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Darkover (Publication Order) #1-2
Planet Savers/swords
Doctors from Earth try to end a pandemic which occurs every forty-eight years on the planet Darkover, and after six years of exile, Lew Alton returns to Darkover
359 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1962
4 people are currently reading
400 people want to read
About the author
Marion Zimmer Bradley
800 books4,882 followersMarion Eleanor Zimmer Bradley was an American author of fantasy novels such as The Mists of Avalon and the Darkover series, often with a feminist outlook.
Bradley's first published novel-length work was Falcons of Narabedla, first published in the May 1957 issue of Other Worlds. When she was a child, Bradley stated that she enjoyed reading adventure fantasy authors such as Henry Kuttner, Edmond Hamilton, and Leigh Brackett, especially when they wrote about "the glint of strange suns on worlds that never were and never would be." Her first novel and much of her subsequent work show their influence strongly.
Early in her career, writing as Morgan Ives, Miriam Gardner, John Dexter, and Lee Chapman, Marion Zimmer Bradley produced several works outside the speculative fiction genre, including some gay and lesbian pulp fiction novels. For example, I Am a Lesbian was published in 1962. Though relatively tame by today's standards, they were considered pornographic when published, and for a long time she refused to disclose the titles she wrote under these pseudonyms.
Her 1958 story The Planet Savers introduced the planet of Darkover, which became the setting of a popular series by Bradley and other authors. The Darkover milieu may be considered as either fantasy with science fiction overtones or as science fiction with fantasy overtones, as Darkover is a lost earth colony where psi powers developed to an unusual degree. Bradley wrote many Darkover novels by herself, but in her later years collaborated with other authors for publication; her literary collaborators have continued the series since her death.
Bradley took an active role in science-fiction and fantasy fandom, promoting interaction with professional authors and publishers and making several important contributions to the subculture.
For many years, Bradley actively encouraged Darkover fan fiction and reprinted some of it in commercial Darkover anthologies, continuing to encourage submissions from unpublished authors, but this ended after a dispute with a fan over an unpublished Darkover novel of Bradley's that had similarities to some of the fan's stories. As a result, the novel remained unpublished, and Bradley demanded the cessation of all Darkover fan fiction.
Bradley was also the editor of the long-running Sword and Sorceress anthology series, which encouraged submissions of fantasy stories featuring original and non-traditional heroines from young and upcoming authors. Although she particularly encouraged young female authors, she was not averse to including male authors in her anthologies. Mercedes Lackey was just one of many authors who first appeared in the anthologies. She also maintained a large family of writers at her home in Berkeley. Ms Bradley was editing the final Sword and Sorceress manuscript up until the week of her death in September of 1999.
Probably her most famous single novel is The Mists of Avalon. A retelling of the Camelot legend from the point of view of Morgaine and Gwenhwyfar, it grew into a series of books; like the Darkover series, the later novels are written with or by other authors and have continued to appear after Bradley's death.
Her reputation has been posthumously marred by multiple accusations of child sexual abuse by her daughter Moira Greyland, and for allegedly assisting her second husband, convicted child abuser Walter Breen, in sexually abusing multiple unrelated children.
(from Wikipedia)
Bradley's first published novel-length work was Falcons of Narabedla, first published in the May 1957 issue of Other Worlds. When she was a child, Bradley stated that she enjoyed reading adventure fantasy authors such as Henry Kuttner, Edmond Hamilton, and Leigh Brackett, especially when they wrote about "the glint of strange suns on worlds that never were and never would be." Her first novel and much of her subsequent work show their influence strongly.
Early in her career, writing as Morgan Ives, Miriam Gardner, John Dexter, and Lee Chapman, Marion Zimmer Bradley produced several works outside the speculative fiction genre, including some gay and lesbian pulp fiction novels. For example, I Am a Lesbian was published in 1962. Though relatively tame by today's standards, they were considered pornographic when published, and for a long time she refused to disclose the titles she wrote under these pseudonyms.
Her 1958 story The Planet Savers introduced the planet of Darkover, which became the setting of a popular series by Bradley and other authors. The Darkover milieu may be considered as either fantasy with science fiction overtones or as science fiction with fantasy overtones, as Darkover is a lost earth colony where psi powers developed to an unusual degree. Bradley wrote many Darkover novels by herself, but in her later years collaborated with other authors for publication; her literary collaborators have continued the series since her death.
Bradley took an active role in science-fiction and fantasy fandom, promoting interaction with professional authors and publishers and making several important contributions to the subculture.
For many years, Bradley actively encouraged Darkover fan fiction and reprinted some of it in commercial Darkover anthologies, continuing to encourage submissions from unpublished authors, but this ended after a dispute with a fan over an unpublished Darkover novel of Bradley's that had similarities to some of the fan's stories. As a result, the novel remained unpublished, and Bradley demanded the cessation of all Darkover fan fiction.
Bradley was also the editor of the long-running Sword and Sorceress anthology series, which encouraged submissions of fantasy stories featuring original and non-traditional heroines from young and upcoming authors. Although she particularly encouraged young female authors, she was not averse to including male authors in her anthologies. Mercedes Lackey was just one of many authors who first appeared in the anthologies. She also maintained a large family of writers at her home in Berkeley. Ms Bradley was editing the final Sword and Sorceress manuscript up until the week of her death in September of 1999.
Probably her most famous single novel is The Mists of Avalon. A retelling of the Camelot legend from the point of view of Morgaine and Gwenhwyfar, it grew into a series of books; like the Darkover series, the later novels are written with or by other authors and have continued to appear after Bradley's death.
