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Children of Kings #1
The Alton Gift
The long-awaited continuation to Marion Zimmer Bradley's popular science fiction Darkover saga
After generations of struggle to protect the unique native culture of Darkover from the ambitions of the ruthless Terran Federation, the Terrans have finally been forced to abandon Darkover due to interstellar civil war.
As Lew Alton—returned home to the world of his birth after decades spent in exile as the Darkovan representative to the Terran Senate—wrestles with the dark shadows from his past, his daughter Marguerida’s psychic Gifts warn her of impending danger. But danger to whom? Her husband Mikhail, as powerful head of the Hastur Doman is her most obvious worry, for many would stand to gain from his demise.
Meanwhile, unknown to Marguerida, her son, Domenic, searches for his place in a world of shifting loyalties, torn by love for two very different women, and troubled by his destiny as the heir to Hastur.
But while Darkover’s powerful rulers face their personal demons, desperate refugees flood the streets of Thendara, Darkover’s capital city, for in the mountains an ancient menace is once again on the rise—a power against which neither sword nor the psychic sorcery of Darkover can prevail.
After generations of struggle to protect the unique native culture of Darkover from the ambitions of the ruthless Terran Federation, the Terrans have finally been forced to abandon Darkover due to interstellar civil war.
As Lew Alton—returned home to the world of his birth after decades spent in exile as the Darkovan representative to the Terran Senate—wrestles with the dark shadows from his past, his daughter Marguerida’s psychic Gifts warn her of impending danger. But danger to whom? Her husband Mikhail, as powerful head of the Hastur Doman is her most obvious worry, for many would stand to gain from his demise.
Meanwhile, unknown to Marguerida, her son, Domenic, searches for his place in a world of shifting loyalties, torn by love for two very different women, and troubled by his destiny as the heir to Hastur.
But while Darkover’s powerful rulers face their personal demons, desperate refugees flood the streets of Thendara, Darkover’s capital city, for in the mountains an ancient menace is once again on the rise—a power against which neither sword nor the psychic sorcery of Darkover can prevail.
480 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
47 people are currently reading
753 people want to read
About the author
Marion Zimmer Bradley
801 books4,892 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 59 reviews
January 3, 2015
I love the series, and it hasn't really suffered with MZB's death but... why do none of the books cover the time between Landfall and the Ages of Chaos? I'd love to know how Nevarsin got settled, ditto the Dry Towns (who were the original inhabitants from the Landfall days?). Where did the mythology come from? Etc.. I know some of this exists in the collections, but they're not indexed in any timeline and I don't remember any really dealing with these topics.
Still, I'm eagerly awaiting the next...
Still, I'm eagerly awaiting the next...
October 21, 2016
This book wasn't badly written, and if you asked me about any individual plotline then I'd probably tell you that I liked it. The problem is that there were just too many plotlines. The episode of trailman's fever and the research necessary to cure it; Francisco Ridenow's plot to get vengeance on Mikhail Hastur for, as he sees it, stealing the Ring of Varzil from him; the unrest among the commoners and belief that the Comyn are ignoring all their concerns; the attempt to pull the Keepers of the Towers into being part of the Comyn Council so that they had a voice in affairs of government; Domenic Hastur's relationship with his cousin Alanna, his competing love for Ilona Rider, and the way that Alanna seems to have had her laran channels locked down to prevent her from misusing her gifts; Lew wrestling with the demons of his past and his attempt to find peace; and the aftereffects of Lew and Marguerida using the Alton Gift in Traitor's Sun to rewrite the memories of the Terran assassination force and how it's obviously a violation of the Compact. With all that packed into less than five hundred pages, of course most of it is going to get short shrift. And indeed, it does.
I'm not sure if I'm more disappointed in Alanna and Domenic's relationship or the trial of Marguerida. The first is focused on a lot in the first half of the book, then disappears almost completely for chapters at a time as the trailman's fever plot comes closer to the fore. The second comes up in Lew's guilt over his actions, but not at all in Marguerida's thoughts, and then is resolved in less than a page. After multiple books hammering home the Compact, how important the Compact is, how the Darkovans see the Compact as the true mark of a civilized society, how it saved their whole civilization from destroying itself with laran-based WMD, I was really disappointed to see the resolution come down to "Well, I guess it had to be done, so it was okay." I'm sure all the petty kings in the Ages of Chaos could have made exactly the same justifications for their own use of bonewater dust or fear spells.
Okay, so what about the other plotlines? The trailman's fever one is more interesting, since it's hinted at in the beginning chapter of the book before it flashes back a year, and it's come up in other Darkover books and is always a serious threat. In The Alton Gift, a Terran remaining behind on Darkover helps the Darkovans develop a new vaccine, since the Terrans developed a vaccine fifty years ago during the last bout of fever. He has a lot of trouble with it, though, until Marguerida tells him that there might be something laran-active about the antibodies that he acquired from someone who survived the fever. After all, the modern Darkovans are interbred with the chieri, so they may have some elements of alien genetics. She suggests using a Tower circle to create the vaccine after the Terran machines repeatedly turn on contradictory results, and thus the epidemic is stopped.
Except there's an obvious problem there. The Terrans stopped the previous epidemic with their vaccine. It's repeatedly referred to as the vaccine that the Terrans provided to the Darkovans, and since Terrans don't believe in psychic powers or, at best, think they're basically useless, they wouldn't have consulted a Tower to make it. There's no way that they used laran to make the previous vaccine and no way Darkovan genetics changed that much in fifty years, so this was made artificially difficult to add drama but in a way that's obviously ridiculous. Jeram's vaccine should have worked just fine.
