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Diadem #2
Lamarchos
Savage barbarians enslave Aleytys, the wearer of the Diadem, as she sails the stars in her quest to find her truth and her history in this science fiction adventure.
The second book in author Jo Clayton’s phenomenal Diadem science fiction space opera series continues the adventures of Aleytys, blessed and cursed by an alien power that has both marked and altered her, as she crosses the galaxy on an epic fantasy quest that rivals anything imagined by Andre Norton or C. J. Cherryh.
When she donned the Diadem, Aleytys was changed forever. An artifact of tremendous power, it has given her psychic abilities beyond her comprehension or complete control, while making her a target of the distant, dangerous alien race that created it. However, survival for herself and her infant son is Aleytys’s first priority as she searches for a home and a history. Her quest has brought her to the barbarous planet Lamarchos, where she intends to aid her companions—the thief Miks Stavver, the native Kale, and the psychotic criminal mastermind Maissa—in the theft of a valuable cache of powerful poaku stones.
Moving across the perilous alien landscape in the guise of a mystical healer, Aleytys cannot help but attract the attention of the local gods, who expect her to do their bidding. But neither godly intervention nor the Diadem’s awesome power can prevent the treacherous betrayal that will leave Aleytys stranded on this wild and dangerous planet—or save her from capture by the terrible zombie-like horde bringing chaos and horror to their world.
Ingeniously melding science fiction space opera with fantastic invention, alien worlds and technologies with epic quest adventure, Clayton has created a unique universe of wonders and terrors. With her extraordinary Diadem Saga, she joins such acclaimed masters as Anne McCaffrey, Mercedes Lackey, and Marion Zimmer Bradley in the pantheon of speculative fiction’s most revered science fantasists.
The second book in author Jo Clayton’s phenomenal Diadem science fiction space opera series continues the adventures of Aleytys, blessed and cursed by an alien power that has both marked and altered her, as she crosses the galaxy on an epic fantasy quest that rivals anything imagined by Andre Norton or C. J. Cherryh.
When she donned the Diadem, Aleytys was changed forever. An artifact of tremendous power, it has given her psychic abilities beyond her comprehension or complete control, while making her a target of the distant, dangerous alien race that created it. However, survival for herself and her infant son is Aleytys’s first priority as she searches for a home and a history. Her quest has brought her to the barbarous planet Lamarchos, where she intends to aid her companions—the thief Miks Stavver, the native Kale, and the psychotic criminal mastermind Maissa—in the theft of a valuable cache of powerful poaku stones.
Moving across the perilous alien landscape in the guise of a mystical healer, Aleytys cannot help but attract the attention of the local gods, who expect her to do their bidding. But neither godly intervention nor the Diadem’s awesome power can prevent the treacherous betrayal that will leave Aleytys stranded on this wild and dangerous planet—or save her from capture by the terrible zombie-like horde bringing chaos and horror to their world.
Ingeniously melding science fiction space opera with fantastic invention, alien worlds and technologies with epic quest adventure, Clayton has created a unique universe of wonders and terrors. With her extraordinary Diadem Saga, she joins such acclaimed masters as Anne McCaffrey, Mercedes Lackey, and Marion Zimmer Bradley in the pantheon of speculative fiction’s most revered science fantasists.
318 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1978
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170 people want to read
About the author
Jo Clayton
71 books66 followersJo Clayton, whose parents named her after Jo in Little Women, was born and raised in Modesto, California. She and her three sisters shared a room and took turns telling each other bedtime stories. One of her sisters noted that Jo's stories were the best, and often contained science fiction and fantasy elements.
Clayton graduated from the University of California in 1963, Summa Cum Laude, and started teaching near Los Angeles.
In 1969, after a religious experience, she moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, joining the teaching order Sisters of Mount Carmel as a novice. She left three years later, before taking final orders.
During her time in New Orleans, Clayton sold sketches and paintings in Pioneer Square to supplement her income.
After being robbed several times, Clayton moved to Portland, Oregon in 1983. She remained there for the rest of her life.
Clayton was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 1996. Jo continued to write during her year and a half in the hospital. She finished Drum Calls, the second book of the Drums of Chaos series, and was halfway through the third and final book when she lost her struggle with multiple myeloma in February, 1998.
Literary executor Katherine Kerr made arrangements with established author Kevin Andrew Murphy to finish the third book of the Drums of Chaos series. It is now completed.
Clayton graduated from the University of California in 1963, Summa Cum Laude, and started teaching near Los Angeles.
In 1969, after a religious experience, she moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, joining the teaching order Sisters of Mount Carmel as a novice. She left three years later, before taking final orders.
During her time in New Orleans, Clayton sold sketches and paintings in Pioneer Square to supplement her income.
After being robbed several times, Clayton moved to Portland, Oregon in 1983. She remained there for the rest of her life.
Clayton was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 1996. Jo continued to write during her year and a half in the hospital. She finished Drum Calls, the second book of the Drums of Chaos series, and was halfway through the third and final book when she lost her struggle with multiple myeloma in February, 1998.
Literary executor Katherine Kerr made arrangements with established author Kevin Andrew Murphy to finish the third book of the Drums of Chaos series. It is now completed.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 9, 2016
I'm glad I embarked on this somewhat arbitrary quest to read books with early Michael Whelan artwork on them because I have been finding some real gems, one of which is this series. Aleytys is a young woman who has bonded with an alien diadem that endows her with psionic powers she doesn't yet understand. Searching for her mother's home planet, she finds herself thrown in with a band of thieves on Lamarchos, where she becomes a kind of missionary for the world's "spirits." This book ends, as did the first, with a clear continuation into the next volume, and I certainly intend to keep reading.
February 25, 2018
Again, this second book in the series is a weird mixture of fantasy and science fiction, leaning more towards the fantasy side. The plot is set on a different planet and we have the space thing at the beginning and the end, but the main part of the story is pure fantasy. I liked this more than the first as there was more action, particularly in the second half. There are small irritations around naming and also the unreal behaviour of Aleytys’ baby! He certainly never seems to cause any issues for his mother, or the plot!. So, an OK book. I may read #03 if I run out of other books as it is available as an ebook from the local library service.
April 14, 2020
70s be buggin' is all.
September 29, 2020
One of many books in a series (I think it is the second). I was reading the paperback version and left the book on a plane where it was lost to someone else. I had to buy a replacement copy (received the digital version for free) so I was able to finish this book and continue with the series.
The back cover of this book says it can be read as a stand alone story, but the content of this book should be completed to understand the rest of the series.
The back cover of this book says it can be read as a stand alone story, but the content of this book should be completed to understand the rest of the series.
April 27, 2025
It was a fun change to read a more classic style sci fi like this. Nice short book with interesting world building building and character development all the same. Also an interesting look into some feminism of the time - very practical haha
August 31, 2021
Continuation of book 1. Eh.
March 27, 2020
Clayton continues her quest to create an Andrew-Nortonish universe where sex actually exists, and which is far more brutal than anything Norton had ever dreamed up.
Well, there are differences: in this, second volume, Clayton shows some growth as a writer. A lot of purpleness of the prose has been toned down, and there is credible dialogue and even snippets of witty repartee. On the other hand, the plot is rather pedestrian, and the heroine still sleeps with pretty much any male that she spends more than several hours around, and is raped once again, with apparently not much in the way of psychological effect on her. Her sexuality may appear quite liberating, but there is not a hint of queerness on any planet's horizon--at least, not yet.
A lot of it is still swords-and-sorcery, or perhaps, considering the level of violence at several points, an early precursor to grimdark in space. Aleytys develops a bit more agency than in the first volume of the series, but the ending is a cliffhanger with (from her point of view) disastrous consequences.
Yet here I am, reviewing it and actually having started on the third book in the series already. Brutal mind-candy, yet I would like now to find out how all this ends, not to mention to learn something about the history of this particularly unpleasant collection of planets. And one can only hope that the tone will move away from fantasy and towards more "scientifictional" feel.
Well, there are differences: in this, second volume, Clayton shows some growth as a writer. A lot of purpleness of the prose has been toned down, and there is credible dialogue and even snippets of witty repartee. On the other hand, the plot is rather pedestrian, and the heroine still sleeps with pretty much any male that she spends more than several hours around, and is raped once again, with apparently not much in the way of psychological effect on her. Her sexuality may appear quite liberating, but there is not a hint of queerness on any planet's horizon--at least, not yet.
A lot of it is still swords-and-sorcery, or perhaps, considering the level of violence at several points, an early precursor to grimdark in space. Aleytys develops a bit more agency than in the first volume of the series, but the ending is a cliffhanger with (from her point of view) disastrous consequences.
Yet here I am, reviewing it and actually having started on the third book in the series already. Brutal mind-candy, yet I would like now to find out how all this ends, not to mention to learn something about the history of this particularly unpleasant collection of planets. And one can only hope that the tone will move away from fantasy and towards more "scientifictional" feel.
July 11, 2015
I'm very found of Jo Clayton and read a lot of the Diadem novels way back. This is one I never finished and it's happened again. I think it is Jo's second novel. The writing is solid but little happens and goals are fuzzy. I may pick up a later one in the series at some point but I can see why I didn't finish this one years ago.
November 6, 2014
1989 grade C
A Diadem novel
A Diadem novel
April 29, 2017
Well that was depressing. Less a story than a series of horrific things done to women.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews