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Darkover (Publication Order) #12
La signora delle tempeste
Dagli elfi gli uomini e le donne di Darkover ricevettero la magia e i talismani che raddoppiavano la loro forza e le loro capacità mentali. Molto tempo dopo, la ricerca di magie sempre più potenti rischia di precipitare la civiltà nel caos ed è in quest'epoca oscura dominata dalla tirannide che si svolge la storia della Signora delle tempeste.
398 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
23 people are currently reading
1519 people want to read
About the author
Marion Zimmer Bradley
800 books4,874 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 134 reviews
July 29, 2018
On a dark and stormy night, a girl is born to a noble lord's concubine, killing her mother in the attempt and leaving her half-brother an orphan. As the girl grows older, it becomes apparent that she has rather unique powers; but whether those powers are a gift or a curse remains to be seen.
Stormqueen (I refuse to follow the ridiculous punctuation of the actual title) is my second book in the Darkover series, after Darkover Landfall. It is very different, and set on a Darkover which is basically a fantasy world, untouched by the Terrans, by science and by space travel. Blades and magic rule the surface of the planet, most prominently those people gifted with the abilities of laran, a seemingly quite versatile set of abilities ranging from weather control to seeing the future.
I found the book to be overwhelmingly average. A space fantasy (in this sense referring to something in the grey area between fantasy and science fiction) is rarely a huge success, and this setting is not particularly impressive. My experience with Darkover so far does not really hold up to all the other fantasy and sci-fi settings I could compare it to.
Similarly, the characters were almost without exception quite dull. Dorilys (the "Stormqueen") is your stereotypical spoiled brat, an only child of a noble father who spoils her in the absence of her mother. Aillart Hastur is the real protagonist (which I found surprising, considering MZB's aversion to... male people), but he's not a particularly interesting figure either.
Still, Marion Zimmer Bradley, controversies aside, is a fascinating author. I do always enjoy the political commentary imbued in her works, even when everything else is quite lacklustre.
Stormqueen (I refuse to follow the ridiculous punctuation of the actual title) is my second book in the Darkover series, after Darkover Landfall. It is very different, and set on a Darkover which is basically a fantasy world, untouched by the Terrans, by science and by space travel. Blades and magic rule the surface of the planet, most prominently those people gifted with the abilities of laran, a seemingly quite versatile set of abilities ranging from weather control to seeing the future.
I found the book to be overwhelmingly average. A space fantasy (in this sense referring to something in the grey area between fantasy and science fiction) is rarely a huge success, and this setting is not particularly impressive. My experience with Darkover so far does not really hold up to all the other fantasy and sci-fi settings I could compare it to.
Similarly, the characters were almost without exception quite dull. Dorilys (the "Stormqueen") is your stereotypical spoiled brat, an only child of a noble father who spoils her in the absence of her mother. Aillart Hastur is the real protagonist (which I found surprising, considering MZB's aversion to... male people), but he's not a particularly interesting figure either.
Still, Marion Zimmer Bradley, controversies aside, is a fascinating author. I do always enjoy the political commentary imbued in her works, even when everything else is quite lacklustre.
January 2, 2024
Stormqueen! is my favorite Darkover book, despite the unfortunate punctuation in the title. It's mostly because it takes place back during the glory days of Darkover, when the Towers were all standing, when laran provided light and heat and transportation and wasn't feared or hated, and when the Comyn warred for supremacy and thus provided plenty of opportunities for literary drama and tragedy. I wish there had been more Ages of Chaos books written, because it's my favorite time period on Darkover, but this and Hawkmistress! are the only two. You can tell because of the exclamation points.
Though I admit, a lot of my love here is because it gets into the backstory of Darkover. In most of the other books, laran is either indistinguishable from witchcraft, or there are so few Comyn left that it's rarely used other than telepaths picking up each other's thoughts. In the Ages of Chaos, neither of those were true. Compare Sharra's Exile, where there are three living Ridenow, to Stormqueen!, where the Ridenow are new arrivals in the Domains, having invaded Serrais lands from the Dry Towns and married the women of the Serrais family. At one point they're described as vibrant, having many sons, which is important when it seems like the Darkovan nobility has a 50% mortality rate (if not higher) in adolescence due to inbreeding and threshold sickness.
This is the height of laran power, when long-range telepathic contact was routine even outside the Towers, and when the Towers themselves charged laran batteries that let aircars fly and power lights and elevators in the Comyn's castles, when matrix-surfaced roads and matrix-constructed buildings dot the land, when noble children are taught enough of laran that they can telekinetically lift themselves to flight with the air of gliders, and when the matrix technicians of Tramontana Tower speak casually of working with a twenty-fifth level Matrix. In The Heritage of Hastur, the entire plot revolved around a single ninth-level matrix which was apparently powerful enough to pull the moons down from the sky.
Focusing on the laran is a bit of a misdirection, though, because while Stormqueen!'s plot requires the existence of psychic powers to function, most of the tragic elements don't draw on any preternatural source. A noble lord who has seen all his children die but one daughter and doesn't want his lands to pass out of his family when he dies. A foster son who is favored by his father but isn't in the line of succession. Two brothers who quarrel over land. A ruler who cannot understand that not everyone is as ambitious as he is. The stuff of which tragedy is made.
I won't say that it's spectacularly well-written, because it's not, but it gets a lot of good-will from me for plausibly showing the consequences of the characters' laran. Allart Hastur has the ability to see the results of his choices, and it almost drives him insane (and does drive a relative of his insane) and sends him into Nevarsin, where every day is the same as the next and he won't be paralyzed by the possible futures. In interacting with Dorilys, who can see the magnetic fields of Darkover and the way she can predict storms, he learns how to shut out some of the less likely futures and no longer see hundreds on hundreds of outcomes from every possible action.
And poor Dorilys. Everyone in the book usually makes the best choices they could at the time--well, except Lord Aldaran--and there's basically no other way it could have ended for her. Born with the ability to control lightning, no one was willing to discipline her because they were afraid, which is admittedly perfectly logical. But with all her whims being fulfilled, she never really gains any control over her laran, and that eventually leads to tragedy for everyone even in the moment of their triumph.
There's some interesting overtones of history repeating itself. From hints in the book, you get the idea that earlier in Darkover's history, monogamy was strongly discouraged in order to build up more genetic diversity, and that led to large multi-partner family groups where everyone was equal. But when the descendants of Hastur began their deliberately non-specific breeding program, descent and knowing who had children with whom became much more important.
As the program continued and laran grew stronger, viable children grew fewer and fewer--the Serrais inbred themselves into sterility, and all children of Lord Aldaran's first marriage died in adolescence--so having more children becomes more important, and the upshot of all this is that women lose more and more rights until they're basically chattel unless they work in the Towers. I wish the book had explored this part more, because the characters occasionally lament the result but I'd be interested to see exactly how the process from stranded Terran colonists with nominal equality to feudal patriarchal hellhole went.
Even though that's mostly backstory, I still love Stormqueen! as a familial tragedy among psychic nobility. I wish there had been more Darkover books on this subject instead of on the conflict between Terran and Darkovan culture, but at least this one is good enough that I don't mind as much as I otherwise would.
Though I admit, a lot of my love here is because it gets into the backstory of Darkover. In most of the other books, laran is either indistinguishable from witchcraft, or there are so few Comyn left that it's rarely used other than telepaths picking up each other's thoughts. In the Ages of Chaos, neither of those were true. Compare Sharra's Exile, where there are three living Ridenow, to Stormqueen!, where the Ridenow are new arrivals in the Domains, having invaded Serrais lands from the Dry Towns and married the women of the Serrais family. At one point they're described as vibrant, having many sons, which is important when it seems like the Darkovan nobility has a 50% mortality rate (if not higher) in adolescence due to inbreeding and threshold sickness.