Her reputation has been posthumously marred by multiple accusations of child sexual abuse by her daughter Moira Greyland, and for allegedly assisting her second husband, convicted child abuser Walter Breen, in sexually abusing multiple unrelated children.
(from Wikipedia)
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July 29, 2014Reviews of this edition confused me terribly, because there doesn't seem to be a table of contents, so I found references to a short story called "Waterfall" (sandwiched between the two fiction novels, it turns out) inexplicable. I did discover, by reading the acknowledgements at the front, that The Planet Savers and The Sword of Aldones (later reworked as Sharra's Exile) were copyrighted in 1962, and that the attached nonfiction essay "A Darkover Retrospective" was copyrighted in 1980--but I have to admit that I overlooked the citation for "The Waterfall" entirely.
I had read The Planet Savers before. I'm sure I had. But I didn't remember much of it. I had entirely forgotten that the main character was a xenophobic doctor who had suppressed his childhood memories of being raised by nonhumans. The Trailmen occur in several other Darkover books (Star of Danger, for example), but they don't really star in any of the others.
Anyone who knows anything about the other books in the series will be jarred by the incongruities. The Free Amazon, for example, who gives a patronymic, which they're explicitly forbidden to do. The characterization of Regis Hastur. The frankly gynophobic description of Trailman society (if there are more males than females, a gynocentric social structure would make more sense. Males would be protected and curated, surely, as scarce natural resources?).
Some other things, however, signal the novice status of Bradley's earlier work. To begin with, it was never a particularly sensible argument that humanoid form would be the most likely for intelligent life. Humans are clumsily redesigned quadrupeds--but even on Earth, not all (or even most) animals are quadrupedal. And Earth, for all its variety, is an N of 1.
As for the denigration of the Trailmen--evolution is anything but a linear process. In Star of Danger, Kennard and Larry are justly worried about the potentially detrimental effects of introducing fire to the Trailmen. They do so out of desperation, in order to save their own lives, and to help an injured and infected Trailman.
But even if they didn't count as 'people' by the standards of the Terran Empire, a proposal to commit genocide against the Trailmen as a supposed solution to a disease they're seen as the main vectors of is stupidity to a quite criminal level. Even if the Trailmen were the only inhabitants of their forest cities, the proposed 'solution' would destroy their own habitat, and quite possibly destabilize the entire planet's environment. But they're not, of course. There are many other human(oid) and nonhuman inhabitants of the area. The surviving Chieri live in the neighborhood, for one. And the Trailmen themselves, whether judged sapient by alien standards or not (they clearly are, and only a bigot would deny it) have a right to existence as great as any other species. I don't suppose the Chieri would interfere with such attempted genocide (they rarely interfere with other peoples), but they might very well disable any bombs used near their own home--especially nuclear bombs.
Regis argues that the Terran Medical Service have corrupted Jason Allison--but I doubt this. The doctor who oversees the resuscitation of the younger Jason is nothing like as heartless and prejudiced as 'Dr Allison'. The evidence is that he did what was done to him HIMSELF, and that he should have had continuing psychological counseling all along.
I was a little surprised that people went through the Dammerung pass and never so much as HEARD a banshee, by the way. But I'm not finished with the story yet--maybe that comes further on.
Nope--not even a distant banshee wail. No real identifiable Trailmen, either, outside the City Jason was fostered in. This is partly because 'Jay' Allison tries to avoid all contact with them, though taking measures to insure their comfort. But wouldn't you think at least one or two of them would do the tourist thing? Properly equipped and escorted, of course. After all, it's likely the only time most of them will EVER go even into the lowlands, much less off-world. No curiosity at all?
The question of what happens to Jason Allison when his work is done is a vexed one, and I won't reveal the ending--I'll just say Regis Hastur has a part in it.
One thing: this is a very early book for Bradley, even by the time it was published. So the fact that even Free Amazons are called 'girls', regardless of their age, may be pretty jarring to later readers--especially when the one real female character gets involved in a sexual relationship which, if she really were a 'girl', would constitute statutory rape. But she's not, of course. At one point she refers to 'her youngest daughter' (evidently a toddler at the time). This may, of course, be a foster-daughter: but on Darkover, people under the age of 15 (Darkovan years, which are a little longer than Earth years, at 389 days/year, meaning that a person turning 15 on Darkover would be about an Earth year older physically than one from Terra) are probably not able to foster children--men can't acknowledge children if they're younger than 15, anyway. So Kyla is evidently no longer a girl, whatever she's called.
THE WATERFALL:
In books from the Forbidden Tower Period, reference is made to the scandalous Sybil-Mhari. This short story deals with what she did that was so scandalous. It's more than just promiscuity--but what it is isn't entirely clear. The woman is using her power to seduce men, and to get off on their fear. But it's not quite clear what that power actually is, and if it is (or even can be) used on unwilling subjects. Remember that a lot of the 'Guard' are cadet members of noble families--who may very well have laran of their own.
THE SWORD OF ALDONES:
In the next section ("A Darkover Retrospective"), Bradley argues that one of the reasons this is so incoherent is that it's a patchwork, often of much earlier work (juvenilia, really--some written when she was as young as 15). There's some of that, true, and the seams do still show (not so much so in Heritage of Hastur, where they'be been concealed or rewritten). But a first-person, non-omniscient narrator does tend to be more subject to confusion than other narrators.
The fates of some characters are different in this story than in the main canon. This includes Sharra herself. In no other story I know of is a god represented as having been born human, and having to take refuge through a portal to avoid destruction. There's speculation along those lines, yes, but no outright statement of it. Poor Prince Derik doesn't die in this version--but he's evidently, if not quite brain-dead, at least in a (probably permanent) quasi-comatose state.
