura e la molteplicità degli spunti di riflessione fanno di questo volume uno dei più belli del ciclo. Si parla infatti di globalizzazione e lo scontro di civiltà che ne deriva, con una parte dominante che cerca di inglobare l'altra. Si parla di accettazione, xenofobia, del tradizionalismo che può sfociare in fanatismo, della difficoltà del cambiamento e dello sforzo prima di tutto mentale che esso richiede. Quando l'ambientazione è così particolare, i personaggi interessanti, la struttura è solida e le riflessioni che derivano dalla lettura sono così tante direi che non si può chiedere molto di più. Anzi, direi che questo è un libro che può piacere a molti.
December 24, 2019
Credo che per me si tratti della terza rilettura di questo romanzo della serie di Darkover, che regge a ogni rilettura - a parte qualche piccolissimo dettaglio tecnologico su cui si può chiudere un occhio, ricordando che il libro fu scritto nel 1964 e venne poi ripreso nel 1979 (per dare una continuità con gli altri romanzi della serie, visto che vi compaiono personaggi protagonisti de La torre proibita, che è del 1977 e precede questo romanzo di due generazioni).
Alcuni temi che si possono scorgere sotto questo worldbuilding fantascientifico sono:
- La lotta alla globalizzazione, incarnata dall'Impero terrestre che, se da un lato porta tecnologie più avanzate e possibilità per tutti di usufruire dei viaggi interstellari e ogni genere di svago, dall'altro schiaccia i pianeti colonizzati, levando loro ogni identità, a meno che non li trasformi in parchi giochi a tema. Darkover ha una sua forte identità e una tecnologia unica, legata all'uso delle pietre matrici, una tecnica considerata quasi magica e ritenuta appannaggio dei comyn, le famiglie privilegiate dei nobili darkovani. I comyn con i più grandi poteri psichici, chiamati laran vengono istruiti nelle torri, dove con un cerchio di matrici si può realizzare di tutto: dall'estrazione di minerali a vere e proprie guerre. Anche per questo, dopo le Ere del Caos, i darkovani preferiscono limitare l'utilizzo del laran a operazioni più pacifiche.
- La libertà sessuale. Marion Zimmer Bradley vive nella San Francisco degli anni 60 e 70, e il suo romanzo La torre proibita è una vera e propria celebrazione dell'amore libero e delle comuni. Poi, nel 2014, si è saputo che Marion Zimmer Bradley era tanto libera dal punto di vista sessuale da non rispettare la libertà degli altri, in particolare dei figli Mark e Moira Greyland, che da bambini furono molestati sessualmente da lei, e non furono gli unici. Mentre leggevo non potevo fare a meno di pensare a questo particolare (che non conoscevo al tempo delle precedenti letture), e un po' devo dire che la lettura ne è stata inficiata, anche se ho cercato di dargli il minor peso possibile.
- L'emancipazione femminile. Su Darkover le donne sono sottomesse agli uomini, ma la figura più importante del pianeta è la custode di Arilinn, che è una sorta di vestale (credo che la Bradley si sia ispirata proprio a loro), legata a voti di castità per evitare di restare priva di energie, dal momento che i flussi del laran passano attraverso gli stessi canali dei flussi sessuali. Attorno alla figura delle custodi delle varie torri e alla loro verginità c'è una sorta di fanatismo, che in questo romanzo viene fomentato per ben due volte, quando le custodi si ribellano per poter essere libere di vivere le loro vite ed esprimere la loro sessualità come meglio credono.
Alcuni temi che si possono scorgere sotto questo worldbuilding fantascientifico sono:
- La lotta alla globalizzazione, incarnata dall'Impero terrestre che, se da un lato porta tecnologie più avanzate e possibilità per tutti di usufruire dei viaggi interstellari e ogni genere di svago, dall'altro schiaccia i pianeti colonizzati, levando loro ogni identità, a meno che non li trasformi in parchi giochi a tema. Darkover ha una sua forte identità e una tecnologia unica, legata all'uso delle pietre matrici, una tecnica considerata quasi magica e ritenuta appannaggio dei comyn, le famiglie privilegiate dei nobili darkovani. I comyn con i più grandi poteri psichici, chiamati laran vengono istruiti nelle torri, dove con un cerchio di matrici si può realizzare di tutto: dall'estrazione di minerali a vere e proprie guerre. Anche per questo, dopo le Ere del Caos, i darkovani preferiscono limitare l'utilizzo del laran a operazioni più pacifiche.
- La libertà sessuale. Marion Zimmer Bradley vive nella San Francisco degli anni 60 e 70, e il suo romanzo La torre proibita è una vera e propria celebrazione dell'amore libero e delle comuni. Poi, nel 2014, si è saputo che Marion Zimmer Bradley era tanto libera dal punto di vista sessuale da non rispettare la libertà degli altri, in particolare dei figli Mark e Moira Greyland, che da bambini furono molestati sessualmente da lei, e non furono gli unici. Mentre leggevo non potevo fare a meno di pensare a questo particolare (che non conoscevo al tempo delle precedenti letture), e un po' devo dire che la lettura ne è stata inficiata, anche se ho cercato di dargli il minor peso possibile.
- L'emancipazione femminile. Su Darkover le donne sono sottomesse agli uomini, ma la figura più importante del pianeta è la custode di Arilinn, che è una sorta di vestale (credo che la Bradley si sia ispirata proprio a loro), legata a voti di castità per evitare di restare priva di energie, dal momento che i flussi del laran passano attraverso gli stessi canali dei flussi sessuali. Attorno alla figura delle custodi delle varie torri e alla loro verginità c'è una sorta di fanatismo, che in questo romanzo viene fomentato per ben due volte, quando le custodi si ribellano per poter essere libere di vivere le loro vite ed esprimere la loro sessualità come meglio credono.
