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In dunklen Tiefen: Das Weltraumtor / Sie kamen von den Sternen
Das Weltraumtor ist Bradleys 1961 erster veröffentlichter SF-Roman und gleichzeitig der eigentliche Ursprung des berühmten Darkover-Zyklus der offiziell 1972 mit Landung auf Darkover begann. Das Weltraumtor erzählt vom Wüstenplaneten Wolf, der zum terranischen Imperium gehört. Der Terraner Chargill war gemeinsam mit dem menschlichen Wolfbewohner Rakhal für den terranischen Geheimdienst tätig, bis sie sich in einem Streit fast gegenseitig töteten. Sechs Jahre danach will der untergetauchte Chargill den Planeten verlassen, als seine Schwester -- Rakhals Frau -- auftaucht und ihn um Hilfe bittet. Allein begibt er sich wieder in die Trockenstädte, wo er auf eine planetenweite Verschwörung der Nichtmenschen stößt, die mit ihrer Technik das terranische Imperium aus den Angeln heben können.
Schnell und faszinierend schildert Bradley das erbarmungslose Leben auf Wolf, dessen Bewohner an die Fremen des Wüstenplaneten erinnern. So manche Einzelheit dieser Geschichte taucht später in den Büchern des Darkover-Zyklus wieder auf.
Das zweite Buch des Doppelbandes heißt Erde -- der verbotene Planet, dessen Übersetzung insgesamt etwas lieblos wirkt. Die Geschichte um eine Gruppe auf der Erde gestrandeter Kolonisten aus der dvanethianischen Föderation hat nichts mit dem Darkover-Universum zu tun und dreht sich um das bekannte Thema "Notgelandete suchen einen Weg nach Hause". Kompliziert werden ihre Bemühungen durch die Rhu'inn, geheimnisvolle Wesen einer anderen Dimension, die schon lange versuchen, die Föderation zu unterwandern, indem sie Menschen für ihre Zwecke manipulieren. Im Wettlauf mit der Zeit suchen sie einen Schutz gegen die drohende Invasion der Rhu'inn, die den Planeten zum Sperrgebiet auf alle Zeiten machen würde.
Für alle, die Marion Zimmer Bradley etwa mit Nebel von Avalon oder anderen Fantasytiteln kennengelernt haben und nun auch SF-Werke von ihr probieren wollen oder den Ursprung des Darkover-Zyklus suchen, ist In dunklen Tiefen der richtige Einstieg. Klassisch und erzählerisch und trotz des Genre-Crossovers ganz Bradley! --Wolfgang Tress
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First published January 1, 1961
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About the author
Marion Zimmer Bradley
801 books4,893 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 103 reviews
June 21, 2023
2.3⭐ Old-ish style science fiction/fantasy, where spaceships and swords co-exist comfortably. If I'd read this back in the day ( mid 60's) I would have liked it just fine, with it's secret agents, creepy aliens and hints of debauched sexuality ( drug fuelled religious orgies and barely clad wanton women, with thinly disguised bdsm thrown in for good measure). But I want more these days, like an interesting plot with belivable characters and a setting that was more than an updated Barsoom. I know that Bradley is considered a feminist writer, but I didn't see signs of it in this book, where women characters willingly wear fetters as a symbol of submission. Just weird. -30-
March 7, 2011
I read this originally as a teen, when I first discovered MZB and read everything of hers I could get my hands on. I still think that The Mists of Avalon is one of the best books I've ever read, and I still love everything Darkover, but I have to say that upon re-reading this it really fell flat for me.
I see what others (and the introduction by Elisabeth Waters) are saying, in that you can see parts of the Darkover-that-is-to-come in this, her first ever novel. And of course, since I'd read this before and vaguely remembered the plot, none of it was really a surprise. Actually, I was going to give this 3 stars for the re-read, just for old times sake until getting to the very last paragraph of the book.
This left me firmly disgusted, that our 'hero' as it were, upon for the first time ever discovering love, decides that he now understands the custom of chaining the women of the Shainsa - but even worse, that he is going to act on this feeling, and as soon as possible. And 'his love' that he refers to is a woman who deliberately chose to cast off her chains and leave the Shainsa - this is who he is going to chain up again, all in the name of love? What a selfish bastard! If MZB had just left off the very last sentence, I could have dealt with that, more as a declaration of love and cultural awareness, not liked it, but dealt with it. But to act on it? Ugh! I know it was written in 1961, and probably for a male audience, but no. Just NO.
I see what others (and the introduction by Elisabeth Waters) are saying, in that you can see parts of the Darkover-that-is-to-come in this, her first ever novel. And of course, since I'd read this before and vaguely remembered the plot, none of it was really a surprise. Actually, I was going to give this 3 stars for the re-read, just for old times sake until getting to the very last paragraph of the book.
I looked at Miellyn, took her slender unmanacled hand in mine, and smiled as we walked through the gates of the city. Now, after all my years on Wolf, I understood the desire to keep their women under lock and key that was its ancient custom. I vowed to myself as we went that I should waste no time finding a fetter shop and having forged therein the perfect steel chains that should bind my love's wrists to my key forever.
This left me firmly disgusted, that our 'hero' as it were, upon for the first time ever discovering love, decides that he now understands the custom of chaining the women of the Shainsa - but even worse, that he is going to act on this feeling, and as soon as possible. And 'his love' that he refers to is a woman who deliberately chose to cast off her chains and leave the Shainsa - this is who he is going to chain up again, all in the name of love? What a selfish bastard! If MZB had just left off the very last sentence, I could have dealt with that, more as a declaration of love and cultural awareness, not liked it, but dealt with it. But to act on it? Ugh! I know it was written in 1961, and probably for a male audience, but no. Just NO.
November 26, 2022
Actually 3.5 rounded up.
It's space opera, sort of planet-leave version, and you get pretty much what you expect. The science is basically magic, the plot has crater-sized holes, the characters skip from adventure to adventure without ever posing to think about their actions or about anything else, and they act in incomprehensbile ways.
All par for the course, but it's also a jolly good caper.
P.S.
One thing that disappointed me was that the female characters. It's not only that they are nothing more than animate plot devices - the male ones are not much more as well - but rather that they have no real agency. This is par for the course but from a reputed female feminist writer I expected a bit more. But then - 1961 was a really long time ago.
It's space opera, sort of planet-leave version, and you get pretty much what you expect. The science is basically magic, the plot has crater-sized holes, the characters skip from adventure to adventure without ever posing to think about their actions or about anything else, and they act in incomprehensbile ways.
All par for the course, but it's also a jolly good caper.
P.S.