I have to say that I have to be continually reminded that Lew Alton has extensive physical scarring, especially in the face. The emotional scarring is more obvious, and one of the things I find most appealing about this version is that Lew Alton does, in the end, manage to reconcile with Kadarin and Thyra before their deaths. I wish more of that had been retained.
A DARKOVER RETROSPECTIVE:
I haven't finished this yet: it has at least III subsections. Written in 1980 (Bradley was still working, though not necessarily on Darkover, at the time of her death in 1999, and some Darkover books were still in the pipeline at the time of her death, and were finished by her collaborators), this retrospective deals with the fact that creating a series was never part of her plans, and that she had little patience or capacity for things like publishing the results of the Terran Mapping & Exploration flyovers. Other people evidently have done the work--but I doubt whether Bradley ever referred to their maps when having somebody set out from, say Asturias to Neskaya. Though she does deal with travel planning in her books, she usually just talks around the subject, with vague references to things like how much sunburn cream they'll need (the sun's not very bright, but on icefields, it can get pretty intense).
One thing that Bradley says she's always regretted is killing off Callina Aillard. But she doesn't seem to have been able to backtrack on that one. Maybe it's one of the things like in Stormqueen, where Allart Hastur, in all the futures he can foresee, can't see even one in which he can be friends with his only surviving brother.
The rest of the reminiscences delve further into Bradley's personal history than I really cared to go. It stops before the writing of Thendara House.
I have to say that I've always considered Bradley's argument that biology is in fact destiny as specious. It's not necessary to believe that one can reprogram an animal's digestive system to argue that people are not the victims of either their heredity, environment, or both. People CAN do things that're not coded in their genes, because one of the main things coded in human genes is adaptability. How hard is that to understand?
Rereading for chronology, this book would mostly fit in between the Sharra Matrix's departure offworld (in The Planet Savers, for example, Regis Hastur's hair is still red(dish)) and the (permanent?) closing of the worldgate Sharra comes through to Darkover. It gives to wonder, by the way, why the Sharra Matrix wasn't just deposited in the Rhu Fead along with the majority of unmanageable (meaning unmonitorable, mostly) matrices (this is where Dorilys of Aldaran is probably fading away over the centuries, for example). If nobody remembers how to set up the shielding, there might be a need for a Timesearch--but it's likely that the shielding of the Rhu Fead would be sufficient in itself. Just taking it in and putting it in an empty niche would probably have done it. Why go to all the effort of locating a far-distant Cherillys double?
Granted, Kadarin and Thyra might be able to get into the Rhu Fead--so it might be necessary to put up one of those 'no Comyn can touch it fields' as well--but there's no evidence that Kadarin and Thyra COULD get into the Rhu Fead--at least, they didn't try. So the anti-Comyn shield might not be necessary: but Ashara probably remembers how those fields are made anyway--she's old enough. So why shouldn't SHE make one, lock it in a matrix, and have a time-lock or something to activate it? But nobody even suggests such a plan, in this book, or in the much later Sharra's Exile.
I had read The Planet Savers before. I'm sure I had. But I didn't remember much of it. I had entirely forgotten that the main character was a xenophobic doctor who had suppressed his childhood memories of being raised by nonhumans. The Trailmen occur in several other Darkover books (Star of Danger, for example), but they don't really star in any of the others.
Anyone who knows anything about the other books in the series will be jarred by the incongruities. The Free Amazon, for example, who gives a patronymic, which they're explicitly forbidden to do. The characterization of Regis Hastur. The frankly gynophobic description of Trailman society (if there are more males than females, a gynocentric social structure would make more sense. Males would be protected and curated, surely, as scarce natural resources?).
Some other things, however, signal the novice status of Bradley's earlier work. To begin with, it was never a particularly sensible argument that humanoid form would be the most likely for intelligent life. Humans are clumsily redesigned quadrupeds--but even on Earth, not all (or even most) animals are quadrupedal. And Earth, for all its variety, is an N of 1.
As for the denigration of the Trailmen--evolution is anything but a linear process. In Star of Danger, Kennard and Larry are justly worried about the potentially detrimental effects of introducing fire to the Trailmen. They do so out of desperation, in order to save their own lives, and to help an injured and infected Trailman.
But even if they didn't count as 'people' by the standards of the Terran Empire, a proposal to commit genocide against the Trailmen as a supposed solution to a disease they're seen as the main vectors of is stupidity to a quite criminal level. Even if the Trailmen were the only inhabitants of their forest cities, the proposed 'solution' would destroy their own habitat, and quite possibly destabilize the entire planet's environment. But they're not, of course. There are many other human(oid) and nonhuman inhabitants of the area. The surviving Chieri live in the neighborhood, for one. And the Trailmen themselves, whether judged sapient by alien standards or not (they clearly are, and only a bigot would deny it) have a right to existence as great as any other species. I don't suppose the Chieri would interfere with such attempted genocide (they rarely interfere with other peoples), but they might very well disable any bombs used near their own home--especially nuclear bombs.
Regis argues that the Terran Medical Service have corrupted Jason Allison--but I doubt this. The doctor who oversees the resuscitation of the younger Jason is nothing like as heartless and prejudiced as 'Dr Allison'. The evidence is that he did what was done to him HIMSELF, and that he should have had continuing psychological counseling all along.
I was a little surprised that people went through the Dammerung pass and never so much as HEARD a banshee, by the way. But I'm not finished with the story yet--maybe that comes further on.
Nope--not even a distant banshee wail. No real identifiable Trailmen, either, outside the City Jason was fostered in. This is partly because 'Jay' Allison tries to avoid all contact with them, though taking measures to insure their comfort. But wouldn't you think at least one or two of them would do the tourist thing? Properly equipped and escorted, of course. After all, it's likely the only time most of them will EVER go even into the lowlands, much less off-world. No curiosity at all?
The question of what happens to Jason Allison when his work is done is a vexed one, and I won't reveal the ending--I'll just say Regis Hastur has a part in it.
One thing: this is a very early book for Bradley, even by the time it was published. So the fact that even Free Amazons are called 'girls', regardless of their age, may be pretty jarring to later readers--especially when the one real female character gets involved in a sexual relationship which, if she really were a 'girl', would constitute statutory rape. But she's not, of course. At one point she refers to 'her youngest daughter' (evidently a toddler at the time). This may, of course, be a foster-daughter: but on Darkover, people under the age of 15 (Darkovan years, which are a little longer than Earth years, at 389 days/year, meaning that a person turning 15 on Darkover would be about an Earth year older physically than one from Terra) are probably not able to foster children--men can't acknowledge children if they're younger than 15, anyway. So Kyla is evidently no longer a girl, whatever she's called.
THE WATERFALL:
In books from the Forbidden Tower Period, reference is made to the scandalous Sybil-Mhari. This short story deals with what she did that was so scandalous. It's more than just promiscuity--but what it is isn't entirely clear. The woman is using her power to seduce men, and to get off on their fear. But it's not quite clear what that power actually is, and if it is (or even can be) used on unwilling subjects. Remember that a lot of the 'Guard' are cadet members of noble families--who may very well have laran of their own.
THE SWORD OF ALDONES:
In the next section ("A Darkover Retrospective"), Bradley argues that one of the reasons this is so incoherent is that it's a patchwork, often of much earlier work (juvenilia, really--some written when she was as young as 15). There's some of that, true, and the seams do still show (not so much so in Heritage of Hastur, where they'be been concealed or rewritten). But a first-person, non-omniscient narrator does tend to be more subject to confusion than other narrators.
The fates of some characters are different in this story than in the main canon. This includes Sharra herself. In no other story I know of is a god represented as having been born human, and having to take refuge through a portal to avoid destruction. There's speculation along those lines, yes, but no outright statement of it. Poor Prince Derik doesn't die in this version--but he's evidently, if not quite brain-dead, at least in a (probably permanent) quasi-comatose state.
I have to say that I have to be continually reminded that Lew Alton has extensive physical scarring, especially in the face. The emotional scarring is more obvious, and one of the things I find most appealing about this version is that Lew Alton does, in the end, manage to reconcile with Kadarin and Thyra before their deaths. I wish more of that had been retained.
A DARKOVER RETROSPECTIVE:
I haven't finished this yet: it has at least III subsections. Written in 1980 (Bradley was still working, though not necessarily on Darkover, at the time of her death in 1999, and some Darkover books were still in the pipeline at the time of her death, and were finished by her collaborators), this retrospective deals with the fact that creating a series was never part of her plans, and that she had little patience or capacity for things like publishing the results of the Terran Mapping & Exploration flyovers. Other people evidently have done the work--but I doubt whether Bradley ever referred to their maps when having somebody set out from, say Asturias to Neskaya. Though she does deal with travel planning in her books, she usually just talks around the subject, with vague references to things like how much sunburn cream they'll need (the sun's not very bright, but on icefields, it can get pretty intense).
One thing that Bradley says she's always regretted is killing off Callina Aillard. But she doesn't seem to have been able to backtrack on that one. Maybe it's one of the things like in Stormqueen, where Allart Hastur, in all the futures he can foresee, can't see even one in which he can be friends with his only surviving brother.
The rest of the reminiscences delve further into Bradley's personal history than I really cared to go. It stops before the writing of Thendara House.
I have to say that I've always considered Bradley's argument that biology is in fact destiny as specious. It's not necessary to believe that one can reprogram an animal's digestive system to argue that people are not the victims of either their heredity, environment, or both. People CAN do things that're not coded in their genes, because one of the main things coded in human genes is adaptability. How hard is that to understand?
Rereading for chronology, this book would mostly fit in between the Sharra Matrix's departure offworld (in The Planet Savers, for example, Regis Hastur's hair is still red(dish)) and the (permanent?) closing of the worldgate Sharra comes through to Darkover. It gives to wonder, by the way, why the Sharra Matrix wasn't just deposited in the Rhu Fead along with the majority of unmanageable (meaning unmonitorable, mostly) matrices (this is where Dorilys of Aldaran is probably fading away over the centuries, for example). If nobody remembers how to set up the shielding, there might be a need for a Timesearch--but it's likely that the shielding of the Rhu Fead would be sufficient in itself. Just taking it in and putting it in an empty niche would probably have done it. Why go to all the effort of locating a far-distant Cherillys double?
Granted, Kadarin and Thyra might be able to get into the Rhu Fead--so it might be necessary to put up one of those 'no Comyn can touch it fields' as well--but there's no evidence that Kadarin and Thyra COULD get into the Rhu Fead--at least, they didn't try. So the anti-Comyn shield might not be necessary: but Ashara probably remembers how those fields are made anyway--she's old enough. So why shouldn't SHE make one, lock it in a matrix, and have a time-lock or something to activate it? But nobody even suggests such a plan, in this book, or in the much later Sharra's Exile.
May 13, 2021
I enjoyed The Planet Savers, though it’s always hiding such short stories.
I wish The Sword of Aldones was longer so it could be more fleshed out. So much happens very rapidly and I was often confused.
The Waterfall (a short story in-between the two larger tales) was disturbing and I didn’t enjoy it.
I wish The Sword of Aldones was longer so it could be more fleshed out. So much happens very rapidly and I was often confused.