May 5, 2016
Just to get this bit over with. I was appalled and horrified to find out about MZB and her husband and the abuse. (if you don't know about it, sorry for possibly spoiling one of your favourite authors - for details google)
I haven't read one of her books for ages because of this, but i needed brain candy and I really do enjoy the Darkover novels because they cover a lot of the bases for me: sci-fi, sci-fantasy, telepaths, complicated relationships, huge time-span). I was unsure if I'd be able to separate the novel from the author's life. I only partially succeded.
This was the first Darkover novel I ever read (I picked it up in the bookstore on an American base, I only got it because i recognised her name from The Mists of Avalon and it was in the sci-fantasy section) and I liked it right away. Pretty standard plot stuff, cool telepathic aliens, the conflict between natives and between natives & earthpeople.
But. But. The main protagonist is, I guess in his late-20s/early-30s and the woman he eventually ends up with is described often as having a childlike quality (and not really developed body) and that doesn't sit well with me at all. Even though I've read Game of Thrones and other stuff so I know it's historically something that happened. It did make me uncomfortable knowing, as I didn't before, more about MZB.
So not a book I'll be reading again. Which makes me a bit sad.
And now a question: how do you reconcile your enjoyment of the art while knowing the artist does/did things that are illegal/you don't approve of? (think: Ender's Game and Orson Scott Card for example)
I haven't read one of her books for ages because of this, but i needed brain candy and I really do enjoy the Darkover novels because they cover a lot of the bases for me: sci-fi, sci-fantasy, telepaths, complicated relationships, huge time-span). I was unsure if I'd be able to separate the novel from the author's life. I only partially succeded.
This was the first Darkover novel I ever read (I picked it up in the bookstore on an American base, I only got it because i recognised her name from The Mists of Avalon and it was in the sci-fantasy section) and I liked it right away. Pretty standard plot stuff, cool telepathic aliens, the conflict between natives and between natives & earthpeople.
But. But. The main protagonist is, I guess in his late-20s/early-30s and the woman he eventually ends up with is described often as having a childlike quality (and not really developed body) and that doesn't sit well with me at all. Even though I've read Game of Thrones and other stuff so I know it's historically something that happened. It did make me uncomfortable knowing, as I didn't before, more about MZB.
So not a book I'll be reading again. Which makes me a bit sad.
And now a question: how do you reconcile your enjoyment of the art while knowing the artist does/did things that are illegal/you don't approve of? (think: Ender's Game and Orson Scott Card for example)
June 8, 2009
Up-front, I will say that this is, by far, the best of its kind that Bradley wrote. The "kind" I refer to is the "A red-headed Earthman in the service of the Terran Empire feels strangely drawn to Darkover and finds his destiny, including true love, on that strange planet" book. It's a familiar motif, and one which Bradley very deliberately followed; she said that "the essence of the Darkover novels" is "the clash of cultures between Terran and Darkover." Although I understand why she did this, some of her late 60s early 70s had a bit of sameness and predictablity to them.
Spoiler AlertI am going to give away the end, so skip the next paragrapgh if you don't want the ending spoiled.
Reading "Bloody Sun," however, even if you've read a number of her other works, you don't mind. It is cut enough from the cloth of the other books in this Bradley genre to be familiar, but it's just so damned well done you don't mind that you think you've read the story before and know the end before you open the book. It's the HOW that matters. The tale actually has an intesting twist in that the red headed Terran strangely drawn to Darkover -- Jeff Kerwin -- is actually a Darkovan shipped off planet to save his life who has grown up thinking he was Terran. Really interesting--others have called this book a "real jewel"--and I can't recommend it highly enough to those who love Darkover.
The thing that strikes me most about the book is that it's just so much better than the other Darkover books written in the mid 60s. I understand that she re-wrote this in 1979, and that may be the reason for it--that she was more skillful later.
I still generally think that Bradley's best works are the ones with women protagonists that more fully explore Darkover and put the Terrans in the background. But, that being said, I stick by my first comment--that this is, by far, the best of this class of Darkover novel.
Spoiler AlertI am going to give away the end, so skip the next paragrapgh if you don't want the ending spoiled.
Reading "Bloody Sun," however, even if you've read a number of her other works, you don't mind. It is cut enough from the cloth of the other books in this Bradley genre to be familiar, but it's just so damned well done you don't mind that you think you've read the story before and know the end before you open the book. It's the HOW that matters. The tale actually has an intesting twist in that the red headed Terran strangely drawn to Darkover -- Jeff Kerwin -- is actually a Darkovan shipped off planet to save his life who has grown up thinking he was Terran. Really interesting--others have called this book a "real jewel"--and I can't recommend it highly enough to those who love Darkover.
The thing that strikes me most about the book is that it's just so much better than the other Darkover books written in the mid 60s. I understand that she re-wrote this in 1979, and that may be the reason for it--that she was more skillful later.
I still generally think that Bradley's best works are the ones with women protagonists that more fully explore Darkover and put the Terrans in the background. But, that being said, I stick by my first comment--that this is, by far, the best of this class of Darkover novel.
December 28, 2015
This one started off really good, then sagged badly in the middle, at least for me. It picked up again at the end and there were some nice surprises with the climax. The basic plot concerns a man named Jeff Kerwin, who was born on Darkover and was left at age 4 in an orphanage there. Since official records listed him as half Terran and half Darkoven, he was eventually shipped to Earth and raised there for much of his life. He's been driven to return to Darkover, though, to discover his heritage. He finally makes it back to Darkover only to immediately encounter suspicion but also 'recognition' from the locals. A lot of twists and turns ensue before Kerwin finally discovers his past.
I think part of the problem with this story for me is that there isn't much physical action and adventure, although there is an interesting mystery at the core of it. What we end up with is a group of psychics trying to work together, and most of the conflict we have is because there is mistrust and jealousy within the group. I often find the description of psychic communications and "psi-war" phenomena to be vague and hard to visualize. I've read only a few other of Bradley's "Darkover" books but all of those had a lot more physical action. I prefer that.