One thing that disappointed me was that the female characters. It's not only that they are nothing more than animate plot devices - the male ones are not much more as well - but rather that they have no real agency. This is par for the course but from a reputed female feminist writer I expected a bit more. But then - 1961 was a really long time ago.
March 20, 2009
I read the kindle version of this book on my iPhone. This was Marion Zimmer Bradley's first book, and it shows a great deal of first book wobblies. For a Science Fiction book, it is remarkable not science fiction in essence. Sure, spaceships are spaceports and other trappings of scifi are there, but she could have very easy left them all out (substituting more conventional things instead) and still had exactly the same story! The main character was someone this reader found impossible to like - probably because he was an old-fashioned cardboard-cutout white-hatted old-school male of the big muscles he-man variety, whose treatment of the various women in the book was entirely too rough, sexual, and casual. This is odd, since the reason I love Marion Zimmer Bradley's other books in the first place is because of her wonderful portrayals of women who are stuck in societies where they are oppressed and who nevertheless find ways of being their true selves. The entire story takes place on a planet named "Wolf" which is very similar to her world of "Darkover," which I love. Many elements of Darkover are present - the Dry Towners, the odd mix of human/alien creatures and cultures, the mind powers possessed by some, remnants of ancient technologies mixed into a fairly primitive agricultural society. But the parts I loved best about Darkover are not present here.
December 28, 2018
This book was Marion Zimmer Bradley's first published novel. Although this is a standalone novel many of the ideas in this book will appear in her later works. This book was a great read and I can see why Marion Zimmer Bradley became one of the top writers of science fiction and fantasy.
In this one Race Cargill is a Terran intelligence agent who has been stuck behind a desk because of a bitter dispute with another agent who has "gone native". When Cargill's sister comes to Race because her husband, the former friend and agent who maimed Cargill, has apparently threatened her and her daughter, Cargill goes back into the field instead of leaving the planet for good. He faces many challenges including several different races of aliens who don't like humans and would like nothing more than to see mankind leave their planet.
This book is classic pulp science fiction. It is well-written and has a vivid and interesting world. The technology mentioned in this book has held up well over time with a few notable exceptions, such as the mention of vacuum tubes as trade goods. I recommend this book to readers who want to read older science fiction.
In this one Race Cargill is a Terran intelligence agent who has been stuck behind a desk because of a bitter dispute with another agent who has "gone native". When Cargill's sister comes to Race because her husband, the former friend and agent who maimed Cargill, has apparently threatened her and her daughter, Cargill goes back into the field instead of leaving the planet for good. He faces many challenges including several different races of aliens who don't like humans and would like nothing more than to see mankind leave their planet.
This book is classic pulp science fiction. It is well-written and has a vivid and interesting world. The technology mentioned in this book has held up well over time with a few notable exceptions, such as the mention of vacuum tubes as trade goods. I recommend this book to readers who want to read older science fiction.
December 2, 2020
5/10 en 2012.
Novelita de 200 pags del 65 de esta autora bastante apreciada por mí.
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" en total.
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 (bueno, esta sí).
Novelita de 200 pags del 65 de esta autora bastante apreciada por mí.
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" en total.
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 (bueno, esta sí).
January 31, 2022
A Golden Age book which, unfortunately, demonstrates all the worst tropes of science fiction at that time. This may have been a gem in its day, now not so much so. Too long to get to the point, revelations which aren't revelatory, characters working too hard to be 2.01 dimensional (forget about 3), the flawed hero finding redemption in the guise of self-acceptance and a loving partner, oy!
(reread Jan 2022)
I read this about eighteen months ago and gave it a one star rating. I read it again and might give it a higher rating but not much so. Still tropish. Bradley does some interesting turns technique-wise. The plot is still flawed although there are some fascinating concepts along the way. I'm not sure you'd find a woman writing this story today; too much chauvinism and such.
I did get more out of it in the second read, though, at least from a style and technique perspective, so the time was well spent (always happy when I'm learning something new).
(reread Jan 2022)
I read this about eighteen months ago and gave it a one star rating. I read it again and might give it a higher rating but not much so. Still tropish. Bradley does some interesting turns technique-wise. The plot is still flawed although there are some fascinating concepts along the way. I'm not sure you'd find a woman writing this story today; too much chauvinism and such.
I did get more out of it in the second read, though, at least from a style and technique perspective, so the time was well spent (always happy when I'm learning something new).
January 30, 2024
very great and awesome that cargill consistently refers to his love interests as 'kid', 'child', etc. talks about her ''artless way of showing her curves''. oops, tore off the secret symbols that conveniently cover her breasts so she's exposed (and embarrassed by it!!). the whole thing with the fetters was really extremely weird but weirdest of all was his insistence that they're a degradation (and miellyn literally enjoying not being chained, explicitly casting them off and escaping!!) but the seconddddddddd he gets m in his bitchass clutches he's like 'oh yeah this is hot :) i want you chained forever and i understand the possessiveness'. URGH. i know this was written in the 60s but come ON man! the weird, like, bdsm thing, the really unrepentant objectification (again, 60s, don't care-- how it is that EVERY woman is tiny, birdlike, unreasonably beautiful, strong only in terms of seduction??), the Tough Guy thing does NOT work for me. makes my stomach turn genuinely. the world building was done fairly well in a short amount of time, though, so i'll rate it 2 stars
EDIT: hold on jesus christ. i went into this book completely blind and didn't even realize the author is a woman, which makes it even weirder imo. girl what is up why are you doing that
EDIT THE SECOND: well. her wikipedia explains my first sentence. really horrifying, wish i could rate this zero stars
EDIT: hold on jesus christ. i went into this book completely blind and didn't even realize the author is a woman, which makes it even weirder imo. girl what is up why are you doing that
EDIT THE SECOND: well. her wikipedia explains my first sentence. really horrifying, wish i could rate this zero stars
September 3, 2013
I sped away from the starting line without even hearing the opening shot. This left me in an unfamiliar place causing me to retreat and start again. In the author’s forwarding statement, she stated that this literary attempt was in someway based on science rather than just fiction. Reading and rereading the first five chapters proves that I read this book with an open mind but my final review is far from complementary. I thought it read more like a cheap forties pulp detective novel set in an ambiguous time and place. Redeeming factors are few and very hard to locate. This is my first introduction to Marion Zimmer Bradley and I understand that this story was her introduction to published writing. I’m sure her later attempts at writing outshine this one (as the only direction to go is up). I can’t really say that I’m looking forward to tackling another story anytime soon but I will keep an open mind and give her the benefit of the doubt. If another Bradley book presents itself I won’t burn it unopened. I can’t, in good conscience, recommend this book to anyone; friend or enemy.