This is the height of laran power, when long-range telepathic contact was routine even outside the Towers, and when the Towers themselves charged laran batteries that let aircars fly and power lights and elevators in the Comyn's castles, when matrix-surfaced roads and matrix-constructed buildings dot the land, when noble children are taught enough of laran that they can telekinetically lift themselves to flight with the air of gliders, and when the matrix technicians of Tramontana Tower speak casually of working with a twenty-fifth level Matrix. In The Heritage of Hastur, the entire plot revolved around a single ninth-level matrix which was apparently powerful enough to pull the moons down from the sky.
Focusing on the laran is a bit of a misdirection, though, because while Stormqueen!'s plot requires the existence of psychic powers to function, most of the tragic elements don't draw on any preternatural source. A noble lord who has seen all his children die but one daughter and doesn't want his lands to pass out of his family when he dies. A foster son who is favored by his father but isn't in the line of succession. Two brothers who quarrel over land. A ruler who cannot understand that not everyone is as ambitious as he is. The stuff of which tragedy is made.
I won't say that it's spectacularly well-written, because it's not, but it gets a lot of good-will from me for plausibly showing the consequences of the characters' laran. Allart Hastur has the ability to see the results of his choices, and it almost drives him insane (and does drive a relative of his insane) and sends him into Nevarsin, where every day is the same as the next and he won't be paralyzed by the possible futures. In interacting with Dorilys, who can see the magnetic fields of Darkover and the way she can predict storms, he learns how to shut out some of the less likely futures and no longer see hundreds on hundreds of outcomes from every possible action.
And poor Dorilys. Everyone in the book usually makes the best choices they could at the time--well, except Lord Aldaran--and there's basically no other way it could have ended for her. Born with the ability to control lightning, no one was willing to discipline her because they were afraid, which is admittedly perfectly logical. But with all her whims being fulfilled, she never really gains any control over her laran, and that eventually leads to tragedy for everyone even in the moment of their triumph.
There's some interesting overtones of history repeating itself. From hints in the book, you get the idea that earlier in Darkover's history, monogamy was strongly discouraged in order to build up more genetic diversity, and that led to large multi-partner family groups where everyone was equal. But when the descendants of Hastur began their deliberately non-specific breeding program, descent and knowing who had children with whom became much more important.
As the program continued and laran grew stronger, viable children grew fewer and fewer--the Serrais inbred themselves into sterility, and all children of Lord Aldaran's first marriage died in adolescence--so having more children becomes more important, and the upshot of all this is that women lose more and more rights until they're basically chattel unless they work in the Towers. I wish the book had explored this part more, because the characters occasionally lament the result but I'd be interested to see exactly how the process from stranded Terran colonists with nominal equality to feudal patriarchal hellhole went.
Even though that's mostly backstory, I still love Stormqueen! as a familial tragedy among psychic nobility. I wish there had been more Darkover books on this subject instead of on the conflict between Terran and Darkovan culture, but at least this one is good enough that I don't mind as much as I otherwise would.
November 14, 2011
Shrug. Same Darkover story, different setting. I could write the plot out on the back of a cocktail napkin, and then MZB does her usual trick of filling up the extra 300 pages with navel lint.
I have such a hard time writing Darkover reviews, because I hit the fourth sentence and there's nothing more to say. I read these with the hope of there being redeeming features, and then nada. Boring. At this point I think I'm artificially inflating these by a star when there's NOT an egregious instance of sexism every other page.
I have such a hard time writing Darkover reviews, because I hit the fourth sentence and there's nothing more to say. I read these with the hope of there being redeeming features, and then nada. Boring. At this point I think I'm artificially inflating these by a star when there's NOT an egregious instance of sexism every other page.
December 2, 2020
A decent fantasy story with likable characters. However, nothing too special.
There was few I actively liked or disliked, so I won't have much to say and might forget it fast, but it did entertain me.
I liked the world it was set in, the characters and how their problems were presented. I disliked that it dragged at times and the difference in how some things in the world are described by characters vs how it really seemed to me.
I think it was a good read, though, but I don't think it has enough outstanding qualities to remember it by. Time will tell.
There was few I actively liked or disliked, so I won't have much to say and might forget it fast, but it did entertain me.
I liked the world it was set in, the characters and how their problems were presented. I disliked that it dragged at times and the difference in how some things in the world are described by characters vs how it really seemed to me.
I think it was a good read, though, but I don't think it has enough outstanding qualities to remember it by. Time will tell.
Read
April 17, 2014Despite the title, this book is not mostly about the 'Stormqueen' (Dorilys of Aldaran). Many people talk (and even agonize) about her, but she has difficulty achieving (to paraphrase Ashleigh Brilliant) a speaking part in her own life. I most strongly resent the argument of one of her tutors that we all have to learn to do things we don't like to and aren't good at. This is exemplary of the bullying attitude of the whole Darkovan society. The Chieri had (presumably) the same or even greater talents--but THEY don't seem to have developed a bullying culture.
The hero, really, is Allart Hastur. He's burdened with a terrible 'gift', which he explains to his bride as "I do not see only the future that WILL be, but the futures which MAY come to pass...". These visions are so overwhelming that he becomes paralyzed with indecision, especially since he can't see the causes of the futures. Allart Hastur is also the source of a quote I'd thought came from a later book. He points out that if you can't trust your enemies to respect a truce flag, there's not much point in defeating them, since you also can't trust them to abide by the terms of surrender.
I should say that the hazards of the breeding program are not properly expressed. The problems of stillbirths and nonviable offspring are not the only problem. There's an old Punch cartoon in which a magnificent bull tells an etiolated aristocrat that he could have been as fine an animal, if he had chosen his ancestors as well. But that bull is not superior in any meaningful sense. If he had to compete with wild cattle, deer, sheep, etc, he wouldn't make it. Domestic cows require, for one thing, quite sophisticated midwifery (try any of James Herriot's books, if you doubt it). They're bred to exaggerate certain traits that are not necessarily survival traits--they just make the creatures more useful to HUMANS. Cultivar humans are no more likely to be able to survive outside a carefully nurturing culture. Humans are as genetically varied as they are (not very) because that variation is vital to adaptability.
I have to say that I find the general anthropocentrism appalling. The casual abuse of humanoid creatures because 'they're not really human' and therefore don't count is bad enough. It's worsened by the denigration of nonhuman intelligence. I don't know the mental capacities of chervines, for example--they're treated with considerably more respect than aircars. But I'd be willing to bet that they have quite a bit of native cunning and problem-solving ability, given their own heads.
One technical point--the argument that if humans needed fur, they'd be born with it, is absurd. Even if humans had originated on Darkover (instead of the tropics of Earth), the assumption that humans change genetically to fit their environment is unfounded. It's based on a misunderstanding of the time scales involved. You'd think that a citizen of a society which is engaged in deliberate genetic modification would know this--but most of the characters aren't really educated on the subject. The proposal to resolve chilling by generating more heat is pointless. The body is ALREADY producing more heat than it needs. The trick is to keep from LOSING the heat. One solution is the one already in play--load on the fat. Another, which is dismissed, is to layer external coverings--including, but not limited to, fur.
As for the notion that humans are inherently combative and must be bullied into living peaceably with each other, it looks to ME like the bullying is in the other direction. People who are NOT naturally inclined to 'battle' for everything are remorselessly harassed, and the bullies argue that it's for their own good. Quite possibly, of course, the bullies are turning their own insecurities outward. It's hard to say. But whatever the cause, the result is terrible in terms of burned fields, contorted lives, and agonizing deaths. Let's hope that Allart finds a way to introduce at least SOME humane reforms.
Anent the proofreading problems, I note a consistent tendency to spell the color 'violet' as 'violent'. Freudian? Perhaps.
