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Darkover Omnibus #7
To Save a World
A new Darkover omnibus Including the first Darkover novel ever written!
An omnibus volume of two of Marion Zimmer Bradley's classic, long-unavailable Darkover novels.
416 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 7, 2004
38 people are currently reading
250 people want to read
About the author
Marion Zimmer Bradley
800 books4,880 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fan fiction and reprinted some of it in commercial Darkover anthologies, continuing to encourage submissions from unpublished authors, but this ended after a dispute with a fan over an unpublished Darkover novel of Bradley's that had similarities to some of the fan's stories.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 - 17 of 17 reviews
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September 7, 2018Fiction, Fantasy
December 30, 2018
**Spoiler alert- Don't read this if you don't like spoilers. This is not a review. I write these summaries just to keep track of what I have read. ***
A long time ago I read several Darkover books and remember them fondly. My library has a good number of them, many in an "Omnibus" form- several novels or novellas together. I'm trying to start with the earliest written ones. This Omnibus contains "The Planet Savers" in which we meet Dr. Jason Allison and Regis Hastur. Jason's personality is split off into 2 distinct ones- a clinical, cold, doctor, and a warm, emotional leader. At the end of the story- Regis, who has psy powers, combines him in a good way. The next portion is called "The World Wreckers" and those 2 are in it as well as some other untrained telepaths, both Terran and Darkovan as well as an alien from Darkover called a Chieri (has both genders inside). All are working to save Darkover from an outside foe that wants to destabilize the world so it will become fully open to galactic trade. This was the longest and written about a decade later (1962 then 1971). It was good but got a bit bogged down in the later quarter with a long exploration of love between different cultures/species/genders. I'm sure it was mind bending at the time, but not now. The last bit is a short story called the Waterfall also from the 70's (I think), a very short story about a young telepath who uses her powers to destroy another person. I appreciate that the author was delving more into the idea she posed in World Wrecker that a person could be made insane by being an untrained telepath, as well as without guidance, could use their power to have power over others and get hooked on that.
I did enjoy most of this book and will continue reading her.
A long time ago I read several Darkover books and remember them fondly. My library has a good number of them, many in an "Omnibus" form- several novels or novellas together. I'm trying to start with the earliest written ones. This Omnibus contains "The Planet Savers" in which we meet Dr. Jason Allison and Regis Hastur. Jason's personality is split off into 2 distinct ones- a clinical, cold, doctor, and a warm, emotional leader. At the end of the story- Regis, who has psy powers, combines him in a good way. The next portion is called "The World Wreckers" and those 2 are in it as well as some other untrained telepaths, both Terran and Darkovan as well as an alien from Darkover called a Chieri (has both genders inside). All are working to save Darkover from an outside foe that wants to destabilize the world so it will become fully open to galactic trade. This was the longest and written about a decade later (1962 then 1971). It was good but got a bit bogged down in the later quarter with a long exploration of love between different cultures/species/genders. I'm sure it was mind bending at the time, but not now. The last bit is a short story called the Waterfall also from the 70's (I think), a very short story about a young telepath who uses her powers to destroy another person. I appreciate that the author was delving more into the idea she posed in World Wrecker that a person could be made insane by being an untrained telepath, as well as without guidance, could use their power to have power over others and get hooked on that.
I did enjoy most of this book and will continue reading her.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 6, 2017
The concepts explored in these stories are intriguing. The world building is also interesting, as if MZB is feeling out how she wants to shape Darkover as the story is written. The writing is clearly her early work, as it does not come close to the excellence of her later works. It's kind of a boring read with weak plots (although Planet Savers had a more definitive plot). I'll continue the series because it's Marion Zimmer Bradley and it's rather interesting to see her writing develop into mastery. My guess is that anyone interested in reading her Darkover works can skip over this without missing anything. The future will reveal whether that is true or not.
December 13, 2024
I read this one mostly for The World Wreckers. Just between Planet Savers and World Wreckers, you can see Bradley's skill for writing increase, it's always interesting to see that in authors.