February 13, 2019
DNF. I am a fan of Leigh Brackett and her hero Eric John Stark. I imagined this to be in the same genre of what used to be called "planetary adventure" and now is just lumped under classic space opera. I didn't like the style of the writing which didn't flow very well. The alien characters and their world just seemed to be tossed out willy-nilly without actually giving you a good understanding of the planet Wolf. I didn't really like the protagonist - Race Cargill - very much either. I gave up early, around the time they dragged Race off the spaceship that was taking him away from Wolf and to a new life on another planet. Maybe he should have gone.
August 23, 2018
This little book is listed as science fiction, but is far closer to fantasy. It's Bradley's second -- not first, as is commonly said -- "novel" in print (we'll call it a novel though it doesn't make 40,000 words), and though yes, you can see the writer who would develop across future years, I'm rather surprised Door Through Space snuck past the editors at Ace. It's a major rework of a story, "Birds of Prey," which she sold to Venture (magazine) in 1957, and I wonder if the short story worked better ... if the additional world-building for Door caused some of the book's problems. Hmm.
There are some real difficulties, which the editors at Ace seem to have ignored. First and worst, the novel doesn't end, it just STOPS. The ending is truncated, as if Bradley were simply ending a chapter. To my knowledge there isn't even a sequel to Door ... it just runs face-first into a wall and stops on something like page 115. Obvious this didn't bother the gaffers at Ace in '61, so I can only assume readers were less demanding at the time. One thing is certain: if Bradley were trying to sell this one even a very short while later, the rejection letter would wing back with boomerang-like swiftness.
Then ... although the world building is extraordinary, given that she did the whole thing inside of 40,000 words (with the gift of the writer trained in the demanding short story marketplace), the same world building suffers from a least one blazing non sequiteur that I can't get out of my memory:
The indigenous population of this world, Wolf, demonstrates a kind of late iron age native tech: everyone wears furs, rides horses, swings swords, cooks over open fires, and chains their women. Sounds like twelfth century Europe. Fair enough. Running beneath this is a weird tech-like "something" drawing on a level of science beyond anything we know even in the twenty-first century: the troll-like nonhumans from the boreal north make "toys" which transcend tech. Magic? Even this is fair enough ... but at one point Bradley states that imported vacuum tubes are incredibly valuable among Wolf's people. To whom, for what? There's no electricity outside the Terran compound, and the dwarfish alchemy behind the evil "toys" so far transcends any tech *we* understand today, those indigenous dwarfs would fall down laughing at vacuum tubes. In order words, vacuum tubes are worthless ... no editor picked this up. (They also missed some grammatical gaffs, repeated words and so forth. Pulp fiction is as it is.)
Still, 95% of the world building is very impressive, and Bradley's prose is often fine. One of the head-scratchers is the chapter devoted to the torture of hero Race Cargill: not the torture itself, which was little enough to skate through without plummeting into s&m, but ... my gods, this woman, at this time, had no bloody idea what physical pain feels like, and how long injury takes to heal. Bradley was thirty-ish when she wrote Door, and didn't seem to have yet suffered enough to know what the hell she was writing about. [rolls eyes] Doubtlessly, time and experience cured this.
I also have a minor problem with the bondage of woman issue, but I acknowledge that Bradley is crafting a very alien culture, some of which is based on nonhuman values. Human morality -- much less the moral high ground we assume in this age of equal human rights -- is out of place here. But this aspect does take me two steps closer to the John Norman twaddle than I want to tread. We'll just have to overlook this and focus on Bradley's creativity and the parts of Door Through Space that zip along, Robert E. Howard fashion, like a swashbuckler.
Two stars. It was okay in its own way, particularly given the time in which it was written, but I'm honestly surprised to be underwhelmed by the work of Marion Zimmer Bradley, no matter how early in her career this fell. She was no juvenile when she wrote this. Hmm.
There are some real difficulties, which the editors at Ace seem to have ignored. First and worst, the novel doesn't end, it just STOPS. The ending is truncated, as if Bradley were simply ending a chapter. To my knowledge there isn't even a sequel to Door ... it just runs face-first into a wall and stops on something like page 115. Obvious this didn't bother the gaffers at Ace in '61, so I can only assume readers were less demanding at the time. One thing is certain: if Bradley were trying to sell this one even a very short while later, the rejection letter would wing back with boomerang-like swiftness.
Then ... although the world building is extraordinary, given that she did the whole thing inside of 40,000 words (with the gift of the writer trained in the demanding short story marketplace), the same world building suffers from a least one blazing non sequiteur that I can't get out of my memory:
The indigenous population of this world, Wolf, demonstrates a kind of late iron age native tech: everyone wears furs, rides horses, swings swords, cooks over open fires, and chains their women. Sounds like twelfth century Europe. Fair enough. Running beneath this is a weird tech-like "something" drawing on a level of science beyond anything we know even in the twenty-first century: the troll-like nonhumans from the boreal north make "toys" which transcend tech. Magic? Even this is fair enough ... but at one point Bradley states that imported vacuum tubes are incredibly valuable among Wolf's people. To whom, for what? There's no electricity outside the Terran compound, and the dwarfish alchemy behind the evil "toys" so far transcends any tech *we* understand today, those indigenous dwarfs would fall down laughing at vacuum tubes. In order words, vacuum tubes are worthless ... no editor picked this up. (They also missed some grammatical gaffs, repeated words and so forth. Pulp fiction is as it is.)
Still, 95% of the world building is very impressive, and Bradley's prose is often fine. One of the head-scratchers is the chapter devoted to the torture of hero Race Cargill: not the torture itself, which was little enough to skate through without plummeting into s&m, but ... my gods, this woman, at this time, had no bloody idea what physical pain feels like, and how long injury takes to heal. Bradley was thirty-ish when she wrote Door, and didn't seem to have yet suffered enough to know what the hell she was writing about. [rolls eyes] Doubtlessly, time and experience cured this.
I also have a minor problem with the bondage of woman issue, but I acknowledge that Bradley is crafting a very alien culture, some of which is based on nonhuman values. Human morality -- much less the moral high ground we assume in this age of equal human rights -- is out of place here. But this aspect does take me two steps closer to the John Norman twaddle than I want to tread. We'll just have to overlook this and focus on Bradley's creativity and the parts of Door Through Space that zip along, Robert E. Howard fashion, like a swashbuckler.
Two stars. It was okay in its own way, particularly given the time in which it was written, but I'm honestly surprised to be underwhelmed by the work of Marion Zimmer Bradley, no matter how early in her career this fell. She was no juvenile when she wrote this. Hmm.