I think part of the problem with this story for me is that there isn't much physical action and adventure, although there is an interesting mystery at the core of it. What we end up with is a group of psychics trying to work together, and most of the conflict we have is because there is mistrust and jealousy within the group. I often find the description of psychic communications and "psi-war" phenomena to be vague and hard to visualize. I've read only a few other of Bradley's "Darkover" books but all of those had a lot more physical action. I prefer that.
September 29, 2007
Darkover, with its catalyst stones, towers full of red-heads with psi powers, and its forgotten colonist history. Fascinating and mysterious, I loved the combination of space port and medieval city existing side by side, and to me, this is the best book in the series.
January 22, 2021
Storyline: 3/5
Characters: 3/5
Writing Style: 3/5
World: 3/5
This third in the series continues Bradley’s sprawling and tangentially connected universe of science fiction-fantasy stories set on the planet of Darkover. Originally The Bloody Sun had a similar page count to that of the last volume, The Sword of Aldones. This 1979 rewrite nearly doubled the original page count, making it considerably longer than the first two books combined. I wanted to read the 191-page first-printing but, unfortunately, was unable to locate a copy. It easy to imagine why it needed to be rewritten, however. The original version of The Sword of Aldones, which would also later be rewritten, was markedly deficient in the basic areas of organization and clarity and would not have been published in today’s market. Not having the original to compare to, I can only guess at the flaws of the first The Bloody Sun, but I can attest that it is a much cleaner narrative with a more full story than the version of Sword of Aldones which I read. The prologue, however, did cause me some discomfort. I have a strong suspicion that it was not part of the 1964 first edition and only added later. It reviews events which take place in The Forbidden Tower, which would be published as the eleventh in the series and eight years later.
As someone who enjoys reading series in the order in which they were written rather than some later-ordered internal chronology, this was a frustrating beginning to the book. This prologue, I think, also contains spoilers for The Forbidden Tower, which is the most famous book of the series and one which I have long looked forward to reading. It seems that this prologue was written just after Bradley had published The Forbidden Tower. Bradley was rewriting The Bloody Sun more for continuity and connections between books in the series than she was for the enjoyment of first-time readers. So, while she surely must have rewritten The Bloody Sun as a more full and polished novel, she also ended up tainting the readers’ experience of discovery and revelation for at least one of the books to come. My suggestion would be either to find the original 1964 version or to skip the prologue. The contents there were entirely unnecessary, and aside from any personal preferences about spoilers for The Forbidden Tower, it also reduces the mystery and pleasure of discovery in this very volume.
The story itself is satisfying for those who want to learn more about Darkover history, culture, relationships with Terrans, and especially the pseudoscience of matrix mechanics. It is, then, particularly good as a fantasy book, developing the world and “magical” system. Bradley also has some serious themes to integrate into the story, the virtues of a woman author and viewpoint evident in the telling. I particularly enjoyed the allegories to historical imperialism (or perhaps the dystopian foretelling of our future’s imperialism in space). In parts this reminded me a lot of Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Word for World is Forest, (published eight years later) at moments rivaling Le Guin for quality of writing, depth, and story crafting. For every part of the story that was excellent, however, there was a part that was awful for its being tawdry, shallow, or rushed - places that were downright embarrassing to read. I suspect that that this is additional evidence of this being a rewritten volume, Bradley having the chance to go back and fix so much but still limited by the original narrative.
Characters: 3/5
Writing Style: 3/5
World: 3/5
This third in the series continues Bradley’s sprawling and tangentially connected universe of science fiction-fantasy stories set on the planet of Darkover. Originally The Bloody Sun had a similar page count to that of the last volume, The Sword of Aldones. This 1979 rewrite nearly doubled the original page count, making it considerably longer than the first two books combined. I wanted to read the 191-page first-printing but, unfortunately, was unable to locate a copy. It easy to imagine why it needed to be rewritten, however. The original version of The Sword of Aldones, which would also later be rewritten, was markedly deficient in the basic areas of organization and clarity and would not have been published in today’s market. Not having the original to compare to, I can only guess at the flaws of the first The Bloody Sun, but I can attest that it is a much cleaner narrative with a more full story than the version of Sword of Aldones which I read. The prologue, however, did cause me some discomfort. I have a strong suspicion that it was not part of the 1964 first edition and only added later. It reviews events which take place in The Forbidden Tower, which would be published as the eleventh in the series and eight years later.
As someone who enjoys reading series in the order in which they were written rather than some later-ordered internal chronology, this was a frustrating beginning to the book. This prologue, I think, also contains spoilers for The Forbidden Tower, which is the most famous book of the series and one which I have long looked forward to reading. It seems that this prologue was written just after Bradley had published The Forbidden Tower. Bradley was rewriting The Bloody Sun more for continuity and connections between books in the series than she was for the enjoyment of first-time readers. So, while she surely must have rewritten The Bloody Sun as a more full and polished novel, she also ended up tainting the readers’ experience of discovery and revelation for at least one of the books to come. My suggestion would be either to find the original 1964 version or to skip the prologue. The contents there were entirely unnecessary, and aside from any personal preferences about spoilers for The Forbidden Tower, it also reduces the mystery and pleasure of discovery in this very volume.
The story itself is satisfying for those who want to learn more about Darkover history, culture, relationships with Terrans, and especially the pseudoscience of matrix mechanics. It is, then, particularly good as a fantasy book, developing the world and “magical” system. Bradley also has some serious themes to integrate into the story, the virtues of a woman author and viewpoint evident in the telling. I particularly enjoyed the allegories to historical imperialism (or perhaps the dystopian foretelling of our future’s imperialism in space). In parts this reminded me a lot of Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Word for World is Forest, (published eight years later) at moments rivaling Le Guin for quality of writing, depth, and story crafting. For every part of the story that was excellent, however, there was a part that was awful for its being tawdry, shallow, or rushed - places that were downright embarrassing to read. I suspect that that this is additional evidence of this being a rewritten volume, Bradley having the chance to go back and fix so much but still limited by the original narrative.
June 6, 2024
I've skipped the The Sword of Aldones as it was rewritten (as Sharra's Exile substantially to cohere with later novels and I don't want to read it twice so will pick it up in order second time around. The Bloody Sun was also revised in 1979 and it was hard enough to find a copy of it so I'm stuck with that edition making it tough to see exactly how Bradley's writing has advanced since The Planet Savers
I can say that I really liked this book significantly more than the first Darkover novella though. It's far more sophisticated both structurally and thematically and this clash of cultures, being the expanding conflict between the spacebound Terrans and the more magic-fantasy oriented society of Darkover is already starting to look like an important sci-fi/fantasy concept. I like how this narrative starts with the most almighty cliche, Jeff Kerwin is running around on Darkover looking for his missing past and answers to the question that is his magic stone, but somewhere along the line becomes an interpersonal social drama about telepathy, the role of women and whether a culture should submit to the demands of progress. Of course it's all quite fleeting, the book is short and written with a popular audience in mind, but you can see where Zimmer Bradley is going with all this. My big gripe, I guess, is that a lot of the relationships do feel forced and trivial and telepathy is used weirdly "I know everything about you because I'm a telepath" vs "I didn't realise that would upset you due to cultural differences". it comes across a little flippantly at times.
It's also intriguing to note the blurring of lines between Sci-fi and fantasy here. This isn't a sword and planet knock off but a deliberate attempt to setup two contrasting societies, and therefore two contrasting genres, alongside one another. Again, I'm not sure at this point that Bradley is entirely successful but the project is fascinating.
I can say that I really liked this book significantly more than the first Darkover novella though. It's far more sophisticated both structurally and thematically and this clash of cultures, being the expanding conflict between the spacebound Terrans and the more magic-fantasy oriented society of Darkover is already starting to look like an important sci-fi/fantasy concept. I like how this narrative starts with the most almighty cliche, Jeff Kerwin is running around on Darkover looking for his missing past and answers to the question that is his magic stone, but somewhere along the line becomes an interpersonal social drama about telepathy, the role of women and whether a culture should submit to the demands of progress. Of course it's all quite fleeting, the book is short and written with a popular audience in mind, but you can see where Zimmer Bradley is going with all this. My big gripe, I guess, is that a lot of the relationships do feel forced and trivial and telepathy is used weirdly "I know everything about you because I'm a telepath" vs "I didn't realise that would upset you due to cultural differences". it comes across a little flippantly at times.
It's also intriguing to note the blurring of lines between Sci-fi and fantasy here. This isn't a sword and planet knock off but a deliberate attempt to setup two contrasting societies, and therefore two contrasting genres, alongside one another. Again, I'm not sure at this point that Bradley is entirely successful but the project is fascinating.
Read
July 9, 2014I have both this edition and the later edition, which I'll review separately.
Here I'll just say that I haven't made a point-by-point comparison with the later edition, though I've read both. The experiment with the second person narration ('you did this' 'this happened to you') appears in both editions, but isn't sustained past the prologue. Probably it proved too hard to use throughout; it's a strainful conceit.
All things considered, I'd recommend this edition only AFTER you've read the later edition. I took it the other way, and it's a little disorienting that way. If you've read the later edition (and other books in the series), the early edition can be read as a 'cartoon' of the later edition; that is, a preliminary sketch. In that sense it's worth reading as a guide to the development of the writer and the series. Probably only worthwhile for serious students of the Darkover books, though.
Having read the first edition again, I can report in more detail on the differences between this edition and the later edition.
First, I don't know why this edition has a German summary on Goodreads. It's an English book throughout, and not a German translation.
Second, the addition of the Prologue to the later edition is really necessary to shoehorn the book into the series as a whole. Without it, the reader would be unable to figure out who Cleindori was, and would be unable to figure out who the father of her child was. Jeff Kerwin, Jr (as he was known for most of his life, even after he recognized his true parentage) was known to be the child of Cleindori Aillard: but his paternity was not as resolved as it had been thought. It's difficult in any edition to figure out what the relationships actually were, and what really happened.
This is relevant in this volume, but it remains relevant in later parts of the series. Cleindori left Arilinn with several people, probably members of her Circle. These included a woman named Cassilde (?Callista's daughter?), Arnad Ridenow (who would have been a cousin of Cleindori's), Jeff Kerwin, Sr, and three children: Damon (?Alton?), who later became known as Jeff Kerwin, Jr, and the twins, Auster and Ragan, both of whom were probably the sons of Jeff Kerwin, Sr.
Besides the addition of the prologue, the later edition is nearly twice as long. The additions are mostly subtle, as are the changes. Thus, in the earlier edition, Taniquel asks Kerwin if he's from the Hidden City (established in City of Sorcery to be a place for women only). In the later edition she supposes he must be from one of the remoter Towers--maybe Dalereuth.
There are also details added in other places in the later edition, to flesh out some of the things that were established in books written later, but earlier by internal chronology.
One point that's misread in books that were later by internal chronology (and often read later) is what claim Jeff Kerwin, Jr had on Armida. I'll deal with this in reviews of later books.
All in all, I'd say that my earlier understanding was correct: this edition of this book will probably be of more use to scholars who are interested in how the series was reenvisaged in the course of the author's career than for any other purpose. Plus the later edition includes the short story "To Keep The Oath" at the end. Even people who are determined to read the whole series would be better advised to read the later edition, at least at first.
Here I'll just say that I haven't made a point-by-point comparison with the later edition, though I've read both. The experiment with the second person narration ('you did this' 'this happened to you') appears in both editions, but isn't sustained past the prologue. Probably it proved too hard to use throughout; it's a strainful conceit.
All things considered, I'd recommend this edition only AFTER you've read the later edition. I took it the other way, and it's a little disorienting that way. If you've read the later edition (and other books in the series), the early edition can be read as a 'cartoon' of the later edition; that is, a preliminary sketch. In that sense it's worth reading as a guide to the development of the writer and the series. Probably only worthwhile for serious students of the Darkover books, though.