The Waterfall (a short story in-between the two larger tales) was disturbing and I didn’t enjoy it.
October 10, 2013
Amazingly I hadn't read these two stories by Marion Zimmer Bradley and I thought I had read all of them. I've loved her style and the stories she told right from the first book I picked up. While there may be some inconsistencies between the various books, that doesn't bother me terribly and Ms. Bradley said herself that there were those inconsistencies because she never thought of the Darkover novels as being a series as she was writing them. I recommend these two stories to anyone who has a love of Darkover and would like to see some of the characters who have appeared in later books (Regis Hastur and Rafe Scott in particular) in their earlier years.
July 1, 2010
Gobbling up MZB 'Darkover' books like candy bars. These were short enough to read in an evening and a complete shift in POV from the others I'd already read.
August 27, 2018
An extremely short novella and initially released in 1958 in one of the pulp magazines, The Planet Savers is understood to be the first published short story / novella set on Zimmer Bradley's Darkover. It's a fairly quick read, easy to source (available in various print editions and as a digital download) and most readers of the Darkover books probably have come across it at one point or another. It's not necessary to make it your starting point, if you wish to delve into the world of Darkover (the books do not have to be read in order of publication), but it's as good a starting point as any, or perhaps an interesting add-on for readers already familiar with the setting.
In The Planet Savers Darkover's population (Terrans and Darkovans alike) are threatened by the outbreak of a deadly virus for which no cure or vaccination exists. Only the tree-dwelling trailmen living in the hostile mountain ranges of the Hellers seem to be immune to the fever.
Dr Allison, a Terran surgeon specialising in parasitology, is both capable of finding and synthesising a cure, whilst Jason is a skilled mountaineer, who has lived amongst the aboriginal humanoids and is able to speak their tongue. Dr Allison and Jason have been chosen to go on a mission to seek out the trailmen and convince them to leave the Hellers and accompany them to one of the medical research facilities where a cure can be synthesised from the trailmen antibodies.
Yet, before Jason Allison can go on this mission, he has to forget that he is in fact Dr Jay Allison. Though being one and the same person, their traits and beliefs are fundamentally irreconcilable as the desires and beliefs of Jason's younger self are diametrically opposed to his present-day personality.
The complete review is available on my blog: https://readaroundtheclock.blogspot.c...
In The Planet Savers Darkover's population (Terrans and Darkovans alike) are threatened by the outbreak of a deadly virus for which no cure or vaccination exists. Only the tree-dwelling trailmen living in the hostile mountain ranges of the Hellers seem to be immune to the fever.
Dr Allison, a Terran surgeon specialising in parasitology, is both capable of finding and synthesising a cure, whilst Jason is a skilled mountaineer, who has lived amongst the aboriginal humanoids and is able to speak their tongue. Dr Allison and Jason have been chosen to go on a mission to seek out the trailmen and convince them to leave the Hellers and accompany them to one of the medical research facilities where a cure can be synthesised from the trailmen antibodies.
Yet, before Jason Allison can go on this mission, he has to forget that he is in fact Dr Jay Allison. Though being one and the same person, their traits and beliefs are fundamentally irreconcilable as the desires and beliefs of Jason's younger self are diametrically opposed to his present-day personality.
The complete review is available on my blog: https://readaroundtheclock.blogspot.c...
January 30, 2023
I do not remember what brought my attention to the Darkover series aside from checking out older SciFi novels to see how well they hold up today.
This two-novel, one short story and what's termed a reflection(?) - I'm not sure what excerpts from various magazines of the time represents beyond page filler - does NOT FARE WELL today.
The first book, as an introduction to the saga is well, meh.
The short story I do not remember despite having read it a few days ago. Something about a waterfall?…
The bulk of the paperback - The Sword - on the other hand, made little or no sense whatsoever regardless of when it was written. One ⭐ if standing alone.
… At least I finished it; however, I will NOT be picking up another work by this author anytime soon.
This two-novel, one short story and what's termed a reflection(?) - I'm not sure what excerpts from various magazines of the time represents beyond page filler - does NOT FARE WELL today.
The first book, as an introduction to the saga is well, meh.
The short story I do not remember despite having read it a few days ago. Something about a waterfall?…
The bulk of the paperback - The Sword - on the other hand, made little or no sense whatsoever regardless of when it was written. One ⭐ if standing alone.
… At least I finished it; however, I will NOT be picking up another work by this author anytime soon.
June 6, 2019
The Darkover series was among my favorites as a teenager. When I read them so long ago I read them in the chronological order not the publication order. Goodreads tells me that MZB suggested they be read in order of publication.
Which makes sense since the Darkover universe is vast and any book an entry point. So I’ve decided to revisit Darkover as an adult, going back to the world of the bloody sun, but in Publication order this time.
This is the first time I have read a Darkover book since my late teens and although these two short installments show their age, they are like finding an old treasure in an attic.
Which makes sense since the Darkover universe is vast and any book an entry point. So I’ve decided to revisit Darkover as an adult, going back to the world of the bloody sun, but in Publication order this time.
This is the first time I have read a Darkover book since my late teens and although these two short installments show their age, they are like finding an old treasure in an attic.
October 14, 2019
Re-reading Darkover books, generally in the order they were written, for my feminist sf website. These two early books establish the basic perimeters of the world. Both are centered on contrast between the masculinist, rational, scientific world of the terran empire and the more intuitive, emotional psi-driven world of Darkover. Both books have male protagonists with great internal psychic conflicts. Both are rather melodramatic and fall easily into stereotypes. Sword of Aldones is rather over-plotted, motivations are confusing, and details about Darkovian history are rather randomly generated. It was re-written as Sharra's Exile.
April 28, 2023
I enjoyed Planet Savers a lot, I wasn't as interested in Sword of Aldones - too many people, too complicated, and the protagonist is really quite a huge asshole. The reveal at the end that a certain character knew what was happening all along feels kind of cheap, like, why wouldn't telling that information have been the better idea?
May 14, 2023
Planet Savers: 4 stars
Sword of Aldones: 2 stars. It just didn't keep my interest. I think it may have been better if I'd read it in paper since a lot of names sounded similar and the contents were something you really had to pay attention to in order to understand. Didn't really work for me in audio form.
Sword of Aldones: 2 stars. It just didn't keep my interest. I think it may have been better if I'd read it in paper since a lot of names sounded similar and the contents were something you really had to pay attention to in order to understand. Didn't really work for me in audio form.
November 14, 2017
A lively addition to my commute to and from work.
April 7, 2020
Ich habe nur "Retter des Planeten" gelesen, und bin danach direkt weiter zu Sharras Exil. Schließlich hat Marion Zimmer Bradley "Das Schwert des Aldones" selbst zu "Sharras Exil" umgeschrieben.
April 4, 2019
It's ok, not a great science fiction story the planet savers is just boring to a part that I almost went to sleep reading it and the short story the waterfall has nothing to do with anything about darkover and the sword of aldones is just a story about good verses evil. I hope these novels about darkover gets better. The best part of this book is a darkover retrospective.
July 29, 2011
My edition of this book (I gather it's been reprinted several times in different configurations) contains four separate works: two short novels (The Planet Savers and The Sword of Aldones), a short story (The Waterfall), and a non-fiction essay titled A Darkover Retrospective.
The two novels were very early works by Zimmer Bradley, and the first two published stories (1962) set on the fictional planet of Darkover, a feudal aristocracy ruled by a caste of hereditary telepaths. The Sword of Aldones was written first. In fact, as Zimmer Bradley explains in the 1980 essay included in this book, some of the basic themes, settings, and characters were first developed when she was just 15, and before she really knew how to plot a novel. She admits that it is not a good novel. It's a cut-down version of a much earlier, larger work. As such, it has a deep and complex backstory that is partially explained in this story, and clearly the author knew what the story was. But it comes across as confusing and even Byzantine. But it's written in the first person, and the personal anguish of the narrator along with the clear sense of a rich history for the characters and the Darkovan society rescue the book somewhat from the scattered plot.
The Planet Savers, by contrast, is much simpler in structure. It's a straightforward quest story, with the interesting touch of the main character having a dual personality. Both personalities are needed to complete the quest, but they hate each other with a passion. Some of that passion comes through in a climactic scene that is, I think, quite moving. Still, I find the dialogue a bit melodramatic (Zimmer Bradley mentions that she churned out romances and Gothics to put food on the table).
The Waterfall, from 1976, shows how much Zimmer Bradley had matured as a writer, and how she had moved from themes of cultural conflict (between feudal Darkovans and technological, democratic Earthmen) to themes of gender roles and power.
Finally, the 1980 Darkover Retrospective essay gives an excellent history of the Darkover series (to that time; she would continue to write Darkover stories for another 18 years, until her death), which isn't really a series in the author's mind. Rather, it's a set of stories set in the same place. But each story can be read independently, and the set can be read in any order (although there is a clear chronology, Zimmer Bradley recommends reading them in the order they were written).
The two novels were very early works by Zimmer Bradley, and the first two published stories (1962) set on the fictional planet of Darkover, a feudal aristocracy ruled by a caste of hereditary telepaths. The Sword of Aldones was written first. In fact, as Zimmer Bradley explains in the 1980 essay included in this book, some of the basic themes, settings, and characters were first developed when she was just 15, and before she really knew how to plot a novel. She admits that it is not a good novel. It's a cut-down version of a much earlier, larger work. As such, it has a deep and complex backstory that is partially explained in this story, and clearly the author knew what the story was. But it comes across as confusing and even Byzantine. But it's written in the first person, and the personal anguish of the narrator along with the clear sense of a rich history for the characters and the Darkovan society rescue the book somewhat from the scattered plot.
The Planet Savers, by contrast, is much simpler in structure. It's a straightforward quest story, with the interesting touch of the main character having a dual personality. Both personalities are needed to complete the quest, but they hate each other with a passion. Some of that passion comes through in a climactic scene that is, I think, quite moving. Still, I find the dialogue a bit melodramatic (Zimmer Bradley mentions that she churned out romances and Gothics to put food on the table).
The Waterfall, from 1976, shows how much Zimmer Bradley had matured as a writer, and how she had moved from themes of cultural conflict (between feudal Darkovans and technological, democratic Earthmen) to themes of gender roles and power.
Finally, the 1980 Darkover Retrospective essay gives an excellent history of the Darkover series (to that time; she would continue to write Darkover stories for another 18 years, until her death), which isn't really a series in the author's mind. Rather, it's a set of stories set in the same place. But each story can be read independently, and the set can be read in any order (although there is a clear chronology, Zimmer Bradley recommends reading them in the order they were written).
May 24, 2010
[These notes were made in 1984:]. My sister left this double-bill behind her and it was my undoing, sending me on a tremendous Zimmer Bradley kick. The Planet Savers is a short and very early (in order of writing) novel which takes place in the young manhood of Regis (Danilo, alas, is nowhere to be found). Central character is Jay-Jason Allison, a Terran doctor whose repressed "other" personality is released so that he can go among the Trailmen, who brought him up, and find a cure for the disease afflicting Darkover. He eventually manages to integrate the two sides of his personality, and acknowledge his love for Kyla, the Free Amazon guide. A brief and chilling short story about a sadistic young maiden in olden times ("The Waterfall") interposes between the novels. The Sword of Aldones is a revamped version of the very first Darkover novel, and shows signs of immaturity in conception and execution. Yet, as a story, it's not half bad, revolving as it does around the struggle to wipe out the evil matrix, Sharra. Its heroes are Lew Alton, Kennard's son, and an older Regis. There is great confusion among the women, who seem to alternately possess each other's bodies without much guiding pattern, but the climax, where Regis, Callina/Dio, and Lew combine their mental forces against Sharra's champions, is a smasher in its genre, and the appearance of a child for Lew (Marja) an interesting touch, no doubt intended as basis for another novel. Both the novels, by the way, are first-person, from the viewpoints of (respectively), Jay and Lew. At the end is part of an essay by Bradley, "A Darkover Retrospective", telling about how she came to write the various novels, and it shed a lot of light on these, as well as suggesting a few more for me to buy. From the vantage-point of further experience in the later novels, I'm glad I came to this book first, so that I wasn't disappointed in the relatively undeveloped form of now familiar characters like Regis.
April 21, 2010
I'm a fan of Marion Zimmer Bradley, but my affection for her rests not on the Avalon books, which I didn't care for, but her Darkover series. Darkover is a "lost colony" of Earth that falls into a medieval society. Ruled by a psychic aristocracy it is later rediscovered by a star-spanning high-tech human federation after centuries, giving the series a feel of both science fiction and fantasy. The series as a whole features strong female characters, but it has enough swashbuckling adventure to draw the male of the species, and indeed this series was recommended to me by a guy (when we were in high school!)
Although some books are loosely connected, having characters in common, they were written to be read independently and were written out of sequence. Part of the difficulty of knowing what to read, and in what order to read comes from that. The Planet Savers (1962) and The Sword of Aldones (1958) are two of the earliest novels MZB ever published, the first two published in the Darkover series, even though chronologically they come late. The Sword of Aldones was first conceived in MZB's teens in fact, and feeling the story deserved a more mature treatment, she rewrote it and it was published as Sharra's Exile. That's a much better book, and you should read it instead. The Planet Savers is short and entertaining, but barely indicates the potential of the series at its best. You get more a glimpse of that in the included short story, "The Waterfall," written about 15 years after The Planet Savers, after Marion Zimmer Bradley had greatly improved as a writer. As a Darkover fan, I'm happy to have The Planet Savers and "The Waterfall," but by no means is this the place to start reading the series and the novels included in this edition are among MZB's weakest books and not representative of the series at its best.
Although some books are loosely connected, having characters in common, they were written to be read independently and were written out of sequence. Part of the difficulty of knowing what to read, and in what order to read comes from that. The Planet Savers (1962) and The Sword of Aldones (1958) are two of the earliest novels MZB ever published, the first two published in the Darkover series, even though chronologically they come late. The Sword of Aldones was first conceived in MZB's teens in fact, and feeling the story deserved a more mature treatment, she rewrote it and it was published as Sharra's Exile. That's a much better book, and you should read it instead. The Planet Savers is short and entertaining, but barely indicates the potential of the series at its best. You get more a glimpse of that in the included short story, "The Waterfall," written about 15 years after The Planet Savers, after Marion Zimmer Bradley had greatly improved as a writer. As a Darkover fan, I'm happy to have The Planet Savers and "The Waterfall," but by no means is this the place to start reading the series and the novels included in this edition are among MZB's weakest books and not representative of the series at its best.
March 21, 2015
I have always liked Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover series. Reading these two stories was my attempt try to read the series in order. I never have but I like the extra background on the world these two stories give.
The Planet Savers
Because of deaths associated with trailmen fever, Dr. Jay is hypnotized to becomes Jason who is a secondary personality of Dr. Jay. Jason is an adventure and experienced trailsman. The dichotomy of personality is a result of having been raised amongst the Trailmen. Dr.Jay as Jason falls in love with one on the women on journey, Kyla, who is a Renunciate.
I read and enjoyed the overall story of Planet Savers, but I thnk that the gender aspect of the story pissed me off. I understand that Dr. Jay/Jason exists in this extremely patriarchial society but he was an ass whether he was Dr. Jay or Jason. Though his flip-flopping between personalities was a major hardship during the journey.
I did not understand or appreciate the description of the Trailmen. They were constructed as monsters almost. And they were attacked by the Trailwomen? I think that I wasn't sure what happened in that scene because the description was chaotic.
The Sword of Aldones
I voted for Lew to say to hell with everyone but he didn't because he is committed to his people even though he doesn't really want to be. I liked this novel because it explained the matrixes and how they work. I like that Lew is both insider and outsider. It's an adventure story. And explains some of the background characters in later books.
The Planet Savers
Because of deaths associated with trailmen fever, Dr. Jay is hypnotized to becomes Jason who is a secondary personality of Dr. Jay. Jason is an adventure and experienced trailsman. The dichotomy of personality is a result of having been raised amongst the Trailmen. Dr.Jay as Jason falls in love with one on the women on journey, Kyla, who is a Renunciate.
I read and enjoyed the overall story of Planet Savers, but I thnk that the gender aspect of the story pissed me off. I understand that Dr. Jay/Jason exists in this extremely patriarchial society but he was an ass whether he was Dr. Jay or Jason. Though his flip-flopping between personalities was a major hardship during the journey.
I did not understand or appreciate the description of the Trailmen. They were constructed as monsters almost. And they were attacked by the Trailwomen? I think that I wasn't sure what happened in that scene because the description was chaotic.
The Sword of Aldones
I voted for Lew to say to hell with everyone but he didn't because he is committed to his people even though he doesn't really want to be. I liked this novel because it explained the matrixes and how they work. I like that Lew is both insider and outsider. It's an adventure story. And explains some of the background characters in later books.
March 1, 2013
This book was confusing as hell. I never anticipated any of the twists and turns despite all the valiant efforts at foreshadowing which are evident, now, in hindsight. The main character behaved so erratically…no, all the characters were written so erratically that I dismissed many of Bradley’s efforts at foreshadowing as madness on the part of the main character (though whether due to head trauma or a chemical imbalance of the brain—I couldn’t venture a guess). I don’t at all grok the governmental or societal role of the Comyn, let alone the damnably opaque nature of the matrices. I slogged through, and at the end was rewarded with Bradley’s “Darkover Introspective”, where she admitted that TSoA was cannibalized from a bunch of scraps and novellas in an effort to make a salable full-length novel, and that TSoA and The Planet Savers are only sort-of canon, and anyway she doesn’t much care for the idea of canon in an overarching-series sense. I’m feeling rather fed up with the impenetrability of this whole series and her laissez-faire attitude toward it. She seems (or, ok, seemed) horrified at the notion that her readers might be just a tad more OCD about reading order than she is.
Sorry, sorry. That got a bit out of hand. I think I might take another stab at Darkover once I settle down a bit.
Sorry, sorry. That got a bit out of hand. I think I might take another stab at Darkover once I settle down a bit.
December 16, 2010
I last read the Darkover books (as many as there were at that time) 25 years ago, and I remember, even then, that I thought these first early novels were rather messy. They are, but there is some stuff here that is still compelling. Clearly these two works, especially _The Sword of Aldones,_ are works of a journeyman writer who has not yet mastered her craft, but they do contain the seeds for what would become, in time, one of the great science fiction series ever written. And, frankly, despite Bradley's assertion that the novels can each be read independently and in any order, the knowledge implied in many of the later books requires the reading of _Sword_ at least in order to understand the mechanics of the technology she developed for these books and the basic tensions at play in Darkovan society.
February 12, 2009
The first two Darkover novels! The first is a pretty short 'save the planet' adventure story (well-named, isn't it?); the second is the original version of what eventually became Sharra's Exile. These books move swiftly, worry not at all about continuity, and are fantastic fun reads so long as one doesn't take them too seriously. They don't fit into the later Darkover chronology or worldbuilding at all, so just shrug when you read about regular planet-wide epidemics and enjoy the ride.
January 22, 2015
My favorite part of this double book was the Darkover retrospective by MZB, attached to the end of the book. It is a refreshing look at the development of a writer and a world that was never meant to be a series, but developed a fandom while she wasn't looking.
It is fun plugging holes in half-remebered stories, seeing characters written across decades from a younger author, and learning what she was thinking as time went on.
It is fun plugging holes in half-remebered stories, seeing characters written across decades from a younger author, and learning what she was thinking as time went on.
May 17, 2012
I've read only the Planet Savers, plus it was in omnibus editon with The Winds of Darkover. This particular book is somewhat interesting take on Darkover, due to the main character who is schizophrenic and also because of heavy presence of Trailmen, another Darkovan race that wasn't heard about since Landfall.
December 3, 2014
one of my all time favorites, the Sword of Aldones is great !!!
May 22, 2015
A doctor agrees to adopt a second personality in order to accomplish a vital mission. Although set on Darkover"," this early novel is inconsistent with many aspects of the later novels.
June 27, 2018
TITLE: The Planet Savers
WHY I CHOSE THIS BOOK: Met my reading challenge criteria being connected to the book before it, The Lathe of Heaven, both being about altered states
REVIEW: Are we all several people? Is it ethical for someone to draw out a side of your personality - to the point that who you know you are disappears - for the greater good? It is a bit of a Jeykl and Hyde story. But at its most basic it is an adventure story about an expedition to a foreign land on a mission of mercy. The characters and the action make it move quickly. The hardest part is that this is part of a series about a complex world so understanding that world can be challenging. Of course it is no Mists of Avalon.
TITLE: The Sword of Aldones
WHY I CHOSE THIS BOOK: Met my reading challenge criteria being connected to the book before it, The Planet Savers, both by the same author, Marion Zimmer Bradley
REVIEW: This is the second book in the Dark Over Series. There is one character who carries over from the previous story, but otherwise it is difficult to understand where the two books fit together. This second book has more characters, more complex connections and a ton of back story. You learn a lot about the planet, although I still didn't understand it all. There was a point where it all just felt so melodramatic. I am interested enough to be willing to read another in the series but not so hooked I have to do so right away
WHY I CHOSE THIS BOOK: Met my reading challenge criteria being connected to the book before it, The Lathe of Heaven, both being about altered states
REVIEW: Are we all several people? Is it ethical for someone to draw out a side of your personality - to the point that who you know you are disappears - for the greater good? It is a bit of a Jeykl and Hyde story. But at its most basic it is an adventure story about an expedition to a foreign land on a mission of mercy. The characters and the action make it move quickly. The hardest part is that this is part of a series about a complex world so understanding that world can be challenging. Of course it is no Mists of Avalon.
TITLE: The Sword of Aldones
WHY I CHOSE THIS BOOK: Met my reading challenge criteria being connected to the book before it, The Planet Savers, both by the same author, Marion Zimmer Bradley
REVIEW: This is the second book in the Dark Over Series. There is one character who carries over from the previous story, but otherwise it is difficult to understand where the two books fit together. This second book has more characters, more complex connections and a ton of back story. You learn a lot about the planet, although I still didn't understand it all. There was a point where it all just felt so melodramatic. I am interested enough to be willing to read another in the series but not so hooked I have to do so right away
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