December 7, 2010
I listened to this on my kindle, after downloading it originally as a free ebook from online. There's an introduction that talks about Bradley's interest and affection for C. L. Moore and Leigh Brackett, and you can certainly see the influence here of Moore's "Northwest Smith" and Brackett's Mars. Although the world is described as "Wolf," it's close to a dead ringer for Brackett's Mars. I also believe some of this may have later been revised and published as part of a Darkover novel, though I'm not absolutely sure.
Overall, I enjoyed it quite a lot. It was fast moving, with good visuals, characters, and action.
Overall, I enjoyed it quite a lot. It was fast moving, with good visuals, characters, and action.
January 9, 2013
This fun bit of early MZB is available free from Gutenberg. The feel of the book reminded me very much of Jack Vance - especially the Demon Princes cycle. Race Cargill is a worn-out intelligence agent going on One Last Mission undercover on a world where the customs are as byzantine as they are dangerous, and one wrong move will expose him and get him killed. His quarry, Rakhal, is a man so similar to the protagonist that they are repeatedly mistaken for each other, and the line between hunter and hunted become more than a little blurred. The climax is a bit rushed, but otherwise the pacing is just what you'd want for a quick, enjoyable classic space adventure.
June 17, 2011
Great book! The setting is great and the characters are intricate and vibrant. The plot is intriguing and kept me on the edge of my seat. The barren alien world of Wolf is an amazing example of world-building that hearkens back to Burroughs, Brackett, Kline, and Moore. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a good book, the sci-fi/fantasy elements are present but not overpowering to what is just a really great story.
July 1, 2010
Would have been 5 solid stars, except I had a bit of a problem with the ending. Seems the author wanted to tie things up a bit too perfectly, which to me felt too contrived. Basically, this is a sci-fi Indiana Jones, except more scary, brutal, and bizarre. A wild ride that totally hooked me directly after the exposition.
June 6, 2012
This was in the clearance pile at an HPB so I figured, why not ... the material at the beginning (an introduction by Elisabeth Waters) and the end (a few concluding remarks from MZB) are very interesting. It's also interesting to see this proto-Darkover. The ending was chilling, but a little abrupt and unexpected.
May 29, 2011
Old school sci-fi with a detective twist. I downloaded the audio from Libravox, it was well read and the book was an enjoyable listen!
May 17, 2016
This was a short but enjoyable story which was full of mystery and intrigue that keeps you glued to every page right up until the very end.
March 16, 2019
The short version first.
One of the classic authors during what has come to be called “The Golden Age of Science Fiction” is Marion Zimmer Bradley. Her writing was prolific, covering the gamut from space opera, hard sci-fi of the 1960s variety, and serial works such as the eight-book, Avalon series, co-authored with Diana L. Paxson. The collaboration was necessary as Ms. Paxson completed the series following the passing of Ms. Bradley. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley and a series by the same name containing four additional titles was also written concurrently. The series of Mists of Avalon volumes only covered half the title number of the Avalon series. Several other fantasy series contained work by Ms. Bradley much of which she completed prior to her passing in 1999.
The Door Through Space writing was completed in its original version in the early to mid-1960s, considered by many to be one of the highpoints of classic science fiction publication. There were many fiction serials as well as some of the master writers of what became known as classic science fiction. The actuality found Earth at the peak of its initial movement from the surface of the homeworld into the hostile vacuum of the region of space between 100-180 nautical miles above the surface of the planet. The demon of unmanned, nuclear-armed missiles was already in full evidence with several of Earth's opposing military forces all too ready to remind each other that annihilation was only about 30 minutes away at any given point. The concept of MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) ingrained in mankind's eyes in 1945 at the close of World War II. The atomic incineration of Hiroshima and Nagasaki spelled clearly the type of destruction that even relatively limited atomic weapons could release. What was less well understood until the end of World War II was the lingering sickness, disfiguration, and horrid deaths that would continue for months or even years after the detonation of even one of these smaller weapons.
By 1960, the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics both possessed stockpiles of weapons with monstrous yields tens of times the release of just one of the fission bombs meted on the unsuspecting citizens in Imperial Japan. The new weapons would be able to literally vaporize several square miles in one detonation, rendering the point of impact into a dead zone for centuries to come while destroying entire cities and millions of people in a literal flash of light, and ground temperatures reaching the temperatures measured in only one other place in the universe, the very engine that gives Earth life when experienced from 93 million miles away. Close contact with that type of heat say from an altitude of 5 - 10 miles, would make a crater unlike any ever imagined, radioactive for millennia, and uninhabitable for eons. Of course, others were learning about these devices, and soon other powers possessed a small arsenal for "defensive" purposes, to keep the larger players from doing the deadly deeds first without a thought of a reprisal.
In this environment of mutually assured insanity (my phrase), science fiction authors wanted to provide an escape as it were, from the scary world of Earth, and look to a more civilized future among the vast reaches of outer space. The writers who inspired Marion Zimmer Bradley included some of the best writers of that era of "the Cold War" as well as some of the most recognized writers of both sci-fi as well as motion pictures. To my surprise, one of her inspirations was the writing of Leigh Brackett, a prolific American writer and screenwriter. During her career, Ms. Bradley encouraged others to write fan fiction in support of series in work, with the Darkover series garnering the vast majority of the extant fan-fiction production.
After her passing, allegations of criminal activity involving children were levied against members of Ms. Bradley's immediate surviving family and by proximity suggesting that she might have done little to curtail its happening. The remaining publishers and agents of Ms. Bradley's works agreed to provide proceeds from the sales of e-book versions of her work to be placed in the legal hands of Save the Children Foundation.
In the work being reviewed, the setting is in a far future where the inhabitants of Terra managed to establish an Empire of worlds. The Terran Empire was one where worlds were invited not dominated, and basic freedoms and sovereignty is apparently honored and protected, which seems like a novelty from an "old" Empire perspective. Regardless, the Terran agent is Race Cargill. The planet to which he is currently assigned is named Wolf, orbiting Phi Coronis, a dying red star. Cargill is supposed to be in transit, but he is also an operative of Terran Intelligence. The planet to which Race will eventually travel is called Vainwal. It seemed to be a planet like Wolf in the first stages of dying along with its red star, in need of a Terran Intelligence Agent, and Race was up to be moved to that new assignment. Little does he know that the assignment on Wolf is far more immediate and far more dangerous, at least from his association with others of Wolf's populace. Cargill's knack for discovering interesting and informative things about his surrounding makes him a top agent for the Terran Intelligence Service.
As the story progresses, the reader learns that there are more things going on with Wolf than becomes aware at the first blush. First, there are clandestine adventures going on involving other aspects of the planet aside from its apparently aging and eventually dying star, currently in the red phase of its life. Cargill is sure that most of the local strife and intrigue are related to the changes in the overall solar system of Phi Coronis. There are indications that there are some rumors exist about doorways (essentially matter transmitters) from Wolf to other locations with on the surface in a different location on the planet, (actually at shrines and places denoted by images of a toad god), and in one or two suggestions places far away from the Phi Coronis system entirely.
Cargill's investigations and findings support some rather shady things going on, particularly from the fact that more than one or two Wolf inhabitants have more than a brief guess or two about an object that is called a "door through space." Operating as a means to literally move from one point on Wolf, the traveler through the door finds that the other side of the door goes to a planet dissimilar to Wolf. Cargill, in his reconnaissance, finds that "the door" appears to lead to a location completely out of the Phi Coronis system. In addition to the "door" finding, Cargill realizes that one of Wolf's more burly residents, Rakhal Sensar, has claimed a blood feud exists between himself and Cargill.
As the story concludes, the feud between Rakhal and Race comes to a head, but in the process, the evidence for the matter transmitters becomes more clearly understood, to the point that Rakhal and Race decide that their tiff was far less important than using matter transmitters that could essentially provide Wolf with a way to migrate to other worlds and away from their dying one. Race Cargill moves on to a new Terran Intelligence assignment, a new acceptance of peace between Rakhal and Race, and Race has found an old friend that wants to follow Race to his next assignment - the only problem is, the matter transmitters only work for one person at a time. Oh, well, between them, they will figure a way out or use Terran transport to get to the next mission for Race Cargill of Terran Intelligence.
It was a delightful read -- a clear 1960's caliber sci-fi in all the myriad and wonderful ways. The story has a happy ending and a good feeling all the way around, as well as a way for the Wolf residents to find a way off their world to a new one where red suns and no water can be overcome -- just one person at a time. Matter transmitters, HO!
Recommendations:
First, there are no overt indications of any impropriety in this work. Nothing exists here but a well-crafted science fiction story with a clear influence by all things of the '60s that made things work to draw a wide audience looking for the release and the adventure of a good sci-fi yarn. Second, this is a classic example of Golden Age Sci-Fi written by an author who excelled with both fantasy and science-fiction in her writing career. Finally, despite the tawdry accusations post mortem about the author by close associates. None of those types of issues were even briefly seen in this story whatsoever. Despite all of the past issues, I secured my copy of this book for reasons centered on a reading set in a period of sci-fi where I grew up in the genre as a reader and an avid fan. I have only grown deeper with my appreciation of well-written work like this one with a clear plot line with several good twists and turns as well as some exciting findings that bode well for the futures of their characters, with only a different set of hands writing any new work about them.
Second, the choice I made on my book purchase was my own personal desire to have some impact on the allegations made and the efforts taken to address and assuage those past issues with current means to make impactful amends.
Finally, this is a good yarn. It is well crafted, and it is not injurious in any way - at least not permanently, they all live in the end. Enjoy it, dear readers, it is a glimpse of a kinder, gentler, and a far more fun universe that has sadly departed forever.
Review of Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Door Through Space by Richard W. Buro is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29657936.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at Send e-mail to publishing@start-media.com requesting information about subsidiary rights purchasing and any other rights inquiries..
One of the classic authors during what has come to be called “The Golden Age of Science Fiction” is Marion Zimmer Bradley. Her writing was prolific, covering the gamut from space opera, hard sci-fi of the 1960s variety, and serial works such as the eight-book, Avalon series, co-authored with Diana L. Paxson. The collaboration was necessary as Ms. Paxson completed the series following the passing of Ms. Bradley. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley and a series by the same name containing four additional titles was also written concurrently. The series of Mists of Avalon volumes only covered half the title number of the Avalon series. Several other fantasy series contained work by Ms. Bradley much of which she completed prior to her passing in 1999.
The Door Through Space writing was completed in its original version in the early to mid-1960s, considered by many to be one of the highpoints of classic science fiction publication. There were many fiction serials as well as some of the master writers of what became known as classic science fiction. The actuality found Earth at the peak of its initial movement from the surface of the homeworld into the hostile vacuum of the region of space between 100-180 nautical miles above the surface of the planet. The demon of unmanned, nuclear-armed missiles was already in full evidence with several of Earth's opposing military forces all too ready to remind each other that annihilation was only about 30 minutes away at any given point. The concept of MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) ingrained in mankind's eyes in 1945 at the close of World War II. The atomic incineration of Hiroshima and Nagasaki spelled clearly the type of destruction that even relatively limited atomic weapons could release. What was less well understood until the end of World War II was the lingering sickness, disfiguration, and horrid deaths that would continue for months or even years after the detonation of even one of these smaller weapons.
By 1960, the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics both possessed stockpiles of weapons with monstrous yields tens of times the release of just one of the fission bombs meted on the unsuspecting citizens in Imperial Japan. The new weapons would be able to literally vaporize several square miles in one detonation, rendering the point of impact into a dead zone for centuries to come while destroying entire cities and millions of people in a literal flash of light, and ground temperatures reaching the temperatures measured in only one other place in the universe, the very engine that gives Earth life when experienced from 93 million miles away. Close contact with that type of heat say from an altitude of 5 - 10 miles, would make a crater unlike any ever imagined, radioactive for millennia, and uninhabitable for eons. Of course, others were learning about these devices, and soon other powers possessed a small arsenal for "defensive" purposes, to keep the larger players from doing the deadly deeds first without a thought of a reprisal.
In this environment of mutually assured insanity (my phrase), science fiction authors wanted to provide an escape as it were, from the scary world of Earth, and look to a more civilized future among the vast reaches of outer space. The writers who inspired Marion Zimmer Bradley included some of the best writers of that era of "the Cold War" as well as some of the most recognized writers of both sci-fi as well as motion pictures. To my surprise, one of her inspirations was the writing of Leigh Brackett, a prolific American writer and screenwriter. During her career, Ms. Bradley encouraged others to write fan fiction in support of series in work, with the Darkover series garnering the vast majority of the extant fan-fiction production.
After her passing, allegations of criminal activity involving children were levied against members of Ms. Bradley's immediate surviving family and by proximity suggesting that she might have done little to curtail its happening. The remaining publishers and agents of Ms. Bradley's works agreed to provide proceeds from the sales of e-book versions of her work to be placed in the legal hands of Save the Children Foundation.