Having read the first edition again, I can report in more detail on the differences between this edition and the later edition.
First, I don't know why this edition has a German summary on Goodreads. It's an English book throughout, and not a German translation.
Second, the addition of the Prologue to the later edition is really necessary to shoehorn the book into the series as a whole. Without it, the reader would be unable to figure out who Cleindori was, and would be unable to figure out who the father of her child was. Jeff Kerwin, Jr (as he was known for most of his life, even after he recognized his true parentage) was known to be the child of Cleindori Aillard: but his paternity was not as resolved as it had been thought. It's difficult in any edition to figure out what the relationships actually were, and what really happened.
This is relevant in this volume, but it remains relevant in later parts of the series. Cleindori left Arilinn with several people, probably members of her Circle. These included a woman named Cassilde (?Callista's daughter?), Arnad Ridenow (who would have been a cousin of Cleindori's), Jeff Kerwin, Sr, and three children: Damon (?Alton?), who later became known as Jeff Kerwin, Jr, and the twins, Auster and Ragan, both of whom were probably the sons of Jeff Kerwin, Sr.
Besides the addition of the prologue, the later edition is nearly twice as long. The additions are mostly subtle, as are the changes. Thus, in the earlier edition, Taniquel asks Kerwin if he's from the Hidden City (established in City of Sorcery to be a place for women only). In the later edition she supposes he must be from one of the remoter Towers--maybe Dalereuth.
There are also details added in other places in the later edition, to flesh out some of the things that were established in books written later, but earlier by internal chronology.
One point that's misread in books that were later by internal chronology (and often read later) is what claim Jeff Kerwin, Jr had on Armida. I'll deal with this in reviews of later books.
All in all, I'd say that my earlier understanding was correct: this edition of this book will probably be of more use to scholars who are interested in how the series was reenvisaged in the course of the author's career than for any other purpose. Plus the later edition includes the short story "To Keep The Oath" at the end. Even people who are determined to read the whole series would be better advised to read the later edition, at least at first.
Read
January 17, 2011This later version of the 1964 original starts differing from the very beginning by the edition of a prologue containing a dispute between Damon Ridenow and Cleindori (about whether she should go to Arilinn to be trained as a Keeper in the old ways). This is one of the few points at which Cleindori appears as an actor, and gets a speaking part in her own life.
The rest of the story is told from the point of view of Cleindori's son, who has no conscious memory of his mother. A lot of things are explained, and quite a few others are obscured. The 'Magda' who appears must be Margali n'ha Ysabet--but she's a minor character, so it's hard to be sure. Who is Andres? How did Jeff Kerwin, sr get involved? Why was Lewis-Valdir Alton allowed to serve at Arilinn with his foster-sister, a practice that was formerly forbidden?
This edition also includes the short story "To Keep The Oath", which deals with the meeting between Kindra n'ha Mhari and Camilla n'ha Kyria. This story is probably in (at least) one of the short story collections), but it's worthwhile, if only because Kindra also doesn't often appear in person in these books--usually she's a shadowy ghost in people's stories about the past, and seems almost like a creature from a dream, without blood or bowels or breath. That makes this story a useful corrective.
I should point out that while the Comhi Letzii (often called Free Amazons) frequently say they do all manner of lawful work, they're rarely SHOWN doing anything but killing people. If they run bathhouses and inns, make saddles and break horses, make wine and grow crops, where are the stories showing THAT sort of thing? It's probably at least partly because they DO show the women about such ordinary tasks that the Free Amazon stories tend to be people's favorites.
The rest of the story is told from the point of view of Cleindori's son, who has no conscious memory of his mother. A lot of things are explained, and quite a few others are obscured. The 'Magda' who appears must be Margali n'ha Ysabet--but she's a minor character, so it's hard to be sure. Who is Andres? How did Jeff Kerwin, sr get involved? Why was Lewis-Valdir Alton allowed to serve at Arilinn with his foster-sister, a practice that was formerly forbidden?
This edition also includes the short story "To Keep The Oath", which deals with the meeting between Kindra n'ha Mhari and Camilla n'ha Kyria. This story is probably in (at least) one of the short story collections), but it's worthwhile, if only because Kindra also doesn't often appear in person in these books--usually she's a shadowy ghost in people's stories about the past, and seems almost like a creature from a dream, without blood or bowels or breath. That makes this story a useful corrective.
I should point out that while the Comhi Letzii (often called Free Amazons) frequently say they do all manner of lawful work, they're rarely SHOWN doing anything but killing people. If they run bathhouses and inns, make saddles and break horses, make wine and grow crops, where are the stories showing THAT sort of thing? It's probably at least partly because they DO show the women about such ordinary tasks that the Free Amazon stories tend to be people's favorites.
February 15, 2009
I think the early-80s rewrite of this novel is my favourite of the Darkover books, so this early version of the story will always hold a place in my heart. It's about Jeff Kerwin, a half-Terran half-Darkovan who grew up in an orphanage and was eventually sent to Terra to live with his father's parents. Now an adult, he gets himself posted to Darkover and immediately starts looking for traces of his past, only to encounter mystery and possible conspiracy at every turn. This book explores a lot of the concepts that become key in the more mature Darkover novels; life within the Towers, the debate over the enforced virginity of Keepers, the family-specific psychic gifts, and the possible paths open to mixed heritage children -- including a nice look at Kennard Alton as a relatively young man. As with the other Darkover novels from the 60s, the focus is more on Terran attempts to exploit Darkover than about the history and politics of Darkover itself; the reader seems clearly imagined as male & identifying with Kerwin's Terran mores (which are very much American 50s/60s ideas about gender, monogamy & so forth). Reading it really makes me want to skip ahead to the later books, which set up both the social conditions which lead to Jeff's parents' deaths, and show you what happens in the generations after he returns to Darkover.
August 9, 2019
Jeff Kerwin comes back to Darkover to find himself. He's torn between both the Terran Empire and Darkover and doesn't know where he belongs.