The argument that wars promote genetic fitness is set aside here, because the counterargument that this no longer applies in a warfare of random killing is considered paramount. What's not considered is that it was ALWAYS nonsense. Consider the premise: we have people of variable genetic fitness (already you're in trouble, since there's very little genetic variation among humans in general, but especially here, where the founder population was very small). We're going to force these people to engage in gladiatorial combats. The brave and strong will survive--and the brave and strong are more fit for survival in general. But even granting the latter premise (questionable at best, since avoiding danger is arguably the better survival strategy), the brave and strong are MORE likely to be killed in such (imaginary) conflicts. The weak and cowardly will hang back, and it's the brave and strong that will be mowed down in the 'valley of death'. But the 'valley of death' is not off in the Mojave Desert or on the moon or somewhere--in the poem, it was in Crimea. People LIVE in Crimea. Not only will the '600' die when someone blunders. So will the goatherds and the farming peasants. The fields of war are (too often) agricultural fields. Maybe it IS for the 600 to 'make reply' and 'question why' rather than 'do AND die' (not 'or'), whether clingfire from aircars enters the picture, or not.
As for the idea that children as old as eleven have no empathy or mature decisionmaking powers, I think this must be promulgated by people who don't remember BEING 11. Speaking personally, I understood the concept of the permanence of death well before I made eleven. And if I was supposed to develop more empathy later, it didn't happen. Maybe it's like wisdom teeth--in some people it develops late--or not at all. I don't see how telepathy or other psychic powers would really make a difference. But I'm dead sure that trying to beat people into empathy is a dead end (literally, in this case). The lesson that beatings teach is that bullies rule--so you have to become the worst bully--and only then will you be let alone. Not a good way to eliminate bullying, it seems to me.
I'm going to reread the whole series, having completed all the novels written in Bradley's lifetime in the series.
This one comes second, and one point which I didn't remember when I first reviewed the book--the fact that one element of figuring out how to determine which possible futures are the most probable comes from the ability to predict the behavior of fires and weather.
The hero, really, is Allart Hastur. He's burdened with a terrible 'gift', which he explains to his bride as "I do not see only the future that WILL be, but the futures which MAY come to pass...". These visions are so overwhelming that he becomes paralyzed with indecision, especially since he can't see the causes of the futures. Allart Hastur is also the source of a quote I'd thought came from a later book. He points out that if you can't trust your enemies to respect a truce flag, there's not much point in defeating them, since you also can't trust them to abide by the terms of surrender.
I should say that the hazards of the breeding program are not properly expressed. The problems of stillbirths and nonviable offspring are not the only problem. There's an old Punch cartoon in which a magnificent bull tells an etiolated aristocrat that he could have been as fine an animal, if he had chosen his ancestors as well. But that bull is not superior in any meaningful sense. If he had to compete with wild cattle, deer, sheep, etc, he wouldn't make it. Domestic cows require, for one thing, quite sophisticated midwifery (try any of James Herriot's books, if you doubt it). They're bred to exaggerate certain traits that are not necessarily survival traits--they just make the creatures more useful to HUMANS. Cultivar humans are no more likely to be able to survive outside a carefully nurturing culture. Humans are as genetically varied as they are (not very) because that variation is vital to adaptability.
I have to say that I find the general anthropocentrism appalling. The casual abuse of humanoid creatures because 'they're not really human' and therefore don't count is bad enough. It's worsened by the denigration of nonhuman intelligence. I don't know the mental capacities of chervines, for example--they're treated with considerably more respect than aircars. But I'd be willing to bet that they have quite a bit of native cunning and problem-solving ability, given their own heads.
One technical point--the argument that if humans needed fur, they'd be born with it, is absurd. Even if humans had originated on Darkover (instead of the tropics of Earth), the assumption that humans change genetically to fit their environment is unfounded. It's based on a misunderstanding of the time scales involved. You'd think that a citizen of a society which is engaged in deliberate genetic modification would know this--but most of the characters aren't really educated on the subject. The proposal to resolve chilling by generating more heat is pointless. The body is ALREADY producing more heat than it needs. The trick is to keep from LOSING the heat. One solution is the one already in play--load on the fat. Another, which is dismissed, is to layer external coverings--including, but not limited to, fur.
As for the notion that humans are inherently combative and must be bullied into living peaceably with each other, it looks to ME like the bullying is in the other direction. People who are NOT naturally inclined to 'battle' for everything are remorselessly harassed, and the bullies argue that it's for their own good. Quite possibly, of course, the bullies are turning their own insecurities outward. It's hard to say. But whatever the cause, the result is terrible in terms of burned fields, contorted lives, and agonizing deaths. Let's hope that Allart finds a way to introduce at least SOME humane reforms.
Anent the proofreading problems, I note a consistent tendency to spell the color 'violet' as 'violent'. Freudian? Perhaps.
The argument that wars promote genetic fitness is set aside here, because the counterargument that this no longer applies in a warfare of random killing is considered paramount. What's not considered is that it was ALWAYS nonsense. Consider the premise: we have people of variable genetic fitness (already you're in trouble, since there's very little genetic variation among humans in general, but especially here, where the founder population was very small). We're going to force these people to engage in gladiatorial combats. The brave and strong will survive--and the brave and strong are more fit for survival in general. But even granting the latter premise (questionable at best, since avoiding danger is arguably the better survival strategy), the brave and strong are MORE likely to be killed in such (imaginary) conflicts. The weak and cowardly will hang back, and it's the brave and strong that will be mowed down in the 'valley of death'. But the 'valley of death' is not off in the Mojave Desert or on the moon or somewhere--in the poem, it was in Crimea. People LIVE in Crimea. Not only will the '600' die when someone blunders. So will the goatherds and the farming peasants. The fields of war are (too often) agricultural fields. Maybe it IS for the 600 to 'make reply' and 'question why' rather than 'do AND die' (not 'or'), whether clingfire from aircars enters the picture, or not.
As for the idea that children as old as eleven have no empathy or mature decisionmaking powers, I think this must be promulgated by people who don't remember BEING 11. Speaking personally, I understood the concept of the permanence of death well before I made eleven. And if I was supposed to develop more empathy later, it didn't happen. Maybe it's like wisdom teeth--in some people it develops late--or not at all. I don't see how telepathy or other psychic powers would really make a difference. But I'm dead sure that trying to beat people into empathy is a dead end (literally, in this case). The lesson that beatings teach is that bullies rule--so you have to become the worst bully--and only then will you be let alone. Not a good way to eliminate bullying, it seems to me.
I'm going to reread the whole series, having completed all the novels written in Bradley's lifetime in the series.
This one comes second, and one point which I didn't remember when I first reviewed the book--the fact that one element of figuring out how to determine which possible futures are the most probable comes from the ability to predict the behavior of fires and weather.
October 23, 2016
I didn't remember so much about this story I read some eons ago ;) It was good reading it again. In this book we are in age of chaos, where horrible wars are fighted using terrible weapons, made mostly using the matrix powers and laran. I love how traditional are Darkover people. It's true that the Towers are working against their people and this breeding program is horrible.
July 10, 2015
Lugu maagiast? On ju lugu maagiast, kui tegelased suudavad mõtte jõul välke suunata ja maake kaevandada üksteisega rääkida ning vajadusel kinnigi hoida või tappa. Aga ei ole! Kui tegemist on inimtõuaretuse ja geenilabori koostööl. Vabandust, geenilabor on mõtte jõul töötav.
Tugev lugu, mis räägib nii paljudest seikadest, kuid peamiselt keerleb just nimelt sellesama tõuaretuse ümber - kokkuleppe abielud, kõverdatud kasvatuslik ajupesu, kohustused ja vastuolud. Kus sarnaste geenide ristamisega on saavutatud, et mõnes perekonnas ei sünni enam ellu jäävaid poisse ja teistes on naised nii nõrgaks aretatud, et need enamasti lapsi kanda ei jaksa või neid sünnitades oma otsa leiavad. Kus on nii tavaline, et lisaks seaduslikule naisele, kes kindlasti maagia vormi olulisi geene kannab, on mehel veel peotäis armukesi, kes teda vähemasti sohilastega kindlustavad, kui seaduslikega kitsaks läheb.
Äärmiselt meeldiv lugu. On sõda ja verd, on kohustusi ja vastutust, on armastust ja hoolimist - kõik tasakaalus ja tõsine, kerge lugemise tarvis ehk liigagi tõsine. Jap, ma liikusin temaga aeglaselt. Umbes kolmanda peatüki ajal oli selge, et tuleb minna lõppu spoilerdama. Nii ma selle viimase lehekülje läbi lugesingi - sain teada, kes olulistest tegelastest ellu jääb, kes mitte ning selle teadmise pealt oli lugu palju meeldivam lugeda (ma omatahtsi oleksin vist väga pettunud, sest mulle kõige olulisem tegelane... ok, ei spoilerda).
Tugev lugu, mis räägib nii paljudest seikadest, kuid peamiselt keerleb just nimelt sellesama tõuaretuse ümber - kokkuleppe abielud, kõverdatud kasvatuslik ajupesu, kohustused ja vastuolud. Kus sarnaste geenide ristamisega on saavutatud, et mõnes perekonnas ei sünni enam ellu jäävaid poisse ja teistes on naised nii nõrgaks aretatud, et need enamasti lapsi kanda ei jaksa või neid sünnitades oma otsa leiavad. Kus on nii tavaline, et lisaks seaduslikule naisele, kes kindlasti maagia vormi olulisi geene kannab, on mehel veel peotäis armukesi, kes teda vähemasti sohilastega kindlustavad, kui seaduslikega kitsaks läheb.
Äärmiselt meeldiv lugu. On sõda ja verd, on kohustusi ja vastutust, on armastust ja hoolimist - kõik tasakaalus ja tõsine, kerge lugemise tarvis ehk liigagi tõsine. Jap, ma liikusin temaga aeglaselt. Umbes kolmanda peatüki ajal oli selge, et tuleb minna lõppu spoilerdama. Nii ma selle viimase lehekülje läbi lugesingi - sain teada, kes olulistest tegelastest ellu jääb, kes mitte ning selle teadmise pealt oli lugu palju meeldivam lugeda (ma omatahtsi oleksin vist väga pettunud, sest mulle kõige olulisem tegelane... ok, ei spoilerda).
April 19, 2022
Premetto che tendo sempre a non farmi influenzare nel dare un giudizio dalla vita privata dell'autore, perché devo giudicare l'opera in se non l'artista.
Detto questo, molti anni fa lessi la Signora delle Tempeste e ricordo con piacere il buon lavoro sull'ambientazione con questi territori innevati, le tante casate nobiliari dai nomi e poteri evocativi e un passato pieno di storia.
Ricordo poco della trama e dei personaggi, eppure mi è rimasto quel senso di meraviglia, fondamentale in un romanzo fantasy, che ancora oggi mi accompagna quando osservo il volume nella mia libreria. Meriterebbe una rilettura.
Detto questo, molti anni fa lessi la Signora delle Tempeste e ricordo con piacere il buon lavoro sull'ambientazione con questi territori innevati, le tante casate nobiliari dai nomi e poteri evocativi e un passato pieno di storia.
Ricordo poco della trama e dei personaggi, eppure mi è rimasto quel senso di meraviglia, fondamentale in un romanzo fantasy, che ancora oggi mi accompagna quando osservo il volume nella mia libreria. Meriterebbe una rilettura.
October 12, 2009
It has been many ages since I last read this little gem. Darkover history, tragedy, and politics draw you into a deep story that helps the reader understand the mysterious world. Definitely a must read for lovers of Darkover.
July 7, 2023
Dans une seigneurie, la jeune Dorilys nait alors qu'un orage terrible se déchaîne. Quelques années plus tard, elle foudroie son prétendant trop entreprenant. Afin de tenter de maîtriser ses pouvoirs, son père quémande l'aide d'une Tour, spécialisée dans ce domaine.
Premier contact avec Zimmer Bradley et premier contact également avec l'univers de Ténébreuse, cette planète colonisée par les Hommes puis oubliée et retournée dans un état quasi-médiéval malgré la survivance de quelques aspects de l'ancienne société, telles la sélection génétique lors de la reproduction pour développer le laran, sorte de pouvoir ancré au sein de quelques familles.
Si la lecture a été agréable, j'ai tout de même eu un peu de mal à rentrer dedans au début. Les premiers chapitres sont rudes, Marion Zimmer Bradley nous jette dans son univers sans aucune réelle explication et l'ambiance y est lourde, ne facilitant pas l'entrée dans cet univers. J'ai commencé à réellement prendre goût à ma lecture avec l'arrivée du véritable personnage principal, Allart Hastur, cousin éloigné de la famille royale, dont le laran s'est avéré particulièrement intéressant : ce dernier distingue à tous moments tous les futurs possibles d'une situation donnée. Un don s'avérant donc également une malédiction si on ne le maîtrise pas. Nous avons donc une double intrigue entre Dorilys ne maîtrisant pas ses pouvoirs et Allart et sa volonté de ne pas transmettre son laran. J'ai également eu du mal à me représenter concrètement le monde de Ténébreuse entre son monastère médiéval et ses aéroplanes et son feuglu. Fait amusant, ce roman m'a énormément fait penser par moments à Phénix de Bernard Simonay, et je ne serais vraiment pas surpris que ce dernier s'en soit inspiré !
Si dans l'ensemble l'intrigue se laisse suivre, elle met parfois du temps à se développer et j'ai été un peu déprimé en avançant dans le livre. J'avais l'impression d'un monde toujours gris, empli uniquement de tragédies. De fait, le roman procure très peu d'instant de joie et ses protagonistes font plus penser à des personnages de tragédie qu'aux poncifs que l'on a l'habitude de voir en fantasy. Il y est également beaucoup fait mention de mariage forcé très jeune ou d'inceste. Si ce genre de pratique n'a rien de vraiment choquant pour une société médiévale, surtout basée sur la sélection génétique pour la reproduction, cela à tout de même contribué à cet impression de noirceur de l'univers (et de plus, cela prend une tournure un peu gênante vu qui l'a écrit). Pour autant, le roman se veut également résolument féministe, à travers le personnage de Renata, probablement l'un des personnages que j'ai le plus apprécié, qui revendique sa liberté en tant que femme et le droit d'avoir des rapports avec qui elle le désire sans se restreindre par le mariage. Marion Zimmer Bradley est connue pour ses écrits féministes et cela se ressent profondément dans ce personnage qui vient dans une certaine mesure apporter une bouffée d'air frais.
Je ressors donc avec un avis mitigé de ce premier contact. J'ai bien aimé ma lecture mais d'un autre côté je l'ai trouvé parfois trop obscure avec une intrigue qui se perd parfois en chemin. Pour un premier contact, je recommanderai plutôt La belle fauconnière, que j'ai lu après et qui est beaucoup plus abordable.
Premier contact avec Zimmer Bradley et premier contact également avec l'univers de Ténébreuse, cette planète colonisée par les Hommes puis oubliée et retournée dans un état quasi-médiéval malgré la survivance de quelques aspects de l'ancienne société, telles la sélection génétique lors de la reproduction pour développer le laran, sorte de pouvoir ancré au sein de quelques familles.
Si la lecture a été agréable, j'ai tout de même eu un peu de mal à rentrer dedans au début. Les premiers chapitres sont rudes, Marion Zimmer Bradley nous jette dans son univers sans aucune réelle explication et l'ambiance y est lourde, ne facilitant pas l'entrée dans cet univers. J'ai commencé à réellement prendre goût à ma lecture avec l'arrivée du véritable personnage principal, Allart Hastur, cousin éloigné de la famille royale, dont le laran s'est avéré particulièrement intéressant : ce dernier distingue à tous moments tous les futurs possibles d'une situation donnée. Un don s'avérant donc également une malédiction si on ne le maîtrise pas. Nous avons donc une double intrigue entre Dorilys ne maîtrisant pas ses pouvoirs et Allart et sa volonté de ne pas transmettre son laran. J'ai également eu du mal à me représenter concrètement le monde de Ténébreuse entre son monastère médiéval et ses aéroplanes et son feuglu. Fait amusant, ce roman m'a énormément fait penser par moments à Phénix de Bernard Simonay, et je ne serais vraiment pas surpris que ce dernier s'en soit inspiré !
Si dans l'ensemble l'intrigue se laisse suivre, elle met parfois du temps à se développer et j'ai été un peu déprimé en avançant dans le livre. J'avais l'impression d'un monde toujours gris, empli uniquement de tragédies. De fait, le roman procure très peu d'instant de joie et ses protagonistes font plus penser à des personnages de tragédie qu'aux poncifs que l'on a l'habitude de voir en fantasy. Il y est également beaucoup fait mention de mariage forcé très jeune ou d'inceste. Si ce genre de pratique n'a rien de vraiment choquant pour une société médiévale, surtout basée sur la sélection génétique pour la reproduction, cela à tout de même contribué à cet impression de noirceur de l'univers (et de plus, cela prend une tournure un peu gênante vu qui l'a écrit). Pour autant, le roman se veut également résolument féministe, à travers le personnage de Renata, probablement l'un des personnages que j'ai le plus apprécié, qui revendique sa liberté en tant que femme et le droit d'avoir des rapports avec qui elle le désire sans se restreindre par le mariage. Marion Zimmer Bradley est connue pour ses écrits féministes et cela se ressent profondément dans ce personnage qui vient dans une certaine mesure apporter une bouffée d'air frais.
Je ressors donc avec un avis mitigé de ce premier contact. J'ai bien aimé ma lecture mais d'un autre côté je l'ai trouvé parfois trop obscure avec une intrigue qui se perd parfois en chemin. Pour un premier contact, je recommanderai plutôt La belle fauconnière, que j'ai lu après et qui est beaucoup plus abordable.
abandoned-with-prejudice
October 9, 2020My diary from 1996 is almost entirely a series of "started reading X" and "finished reading X" statements, and yet, for some reason: "Quit Stormqueen!" What about Stormqueen so upset me? I have no idea.
April 24, 2019
An interesting world. A few interesting parts.
But mostly long and tedious. Like reading a history of the Tudors with psionics.
But mostly long and tedious. Like reading a history of the Tudors with psionics.
February 28, 2022
Ho sempre ritenuto che la vita privata e le opere di un artista fossero da considerare come separate, a sé stanti. Anche per questo motivo avevo evitato di approfondire la questione riguardante la Bradley. Fino a oggi. Sono rimasto sinceramente disturbato dall'avere appreso determinate notizie sul suo conto, e non ho potuto fare a meno di ripensare alle pagine che ho appena letto alla luce di tali notizie: le fanciulle-fiore, l'incesto tra fratellastri e tanti altri dettagli della narrazione acquistano una valenza diversa. Nonostante tutto ciò non posso non apprezzare la narrazione, la concezione della storia, così come non riesco a capacitarmi di come una persona capace di scrivere e descrivere in un certo modo, possa anche macchiarsi di azioni così turpi.
December 24, 2022
I had been wanting to read the Darkover series for so long!
I loved the name, the images it conveyed...
I discovered it with Landfall and loved it.
Then I started the fantasy part with Stormqueen.
I must admit it was not what I expected.
I expected stories with amazons, matriarchies, etc.
Not quite, on the contrary.
I eventually realized it was more like Jane Austen meets Fantasy.
But in the end it was quite compelling.
The story is a bit long and the characters lack charisma, but the ideas are very modern, feminist, nuanced... and they question your own views on war, loyalty, ethics, love...
The narration itself is quite original and circumvents the usual clichés on many occasions.
I am glad I read it.
I loved the name, the images it conveyed...
I discovered it with Landfall and loved it.
Then I started the fantasy part with Stormqueen.
I must admit it was not what I expected.
I expected stories with amazons, matriarchies, etc.
Not quite, on the contrary.
I eventually realized it was more like Jane Austen meets Fantasy.
But in the end it was quite compelling.
The story is a bit long and the characters lack charisma, but the ideas are very modern, feminist, nuanced... and they question your own views on war, loyalty, ethics, love...
The narration itself is quite original and circumvents the usual clichés on many occasions.
I am glad I read it.
September 7, 2021
Ho iniziato a leggere la saga del pianeta del sole rosso con questo libro, che pertanto mi è sempre rimasto nel cuore… molto bello, i personaggi sono ben caratterizzati e credibili… il finale è un tantino triste, tuttavia in linea con il resto del romanzo. Tra l’altro strano che negli anni successivi la Bradley non abbia deciso di risvegliare la protagonista… peccato…
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 2, 2017
I don't read much fantasy and I am not familiar with the Darkover books. I probably should not have started with book 3. I found it in an old box of books and thought it might be an interesting read. I have several criticisms. There are strange words and a footnote or dictionary would have helped. I had to figure it out. For example they called women Chiya. As I was reading this, I could not help thinking of X-men. Due to breeding programs, people were born with strange powers called Laran. Reminds me of mutants from X-men. Allert could see into the future, things that might or might not happen. I felt sorry for Allert. His powers scared him so much, he took refuge in a monastery. His father wanted to breed his Laran and took him out of the monastery. He got caught in a war between kingdoms. Doralyis grew from a spoiled brat child into a woman that could control storms. Her father had no heir, so he tried to marry her to his foster son, Donal. There was a problem here, Donal and Doralyis were brother and sister. That part of the story was just not right. I got bored with the plot, it is breeding programs, war between Kingdoms, some parts read like a self-help book. That is depressing plus it has a sad ending for Doralyis.
February 20, 2021
Not good at all. Part of the longwinded prologue of the Darkover books, describing how Darkover came to be what it is in the central books of the series. This book suffer from two main things
1. Zimmer Bradley is on a soapbox preaching about how her personal sexual preferences are the only valid preferences. Though I might be inclined to symphatize with tha authors general message it gets way to preachy, especially as the plot centers around how monogomay by definition is evil. It's just way overdone.
2. The Science Fantasy setting. I'm not a fan of most Science Fantasy, but I can live with it when it makes sense and the story otherwise is good. If an author aboslutely has to pollute fantasy with science at least make sure that the damn science is plausible. Otherwise we are much better of with it being pure magic that doesn't need an explantion.
Besides that, the story is weak, but the book is very well written and Zimmer Bradley is outstanding in short but evocative description and the ending was very much to my taste.
Probably only worth reading by those already diehard fans of the Darkover series. Everyone else can safely skip this book
1. Zimmer Bradley is on a soapbox preaching about how her personal sexual preferences are the only valid preferences. Though I might be inclined to symphatize with tha authors general message it gets way to preachy, especially as the plot centers around how monogomay by definition is evil. It's just way overdone.
2. The Science Fantasy setting. I'm not a fan of most Science Fantasy, but I can live with it when it makes sense and the story otherwise is good. If an author aboslutely has to pollute fantasy with science at least make sure that the damn science is plausible. Otherwise we are much better of with it being pure magic that doesn't need an explantion.
Besides that, the story is weak, but the book is very well written and Zimmer Bradley is outstanding in short but evocative description and the ending was very much to my taste.
Probably only worth reading by those already diehard fans of the Darkover series. Everyone else can safely skip this book
August 17, 2016
Bello è bello, ma la fine è veramente triste. Nel senso buono, ovvero lascia il magone. È il primo libro dell'autrice che leggo: la trama è abbastanza semplice, cosa che hanno notato altri lettori che già conoscevano Darkover. Mi è piaciuto molto il fatto che si parlasse soprattutto di magia, più che di guerra. Quest'ultima, in effetti, compare solo oltre la metà del libro. Sono rimasta affascinata dall'idea del Potere mentale, qualcosa con cui nasci, ma che devi sempre controllare, perché in fondo solo minimamente dipende da te. Mi ha reso moooolto interessata al mondo di Darkover anche la "presentazione" della storia sommaria dei vari regni e delle varie epoche. I personaggi sono come normali essere umani, non si avverte in nessuno di loro la divisione tra bene e male. Questo è un altro punto a favore della Bradley.
October 29, 2011
An intricate and engaging world, peopled with wonderfully real and complex characters, easily lifts this book to the top of the fantasy pack. This is the first of Bradley's books I've read, but it won't be the last. If she can develop such a marvelous world in just one book, I look forward to seeing what she does in a whole series.
February 19, 2014
I love everything about Darkover!!! This is a second reading and I still love them all. Am reading everything on the Planet about "the Planet!!!
February 1, 2024
Now this was what I wanted in Darkover Landfall. This is the introduction that I sought. In the future, for someone like me who want's to start at the chronological beginning, this is where I will tell people to start. This is Science Fantasy and it's awesome. They've developed psionics, which they call laran, but sometimes they couch it in very fantasy terms. Spells and talismans and what not.
I will say I did not expect the priest from Landfall to show up again as Saint-Valentine-of-the-Snows. Of course he wasn't alive, he's become a religious figure that the main character, Allart, prays to regularly thorough out the book. Some version of Christianity, at least Father Valentine's sect, continued on on Darkover. Valentine lived a life of seculsion and his hermitage eventually grew a city. Nevarsin, you see what she did there? I was rolling my eyes too.
So apparently Allart has a strange form (evolution?) of a precognitive laran. He doesn't just see the future, he sees all possible futures from every action. This dreadful laran is why he left his family and came to the monks of Nevarsin. Apparently they're called Cristoforo and they take on a code of chastity. Here he lives an ascetic life and learns to control laran in general, for instance uses laran to not feel the cold. Which how they achieve that is by telling themselves they're not cold. I'm not joking. They have a proverb about how cold is only dangerous if they fear it but they don't need to fear it since they weren't born with fur. Allart then gets pulled into local politics. From there it begins to snowball and we get to see so much of the society of Darkover. We also learn so many words that aren't explained that we have to figure out the meaning by context which I found entertaining. We also learned that the term, sandal-wearer, is an insult that implies a man of effeminate behavior and homosexual. I have some 40 odd quotes from this book, I won't list them all so here's a handful from the beginning. Maybe I'll add more someday.
" If you listen to every dog that barks you will have no leisure to learn wisdom. "
" A woman with laran, bearing a child, could not be physically examined or touched, for fear of hurting or frightening the unborn with a careless pressure or touch. The leronis must do this, using the perception of her own telepathic and psychokinetic powers. "
" 'Child, child--this is no time to think of this, if you can give Mikhail what I could not, then you are my sister and I will love you as Cassilda loved Camilla, I swear it.' " This was super interesting to see how precious a child is in their society, the breeding program festering as it has. The lord's wife is happy to accept her husbands mistress' child, even saying they're sisters. I really loved that point. I don't know who Cassilda is in this context but is Camilla in this Camilla Del Ray from Landfall?
" 'The leroni never did better than when they bred us the riyachiyas; nor will your wife-to-be thank you if you refused to have one in your household. Can you be so ignorant as not to know that if you lie with a breeding woman, she will miscarry? It is part of the price we pay for our laran, which we have bred with such difficulty into our line, that our women are fragile and given to miscarry, so that we must spare them when they are with child. If you turn your desires on a riyachiya only she need not be jealous, as if you had given your affections to a real girl who would have some claim on your thoughts.' " This was gross on so many levels. This riyachiyas were bred from an ape-like creature into looking like a human to be used a sex slaves. And they are designed to want it. One of them begs Allart so that she isn't beaten.
"When brethren are at odds, enemies step in to widen the gap."
I will say I did not expect the priest from Landfall to show up again as Saint-Valentine-of-the-Snows. Of course he wasn't alive, he's become a religious figure that the main character, Allart, prays to regularly thorough out the book. Some version of Christianity, at least Father Valentine's sect, continued on on Darkover. Valentine lived a life of seculsion and his hermitage eventually grew a city. Nevarsin, you see what she did there? I was rolling my eyes too.
So apparently Allart has a strange form (evolution?) of a precognitive laran. He doesn't just see the future, he sees all possible futures from every action. This dreadful laran is why he left his family and came to the monks of Nevarsin. Apparently they're called Cristoforo and they take on a code of chastity. Here he lives an ascetic life and learns to control laran in general, for instance uses laran to not feel the cold. Which how they achieve that is by telling themselves they're not cold. I'm not joking. They have a proverb about how cold is only dangerous if they fear it but they don't need to fear it since they weren't born with fur. Allart then gets pulled into local politics. From there it begins to snowball and we get to see so much of the society of Darkover. We also learn so many words that aren't explained that we have to figure out the meaning by context which I found entertaining. We also learned that the term, sandal-wearer, is an insult that implies a man of effeminate behavior and homosexual. I have some 40 odd quotes from this book, I won't list them all so here's a handful from the beginning. Maybe I'll add more someday.
" If you listen to every dog that barks you will have no leisure to learn wisdom. "
" A woman with laran, bearing a child, could not be physically examined or touched, for fear of hurting or frightening the unborn with a careless pressure or touch. The leronis must do this, using the perception of her own telepathic and psychokinetic powers. "
" 'Child, child--this is no time to think of this, if you can give Mikhail what I could not, then you are my sister and I will love you as Cassilda loved Camilla, I swear it.' " This was super interesting to see how precious a child is in their society, the breeding program festering as it has. The lord's wife is happy to accept her husbands mistress' child, even saying they're sisters. I really loved that point. I don't know who Cassilda is in this context but is Camilla in this Camilla Del Ray from Landfall?
" 'The leroni never did better than when they bred us the riyachiyas; nor will your wife-to-be thank you if you refused to have one in your household. Can you be so ignorant as not to know that if you lie with a breeding woman, she will miscarry? It is part of the price we pay for our laran, which we have bred with such difficulty into our line, that our women are fragile and given to miscarry, so that we must spare them when they are with child. If you turn your desires on a riyachiya only she need not be jealous, as if you had given your affections to a real girl who would have some claim on your thoughts.' " This was gross on so many levels. This riyachiyas were bred from an ape-like creature into looking like a human to be used a sex slaves. And they are designed to want it. One of them begs Allart so that she isn't beaten.
"When brethren are at odds, enemies step in to widen the gap."
February 2, 2021
This Darkover book tells a complete story and easily stands alone. It does provide insight into the history of Darkover before the Compact when wars were fought using the horrible weapons of matrix technology.
The story involves political intrigue with the Haster, the Serrais, and the Aldaran families. Allart struggles with his laran gift of foresight which he is unable to control so instead of seeing definite futures, he sees instead many possible futures. He must pick his way through them to be able to act on the most likely ones.
Meanwhile Lord Aldaran has a daughter, Dorylis, with the ability to control lightning, but she has not yet gone through threshold sickness which has killed Aldaran's previous children. Allert seeks to avoid confrontation with his older brother over heirship to the throne and goes with the lenoris Renata to help Dorylis.
MZB gives us a culture where sexual taboos are much different than ours. Characters actually consider having Dorylis marry and conceive with a close family member even though she is only 11 years old. Meanwhile, it is fine for Allart to tryst with Renata in order to relieve "his needs" even though for convoluted reasons he has not consummated his own marriage with Cassandra whom he left behind when he came to Aldaran. Those are not the only confused sexual relationships in the story. The story spends too much time on these sexual tensions and saves the action almost exclusively for the climax and ending.
This book is one of the first written by MZB that gives us insight into the distant past of Darkover. The story describes war fought with weapons that can cause devastating earthquakes and others that are far more corrosive than acid leaving both people and structures in ruins.
Mature themes: I have already described the worst of these. Oddly, MZB avoids describing sex scenes explicitly. Certainly that was not common for mainstream literature during the era in which she wrote, but she has no problem with long discussions of things we might consider taboo. There is an attempted rape which results in the death of the perpetrator by use of laran.
The story involves political intrigue with the Haster, the Serrais, and the Aldaran families. Allart struggles with his laran gift of foresight which he is unable to control so instead of seeing definite futures, he sees instead many possible futures. He must pick his way through them to be able to act on the most likely ones.
Meanwhile Lord Aldaran has a daughter, Dorylis, with the ability to control lightning, but she has not yet gone through threshold sickness which has killed Aldaran's previous children. Allert seeks to avoid confrontation with his older brother over heirship to the throne and goes with the lenoris Renata to help Dorylis.
MZB gives us a culture where sexual taboos are much different than ours. Characters actually consider having Dorylis marry and conceive with a close family member even though she is only 11 years old. Meanwhile, it is fine for Allart to tryst with Renata in order to relieve "his needs" even though for convoluted reasons he has not consummated his own marriage with Cassandra whom he left behind when he came to Aldaran. Those are not the only confused sexual relationships in the story. The story spends too much time on these sexual tensions and saves the action almost exclusively for the climax and ending.
This book is one of the first written by MZB that gives us insight into the distant past of Darkover. The story describes war fought with weapons that can cause devastating earthquakes and others that are far more corrosive than acid leaving both people and structures in ruins.
Mature themes: I have already described the worst of these. Oddly, MZB avoids describing sex scenes explicitly. Certainly that was not common for mainstream literature during the era in which she wrote, but she has no problem with long discussions of things we might consider taboo. There is an attempted rape which results in the death of the perpetrator by use of laran.
June 23, 2019
Da giovane (medie/liceo) ho letto molti libri della Zimmer Bradley, dalle Luci di Atlantide al ciclo arturiano e tanti suoi racconti. Ne conservavo un bel ricordo, perciò quando è riapparsa una nuova ristampa del Ciclo di Darkover, ho deciso di colmare la lacuna, partendo da questo libro.
[Purtroppo con troppo ottimismo ho preso insieme La donna del falco].
Mah. A parte averci impiegato un mese (perché dopo tre pagine mi passava la voglia e passavo ad altro), la storia mi ha scontentato in tutti i modi.
Ora, io avevo un vago ricordo di eroine intrepide e abbastanza proto-femministe... qui invece le donne sono davvero ridotte al rango di giumente da monta, selezionate geneticamente per il loro sangue e il loro potere specifico.
Non contano nulla, sono maltrattate dai mariti e tenute solo fintanto che non assicurino l'erede. E sto parlando delle nobili.
Molto medievale, molto terrestre, in realtà. Magari volevo qualcosa di più fantasioso e meno frustrante per storie ambientate nel futuro e in un altro pianeta.
Avessero almeno una possibilità di riscatto... Macchè.
Allart che dovrebbe essere l'eroe "positivo" tratta malissimo Cassandra, pensando unicamente a se stesso; Renata, che dovrebbe essere l'eroina indipendente, si concede solo a uomini sposati (come se fosse chissà che indice di anticonformismo: ciccia, forse devi metterti in fila...); Donal... sorvoliamo...
E poi sembra un puntatone di Beautiful (ma dove tutti si prendono troppo sul serio), con fratelli che vogliono sposare le cognate, patrigni che combinano matrimoni consanguinei per il bene del casato, ermafroditi perseguitati, razzismo e discriminazioni a profusione...
Orrido. In tutto questo incombe uno stile pedante, lentissimo, da fantasy anni '70-80 che proprio non reggo più. Ci sono saghe (vedi Gemmel) che hanno decenni sulle spalle e manco un filo di polvere, questo romanzo suonava "stantio" a ogni pagina.
[Purtroppo con troppo ottimismo ho preso insieme La donna del falco].
Mah. A parte averci impiegato un mese (perché dopo tre pagine mi passava la voglia e passavo ad altro), la storia mi ha scontentato in tutti i modi.
Ora, io avevo un vago ricordo di eroine intrepide e abbastanza proto-femministe... qui invece le donne sono davvero ridotte al rango di giumente da monta, selezionate geneticamente per il loro sangue e il loro potere specifico.
Non contano nulla, sono maltrattate dai mariti e tenute solo fintanto che non assicurino l'erede. E sto parlando delle nobili.
Molto medievale, molto terrestre, in realtà. Magari volevo qualcosa di più fantasioso e meno frustrante per storie ambientate nel futuro e in un altro pianeta.
Avessero almeno una possibilità di riscatto... Macchè.
Allart che dovrebbe essere l'eroe "positivo" tratta malissimo Cassandra, pensando unicamente a se stesso; Renata, che dovrebbe essere l'eroina indipendente, si concede solo a uomini sposati (come se fosse chissà che indice di anticonformismo: ciccia, forse devi metterti in fila...); Donal... sorvoliamo...
E poi sembra un puntatone di Beautiful (ma dove tutti si prendono troppo sul serio), con fratelli che vogliono sposare le cognate, patrigni che combinano matrimoni consanguinei per il bene del casato, ermafroditi perseguitati, razzismo e discriminazioni a profusione...
Orrido. In tutto questo incombe uno stile pedante, lentissimo, da fantasy anni '70-80 che proprio non reggo più. Ci sono saghe (vedi Gemmel) che hanno decenni sulle spalle e manco un filo di polvere, questo romanzo suonava "stantio" a ogni pagina.
October 6, 2018
Segundo livro da MZB e segundo livro da cronologia Darkover.
Se o primeiro entusiasmou-me a continuar a ler a série, o segundo foi um balde de água fria.
Embora seja os dois livros considerados stand-alone estava a espera de uma maior relação entre eles.
A estória de A Rainha das Tormentas decorre no planeta Darkover mil anos após aterragem dos colonos. Nesta época os colonistas estão organizados num sistema feudal, numa época semelhante a Idade Média da Terra.
Os colonistas, de geração para geração, foram adquirindo poderes psíquicos (laran), dos quais procuravam preservar/apurar com casamentos entre pessoas com as mesmas caraterísticas.
Os meus desagrados:
O título: logo nas primeiras páginas, já sabia quem era a rainha das tormentas.
Fraca ligação com o livro anterior: Se a estória decorre após centena de gerações dos colonos aterrarem no planeta, não deveria haver ou na sua história ou na sua mitologia qualquer referência a tal? Gostei muito do primeiro e estava a espera neste livro encontrar a continuação da estória, mas encontrei algo quase completamente diferente.
Se o primeiro livro é do género Sci-Fi, o segundo é, para mim, do género Fantasy.
Sinceramente, acho que não estava virado para ler Fantasy ou a estória não me cativou o suficiente.
Agora estou no impasse, devo ou não ler o quarto/quinto livro da cronologia?
Talvez com as expectativas em baixo, deva apreciar a obra e terminar a "trilogia" publicada pela editora DIFEL.
Se o primeiro entusiasmou-me a continuar a ler a série, o segundo foi um balde de água fria.
Embora seja os dois livros considerados stand-alone estava a espera de uma maior relação entre eles.
A estória de A Rainha das Tormentas decorre no planeta Darkover mil anos após aterragem dos colonos. Nesta época os colonistas estão organizados num sistema feudal, numa época semelhante a Idade Média da Terra.
Os colonistas, de geração para geração, foram adquirindo poderes psíquicos (laran), dos quais procuravam preservar/apurar com casamentos entre pessoas com as mesmas caraterísticas.
Os meus desagrados:
O título: logo nas primeiras páginas, já sabia quem era a rainha das tormentas.
Fraca ligação com o livro anterior: Se a estória decorre após centena de gerações dos colonos aterrarem no planeta, não deveria haver ou na sua história ou na sua mitologia qualquer referência a tal? Gostei muito do primeiro e estava a espera neste livro encontrar a continuação da estória, mas encontrei algo quase completamente diferente.
Se o primeiro livro é do género Sci-Fi, o segundo é, para mim, do género Fantasy.
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
Terceira lei de Clarke
Sinceramente, acho que não estava virado para ler Fantasy ou a estória não me cativou o suficiente.
Agora estou no impasse, devo ou não ler o quarto/quinto livro da cronologia?
Talvez com as expectativas em baixo, deva apreciar a obra e terminar a "trilogia" publicada pela editora DIFEL.
June 16, 2020
Stormqueen is a tale of the world called Darkover in the era fittingly known as The Ages of Chaos. There are powers striving to take over the kingship of the lowlands, and strife between the powers ruling the Hellers. In addition to that, there are a new breed of rulers who came out of the desert areas and occupied a mostly deserted land, and are now looking to expand their territory.