In the work being reviewed, the setting is in a far future where the inhabitants of Terra managed to establish an Empire of worlds. The Terran Empire was one where worlds were invited not dominated, and basic freedoms and sovereignty is apparently honored and protected, which seems like a novelty from an "old" Empire perspective. Regardless, the Terran agent is Race Cargill. The planet to which he is currently assigned is named Wolf, orbiting Phi Coronis, a dying red star. Cargill is supposed to be in transit, but he is also an operative of Terran Intelligence. The planet to which Race will eventually travel is called Vainwal. It seemed to be a planet like Wolf in the first stages of dying along with its red star, in need of a Terran Intelligence Agent, and Race was up to be moved to that new assignment. Little does he know that the assignment on Wolf is far more immediate and far more dangerous, at least from his association with others of Wolf's populace. Cargill's knack for discovering interesting and informative things about his surrounding makes him a top agent for the Terran Intelligence Service.
As the story progresses, the reader learns that there are more things going on with Wolf than becomes aware at the first blush. First, there are clandestine adventures going on involving other aspects of the planet aside from its apparently aging and eventually dying star, currently in the red phase of its life. Cargill is sure that most of the local strife and intrigue are related to the changes in the overall solar system of Phi Coronis. There are indications that there are some rumors exist about doorways (essentially matter transmitters) from Wolf to other locations with on the surface in a different location on the planet, (actually at shrines and places denoted by images of a toad god), and in one or two suggestions places far away from the Phi Coronis system entirely.
Cargill's investigations and findings support some rather shady things going on, particularly from the fact that more than one or two Wolf inhabitants have more than a brief guess or two about an object that is called a "door through space." Operating as a means to literally move from one point on Wolf, the traveler through the door finds that the other side of the door goes to a planet dissimilar to Wolf. Cargill, in his reconnaissance, finds that "the door" appears to lead to a location completely out of the Phi Coronis system. In addition to the "door" finding, Cargill realizes that one of Wolf's more burly residents, Rakhal Sensar, has claimed a blood feud exists between himself and Cargill.
As the story concludes, the feud between Rakhal and Race comes to a head, but in the process, the evidence for the matter transmitters becomes more clearly understood, to the point that Rakhal and Race decide that their tiff was far less important than using matter transmitters that could essentially provide Wolf with a way to migrate to other worlds and away from their dying one. Race Cargill moves on to a new Terran Intelligence assignment, a new acceptance of peace between Rakhal and Race, and Race has found an old friend that wants to follow Race to his next assignment - the only problem is, the matter transmitters only work for one person at a time. Oh, well, between them, they will figure a way out or use Terran transport to get to the next mission for Race Cargill of Terran Intelligence.
It was a delightful read -- a clear 1960's caliber sci-fi in all the myriad and wonderful ways. The story has a happy ending and a good feeling all the way around, as well as a way for the Wolf residents to find a way off their world to a new one where red suns and no water can be overcome -- just one person at a time. Matter transmitters, HO!
Recommendations:
First, there are no overt indications of any impropriety in this work. Nothing exists here but a well-crafted science fiction story with a clear influence by all things of the '60s that made things work to draw a wide audience looking for the release and the adventure of a good sci-fi yarn. Second, this is a classic example of Golden Age Sci-Fi written by an author who excelled with both fantasy and science-fiction in her writing career. Finally, despite the tawdry accusations post mortem about the author by close associates. None of those types of issues were even briefly seen in this story whatsoever. Despite all of the past issues, I secured my copy of this book for reasons centered on a reading set in a period of sci-fi where I grew up in the genre as a reader and an avid fan. I have only grown deeper with my appreciation of well-written work like this one with a clear plot line with several good twists and turns as well as some exciting findings that bode well for the futures of their characters, with only a different set of hands writing any new work about them.
Second, the choice I made on my book purchase was my own personal desire to have some impact on the allegations made and the efforts taken to address and assuage those past issues with current means to make impactful amends.
Finally, this is a good yarn. It is well crafted, and it is not injurious in any way - at least not permanently, they all live in the end. Enjoy it, dear readers, it is a glimpse of a kinder, gentler, and a far more fun universe that has sadly departed forever.
Review of Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Door Through Space by Richard W. Buro is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29657936.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at Send e-mail to publishing@start-media.com requesting information about subsidiary rights purchasing and any other rights inquiries..
May 17, 2019
The Door Through Space by Marion Zimmer Bradley
I read this; because it was there. Well, it's written by Marion Zimmer Bradley and its one of the first novels of her's that was published. I loved The Colors of Space but honestly did not read much more than that because her stories seemed predominantly fantasy and at the time I was reading science fiction.
I'm almost sorry I haven't read more of her's- the good thing is that enough is out there I might still have time.
The Door Through Space demonstrates that she had a lot of talent coming out of the gate.
The story starts on the planet known as Wolf. The reader is introduced to Race Cargill former intelligence agent of the Terran Secret Service. He's at the spaceport in Kharsa and in the first chapter we are introduced to the natives much of the political situation and some of the back-story of Cargill all through the movement of a mob chasing a dwarf who appears to be peddling toys. And the reader is introduced to a mystery when the dwarf disappears while Cargill is trying to calm the natives, using his skill at speaking in their language. All of this is in the first short chapter.
Cargill is intent on leaving Wolf on the next Star-ship. He's ready to go and on the ship waiting when he's pulled off by his employer who has one more job for him. This job involves a traitor named Rakhal. Rakhal had been a fellow agent. When he turned native he left with Race's sister Juli and he disfigured Race's face. Race has since been at a desk job and he has no desire or ambition to seek after Rakhal or to kill his own brother in law. The problem is that Juli has come back and she's desperate to have Race find Rakhal and bring back her own daughter to her.
If that's not enough Race finds out that Rakhal has been pursuing the possibility that someone on Wolf might possess a matter transmitter. If that's true then Terran Intelligence needs to be on top of it.
One more time Race Cargill must go undercover to find his niece and try to secure the matter transmitter.
This is a tightly written tale that has survived the test of time and still stands as an intriguing story that keeps the reader on their toes and involved to the very end.
I sure hope Amazon has that download fixed. If not Guttenburg has this in kindle format and its easy to upload it from a pc into your que- I believe that's how I did it.
J.L. Dobias
I read this; because it was there. Well, it's written by Marion Zimmer Bradley and its one of the first novels of her's that was published. I loved The Colors of Space but honestly did not read much more than that because her stories seemed predominantly fantasy and at the time I was reading science fiction.
I'm almost sorry I haven't read more of her's- the good thing is that enough is out there I might still have time.
The Door Through Space demonstrates that she had a lot of talent coming out of the gate.