This is a story of Discovery, and along the way we meet both sides: the Com'yn and their telepathy (amongst other things), and the Terrans, and their greed for knowledge.
Slightly unhappy with Eloise's reaction when she falls for Jeff - essentially brain-washed into remaining a virgin if she wants to keep her Keeper skills (but the story actually offers other answers).
A good, easy read
NB: read this first in the 1980's, and several times since.
This is a story of Discovery, and along the way we meet both sides: the Com'yn and their telepathy (amongst other things), and the Terrans, and their greed for knowledge.
Slightly unhappy with Eloise's reaction when she falls for Jeff - essentially brain-washed into remaining a virgin if she wants to keep her Keeper skills (but the story actually offers other answers).
A good, easy read
NB: read this first in the 1980's, and several times since.
October 22, 2021
How many times can MZB describe Jeff Kerwin's eventual wife as "child-like"? Too many. Really grosses me out knowing her history. Otherwise the story was...okay. nothing special. Definitely dated.
February 6, 2021
This Darkover novel tells a complete story and could stand alone. It is, however, very much related to other books in the series. Personally, I would recommend reading The Forbidden Tower before this. (And before that The Spell Sword which has the same characters as TFT.) It is amazing to me how seamlessly TFT fits into the overall story given that it was written over a decade later than this book (TBS). (There are a few minor inconsistencies.) Then following TBS, are many books about Lew Alton, Kennard's half Terran heir who is never named in TBS.
This story teases the reader with some mysteries about Jeff and his mother and the whole Forbidden Tower episode. Another mystery is how Jeff is being led by as yet unknown forces. The answers to all these are complex.
I found Jeff hard to like. For one thing he is argumentative with a short temper. He is quick to strike out at those around him even after admitting to himself that they have all accepted him into a relationship as strong or stronger than family. My favorite stories are ones which focus on a heroic figure. I might say Jeff is not that. He has too many flaws and often puts himself first. Yet he does many brave things and definitely a significant part of the outcome.
In my opinion after reading almost all of the Darkover novels, some several times, MZB does a great job of world building. Before her death, she even responded to complaints of inconsistencies, but even with those, Darkover is a complex SFF world. Consistency is even more difficult given that the series was written over several decades and not in chronological order. Her earliest Darkover novels pick up fairly late in Darkover's history.
One of the most difficult aspects of the Darkover saga is keeping the Comyn families and characters straight. And each family has a special laran gift. But the families have intermarried and almost everyone is related to everyone else and the gifts too are spread around and intermingled. But it all makes sense.
Mature themes: while there are sexual relationships, none of that activity is described in much detail. There is a lot of violence include a massacre of women and children which is described although not in gory detail.
Note concerning horrific accusations against MZB: After following Darkover for decades and loving many of the stories, especially those about Lew Alton, I only heard about these crimes recently. In fact, they came out only years after she died. The crimes don't change the stories, although knowing about them lends light to some particulars in a few stories. (I will not try to give any details. Anyone not familiar with them can easily find articles about them.) My philosophy is this. I watch dozens of movies and TV shows starring people with values diametrically opposed to my own. I grow very attached to some of those characters. I have to compartmentalize my feelings for the characters apart from my feeling for the actors. I choose to look at this series in a similar way. I understand that profits from MZB's books are now going to organizations that fight those crimes which means I am not in any way contributing to the crimes themselves and in fact probably contributing to the opposite.
This story teases the reader with some mysteries about Jeff and his mother and the whole Forbidden Tower episode. Another mystery is how Jeff is being led by as yet unknown forces. The answers to all these are complex.
I found Jeff hard to like. For one thing he is argumentative with a short temper. He is quick to strike out at those around him even after admitting to himself that they have all accepted him into a relationship as strong or stronger than family. My favorite stories are ones which focus on a heroic figure. I might say Jeff is not that. He has too many flaws and often puts himself first. Yet he does many brave things and definitely a significant part of the outcome.
In my opinion after reading almost all of the Darkover novels, some several times, MZB does a great job of world building. Before her death, she even responded to complaints of inconsistencies, but even with those, Darkover is a complex SFF world. Consistency is even more difficult given that the series was written over several decades and not in chronological order. Her earliest Darkover novels pick up fairly late in Darkover's history.
One of the most difficult aspects of the Darkover saga is keeping the Comyn families and characters straight. And each family has a special laran gift. But the families have intermarried and almost everyone is related to everyone else and the gifts too are spread around and intermingled. But it all makes sense.
Mature themes: while there are sexual relationships, none of that activity is described in much detail. There is a lot of violence include a massacre of women and children which is described although not in gory detail.
Note concerning horrific accusations against MZB: After following Darkover for decades and loving many of the stories, especially those about Lew Alton, I only heard about these crimes recently. In fact, they came out only years after she died. The crimes don't change the stories, although knowing about them lends light to some particulars in a few stories. (I will not try to give any details. Anyone not familiar with them can easily find articles about them.) My philosophy is this. I watch dozens of movies and TV shows starring people with values diametrically opposed to my own. I grow very attached to some of those characters. I have to compartmentalize my feelings for the characters apart from my feeling for the actors. I choose to look at this series in a similar way. I understand that profits from MZB's books are now going to organizations that fight those crimes which means I am not in any way contributing to the crimes themselves and in fact probably contributing to the opposite.
May 4, 2023
I'm not sure I can truly explain how much of an absolute asshole the protagonist is. Possessive, jealous, bizarrely quick to anger (seriously, it's like in an instant, out of nowhere, he's yelling at rando desk worker #2), and really enthusiastic about some seriously misogynist insults. It was, on occasion, difficult to care what happened to him because he had to spend an entire night getting over how a woman might not be in love with him (seriously, fuck that noise). His complete rejection of actually learning the culture around him and proclaiming "Well I don't know why" reeeeeally gets grating. Buddy, do some research, ask people specific questions, and stop depending on that as a constant crutch.