If the book had half of the plots excised and what remained had been given more room to develop, I would have liked what was left a lot better. As it is, a lot of what is here is half-baked, or quickly and unsatisfactorily resolved when the book ran out of pages. I liked the writing style, but not well enough to forgive the contents.
I'm not sure if I'm more disappointed in Alanna and Domenic's relationship or the trial of Marguerida. The first is focused on a lot in the first half of the book, then disappears almost completely for chapters at a time as the trailman's fever plot comes closer to the fore. The second comes up in Lew's guilt over his actions, but not at all in Marguerida's thoughts, and then is resolved in less than a page. After multiple books hammering home the Compact, how important the Compact is, how the Darkovans see the Compact as the true mark of a civilized society, how it saved their whole civilization from destroying itself with laran-based WMD, I was really disappointed to see the resolution come down to "Well, I guess it had to be done, so it was okay." I'm sure all the petty kings in the Ages of Chaos could have made exactly the same justifications for their own use of bonewater dust or fear spells.
Okay, so what about the other plotlines? The trailman's fever one is more interesting, since it's hinted at in the beginning chapter of the book before it flashes back a year, and it's come up in other Darkover books and is always a serious threat. In The Alton Gift, a Terran remaining behind on Darkover helps the Darkovans develop a new vaccine, since the Terrans developed a vaccine fifty years ago during the last bout of fever. He has a lot of trouble with it, though, until Marguerida tells him that there might be something laran-active about the antibodies that he acquired from someone who survived the fever. After all, the modern Darkovans are interbred with the chieri, so they may have some elements of alien genetics. She suggests using a Tower circle to create the vaccine after the Terran machines repeatedly turn on contradictory results, and thus the epidemic is stopped.
Except there's an obvious problem there. The Terrans stopped the previous epidemic with their vaccine. It's repeatedly referred to as the vaccine that the Terrans provided to the Darkovans, and since Terrans don't believe in psychic powers or, at best, think they're basically useless, they wouldn't have consulted a Tower to make it. There's no way that they used laran to make the previous vaccine and no way Darkovan genetics changed that much in fifty years, so this was made artificially difficult to add drama but in a way that's obviously ridiculous. Jeram's vaccine should have worked just fine.
If the book had half of the plots excised and what remained had been given more room to develop, I would have liked what was left a lot better. As it is, a lot of what is here is half-baked, or quickly and unsatisfactorily resolved when the book ran out of pages. I liked the writing style, but not well enough to forgive the contents.
Read
September 30, 2013An enjoyable return to Darkover, with all the things that make it Darkover, including the ways in which always, in the end, Darkover and Terra need each other--even when the Terran Federation has departed the planet entirely.
What I was most struck by, though, was one particular story/thematic thread:
"I do not deserve healing."
"Perhaps. But the world does."
What I was most struck by, though, was one particular story/thematic thread:
"I do not deserve healing."
"Perhaps. But the world does."
August 16, 2015
The Alton Gift (pub. 2007), written by Deborah J. Ross from notes by Marion Zimmer Bradley, is the first book to deal with Darkover in the post-Terran era - and things are not good.
Darkover has clearly suffered in the three years since the departure of the Terrans. Only a generation has passed since the assault of the world wreckers, and the planet's ecology is still too fragile to sustain even the slightest of injuries. Forest fires have ravaged the hill areas, but without access to the fire-fighting chemicals of the Terrans, and with the numbers of Tower-trained leroni too depleted to fight fires in the old-fashioned way, with laran, whole villages have been destroyed, their inhabitants reduced to wandering the roads in search of work. The economy is faltering. And, harkening back to the very first Darkovan novel, a new strain of trailman's fever has appeared - and this time, the trailmen are dying of it too.
Not surprisingly, social unrest has reached levels previously unknown on Darkover. With the Comyn no longer able to uphold its part in the ancient feudal bargain, the social fabric of Darkovan culture is fraying. Added to this is the legacy of the self-imposed isolation that Regis Hastur adopted for himself and his kin after the wave of assassination attempts engineered by the world wreckers, which distanced the Comyn leaders from the people, and the effects of the Terran attempts to foment revolt through political satires spread by their agents among the Travellers.
Meanwhile, Lew Alton is having a crisis of conscience over his use of the Alton Gift to muddle the memories of the Terrans who survived the battle on the Old North Road. On the advice of Danilo Syrtis, he retires to the home of the cristoforo monks at Nevarsin where he hopes to find some peace of mind. Instead, he is directly confronted with his actions when the Keeper of Neskaya asks for his help in dealing with a Terran experiencing the awakening of latent laran as a result of being subjected to forced rapport. The Terran, Jeremiah Reed - now calling himself Joram - had remained on Darkover when the others were evacuated, and is, of course, one of those who attacked the funeral cortege. Lew restores his memories, helps him learn to control his laran, in the process both of them find a degree of healing and redemption - for Joram, a former biotechnician tasked with creating bioweapons, has his own demons to settle.
As the scene shifts from the Hellers to Thendara, Joram - and the knowledge that Lew and Marguerida have misused their power - falls into the hands of Mikhail Lanart-Hastur's enemy, Francisco Ridenow. With the Comyn Council in session, Francisco brings Joram to a council meeting, intending to use his story as a reason to challenge Mikhail's leadership. When Joram, despite being drugged, refuses to accuse Marguerida and Lew, Francisco declares blood feud against Mikhail. In the ensuing duel, Francisco is killed but not before he manages to wound Mikhail with a poisoned blade.