The story starts on the planet known as Wolf. The reader is introduced to Race Cargill former intelligence agent of the Terran Secret Service. He's at the spaceport in Kharsa and in the first chapter we are introduced to the natives much of the political situation and some of the back-story of Cargill all through the movement of a mob chasing a dwarf who appears to be peddling toys. And the reader is introduced to a mystery when the dwarf disappears while Cargill is trying to calm the natives, using his skill at speaking in their language. All of this is in the first short chapter.
Cargill is intent on leaving Wolf on the next Star-ship. He's ready to go and on the ship waiting when he's pulled off by his employer who has one more job for him. This job involves a traitor named Rakhal. Rakhal had been a fellow agent. When he turned native he left with Race's sister Juli and he disfigured Race's face. Race has since been at a desk job and he has no desire or ambition to seek after Rakhal or to kill his own brother in law. The problem is that Juli has come back and she's desperate to have Race find Rakhal and bring back her own daughter to her.
If that's not enough Race finds out that Rakhal has been pursuing the possibility that someone on Wolf might possess a matter transmitter. If that's true then Terran Intelligence needs to be on top of it.
One more time Race Cargill must go undercover to find his niece and try to secure the matter transmitter.
This is a tightly written tale that has survived the test of time and still stands as an intriguing story that keeps the reader on their toes and involved to the very end.
I sure hope Amazon has that download fixed. If not Guttenburg has this in kindle format and its easy to upload it from a pc into your que- I believe that's how I did it.
J.L. Dobias
November 6, 2021
Review originally published at: https://lomeraniel.com/book-review-th...
This is one of the first books written by Marion Zimmer Bradley, and it shows how far she was from more evolved works like The Mists of Avalon. It was an entertaining read but not exactly what I expected. The title indicates this is a sci-fi story but it is much closer to fantasy, and I’m glad that she focused her efforts on this other genre later in life. The same story written as fantasy would have felt a lot more natural, as most of the action occurs in a part of a planet with bizarre races and a lack of technology.
Her prose was good, but I couldn’t stop thinking that this novel was written for a male audience. It was probably what sold during the ’60s but I just think it’s a pity that a woman has to imitate her male counterparts just to sell. I think it would have been a more interesting story if it were told through female eyes, but just because Bradley happened to be a woman. There was also plenty of misogyny in the book, which didn’t sit well with me and I would have expected this from a male writer, not from the author of the Mists of Avalon. Still, this is one of her first works, and I understand everyone has their own path and the right to evolve. I’d recommend this book to Bradley’s fans who are curious about her first steps in the world of literature.
I got confused a couple of times as some names sounded similar and the characters were not quite developed. This also prevented me from being able to fully relate to them. I think Race Cargill would have made a very interesting character were he not so misogynistic.
Chris MacDonnell’s narration perfectly matched the story and Bradley’s writing style. The story is told in first person from Race Cargill, an old legend of the Terran Secret Service, and MacDonnell did not only become Cargill but also provided a compelling narration of the events happening around him. MacDonnell’s narration was very well done, with his voice being a mix of rough and husky that transported me to a different world. The audio production was clean and professional.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
This is one of the first books written by Marion Zimmer Bradley, and it shows how far she was from more evolved works like The Mists of Avalon. It was an entertaining read but not exactly what I expected. The title indicates this is a sci-fi story but it is much closer to fantasy, and I’m glad that she focused her efforts on this other genre later in life. The same story written as fantasy would have felt a lot more natural, as most of the action occurs in a part of a planet with bizarre races and a lack of technology.
Her prose was good, but I couldn’t stop thinking that this novel was written for a male audience. It was probably what sold during the ’60s but I just think it’s a pity that a woman has to imitate her male counterparts just to sell. I think it would have been a more interesting story if it were told through female eyes, but just because Bradley happened to be a woman. There was also plenty of misogyny in the book, which didn’t sit well with me and I would have expected this from a male writer, not from the author of the Mists of Avalon. Still, this is one of her first works, and I understand everyone has their own path and the right to evolve. I’d recommend this book to Bradley’s fans who are curious about her first steps in the world of literature.
I got confused a couple of times as some names sounded similar and the characters were not quite developed. This also prevented me from being able to fully relate to them. I think Race Cargill would have made a very interesting character were he not so misogynistic.
Chris MacDonnell’s narration perfectly matched the story and Bradley’s writing style. The story is told in first person from Race Cargill, an old legend of the Terran Secret Service, and MacDonnell did not only become Cargill but also provided a compelling narration of the events happening around him. MacDonnell’s narration was very well done, with his voice being a mix of rough and husky that transported me to a different world. The audio production was clean and professional.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
December 17, 2025
Classic pulp style fantasy sci-fi. It was fun to listen to on audio, (Classic Science Fiction podcast), in one day as I went out for walks and was busy doing some chores.
But the audio became disorienting at one point when, for 70% of the reading there had been a woman reader. Then suddenly, for the last 30%, it was a male reader. Wierd stuff that.
I was all on board for the fun until the plot took a strange convoluted twist, and a twist, and then twisted about insensibly. That was when the identities of Race Cargill (the hero), and Rakhal (the bad guy), started to get mixed up, combined and subverted in an endless, tiresome manner.
And then, the somewhat ending rushed at the reader, and the story was tied up in an unsatisfying bow.....er, chains. I didn't really buy into that part. Race and Rakhal put aside their bitter and violent differences a little too easily.
And all that endless babble, and explaining, and setting the record straight by Rakhall about Case Cargill's misguided actions in the past six years.....all in the course of about one page.......it was as amateurishly written as it sounds.
So....a day or two later, thinking back on the story, I find myself thinking "It was o.k.". It was fun while I was reading it but in the end, nothing really memorable.
I'll let other reviewers point out its many faults as a story. I've said enough and have already moved on to something else.
Btw, speaking of chains....there were some interesting s&m implications going on in the background there, with the high fashion ladies "choosing" to wear fetters and chains around their wrists.
Unfortunate edit here.
Just read the wiki page and other stuff about the child abuse allegations leveled at MZB. Disgusting! It appears she's a creep of the worst kind. Well, I won't be reading any more of her works. Personal reasons you understand. Minus 2 stars.
But the audio became disorienting at one point when, for 70% of the reading there had been a woman reader. Then suddenly, for the last 30%, it was a male reader. Wierd stuff that.
I was all on board for the fun until the plot took a strange convoluted twist, and a twist, and then twisted about insensibly. That was when the identities of Race Cargill (the hero), and Rakhal (the bad guy), started to get mixed up, combined and subverted in an endless, tiresome manner.
And then, the somewhat ending rushed at the reader, and the story was tied up in an unsatisfying bow.....er, chains. I didn't really buy into that part. Race and Rakhal put aside their bitter and violent differences a little too easily.