All that being said, I found this book waaaaay more interesting than the previous two. Driving plot, interesting premise (person who doesn't remember, driven to find out). The characters were interesting overall. And I'm not totally opposed to an unsympathetic or rude or cruel protagonist, but I get frustrated when that protagonist is presented as being correct, being the hero, being totally reasonable. I get the feeling that Bradley assumed that readers would be like, yes, you do get to yell at randos and call your love interest cruel insults when she isn't exactly who you thought, but instead operates in a system you haven't bothered to learn about before stomping all over. That's the thing that bothers me. No. No you don't get to be a possessive, aggressive asshat and still have me rooting for you.
Additionally, the audiobook reader clearly wanted to be performing a play, and while his accent and voices are very good, his volume is *extremely* variable, such that finding a comfortable and consistent volume was pretty difficult.
One major issue I had, and this is going to reference some ugly, triggering stuff from Bradley's personal life, is that at least a couple times, a female love interest is described as childlike, or having a feature like a baby, etc. That would be off-putting on its own, but knowing about the allegations against Bradley and the convictions against her husband related to child sexual abuse, it's a little stomach-turning. It really pulled me out of those scenes in disgust.
All that being said, I found this book waaaaay more interesting than the previous two. Driving plot, interesting premise (person who doesn't remember, driven to find out). The characters were interesting overall. And I'm not totally opposed to an unsympathetic or rude or cruel protagonist, but I get frustrated when that protagonist is presented as being correct, being the hero, being totally reasonable. I get the feeling that Bradley assumed that readers would be like, yes, you do get to yell at randos and call your love interest cruel insults when she isn't exactly who you thought, but instead operates in a system you haven't bothered to learn about before stomping all over. That's the thing that bothers me. No. No you don't get to be a possessive, aggressive asshat and still have me rooting for you.
Additionally, the audiobook reader clearly wanted to be performing a play, and while his accent and voices are very good, his volume is *extremely* variable, such that finding a comfortable and consistent volume was pretty difficult.
One major issue I had, and this is going to reference some ugly, triggering stuff from Bradley's personal life, is that at least a couple times, a female love interest is described as childlike, or having a feature like a baby, etc. That would be off-putting on its own, but knowing about the allegations against Bradley and the convictions against her husband related to child sexual abuse, it's a little stomach-turning. It really pulled me out of those scenes in disgust.
January 4, 2026
This story is the ending of what started in the Forbidden Tower. Throughout you wonder exactly who Jefferson Kerwin Jr. is and why does he seem to fit into Darkovan life but is a Terran. This story was one of the early ones in the relationship between Terra and Darkover. When you read them in chronological order you really need to overlook some things that would make more sense reading them in publication order. I have read them both ways in the past and now rereading them, I realize how much I had forgotten.
Jeff finds himself back on Darkover after being raised on Earthy with his grandparents for many years. He has a matrix and really doesn’t know what it is used for and why he cannot seem to be away from it. He wants to find out about his parents but every time he tries, he fits a brick wall. Finally, when he is told that he will be deported from Darkover, he escapes the Terran HQ territory and ends up in the Tower of Arilinn and is accepted as one of the Comyn.
But there is a lot of political intrigue because Darkover is not begging to be one of the Empire’s territories. There is a faction that wants to keep the Towers like they were in the past and resent the changes to the fact that Keepers do not have to be virgins. This story keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering who is hiding what and who is really keeping the truth.
Jeff finds himself back on Darkover after being raised on Earthy with his grandparents for many years. He has a matrix and really doesn’t know what it is used for and why he cannot seem to be away from it. He wants to find out about his parents but every time he tries, he fits a brick wall. Finally, when he is told that he will be deported from Darkover, he escapes the Terran HQ territory and ends up in the Tower of Arilinn and is accepted as one of the Comyn.
But there is a lot of political intrigue because Darkover is not begging to be one of the Empire’s territories. There is a faction that wants to keep the Towers like they were in the past and resent the changes to the fact that Keepers do not have to be virgins. This story keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering who is hiding what and who is really keeping the truth.
March 31, 2021
Okay, done with Darkover for awhile. This is probably a 2.5 star, but everything here has been done better in other books. Jeff is a bland protagonist, his struggle was done better in Star of Danger. Darkover mystery was done better in the first book of this trilogy: The Spell Sword. It has shitty romance and crap space politics like its predessesor: The Forbidden Tower. Honestly, it's not bad, but it wears out its welcome way too quickly.
I've now read most of Bradley's Darkover output from the 1960s and 1970s, and I think it's fine. My favorite is still the first one I read: The Planet Savers.
I've now read most of Bradley's Darkover output from the 1960s and 1970s, and I think it's fine. My favorite is still the first one I read: The Planet Savers.
November 20, 2025
Marion Zimmer Bradley, and her literary work, must be viewed through two, often competing, lenses.
First, she was writing stories with strong, relatable female protagonists battling male oppression at a time when very few other authors were prepared to do so. Many modern readers cannot conceive of a time when women were not allowed to have a credit card in their own name, which was but one of the policies Bradley was dealing with in her time. She was a feminist long before it became fashionable. She was one of a very few voices that spoke powerfully to young women about their own worth. Much of her writing, read today, can be seen as trite, obvious, or overbearing, but it must be remembered that it was none of those things at the time it was written. This was a woman who co-founded, and named, the Society for Creative Anachronism, who championed pagan rights when the mainstream saw them as satanic, and who encouraged and published unknown female authors like Mercedes Lackey. Viewed through this lens, Bradley was a progressive woman to be lauded, as she was, posthumously, when she received the World Fantasy Award for lifetime achievement in 2000.
Second, and hideously, Bradley was a pedophile, who molested her own children. She also procured and groomed children for her husband, Walter Breen, to assault. She admitted to knowing what he was doing to these children, but refused to stop helping him, much less report him or interfere with his desires. Her own daughter was her accuser, so we can be assured this is not a "he said, she said" situation. Viewed through this lens, then, her life and work become irredeemably tainted.
We are, perhaps, used to evaluating art for art's sake, commenting on Ender's Game, or Harry Potter, as though their authors' views, hateful as they are, should not condemn the output of their minds and hands. Perhaps we are right to do so; after all, these views are only beliefs and words, no matter how widespread a bully pulpit their famous speakers are able to command. However, when beliefs and words turn into actions, we must draw the line. Since 2014, when definitive proof finally came to light, I have found myself unable to recommend anything written by Marion Zimmer Bradley. I remain so appalled by her actions that I can never give more than one star to anything she has written, no matter how groundbreaking, how heartfelt, how astounding it may be. I urge everyone reading this to join me in boycotting her work forever.
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* (extremely rare) There is something very wrong with this book &/or this author; never again.
** (seldom) Has flaws, or I just couldn’t get into it; no thanks.
*** (usual) Not great, not bad; no need to return to it.
**** (often) Better than average; I’d read it again.
***** (rare) A superb example of the genre, &/or an incredible piece of art; I re-read it often.
First, she was writing stories with strong, relatable female protagonists battling male oppression at a time when very few other authors were prepared to do so. Many modern readers cannot conceive of a time when women were not allowed to have a credit card in their own name, which was but one of the policies Bradley was dealing with in her time. She was a feminist long before it became fashionable. She was one of a very few voices that spoke powerfully to young women about their own worth. Much of her writing, read today, can be seen as trite, obvious, or overbearing, but it must be remembered that it was none of those things at the time it was written. This was a woman who co-founded, and named, the Society for Creative Anachronism, who championed pagan rights when the mainstream saw them as satanic, and who encouraged and published unknown female authors like Mercedes Lackey. Viewed through this lens, Bradley was a progressive woman to be lauded, as she was, posthumously, when she received the World Fantasy Award for lifetime achievement in 2000.
Second, and hideously, Bradley was a pedophile, who molested her own children. She also procured and groomed children for her husband, Walter Breen, to assault. She admitted to knowing what he was doing to these children, but refused to stop helping him, much less report him or interfere with his desires. Her own daughter was her accuser, so we can be assured this is not a "he said, she said" situation. Viewed through this lens, then, her life and work become irredeemably tainted.
We are, perhaps, used to evaluating art for art's sake, commenting on Ender's Game, or Harry Potter, as though their authors' views, hateful as they are, should not condemn the output of their minds and hands. Perhaps we are right to do so; after all, these views are only beliefs and words, no matter how widespread a bully pulpit their famous speakers are able to command. However, when beliefs and words turn into actions, we must draw the line. Since 2014, when definitive proof finally came to light, I have found myself unable to recommend anything written by Marion Zimmer Bradley. I remain so appalled by her actions that I can never give more than one star to anything she has written, no matter how groundbreaking, how heartfelt, how astounding it may be. I urge everyone reading this to join me in boycotting her work forever.
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* (extremely rare) There is something very wrong with this book &/or this author; never again.
** (seldom) Has flaws, or I just couldn’t get into it; no thanks.
*** (usual) Not great, not bad; no need to return to it.
**** (often) Better than average; I’d read it again.
***** (rare) A superb example of the genre, &/or an incredible piece of art; I re-read it often.
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January 7, 2026I believe I grabbed this off of some kind of used bookstore because I thought it would be representative of the era . It was representative of the era: a piece of garbage hippie claptrap trying to build a world around it. Character development maybe got to two microns from the one micron era of the typical book. Loads of sexist tropes and predictable crap.
If I have read 51% of a book I'm willing to put it on goodreads. I got to about 53%. I was also trying to see if there were some older books that might be worthy of inclusion for the science fiction book review podcast must read series and this is not it Luke Burrage.
If I have read 51% of a book I'm willing to put it on goodreads. I got to about 53%. I was also trying to see if there were some older books that might be worthy of inclusion for the science fiction book review podcast must read series and this is not it Luke Burrage.
July 3, 2017
Este libro me ha encantado, ya que en cada capítulo aparecen nuevos elementos que enriquecen considerablemente la trama. En concreto, lo que más me ha llamado la atención es esa mezcla magistral que la autora crea entre ciencia-ficción y fantasía, representada por las sociedades "terrana" y "darkovana", respectivamente. Otro aspecto destacable, es que a la par de explicarse el panorama social que conforma el telón de fondo del relato, se detalla mucho las vivencias de cada uno de los protagonistas. Bonito libro de inicio a fin. Lo recomiendo sin lugar a dudas.
October 19, 2019
Most complete and complex of early DO books. Another young man arrives from Terra, this one wants to solve the mystery of his origins on the planet. In an archetypal pattern the story itself makes fun of, he discovers he is the long-lost son of a rebellious Keeper. Joins a circle of telepaths attempting to re-employ ancient DO matrix technology to mine scarce metals. (Completes sequence of Spell Sword and Forbidden Tower.
November 11, 2025
The mystery of this Darkover story was my favorite so far, and the reveal was worth the wait. But the love story angle and twist was a little abrupt. All in all I enjoyed the journey this story took. And I loved how sarcastic Jeff Kerwin was as a character, nice change of pace from the other Darkover books I’ve read so far!
January 31, 2022
OMG!!! la Guardiana della Torre di Arilinn non è più vergine!! OMG!!
vabbe, tanto so già che continuerò a leggere di Darkover anche se le trame sono traballanti, la scrittura mediocre e i personaggi neanche lontanamente credibili
vabbe, tanto so già che continuerò a leggere di Darkover anche se le trame sono traballanti, la scrittura mediocre e i personaggi neanche lontanamente credibili
August 20, 2024
La mitad del libro ese interesante y entretenido, analiza como una socidad "primitiva" se obstina en no ceder ante la "civilizacion" luchando por conservar sus tradiciones. Pero la segunda parte Zimmer vuele a su feminismo y amazonas..... y se torna panfletario y doctrinario....
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