With Mikhail in a laran-induced coma to prolong his life in the hope that he will be able to fight off the effects of poison, Domenic convinces the Council to accept him as Acting Warden of Hastur and Regent in his father's place. Almost immediately he is faced with his first crisis - the trailmen's fever outbreak is spreading.
Under Domenic's leadership, The effort to save the people of Darkover from the plague brings together the diverse elements of society - Renunciate healers, Tower-trained leroni, matrix technicians from outside of the Towers, others of the Comyn, to nurse the already infected. Meanwhile, Joram, Marguerida, and some of those Darkovans who had once worked for the Terrans work to find a vaccine or treatment, drawing on Joram's knowledge and the records of the last outbreak of the fever.
In the end, it takes both Terran bioscience and Darkovan to create a vaccine from the blood of a plague survivor, but the process is difficult for the leroni involved, and it seems impossible to make enough in time to prevent the plague from killing off most of the population. Marguerida makes a desperate attempt, drawing on all the potential of her shadow matrix, to create enough vaccine to begin a treatment program - but in so doing, her consciousness is trapped in the Overworld, and none of the leroni are able to find her and bring her back to her body.
Domenic then makes his own desperate act, and joins the hands of his mother and father, both unreachable by any normal laran contact. While this allows Marguerida and Mikhail to find each other in the Overworld, it is Domenic who brings them back to the physical plane after they have healed each other with the power of Varzil's ring.
As the novel ends, the epidemic is under control, and the changes brought about by the need to find a cure are starting to ripple through the fabric of Darkovan society.
Darkover is changing, and so is the cast of characters that readers had grown used to over so many novels. Regis Hastur, who was introduced in the first Darkover novel Bradley wrote, died in The Traitor's Sun. The Alton Gift sees the passing of both Javanne Hastur and her husband Gabriel. Lew Alton suffers a heart attack, reminding readers that his days too are numbered. Marilla Lindir-Aillard succumbed to the plague. Yet as the old guard passes, Dominic Alton-Hastur is coming into his own as the heir to the Regency. And a new political landscape has been formed, with formerly unacknowledged nedestro heirs to the dwindling Domains - including Domenic's lover Illona Ardais (formerly Rider) - taking their places beside the remaining members of the older Comyn lines, and a Keeper's Council formed to advise the Comyn. Joram is teaching Terran science to a selected group of Darkovan students, with the goal of preparing for the eventual return of the Federation. The stage is set for the next stage of the Darkovan story.
Darkover has clearly suffered in the three years since the departure of the Terrans. Only a generation has passed since the assault of the world wreckers, and the planet's ecology is still too fragile to sustain even the slightest of injuries. Forest fires have ravaged the hill areas, but without access to the fire-fighting chemicals of the Terrans, and with the numbers of Tower-trained leroni too depleted to fight fires in the old-fashioned way, with laran, whole villages have been destroyed, their inhabitants reduced to wandering the roads in search of work. The economy is faltering. And, harkening back to the very first Darkovan novel, a new strain of trailman's fever has appeared - and this time, the trailmen are dying of it too.
Not surprisingly, social unrest has reached levels previously unknown on Darkover. With the Comyn no longer able to uphold its part in the ancient feudal bargain, the social fabric of Darkovan culture is fraying. Added to this is the legacy of the self-imposed isolation that Regis Hastur adopted for himself and his kin after the wave of assassination attempts engineered by the world wreckers, which distanced the Comyn leaders from the people, and the effects of the Terran attempts to foment revolt through political satires spread by their agents among the Travellers.
Meanwhile, Lew Alton is having a crisis of conscience over his use of the Alton Gift to muddle the memories of the Terrans who survived the battle on the Old North Road. On the advice of Danilo Syrtis, he retires to the home of the cristoforo monks at Nevarsin where he hopes to find some peace of mind. Instead, he is directly confronted with his actions when the Keeper of Neskaya asks for his help in dealing with a Terran experiencing the awakening of latent laran as a result of being subjected to forced rapport. The Terran, Jeremiah Reed - now calling himself Joram - had remained on Darkover when the others were evacuated, and is, of course, one of those who attacked the funeral cortege. Lew restores his memories, helps him learn to control his laran, in the process both of them find a degree of healing and redemption - for Joram, a former biotechnician tasked with creating bioweapons, has his own demons to settle.
As the scene shifts from the Hellers to Thendara, Joram - and the knowledge that Lew and Marguerida have misused their power - falls into the hands of Mikhail Lanart-Hastur's enemy, Francisco Ridenow. With the Comyn Council in session, Francisco brings Joram to a council meeting, intending to use his story as a reason to challenge Mikhail's leadership. When Joram, despite being drugged, refuses to accuse Marguerida and Lew, Francisco declares blood feud against Mikhail. In the ensuing duel, Francisco is killed but not before he manages to wound Mikhail with a poisoned blade.
With Mikhail in a laran-induced coma to prolong his life in the hope that he will be able to fight off the effects of poison, Domenic convinces the Council to accept him as Acting Warden of Hastur and Regent in his father's place. Almost immediately he is faced with his first crisis - the trailmen's fever outbreak is spreading.
Under Domenic's leadership, The effort to save the people of Darkover from the plague brings together the diverse elements of society - Renunciate healers, Tower-trained leroni, matrix technicians from outside of the Towers, others of the Comyn, to nurse the already infected. Meanwhile, Joram, Marguerida, and some of those Darkovans who had once worked for the Terrans work to find a vaccine or treatment, drawing on Joram's knowledge and the records of the last outbreak of the fever.
In the end, it takes both Terran bioscience and Darkovan to create a vaccine from the blood of a plague survivor, but the process is difficult for the leroni involved, and it seems impossible to make enough in time to prevent the plague from killing off most of the population. Marguerida makes a desperate attempt, drawing on all the potential of her shadow matrix, to create enough vaccine to begin a treatment program - but in so doing, her consciousness is trapped in the Overworld, and none of the leroni are able to find her and bring her back to her body.
Domenic then makes his own desperate act, and joins the hands of his mother and father, both unreachable by any normal laran contact. While this allows Marguerida and Mikhail to find each other in the Overworld, it is Domenic who brings them back to the physical plane after they have healed each other with the power of Varzil's ring.
As the novel ends, the epidemic is under control, and the changes brought about by the need to find a cure are starting to ripple through the fabric of Darkovan society.
Darkover is changing, and so is the cast of characters that readers had grown used to over so many novels. Regis Hastur, who was introduced in the first Darkover novel Bradley wrote, died in The Traitor's Sun. The Alton Gift sees the passing of both Javanne Hastur and her husband Gabriel. Lew Alton suffers a heart attack, reminding readers that his days too are numbered. Marilla Lindir-Aillard succumbed to the plague. Yet as the old guard passes, Dominic Alton-Hastur is coming into his own as the heir to the Regency. And a new political landscape has been formed, with formerly unacknowledged nedestro heirs to the dwindling Domains - including Domenic's lover Illona Ardais (formerly Rider) - taking their places beside the remaining members of the older Comyn lines, and a Keeper's Council formed to advise the Comyn. Joram is teaching Terran science to a selected group of Darkovan students, with the goal of preparing for the eventual return of the Federation. The stage is set for the next stage of the Darkovan story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 29, 2009
Another of the books Marion Zimmer Bradley plotted with Deborah J. Ross ere she died. I have to say that I really like the way Ross has kept Darkover "alive" and am getting over the fact that she doesn't write the way Bradley did.
She doesn't much write action scenes, which is OK because she doesn't do them nearly as well as Bradley did, and the exploration of human sexuality isn't present, which is OK because Bradley pretty well exhausted that theme.
What Ross does very well is plot political intrigue, family relations, and the lives of young people coming into their own. This novel is a direct continuation of 'Traitor's Sun,' the last Darkover novel of Bradley's life, a novel that I am particularly fond of. Although there are multiple narratives and story lines, the main one follows Dominic, son of Margarida Alton (main character of Bradley's last trilogy) and Mikhael, Regent and essentially the most powerful political figure on the planet.
It is a few years after Traitor's Sun, and the Terrans have withdrawn from Darkover in the midst of a civil war. For the first time since the Age of Chaos novels, the Terran Empire doesn't play an active part, although there is one character, named Jeram, who is a Terran who left behind. Also present is Lew Alton, prominent in a number of other Darkover novels, who is the first character Bradley created in the Darkover series and who is the character she said she most identified with.
Despite the fact that the Terrans have withdrawn and there is a time of relative peace, political infighting and the recurrence of a disease thought eradicated give Dominic plenty of challenges to overcome. The novel is exciting, well plotted, has great character development, and has a thoroughly satisfying ending.
Brava, Ms. Ross. Bradley would be pleased.
She doesn't much write action scenes, which is OK because she doesn't do them nearly as well as Bradley did, and the exploration of human sexuality isn't present, which is OK because Bradley pretty well exhausted that theme.
What Ross does very well is plot political intrigue, family relations, and the lives of young people coming into their own. This novel is a direct continuation of 'Traitor's Sun,' the last Darkover novel of Bradley's life, a novel that I am particularly fond of. Although there are multiple narratives and story lines, the main one follows Dominic, son of Margarida Alton (main character of Bradley's last trilogy) and Mikhael, Regent and essentially the most powerful political figure on the planet.
It is a few years after Traitor's Sun, and the Terrans have withdrawn from Darkover in the midst of a civil war. For the first time since the Age of Chaos novels, the Terran Empire doesn't play an active part, although there is one character, named Jeram, who is a Terran who left behind. Also present is Lew Alton, prominent in a number of other Darkover novels, who is the first character Bradley created in the Darkover series and who is the character she said she most identified with.
Despite the fact that the Terrans have withdrawn and there is a time of relative peace, political infighting and the recurrence of a disease thought eradicated give Dominic plenty of challenges to overcome. The novel is exciting, well plotted, has great character development, and has a thoroughly satisfying ending.
Brava, Ms. Ross. Bradley would be pleased.
December 21, 2008
Hate to say it, but I couldn't finish this book. I liked the Darkover series, and I enjoyed the Clingfire trilogy, but this book isn't good. Part of the problem, for me, is that I do not like Marguerida in this book. While she never was a favorite character, I found her tolerable and at times likable. Here, Marguerida comes across as always right and full of hubris. Take for instance, Alanna, Marguerida's foster daughter. Marguerida tells us that she loved Alanna more than Alanna's actually mother. We're told this; we never actually see it. Whenever, the two women are together, there is no tenderness towards Alanna. Granted Alanna's behavior is wrong, but she is sick so shouldn't some understanding be called for? Additionally, be her own admission, Marguerida took Alanna in to try to avoid a vision of the future, not out of love. Some other characters seem to lack depth, and the love triangle mentioned on the back cover never seems real because it is hard to believe that the characters are in love or even in lust with each other. The pacing too is bad, and the class warfare gets shut down and shunted aside too much. It feels that because of the established characters, Ross is trying to write like Bradley and not like Ross. This is a shame because it can't work, and, therefore, everything feels forced. This is a shame because Ross can write.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 4, 2015
Lots of things resolved, including a strong basis to grow into the future. Terranan still lurking but now Darkover seems poised to deal with them when it happens.