The book starts off calmly enough, with a bit of background for the main male protagonist, Donal Dellarey, known as Rockraven, who is the foster son to the Lord of Aldaran, and half brother to the Lord's only living flesh and blood child, the girl Dorilys. The girl is an anomaly, as she has psy powers at a very young age, and uses them to get her way in all things.
Donal, her half brother, is one of the few she always obeys, along with her father, but her lack of self control, her willfulness and jealousy are a hatchet chopping down those who oppose her. She kills those she doesn't want around her, and hurts those who oppose her will, without laying a finger on them.
The outcome of that willfulness was powerfully emotional. It brought me to tears, and had me in awe of the writing power that could do that. Some of the descriptive stuff was in excess of what was needed, but the falling stones, the flashing weapons, were visible due to the power of the writing. A well written book, but not recommended for youngsters.
The book starts off calmly enough, with a bit of background for the main male protagonist, Donal Dellarey, known as Rockraven, who is the foster son to the Lord of Aldaran, and half brother to the Lord's only living flesh and blood child, the girl Dorilys. The girl is an anomaly, as she has psy powers at a very young age, and uses them to get her way in all things.
Donal, her half brother, is one of the few she always obeys, along with her father, but her lack of self control, her willfulness and jealousy are a hatchet chopping down those who oppose her. She kills those she doesn't want around her, and hurts those who oppose her will, without laying a finger on them.
The outcome of that willfulness was powerfully emotional. It brought me to tears, and had me in awe of the writing power that could do that. Some of the descriptive stuff was in excess of what was needed, but the falling stones, the flashing weapons, were visible due to the power of the writing. A well written book, but not recommended for youngsters.
March 8, 2024
I'm not mad, just disappointed...
This book feels like it doesnt know what it wants to talk about :
- Is it about the stormqueen ? You know, since it's in the title and all ? Maybe then said stormqueen should have been anything but a spoiled brat for 99% of the book ?
- Is it about a man tortured by his powers of forsight ? Maybe then they could have been useful more than twice in the more than 400 pages of the book andnot just what anyone with imagination and anxiety might experience ?
- Is it about romance and tragedy ? Maybe then how the characters fall for one another might have been explained even a little bit ? Because they just go from "not in love" to "in love" in usually one page tops.
- Is it about war, heroes and magic ? Maybe then could most of the war not happen backstage and maybe magic (laran, psy powers, whatever you call it) shouldn't always come out of the author's a** for convenience's sake ?
- Is it about the struggles of characters and their vows promises ? Maybe then should at least one of them try for five minutes not to break them ?
This serie is one of those I kept hearing about as a classic, and I bought 4 more of those. If this one's any indication for the quality of the rest, I'm not sure I'll read these 4.
This book feels like it doesnt know what it wants to talk about :
- Is it about the stormqueen ? You know, since it's in the title and all ? Maybe then said stormqueen should have been anything but a spoiled brat for 99% of the book ?
- Is it about a man tortured by his powers of forsight ? Maybe then they could have been useful more than twice in the more than 400 pages of the book andnot just what anyone with imagination and anxiety might experience ?
- Is it about romance and tragedy ? Maybe then how the characters fall for one another might have been explained even a little bit ? Because they just go from "not in love" to "in love" in usually one page tops.
- Is it about war, heroes and magic ? Maybe then could most of the war not happen backstage and maybe magic (laran, psy powers, whatever you call it) shouldn't always come out of the author's a** for convenience's sake ?
- Is it about the struggles of characters and their vows promises ? Maybe then should at least one of them try for five minutes not to break them ?
This serie is one of those I kept hearing about as a classic, and I bought 4 more of those. If this one's any indication for the quality of the rest, I'm not sure I'll read these 4.
September 6, 2024
This story is truly one that shows how power can corrupt. Also, the breeding program that was used to refine laran made women with it to be treated like brood mares. The men with it, were used as stud. Allart Hastur wanted nothing to do with ruling, marriage and only wanted to be left alone in the monastery. Unfortunately, his father and brother had other ideas, and he was brought out of the monastery and forced to marry Cassandra Aillard.
But the real story takes place in what is called the Hellers where Castle Aldaran is located. There Mikhail Aldaran fathered a daughter, Dorilys, on his mistress. She dies in childbirth leaving her son, Donal, as well as her daughter behind. Dorilys has a very powerful laran that actually killed her mother while she was being born.
While Allart and Cassandra are sent to Aldaran to help Dorilys learn to control her powers, Renata Leyner goes with them. The story about how all of these characters; Mikhail, Donal, Dorilys, Allart, Cassandra and Renata interact make for an excellent story about power, loyalty, love and fate.
But the real story takes place in what is called the Hellers where Castle Aldaran is located. There Mikhail Aldaran fathered a daughter, Dorilys, on his mistress. She dies in childbirth leaving her son, Donal, as well as her daughter behind. Dorilys has a very powerful laran that actually killed her mother while she was being born.
While Allart and Cassandra are sent to Aldaran to help Dorilys learn to control her powers, Renata Leyner goes with them. The story about how all of these characters; Mikhail, Donal, Dorilys, Allart, Cassandra and Renata interact make for an excellent story about power, loyalty, love and fate.
May 2, 2022
Stormqueen é um livro que inverte a famosa Lei de Clarke: "Qualquer tecnologia suficientemente avançada é indistinguível da magia."
No segundo volume da série Darkover, os nativos do planeta estão em plena Idade Média onde a ciência do Laran ainda é confundida com magia. Mas, por todo o livro, Bradley brinca com a fina linha que separa um e outro na literatura.
A história em si observa o que a manipulação genética pode fazer, desde a criação de espécies híbridas e quimeras até a esterilização e morte.
Os personagens são interessantes e a leitura, apesar do tema, é leve. O único problema que me deixou um gosto amargo na leitura é a posição extremista de Bradley sobre o feminismo.
Ela julga pesadamente as mulheres que não são feministas, taxando-as de infantis, burras ou submissas. Isso estraga não apenas a caracterização de alguns personagens, mas transforma elas em pálidas figuras bidimensionais que não fazem jus a uma trama tão elaborada.
No segundo volume da série Darkover, os nativos do planeta estão em plena Idade Média onde a ciência do Laran ainda é confundida com magia. Mas, por todo o livro, Bradley brinca com a fina linha que separa um e outro na literatura.
A história em si observa o que a manipulação genética pode fazer, desde a criação de espécies híbridas e quimeras até a esterilização e morte.
Os personagens são interessantes e a leitura, apesar do tema, é leve. O único problema que me deixou um gosto amargo na leitura é a posição extremista de Bradley sobre o feminismo.
Ela julga pesadamente as mulheres que não são feministas, taxando-as de infantis, burras ou submissas. Isso estraga não apenas a caracterização de alguns personagens, mas transforma elas em pálidas figuras bidimensionais que não fazem jus a uma trama tão elaborada.
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.
November 1, 2022
Entertaining and interesting.
The Darkover series is unique in that while all books take place on the same world, they do not have to be read in any chronological order and can be picked up and read ad hoc. That would be a lot easier to do if the author had given some background on the terms, devices, and abilities that are present in each book, but the reader comes in having little to no knowledge of these, is given few hints, and has to pick apart for themselves what they are. It's a little frustrating, but by the second or third book within the series, you get (kind of) used to it.
Stormqueen! (the exclamation point is actually part of the title, yes) was an entertaining read and good sci-fi that holds up reasonably well in the modern day. While I wouldn't compare it to some of the excellent works by modern sci-fi authors, I wasn't bored.
The Darkover series is unique in that while all books take place on the same world, they do not have to be read in any chronological order and can be picked up and read ad hoc. That would be a lot easier to do if the author had given some background on the terms, devices, and abilities that are present in each book, but the reader comes in having little to no knowledge of these, is given few hints, and has to pick apart for themselves what they are. It's a little frustrating, but by the second or third book within the series, you get (kind of) used to it.
Stormqueen! (the exclamation point is actually part of the title, yes) was an entertaining read and good sci-fi that holds up reasonably well in the modern day. While I wouldn't compare it to some of the excellent works by modern sci-fi authors, I wasn't bored.
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