And for being a book in the early 70s, its depiction of gender and sexuality is surprising. It's maybe crass at times and of course people are gonna harp and tear it to shreds because of the allegations nowadays, but I can see why Bradley was a unique voice in science fiction back in the day. The scenes and depictions in World Wreckers are still relevant and important to our current climate around these topics. Interesting, how 50 years can still link us.
And for being a book in the early 70s, its depiction of gender and sexuality is surprising. It's maybe crass at times and of course people are gonna harp and tear it to shreds because of the allegations nowadays, but I can see why Bradley was a unique voice in science fiction back in the day. The scenes and depictions in World Wreckers are still relevant and important to our current climate around these topics. Interesting, how 50 years can still link us.
April 12, 2022
Darkover is a wonderful world.
The world building is so strong in this series that not even corrupt corporations can destroy it. It contains friendship, love, duty, and some homosexual relationships.
The world building is so strong in this series that not even corrupt corporations can destroy it. It contains friendship, love, duty, and some homosexual relationships.
October 6, 2019
Classic
Kept me entertained for some time, which is unusual.
Darkover has always been a favourite of mine. It still is.
Kept me entertained for some time, which is unusual.
Darkover has always been a favourite of mine. It still is.
March 18, 2025
Tweede verhaal was beter het de eerste. Smaakt naar meer
March 14, 2022
The Planet Savers: Even though this was not the novel I thought it would be, it was still pretty good, and a super-fast read. Personally, I was looking forward to reading more of their encounter with the trailmen and less of their torturous expedition across the Hellers. I was happy to find that Lerrys Ridenow, (from The Bloody Sun), was in their crew. In my opinion, The Bloody Sun delivered more on the alien life of the trailmen than this novel, (which had the potential to overcome).
The forty-eight–year fever is a disease pandemic that is recurring and has a high mortality rate among humans. However, the trailmen have developed immunity to this childhood disease. The Terrans orchestrate an expedition to the Hellers, to ask the trailmen to volunteer their blood so that it may be used to make a vaccine. Dr. Jay Allison is manipulated and created by the Terrans to lead this expedition, and ask the Old-One for their help. With the help of Regis Hastur, Dr. Allison will face the dark and terrible memories hiding inside and forgotten to him. Also, those who know him and those who have met him for the first time will be shocked and scared when they are forced to come to terms with who Dr. Allison truly is.
The Worldwreckers: Marion Zimmer Bradley writes another great installment in her originally creative Darkover series that is both exciting and an adventurous novel as the stakes are escalated against the Closed Planet. The Darkovans are still staying divided on whether to keep to their traditional way of life, or embracing the Terran ease of life with their advanced technology. Worldwreckers are the illegal yet effectively productive company that works in secret and gets the Terran Empire what it needs from resisting planets. In addition to targeting key environment and economic elements, there is an underhanded and illegal war against the telepath caste. The powerful ruling Houses of the Comyn are being assassinated! The frightening mystic, angelic, powerful, and frail alien chieri race is further revealed, as one of their own contributes to Hastur’s desperate efforts. The chieri are sharing the same fate as the telepaths. Their race is dying out, becoming extinct. It will be up to Regis Hastur to find who is Darkover’s enemy, and why. Through the efforts and events of the Worldwreckers and participants of the Telepath Council, a foundling will return home after an unnaturally long lifetime, but not for the reasons she thought.
The Waterfall: ‘The Waterfall’ was a quick read that reminded me of the respect and fear the leronis continue to have over others, be them Comyn or common people. However, the leronis are not without fears of their own. One such fear is another leronis, potentially more destructive to themselves and those around them because of their wild, uncontrollable laran.
The forty-eight–year fever is a disease pandemic that is recurring and has a high mortality rate among humans. However, the trailmen have developed immunity to this childhood disease. The Terrans orchestrate an expedition to the Hellers, to ask the trailmen to volunteer their blood so that it may be used to make a vaccine. Dr. Jay Allison is manipulated and created by the Terrans to lead this expedition, and ask the Old-One for their help. With the help of Regis Hastur, Dr. Allison will face the dark and terrible memories hiding inside and forgotten to him. Also, those who know him and those who have met him for the first time will be shocked and scared when they are forced to come to terms with who Dr. Allison truly is.
The Worldwreckers: Marion Zimmer Bradley writes another great installment in her originally creative Darkover series that is both exciting and an adventurous novel as the stakes are escalated against the Closed Planet. The Darkovans are still staying divided on whether to keep to their traditional way of life, or embracing the Terran ease of life with their advanced technology. Worldwreckers are the illegal yet effectively productive company that works in secret and gets the Terran Empire what it needs from resisting planets. In addition to targeting key environment and economic elements, there is an underhanded and illegal war against the telepath caste. The powerful ruling Houses of the Comyn are being assassinated! The frightening mystic, angelic, powerful, and frail alien chieri race is further revealed, as one of their own contributes to Hastur’s desperate efforts. The chieri are sharing the same fate as the telepaths. Their race is dying out, becoming extinct. It will be up to Regis Hastur to find who is Darkover’s enemy, and why. Through the efforts and events of the Worldwreckers and participants of the Telepath Council, a foundling will return home after an unnaturally long lifetime, but not for the reasons she thought.
The Waterfall: ‘The Waterfall’ was a quick read that reminded me of the respect and fear the leronis continue to have over others, be them Comyn or common people. However, the leronis are not without fears of their own. One such fear is another leronis, potentially more destructive to themselves and those around them because of their wild, uncontrollable laran.
December 19, 2014
Considered by Marion Zimmer Bradley as the first serious story about Darkover, "The Planet Savers" is firmly in the tradition of psionically based hard science fiction and includes the basic foundations of the Darkovan universe. It is an action-packed adventure covering aliens, Terran imperialists, lost Earth colonists, and the hazards of a primitive planet. In this first book you see why Darkover captured the imagination of readers immediately and spawn one of the greatest series in SF and fantasy without violating the rules of either of the genres.
Like most of the Darkover works, the author maintains a high-level of psychological tension and a focus on cultures in collision. For a novel of less than ninety pages, it has an amazing depth of characterization for the protagonist without interfering with the rapid pace of the adventure. Over all, the story is a fun and thought-provoking read.
"The World Wreckers" is what I call mature Bradley. She knows what she wants to say and how to say it. The tale is slickly done and covers the nature of the sexual being, the definition of femininity, culture shock, and, more than usually, the nature of capitalist exploitation of the environment and the peoples who inhabit it. It is also Marion's story about the chieri and their ancient heritage and the second tale of Jason Allison.
As is so often the case, Bradley gives us a glimpse into her sexually deviant world in a vivid rape scene in the midst of a story of unconventional love. Her sexually and physically abused daughter, Moira Greyland, leaves us with these thoughts of the person and legacy of Marion Zimmer Bradley:
And no remorse was ever seen
Reality was in between
Her books, her world, that was her life
The rest of us a source of strife.
She told me that I was not real
So how could she think I would feel
But how could she look in my eyes
And not feel anguish at my cries?
Like most of the Darkover works, the author maintains a high-level of psychological tension and a focus on cultures in collision. For a novel of less than ninety pages, it has an amazing depth of characterization for the protagonist without interfering with the rapid pace of the adventure. Over all, the story is a fun and thought-provoking read.
"The World Wreckers" is what I call mature Bradley. She knows what she wants to say and how to say it. The tale is slickly done and covers the nature of the sexual being, the definition of femininity, culture shock, and, more than usually, the nature of capitalist exploitation of the environment and the peoples who inhabit it. It is also Marion's story about the chieri and their ancient heritage and the second tale of Jason Allison.
As is so often the case, Bradley gives us a glimpse into her sexually deviant world in a vivid rape scene in the midst of a story of unconventional love. Her sexually and physically abused daughter, Moira Greyland, leaves us with these thoughts of the person and legacy of Marion Zimmer Bradley:
And no remorse was ever seen
Reality was in between
Her books, her world, that was her life
The rest of us a source of strife.
She told me that I was not real
So how could she think I would feel
But how could she look in my eyes
And not feel anguish at my cries?
August 4, 2010
The Planet Savers has a cool concept, but its execution is hampered by being one of the author's early works.
The World Wreckers has better execution, but it (and many other Darkover books, to be honest) are hampered by (as Lois McMaster Bujold says) the author's eternal reservation of "the right to have a Better Idea." It makes the continuity very confusing.