Lots of icky things resolved--damned Francisco Ridenow, the petulant brat Alanna, the Altona Gift, and even Domenic has navigated adolescence and his nebulous Gift and found his purpose. Best of all, no one important died and some who I'd been hoping would have obliged. We even get to know (assume, since nothing is said aloud about it) what happened with Regis' first daughter, Stelli.
Very sad I only have one book left. Hoping to hell it's a strong ending.
Lots of icky things resolved--damned Francisco Ridenow, the petulant brat Alanna, the Altona Gift, and even Domenic has navigated adolescence and his nebulous Gift and found his purpose. Best of all, no one important died and some who I'd been hoping would have obliged. We even get to know (assume, since nothing is said aloud about it) what happened with Regis' first daughter, Stelli.
Very sad I only have one book left. Hoping to hell it's a strong ending.
November 11, 2011
This took a very different tone from the previous three Darkover books, probably something to do with the fact the co-author was different. Still, it was an enjoyable tale of thwarted love and laran powers. I do like the way that Deborah J Ross is taking this series and really hope that she continues the "modern" Darkover books in the same vein.
June 3, 2008
I thought I remembered liking this world & these characters, but this addition betrayed my memories. It was one of those books that you wish the characters were physical, and here, just so you could slap them up-side the head for stupidity.
July 2, 2019
A good continuation of the series. For a long time I have loved this series that deals with a low tech colonial world cut off from Earth for thousands of years that developed psychic abilities to offset the lack of metals that would have allowed for technology to have been maintained. The complex social and political rules that evolved in a telepathic community are fascinating. Now the Comyn are trying to deal with aftermath of the Terrans leaving their planet once more.
This book picks up some of the threads that have existed through several of the previous books including Ridenow's political ambitions, Alanna's troubled personality and Dominick's unique laran. Throw in a pandemic in the making and reconciliation of use of the the Alton's Gift equals this novel. Unfortunately, not all of these threads are developed as they could have been. There has been a big build up for a few books about Dominick and Alanna's romance but it fizzles rather quickly. Alanna's personality has been a threat hanging over Marguerida's family for several books but it never really shows her being a threat except as a difficult child and a few premonitions a few books back. Her turn around is a little quick too.
I loved the political intrigue and that the Terran influence still is having an effect on Darkovian society. They didn't just withdraw and fade into history as if they never existed. The core of the Darkover series has always been the conflict and the coming together of the Terran Empire and the society that has developed on the planet. Both societies have pluses and minuses.
There are some threads that I wish could be explored in another book but I don't think it will ever happen. Dominick's laran was explored a little bit more in this book but I would love to see how that develops and what he could do with it. There were hints that the Hastur gift of being a living matrix did not die out with Regis. I would like to see where that goes.
Anyway, I love a visit to Darkover. It isn't just a SF adventure but explores issues that are important to us now on Earth.
This book picks up some of the threads that have existed through several of the previous books including Ridenow's political ambitions, Alanna's troubled personality and Dominick's unique laran. Throw in a pandemic in the making and reconciliation of use of the the Alton's Gift equals this novel. Unfortunately, not all of these threads are developed as they could have been. There has been a big build up for a few books about Dominick and Alanna's romance but it fizzles rather quickly. Alanna's personality has been a threat hanging over Marguerida's family for several books but it never really shows her being a threat except as a difficult child and a few premonitions a few books back. Her turn around is a little quick too.
I loved the political intrigue and that the Terran influence still is having an effect on Darkovian society. They didn't just withdraw and fade into history as if they never existed. The core of the Darkover series has always been the conflict and the coming together of the Terran Empire and the society that has developed on the planet. Both societies have pluses and minuses.
There are some threads that I wish could be explored in another book but I don't think it will ever happen. Dominick's laran was explored a little bit more in this book but I would love to see how that develops and what he could do with it. There were hints that the Hastur gift of being a living matrix did not die out with Regis. I would like to see where that goes.
Anyway, I love a visit to Darkover. It isn't just a SF adventure but explores issues that are important to us now on Earth.
February 16, 2021
This Darkover book tells a complete story and could stand alone. However, it builds on many events and characters of previous books including, but not limited to, Heritage of Hastur, Exile's Song, Shadow Matirx, and Traitor's Sun.
Since the synopsis on this website, presumably given by the publisher, is not very enlightening, let me summarize. Lew Alton deals with guilt over his role in the aftermath of the Battle of Old North Road. Meanwhile, a Terran refugee, who was also there deals with issues of his own. Meanwhile Domenic, the heir of Hastur, is drawn to his cousin Alanna and they secretly develop a relationship. The traitor of the aforementioned battle, Dom Fransisco, requests and is granted permission to return from exile despite concerns that he will raise new mischief in the Comyn Council.
The book focuses heavily on the ethics of telepathically imposing one's will on another person, a sort of mind control. This theme gets old, and in my opinion, reveals a double standard. Connected to this are the subjects of WMD's, especially bio weapons. Throw in palace politics and treachery and this book is the result. Rather than being a fresh story of its own, this is more about dealing with an uninteresting aftermath.
It's not that the story is bad, it's just that almost nothing in it appealed to me.
Mature themes: there is some mildly explicit sexual foreplay. The theme of mind control is dealt with as "mind rape". There are recollections of the aforementioned bloody battle. There is a deadly fight. There are references to the use of alcohol to drown sorrows.
Since the synopsis on this website, presumably given by the publisher, is not very enlightening, let me summarize. Lew Alton deals with guilt over his role in the aftermath of the Battle of Old North Road. Meanwhile, a Terran refugee, who was also there deals with issues of his own. Meanwhile Domenic, the heir of Hastur, is drawn to his cousin Alanna and they secretly develop a relationship. The traitor of the aforementioned battle, Dom Fransisco, requests and is granted permission to return from exile despite concerns that he will raise new mischief in the Comyn Council.
The book focuses heavily on the ethics of telepathically imposing one's will on another person, a sort of mind control. This theme gets old, and in my opinion, reveals a double standard. Connected to this are the subjects of WMD's, especially bio weapons. Throw in palace politics and treachery and this book is the result. Rather than being a fresh story of its own, this is more about dealing with an uninteresting aftermath.
It's not that the story is bad, it's just that almost nothing in it appealed to me.
Mature themes: there is some mildly explicit sexual foreplay. The theme of mind control is dealt with as "mind rape". There are recollections of the aforementioned bloody battle. There is a deadly fight. There are references to the use of alcohol to drown sorrows.
November 20, 2025
Marion Zimmer Bradley, and her literary work, must be viewed through two, often competing, lenses.
First, she was writing stories with strong, relatable female protagonists battling male oppression at a time when very few other authors were prepared to do so. Many modern readers cannot conceive of a time when women were not allowed to have a credit card in their own name, which was but one of the policies Bradley was dealing with in her time. She was a feminist long before it became fashionable. She was one of a very few voices that spoke powerfully to young women about their own worth. Much of her writing, read today, can be seen as trite, obvious, or overbearing, but it must be remembered that it was none of those things at the time it was written. This was a woman who co-founded, and named, the Society for Creative Anachronism, who championed pagan rights when the mainstream saw them as satanic, and who encouraged and published unknown female authors like Mercedes Lackey. Viewed through this lens, Bradley was a progressive woman to be lauded, as she was, posthumously, when she received the World Fantasy Award for lifetime achievement in 2000.
Second, and hideously, Bradley was a pedophile, who molested her own children. She also procured and groomed children for her husband, Walter Breen, to assault. She admitted to knowing what he was doing to these children, but refused to stop helping him, much less report him or interfere with his desires. Her own daughter was her accuser, so we can be assured this is not a "he said, she said" situation. Viewed through this lens, then, her life and work become irredeemably tainted.
We are, perhaps, used to evaluating art for art's sake, commenting on Ender's Game, or Harry Potter, as though their authors' views, hateful as they are, should not condemn the output of their minds and hands. Perhaps we are right to do so; after all, these views are only beliefs and words, no matter how widespread a bully pulpit their famous speakers are able to command. However, when beliefs and words turn into actions, we must draw the line. Since 2014, when definitive proof finally came to light, I have found myself unable to recommend anything written by Marion Zimmer Bradley. I remain so appalled by her actions that I can never give more than one star to anything she has written, no matter how groundbreaking, how heartfelt, how astounding it may be. I urge everyone reading this to join me in boycotting her work forever.
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* (extremely rare) There is something very wrong with this book &/or this author; never again.
** (seldom) Has flaws, or I just couldn’t get into it; no thanks.
*** (usual) Not great, not bad; no need to return to it.
**** (often) Better than average; I’d read it again.
***** (rare) A superb example of the genre, &/or an incredible piece of art; I re-read it often.
First, she was writing stories with strong, relatable female protagonists battling male oppression at a time when very few other authors were prepared to do so. Many modern readers cannot conceive of a time when women were not allowed to have a credit card in their own name, which was but one of the policies Bradley was dealing with in her time. She was a feminist long before it became fashionable. She was one of a very few voices that spoke powerfully to young women about their own worth. Much of her writing, read today, can be seen as trite, obvious, or overbearing, but it must be remembered that it was none of those things at the time it was written. This was a woman who co-founded, and named, the Society for Creative Anachronism, who championed pagan rights when the mainstream saw them as satanic, and who encouraged and published unknown female authors like Mercedes Lackey. Viewed through this lens, Bradley was a progressive woman to be lauded, as she was, posthumously, when she received the World Fantasy Award for lifetime achievement in 2000.
Second, and hideously, Bradley was a pedophile, who molested her own children. She also procured and groomed children for her husband, Walter Breen, to assault. She admitted to knowing what he was doing to these children, but refused to stop helping him, much less report him or interfere with his desires. Her own daughter was her accuser, so we can be assured this is not a "he said, she said" situation. Viewed through this lens, then, her life and work become irredeemably tainted.
We are, perhaps, used to evaluating art for art's sake, commenting on Ender's Game, or Harry Potter, as though their authors' views, hateful as they are, should not condemn the output of their minds and hands. Perhaps we are right to do so; after all, these views are only beliefs and words, no matter how widespread a bully pulpit their famous speakers are able to command. However, when beliefs and words turn into actions, we must draw the line. Since 2014, when definitive proof finally came to light, I have found myself unable to recommend anything written by Marion Zimmer Bradley. I remain so appalled by her actions that I can never give more than one star to anything she has written, no matter how groundbreaking, how heartfelt, how astounding it may be. I urge everyone reading this to join me in boycotting her work forever.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* (extremely rare) There is something very wrong with this book &/or this author; never again.
** (seldom) Has flaws, or I just couldn’t get into it; no thanks.
*** (usual) Not great, not bad; no need to return to it.
**** (often) Better than average; I’d read it again.
***** (rare) A superb example of the genre, &/or an incredible piece of art; I re-read it often.
February 2, 2017
Several pages into this new book, it started sounding familiar - and sure enough, I had a hardback copy on my shelf! I always check before I order so I"m not sure how I overlooked this one. But I read it again anyway. It took no time at all to suck me into the story, as always happens with Darkover books. This is a sequel to Traitor's Son, and concerns (among other things) the aftereffects of Lew and Marguerida Alton's actions on the way to Regis Hastur's funeral. It also follows the trials of Marguerida's children, primarily Domenic, the heir, as he starts falling in love and trying to find his place in life.
January 11, 2021
I kind of went through the motions of finishing this because it was a bit "write by numbers" although the basic story was fine.
However. I started to notice in the previous novel (A Traitor's Sun) and the other one when Marguerida first comes back to Darkover that... i don't like her. She's a priggish, snobbish know it all who is oh-so-sensitive to everything. She was pretty horrible to Allana, to be honest, and definitely has an obvious favourite (Domenic) among her children. I worked out early in this one that i would definitely give her a wide berth in real life and that sort of put me off reading this, to be honest.
However. I started to notice in the previous novel (A Traitor's Sun) and the other one when Marguerida first comes back to Darkover that... i don't like her. She's a priggish, snobbish know it all who is oh-so-sensitive to everything. She was pretty horrible to Allana, to be honest, and definitely has an obvious favourite (Domenic) among her children. I worked out early in this one that i would definitely give her a wide berth in real life and that sort of put me off reading this, to be honest.
October 13, 2016
This book makes for an interesting sequel to Bradley's "Traitor's Sun", a story which I never realized needed a sequel. The writing is excellent, the characters mostly interesting, and the plot better than fair in spite of a few quibbles which I'll get to in a moment. It started a bit slowly, and at first a few of the characters seemed a bit wooden, especially Alanna, one half of the initial romantic subplot. That subplot itself, largely because of the weakness of her character, was rather trite and two-dimensional, but it developed nicely over time. My only other quibbles are two: one, the plot device of the epidemic of Trailmen's Fever seemed a bit forced, as did the solution to it; it should have been much more easily solved than it was, ans clearly the difficulties in resolving the problem were a matter of the author transparently stepping in and saying, "No, I won't let it be that easy; that would prevent my next plot device from being necessary". Secondly, for all the difficulties, everything was wrapped up nicely with a bow at the end of the story; rarely, either in real life or in Bradley's stories, do things all wind up as perfect as they did here. All of the difficult choices are made unnecessary, and happy endings are to be had by all (of the main characters, and even secondary ones; extras and walk-ons had died left and right throughout the story.) I like a happy ending as much as the next romantic, but past a certain point, in spite of the fact that I can hear my younger self howling at the admission, it starts to seem somewhat cardboard.
June 14, 2021
Eine Rückkehr auf Darkover ist immer wieder schön - wenn ich dabei noch auf Lew und Magurida Alton treffe, macht mich das wirklich glücklich. Ich würde diesen Roman nur echten Darkover-Fans empfehlen, die bereits den Magurida-Alton-Zyklus gelesen und gemocht haben. Für andere Leser könnten doch zu viele Fragen offen bleiben.
In der Corona-Zeit möglicherweise nötige Triggerwarnung - ein Handlungsstrang dreht sich um das Wiederaufflammen des Waldläuferfiebers, das fast pandemieartige Zustände annimmt.
In der Corona-Zeit möglicherweise nötige Triggerwarnung - ein Handlungsstrang dreht sich um das Wiederaufflammen des Waldläuferfiebers, das fast pandemieartige Zustände annimmt.
June 20, 2021
I enjoyed this book, but it benefits from having read other Darkover stories, providing a better tapestry.
This book is a bunch of shards of stories hung together. I enjoyed all of the bits, but they make an odd quilt altogether. It felt more like a clever way to join short stories together.
Recommended for Darkover fans, and I enjoyed the further flushing out of the world. I think I'd enjoy it more having read the other books that directly precede this one, as this feels very much like it ties up loose ends in a happily ever after way.
This book is a bunch of shards of stories hung together. I enjoyed all of the bits, but they make an odd quilt altogether. It felt more like a clever way to join short stories together.
Recommended for Darkover fans, and I enjoyed the further flushing out of the world. I think I'd enjoy it more having read the other books that directly precede this one, as this feels very much like it ties up loose ends in a happily ever after way.
December 12, 2018
More like a Romance than any other genre. Lost of hand ringing, puppy love (in adults). What action there was, was all in sub-plots. While 'Laran' was much discussed, it was actually used very little - mostly they just questioned their own or others right to use it.
May 13, 2021
I loved it. I grew up reading this series. There were a few times that I wanted to just cry. Sometimes I was ready to bargin with whatever god's heard me cause I did not want to see characters that I love, die.
August 10, 2021
I have always loved immersing myself in Darkover - no matter at what point in the planet's 1,000+ years of history. This was yet another fun read - rich in detail, complex, and a blending oof both real science and Darkovan psychic science.
June 7, 2022
Pandemic on an alien world.
Lots of action in this book; introspection too. The children are growing up. Trailman Fever returns. The ethical use of Laran is discussed. Some typos but a solid ending.
Lots of action in this book; introspection too. The children are growing up. Trailman Fever returns. The ethical use of Laran is discussed. Some typos but a solid ending.
February 22, 2024
I enjoyed this book, but don't plan to read anymore of this series. It was a little hard going for me as a story focused so much on internal dialogue and the relationships among the characters and with their very various extra sensory gifts.
September 7, 2017
I really do love this universe! The novels are much better than the short stories.
January 30, 2019
For me it started a little slow, but then took off. A excellent book.
July 22, 2020
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
May 17, 2023
The best of the series would have been timely in 2020. Ross really grasps the heart of Darkover. It's really moving and hard to put down. It's worth reading.
December 13, 2023
Delightful blended story
A good grasp of humanity it it's simplicity and complexity. There's a nice grasp of how less educated see things without being condescending.
A good grasp of humanity it it's simplicity and complexity. There's a nice grasp of how less educated see things without being condescending.
April 28, 2025
I just love last books of the dark over saga, they’re written way better and I love the emotions they carry
January 10, 2013
Continuazione di "Attacco a Darkover" (Traitor's Sun) nonché primo episodio della trilogia Children of Kings, ha come protagonista Dominick Alton-Hastur, conteso fra la cugina Alanna (che aveva problemi con il laran ed è stata ad Arilinn e sembra che la Custode l'abbia danneggiata permanentemente, altro che Callista Alton ne La Torre Proibita!) e Illona, la giovane girovaga con il Dono degli Alton, incontrata in "Attacco a Darkover", che ha studiato e nel frattempo è diventata vice-Custode di Nevarsin. Poi c'è Francisco Ridenow, che è stato reintegrato nel Consiglio dei Comyn e che vorrebbe che Dominick sposasse sua figlia, la giovanissima Sibelle, dopotutto Domenick è l'Erede di Hastur... Francisco, neanche a dirlo, è sempre pronto a seminare zizzania e a chiedere a Mickhail di restituire l'anello di Varzil, perché, sebbene Varzil il Buono lo abbia consegnato a lui personalmente, dopotutto era un Ridenow! Inoltre su Darkover si verificano casi di una misteriosa malattia, forse la febbre dei trailmen, che era stata debellata da Regis Hastur quando era ancora un ragazzo (Le Foreste di Darkover - The Planet Savers) e che pare si sia ripresentata, o forse si tratta di qualche virus che avvelena il terreno ed infetta uomini ed animali, seminato tempo addietro dai Distruttori di Mondi...
Rispetto a Gli inferni di Zandru si percepisce troppo il passaggio di consegne da Marion Zimmer Bradley alla Ross. Ci sono scene che avrei visto meglio in un romance che non in un romanzo del ciclo di Darkover. Comunque un romanzo dalla struttura molto complessa, dai numerosi personaggi - sia nuovi che già conosciuti, visto che si tratta del seguito di Attacco a Darkover, che a sua volta era il seguito di La sfida degli Alton e La matrice ombra. Si fa un po' di confusione con i nomi, visto che ci sono tre personaggi femminili, per giunta coetanei, che si chiamano Yllana, Illona e Alanna... (Verso la fine si è confuso anche il tipografo, dato che è uscito fuori un Yllanna, LOL!)
Rispetto a Gli inferni di Zandru si percepisce troppo il passaggio di consegne da Marion Zimmer Bradley alla Ross. Ci sono scene che avrei visto meglio in un romance che non in un romanzo del ciclo di Darkover. Comunque un romanzo dalla struttura molto complessa, dai numerosi personaggi - sia nuovi che già conosciuti, visto che si tratta del seguito di Attacco a Darkover, che a sua volta era il seguito di La sfida degli Alton e La matrice ombra. Si fa un po' di confusione con i nomi, visto che ci sono tre personaggi femminili, per giunta coetanei, che si chiamano Yllana, Illona e Alanna... (Verso la fine si è confuso anche il tipografo, dato che è uscito fuori un Yllanna, LOL!)
June 30, 2010
The Alton Gift, one of the newest Darkover books, is the sequel to Traitor's Sun and written by Deborah Ross. It's about Domenic Alton-Hastur, the 20-year-old son of Marguerida and Mikhail, as he comes into his own as the heir to the Darkovan throne. Also featured is Lew Alton, Marguerida's father, as he comes to terms with certain events from the preceding book. All the while, the entire Darkovan population battles a breakout of Trailmen's Fever, a deadly disease they are once again susceptible to now that the Terran Federation has left the planet, and taken with them their medical know-how.
Though this book is the same length as the ones Barnes wrote (Exile's Song, The Shadow Matrix), Ross' use of the page space is much better than Barnes'. Ross' writing is much closer in tone and style to Bradley's (though obviously unique at the same time), and she has a much better sense than Barnes when to really flesh out a scene and when to simply mention it in passing for the sake of pushing through the story. As a result, Ross' Darkover is much grander, with a number of important characters getting the limelight, as opposed to Barnes' one or two. Ross does have some awkward character development moments throughout the book, but on the whole I much more enjoy her writing. She's written a few other books since Bradley died, and at some point I will definitely read those.
Though this book is the same length as the ones Barnes wrote (Exile's Song, The Shadow Matrix), Ross' use of the page space is much better than Barnes'. Ross' writing is much closer in tone and style to Bradley's (though obviously unique at the same time), and she has a much better sense than Barnes when to really flesh out a scene and when to simply mention it in passing for the sake of pushing through the story. As a result, Ross' Darkover is much grander, with a number of important characters getting the limelight, as opposed to Barnes' one or two. Ross does have some awkward character development moments throughout the book, but on the whole I much more enjoy her writing. She's written a few other books since Bradley died, and at some point I will definitely read those.
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