And all that endless babble, and explaining, and setting the record straight by Rakhall about Case Cargill's misguided actions in the past six years.....all in the course of about one page.......it was as amateurishly written as it sounds.
So....a day or two later, thinking back on the story, I find myself thinking "It was o.k.". It was fun while I was reading it but in the end, nothing really memorable.
I'll let other reviewers point out its many faults as a story. I've said enough and have already moved on to something else.
Btw, speaking of chains....there were some interesting s&m implications going on in the background there, with the high fashion ladies "choosing" to wear fetters and chains around their wrists.
Unfortunate edit here.
Just read the wiki page and other stuff about the child abuse allegations leveled at MZB. Disgusting! It appears she's a creep of the worst kind. Well, I won't be reading any more of her works. Personal reasons you understand. Minus 2 stars.
January 30, 2020
I was listening to the free LibraVox recording of the book on the Android app "FreeBooks".
The story was brilliant: a feud between former friends, mysterious women saving the hero and twist and turns of the storyline that amazed but also made me chuckle a couple of times.
You get what you pay for and as I opted for a free version it had its bad points hence the rating. The reader changed within the book from a woman to a man. And they have to add before every chapter that the book is in the free domain as well as it is from LibraVox.
However, it looks like the readers are volunteering and I think that's an amazing thing.
If you like classic sci-fi stories and Marion Zimmer-Bradley's style, then this book is for you. But I suggest to buy it or get it from the library and not use this app unless you can bear the disclosures before every chapter.
The story was brilliant: a feud between former friends, mysterious women saving the hero and twist and turns of the storyline that amazed but also made me chuckle a couple of times.
You get what you pay for and as I opted for a free version it had its bad points hence the rating. The reader changed within the book from a woman to a man. And they have to add before every chapter that the book is in the free domain as well as it is from LibraVox.
However, it looks like the readers are volunteering and I think that's an amazing thing.
If you like classic sci-fi stories and Marion Zimmer-Bradley's style, then this book is for you. But I suggest to buy it or get it from the library and not use this app unless you can bear the disclosures before every chapter.
June 21, 2017
Objectively, especially structurally, it's pretty terrible. It's about a quarter of a good story--all the important buildup that should have been at the beginning is related in passing, and everything after that is rushed. There's also a lot of internalized misogyny, which makes me wonder what kind of mental journey the author went through between here and The Mists of Avalon. (This was her first novel, and she wrote it when she was about 30; The Mists of Avalon was about twenty years later.) Still, it was interesting, and a lot of the prose was really nice. It was pretty consistently entertaining, too. Definitely don't regret reading it, and might pick up some of her other earlier ones later.
January 22, 2018
This book is one that didn't have that many printings, so it was harder to find - somewhat at least - than her other books. I wanted to read it because it was the first book that she wrote and because I enjoyed a lot of her later works. That being said, it's a good thing that she switched over to fantasy from sci fi because she just doesn't know tech. The lack of tech made for a great many plot holes in the story, and neither the characters nor the world were very flushed out, which meant that I was ultimately disappointed in the book. That being said, there are hints of what she would become - a great writer - that you can find throughout the course of the story, making it an interesting read if only for the edification of her craft. It's not one I would keep.
May 22, 2024
Cargill war Geheimagent auf dem Fremdplaneten. Dank der Ausbildung durch seinen einheimischen Freund Rakhal konnte er sich als einziger unter den humanoiden Trockenleuten mit ihren seltsamen und tödlichen Sitten und Tabus bewegen. Doch dann verstritten sie sich (aus nicht wirklich einsichtigen Gründen), es wurde eine Todesfehde ausgesprochen. 6 Jahre später muss Cargill sich auf die Suche nach Rakhal machen, um seine Nichte zu retten.
Bradleys Debutroman. Eine Art Science-Fantasy. Sie packt in die schmalen 127 Seiten viel zu viele Ansätze und Ideen hinein. Irgendwie funktioniert das ganze nicht richtig und wirkt unausgegoren.
Immerhin habe ich es bis zum Ende geschafft. Wobei das Ende auch nicht überzeugt hat und den Gesamteindruck nochmal etwas runterzog.
1.5/5
Bradleys Debutroman. Eine Art Science-Fantasy. Sie packt in die schmalen 127 Seiten viel zu viele Ansätze und Ideen hinein. Irgendwie funktioniert das ganze nicht richtig und wirkt unausgegoren.
Immerhin habe ich es bis zum Ende geschafft. Wobei das Ende auch nicht überzeugt hat und den Gesamteindruck nochmal etwas runterzog.
1.5/5
October 30, 2018
While I loved the story and the pulp feel that reminded me so much of Herbert's writing (co-incidence?), I struggled to really get into the characters and care about them. They feel plastic, forced even. Robotic is the word I'm looking for (no offence to robots, especially Asimov's which had more personality).
The world-building, however, I found wonderful. The doors, cultures, relations between the native peoples and the Empire. All colourful and fascinating. What I especially appreciated was Zimmer's moderation on description, giving only what's necessary and not going overboard with details on how the world and everything in it looks.
The world-building, however, I found wonderful. The doors, cultures, relations between the native peoples and the Empire. All colourful and fascinating. What I especially appreciated was Zimmer's moderation on description, giving only what's necessary and not going overboard with details on how the world and everything in it looks.
June 4, 2024
I almost didn't pick it because it said it was only 6 pages long. It was either longer, or the story was interesting enough that I enjoyed it and eventhough it could have been a much more detailed book, the story was very interesting. The Author created a planet that had a population of natives that seemed capable of working with humans but different enough that humans had to pick their way carefully through the cultural differences. Pretty much as simple as traveling from one country to another. In some, the wrong word could get you killed. In other's, the natives would ignor your ignorance. I recommend it for a short, entertaining read.
December 2, 2019
This early novel of MZB (more of a novella), shows all the signs of becoming a 'Darkover' beginning, or at least part of the thoughts behind it. From the Terran Empire, the Ghost Winds, the Dry-Towns with the women wearing chains, the catmen and the Ya-Men...all familiar from the Darkover novels. In fact, Darkover is even mentioned, although this story happens on a planet called Wolf. Kind of neat to see how the ideas developed...good read.
January 31, 2023
OK, it's got too much of the 1950s tough-guy detective culture to be comfortable. But this book is well written. The first 2-3 chapters really draw the reader in to curiosity about the main character and the central mysteries of the plot. The ending is meh but at least there is a real ending. Could be 3 stars, but it was enjoyable when I needed enjoyable.
I don't think I've read anything else by this author, but now I'm interested.
I don't think I've read anything else by this author, but now I'm interested.
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