While some of the prose here is rather purple — or maybe because it is — I enjoyed this book when I was younger. I even remembered some of it as very poignant, though I'd forgotten the source. Bradley revisits many themes in this book in The Forbidden Tower (probably my favorite Darkover book). Some of the events are important to the later books, including the ones produced not long before Bradley's death, and the posthumous works by Deborah Ross.
Re-read in July 2011.
The World Wreckers has better execution, but it (and many other Darkover books, to be honest) are hampered by (as Lois McMaster Bujold says) the author's eternal reservation of "the right to have a Better Idea." It makes the continuity very confusing.
While some of the prose here is rather purple — or maybe because it is — I enjoyed this book when I was younger. I even remembered some of it as very poignant, though I'd forgotten the source. Bradley revisits many themes in this book in The Forbidden Tower (probably my favorite Darkover book). Some of the events are important to the later books, including the ones produced not long before Bradley's death, and the posthumous works by Deborah Ross.
Re-read in July 2011.
March 26, 2010
Having read many of Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover novels over the years (I discovered them in my teens and devoured them) I was curious to read these early stories set in that world. It surprised me to find them still engaging and not notably dated.
This omnibus contains both the first published Darkover story (from 1958 I think) The Planet Savers and The World Wreckers, another early novel. Both deal with non-humans on Darkover more than any of the other novels I had read so I found that interesting. They're quite well thought out. One race is hermaphroditic which brings us into Bradley's gender issues, something I have always found problematic. This is not an issue based in when the novel was written since I found the same sorts of binary gender roles in her more recent novels nor is it explained by a society, as the one she creates on Darkover, with specifically defined roles.
Still, it was a good read. Simple stories with relatively predictable conclusions but worth a look.
This omnibus contains both the first published Darkover story (from 1958 I think) The Planet Savers and The World Wreckers, another early novel. Both deal with non-humans on Darkover more than any of the other novels I had read so I found that interesting. They're quite well thought out. One race is hermaphroditic which brings us into Bradley's gender issues, something I have always found problematic. This is not an issue based in when the novel was written since I found the same sorts of binary gender roles in her more recent novels nor is it explained by a society, as the one she creates on Darkover, with specifically defined roles.
Still, it was a good read. Simple stories with relatively predictable conclusions but worth a look.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 29, 2012
I first read the Darkover books years ago, and Planet Savers is the beginning of my attempt to reread the whole series. The concept of subsidiary personalities was fascinating, and I enjoyed the struggle between Jay and Jason. I also loved the glimpse of the trailmen and the inclusion of Regis Hastur in the crew. However, I felt that the secondary characters (including the love interest) were underdeveloped - this was a story centered on Jay/Jason. The ending was also quite abrupt; . Solid introduction to the Darkover universe.
October 21, 2014
It is unfair: once you've read The Mists of Avalon, the bar is set so high for a Marion Zimmer Bradley novel that the rest pale in comparison. To Save a World is yet another Darkover novel, which very well may be excellent novels if I had the discipline to read them in order. If such a thing existed here, I'd really rate it 3.5 stars.
What I found interesting in this omnibus novel was an almost leGuin-like sensitivity to love, sex and sexual identity (also seen in her Saga of the Renunciates). Despite my love of the well-turned phrase, there really aren't any to convey this. It's all very le-Guiny sweeping and undefinable. But isn't that how you sometimes feel in that moment?
What I found interesting in this omnibus novel was an almost leGuin-like sensitivity to love, sex and sexual identity (also seen in her Saga of the Renunciates). Despite my love of the well-turned phrase, there really aren't any to convey this. It's all very le-Guiny sweeping and undefinable. But isn't that how you sometimes feel in that moment?
December 18, 2007
Darkover
June 19, 2008
World Wreckers - 3 stars
Planet Savers - 3 stars
The Waterfall - 2.5 stars (good but kind of disturbing)
Planet Savers - 3 stars
The Waterfall - 2.5 stars (good but kind of disturbing)
June 1, 2014
Actually started on 30/5/14, and finished 31/5/14. Part of my Darkover reread.
Read
November 2, 2014Includes the World Wreckers, Planet Savers and the Waterfall.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews