The Laran Gambit

Darkover (Publication Order - Primary Works) #30

by Marion Zimmer Bradley, Deborah J. Ross

When a power-mad tyrant turns to mind-control technology to silence the opposition, a diplomat’s daughter appeals to Darkover’s natural psychics to save both their worlds.

Terran child psychologist Bryn Haslund has her hands full, treating the young victims of the brutal Star Alliance. She’s tried to stay out of politics, leaving that to her charismatic statesman father, Ernst. Now he’s gone missing after delivering a speech in support of the Alliance’s tyrannical leader.

With the Alliance’s secret police hot on her heels, Bryn finally locates her father in the research labs on Alpha, only to discover that the Alliance scientists have implanted a mind-control device in his brain. Her search for a way to disable the device leads her to Darkover, a remote Lost Colony world circling a dim red star, where telepathic powers have been developed to an extraordinary degree. Here Bryn and her father face new dangers, from ice avalanches to blood-thirsty bandits to gigantic carnivorous birds. To make matters worse, the mind-control device seems to be tightening its hold, the Darkovan leaders have their own agenda, and Bryn’s newly awakened psychic powers might prove to be lethal.

The Laran Gambit is the new, long-awaited adventure in the beloved Darkover series. It’s perfect for both devoted fans and those new to the world of the Bloody Sun.

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Fiction

Kindle Edition

Published November 8, 2022

About the author

Marion 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)

Reviews

[Deborah Ross]

A Note From the Author:

The Laran Gambit had a long, convoluted path to publication that began in 2013, when I submitted proposals for the next three Darkover novels. When I developed the concepts and plot for The Laran Gambit, I wanted to return to the “modern” timeline envisioning Darkover as no longer vulnerable to exploitation, as it had been in earlier novels such as The World Wreckers. I wondered what the Terran Federation, now the Star Alliance, could want so desperately as to reach out to Darkover. The Powers-That-Be on Terra might not be the ones in need. In fact, they might be the problem. In The World Wreckers, Regis Hastur negotiates for Darkover’s independence using Comyn psychic powers as a bargaining lever. What if the Terran leaders had developed a technological form of telepathy? Or, better yet, of mind control? Soon I had the basic conflict of machine-based mind control versus natural Darkovan laran. I wanted a protagonist whose strengths were compassion rather than brute force. As I wrote, child psychologist Bryn spoke to me about her young patients, traumatized as a result of the Star Alliance’s brutal tactics, and I knew I had the right voice.
Meanwhile, the real world moved on. The 2016 United States presidential election increased the polarization of the nation, and social media turned into a hotbed of contention. Mass shootings at schools, houses of worship, and other public places left communities stunned and grieving. The #MeToo movement highlighted the prevalence of sexual assault. Humanitarian crises deepened across the world, and the effects of climate change accelerated. Wildfires raged across the West, and hurricanes devastated other parts of the country. A pandemic struck, leaving tens of thousands and then hundreds of thousands, and then millions of people dead. A violent insurrection threatened to topple the government. Just when we thought things could not get any worse, Russia launched a war with Ukraine, still raging as I write this. More than once I’ve wondered if my vision of a ruthless, totalitarian Star Alliance was not becoming reality.
I didn’t write The Laran Gambit as a prediction of the future or a commentary on our modern world. I wrote it as an entertaining story. Yet as I worked through the editorial revisions, I remembered these words from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring:

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.
“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

This is the decision that Bryn faces in The Laran Gambit. What will she do with the time that is given to her? How will we all face the crises of our times? In the end, my personal response is to tell stories. I believe that stories can heal us, strengthen us, and inspire us. They can create bonds of understanding and join us in communities. Darkover is a special place for so many readers, one in which characters come to know one another deeply. We all crave that connection, especially in troubled times.
Welcome, dear friends, to this marvelous world. May it ease your sorrows and give you hope.

[eyes.2c · Rating 4 out of 5]

Darkover returns

Deborah J Ross has written a Darkover tale that has no trouble fitting seamlessly into the arc of novels created by Marion Zimmer Bradley.
Terran child psychologist, Bryn Haslund is fleeing the star alliance with her Senator father Ernst and her teacher and mentor Felicity Sage. Her father has had a mind control device inserted into his brain and Bryn’s research has found allusions to a lost planet world out on the galactic arm that mentions psychic abilities and telepathy.
Bryn herself has strange precognitions about danger, enough to evade capture by the Alliance dictator’s heavy, Black.
The fight for freedom continues and Bryn has a dangerous part to play. She meets Desiserio a matrix technician whose help is essential.
It was warming to once again tread the literary ground of Darkover, bathe in the light of the four ? moons and have Darkover come to life. Very enjoyable and prompted me to go to my paperback collection and revisit some of my favorites.

A Victory ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.

[Karen’s Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s been quite a while since I’ve had a new Darkover novel to sink my teeth into. I’ve spent many many days in my past reading and re-reading all of my Darkover books, again and again! I hadn’t realized how much I missed Darkover until I started reading The Laran Gambit.

It did take a bit to get to Darkover which had me scratching my head as I wondered what in the heck I was reading. And then, there it was…. My beloved world of Darkover!

It was so comfortable delving back into the world of Renunciates, laran, Leronis’s, Hasturs, Altons…. All of it.

Bryn’s Senator father has been kidnapped by an evil government and had some kind of mind control implanted into his head. Bryn takes him to Darkover to see if the only known telepaths in the galaxy can help him.

I’m thrilled that this book is the start of a new 3 book series. I can’t WAIT to read book 2!!

*Thanks so much to NetGalley and to the Marion Zimmer Bradley Literary Works Trust for the eGalley!*

[Warren Rochelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven’t journeyed to Darkover and its universe for some time. I have been looking forward to a return trip ever since I placed my order for The Laran Gambit, by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Deborah Ross. I was sure I was in for a grand adventure.

I was right.

The journey begins in a somewhat deceptive calm on Terra, with an also somewhat unlikely hero. Bryn Haslund is a child psychologist who works with traumatized children, traumas inflicted upon them by the brutal policies of the Star Alliance, the successor to the Terran Federation, and its tyrannical First Minister, Arthur Nagy. Bryn is leaving the clinic to go visit her sister, meet her activist “young man,” Leonin Vargas, and to watch her father, Senator Ernst Haslund, deliver an important speech critical of Nagy.

She steps out into the street, and looks up. “A glory of orange and violet bathed clouds was piled high like mountains. She felt as if she was gazing into a faraway country, a land of fjords and rolling plains … A planet circling a ruddy sun … The light shifted …” Bryn stands on the same city street. Another “one of those odd premonitions she’d had since her teen years”?— or, she has been working too hard. Settling for the more prosaic answer, Bryn boards a tram—and the calm of her life as a therapist ends. The gun goes off, the flag drops. Bryn’s life goes into high gear. In the next few hours, she meets Black, a creepy man, on the tram, a really creepy man, and her intuition tells her something is wrong. To get away from him, she jumps off the tram and winds up in the middle of a political protest against Nagy. The protest turns very violent, and she gets dosed with knockout gas. Bryn wakes up in what seems to be a hospital, only to meet Black again, Finally Bryn gets to her sister’s apartment. Her father’s speech is in support of Nagy. Bryn is shocked. This is impossible. Something is really wrong. Bryn and Leonin are soon on the run from the secret police, led by Black.

Bryn finds herself on double quests, one public, the other, other private and personal, yet these quests are interconnected. They will take Bryn from Terra to Alpha, “the Alliance’s center for scientific and medical research,” to Darkover, a “Lost Colony world circling a dim red star, where telepathic powers, [laran], have been developed to an extraordinary degree.” Eventually, as often happens on a quest, she will have to return to where her journey began, for a confrontation, made all the more dangerous with the uncertainty of success and the greatness of the risk involved.

The public quest forces her into the political arena she wanted to avoid. She has to engage in a confrontation between good and evil, in a struggle between freedom and oppression, between the machine and the natural. Bryn has to find and help her father; his very self is in danger of being lost. His mind has clearly been tampered with, by the insertion of a device she later learns is a theta-corticator, a mind probe that alters his thoughts so much he supports Nagy, whom he opposed. Her second quest is deeply personal and private, yet still connected to the public. Coupled with Bryn’s desperate need to help her father, and free him of this device implanted into his brain, her second quest is to know and accept who and what she is. Her premonitions, her danger-sense, are part of the psychic abilities that she didn’t know she had. Can she learn to master them? Or will they master her?

She and Leonin do find her father on Alpha, directed there with the help of Leonin’s brother and a cell of the dissident Free Worlds Movement. They trace the Senator’s broadcast to Alpha and help Bryn and Leonin get off Terra. On Alpha, where Bryn was a graduate student, she enlists the help of a former professor, Felicity Sage, and she seeks information in the university library. Felicity has knowledge of such probes as the one in the Senator’s head. In the library, Bryn learns of Darkover and its natural telepaths, who may know to neutralize the mind-control device. They manage another escape, this time, at a terrible cost. In a firefight, with Black and his secret police, Leonin dies. Bryn and Felicity’s ship is attacked in route. The shuttle down to Darkover crash-lands in ice-bound mountains, which are inhabited by such denizens as “blood-thirsty bandits to giant carnivorous birds.” She mentally calls for help before the shuttle crashed, and someone answered. What does this mean? Who answered? Bryn and her professor are rescued, yes, but more trials await them on Darkover, and so do the answers to her questions.

Readers new to “the marvelous world of Darkover,” will be, at first, like Bryn, a stranger in a strange land. But as Bryn learns how to live on Darkover, so does the reader. She learns how to control and use her laran, and, at the same time, she also learns how to negotiate a complex and ancient culture, with its own factions and politics. She begins to understand Darkover’s troubled history with Terra, a history that complicates her personal relationships with Darkovans. I felt a traveler myself, as I re-learned and remembered this compelling world, from its social order and customs to the food served in its inns.

Bryn, and the others, are appealing and compelling characters. Felicity Sage, the professor, spoke to me on a personal level. As a retired professor myself, I knew who she was. I cheered for Leonin, the firebrand revolutionary, and mourned his death. I also cheered for Desiderio (Desi), the Darkovan telepath, who is first assigned to Bryn by the Regent, only for both of them to find they are drawn to each other. He becomes a friend, a supporter, and the hint of something more—but that’s another story. In many ways, Desi and Leonin are mirrors of each other. Leonin is a wild card, a firebrand; Desi, assigned to help her, is calm, urbane, and gifted with laran.

This doubling and mirroring are inherent in the novel’s structure. The two quests mirror each other, and, as mentioned, inextricably connected. The personal is political as Bryn learns more than once. She treats traumatized children, and she is traumatized herself, by Leonin’s death, the violence done to her, the mental rape of her father, the evil of Black. The theta-corticator’s dark technology is linked to the benign therapeutic devices Bryn has used in her work. Light and dark, good and evil, are recurring, threads weaving the adventure into a whole.

Also inherent in the novel’s structure, in its story, is feminism. Yes, the protagonist is an intelligent and capable woman, but also here is a culture that demands collaboration, cooperation, and community, not power or force. Laran exemplifies these values, which has changed one world—can they change another? Can the Darkovans help Bryn? Will the natural telepathy and mental powers of the Darkovans, their laran, be a match for machines that can change an intelligent, strong man into a servile mouthpiece of a mad dictator? Will Bryn, a stranger on a strange world, master her own psychic abilities, her own laran, and can she learn how to use it in the inevitable confrontation with the agents of the dictator, the evil Black, the dictator himself? Can she do so without violating the deep cultural ethics of Darkovan laran use: it is not, and most not be, a weapon. Can one woman change everything? Will the laran gambit succeed—and save Bryn, her father, and Darkover itself?

Perhaps the ultimate question of this novel, the one that faces Bryn throughout her journeys, is one Ross asks in her introduction, “What will [Bryn] do with the time that is given her?” This time of political upheaval, violence, and the threat of war is not the life she wanted. But no one want such a life. Ross notes a conversation in The Fellowship of the Ring that gives me pause whenever I read it:
“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.
“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live in such times. All we have to decide is what to do with the time given us” (Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring, 2nd edition, Houghton Mifflin, 1965: 60).

For Bryn, I think, the answer to this question is to take action, both publicly and privately, for herself, and for those she loves. The public and the private are not truly separate, nor can they be. Each influences the other. The actions of one person, as Bryn comes to learn, do make a difference.

Yes, the journey of The Laran Gambit is well worth taking, and this journey is a grand adventure.

Highly recommended.

[Evan Ladouceur · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the first couple of Darkover books years ago as Ace Doubles. The series wore on, the books got longer, and moved more squarely to fantasy, so my interest waned. I thought I would pick this up. There is clearly history that would help a reader, perhaps by reading the books written by Deborah Ross since Bradley passed. Despite not being in the flow of this “world” I found the story sufficiently accessible, perhaps because it relies on familiar SF tropes and a reasonably simple plot. Readable but for the established fan. 3 of 5 stars for me.

[Johanna Bordeaux · Rating 5 out of 5]

For long-time readers of the Darkover Books, this is the one that brings it all together and does so beautifully. It is also the most realistic and terrifying book in the series. Bryn Haslund is a child psychologist dedicated to working with the most innocent victims of was––children whose lives and psyches were shattered by the Star Alliance's (led by its authoritarian leader, Nagy) brutal rule over the farther planets. Highly intelligent, her understanding of the world has been broadened by the horror experienced by her patients. Unlike most people on Terra, Bryn has always felt a prickling in the back of her neck when her situation was becoming dangerous.

When one planet secedes from the Alliance, despite knowing it may be destroyed, Bryn's father, Senator Hasland makes a speech supporting Nagy. But Bryn and her family know those aren't her father's words—or beliefs. Their father supports individual rights, peaceful techniques for conflict resolution, and has been a trusted voice of reason for many years. Bryn knows Nagy is doing something to her father and she goes off planet to save the Senator and restore his voice.

But with the advanced civilization at Nagy's disposal pursuing Bryn, her father, and her mentor, the only safe and possibly useful place is a planet that fought off the Alliance and where telepathy is rumored to be common––the technologically unsophisticated planet Darkover. But, while Darkover has what appears to be a more primitive civilization, Bryn quickly learns that in many ways Darkover is far more advanced than any aspect of the Alliance.

The Laran Gambit is both an entertaining and thought-provoking story that will move you emotionally and intellectually while keeping you in suspense and fascinated for the entire book. It is by far my favorite of all the Darkover novels.

[Ariadne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another captivating Darkovana story, with characters that makes us cheer for them (or against them) from start to finish, a writing that captures our attention with each paragraph and moments of making us arrest our breath. I confess that I suffered from losses, celebrated the victories, was annoyed by the characters who did not understand the urgency of situations and twisted against the relentless villains ... that is, a book that makes us dive into the story and their messages and emotions.
I only have two caveats to make about this book. I really wanted to see more Elhalyns characters and know the end of characters from the last book I liked a lot. But that doesn't get in the way of the story at all, it's actually just a desire for this self-declared Elhalyn fan.

[Yvonne Day · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is definitely not your mom's Darkover book.

I struggled to make it to the 25% point because it took that long for Darkover to be there. (It was only mentioned twice to that point.)

It doesn't have the same flow the earlier books written by the author had.

I am also very disappointed in the relationship between Desi and Bryn. The author spent so much in building up the relationship between them, that there was a huge let down when nothing actually happened there.

Use the proverbial gun if you're going to put it in the story. Don't just wave it around.

[Walter Underwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was interested to give this one a try even though earlier Debra J. Ross Darkover books have been lacking some of the magic. Mostly, I wanted to give modern Darkcover (post-recontact) another try. The Sharra books are just too tragic and The World Wreckers was unsatisfying (plus it is from over 50 years ago).

This did not disappoint. It does take a while to get started. The first quarter of the book, especially on Terra, just doesn't have a lot of momentum. "Running away" isn't really a plot I can get my teeth into. I prefer a bit of agency in my characters. But then we meet Dr. Felicity Sage, then we head to Darkover, and things get into a groove.

Yes, there are some infodumps, especially about the mind control tech, and no, people don't really talk like that, but that was much less distracting after the plot gets into gear.

Overall, a satisfying return to modern Darkover. Will there be a sequel? It seems to me that Bryn had some pretty sketchy reasons for breaking a big taboo. Will diplomatic immunity be enough? Hmm.

This might even be a good first book for readers new to Darkover. I've always suggested The Spell Sword for that, because the reader learns about Darkover as Andrew Carr does, but I'd have to recheck how a book from almost 50 years ago has aged. This story uses a similar technique, and works with richer knowledge of Darkover (the Renunciates and the Hastur gift were revealed after The Spell Sword).

[Carolyn Bragg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bryn's father has been kidnapped and implanted with a mind-control device to change his political views and support. He can no longer express or even think about his own opinions--but what's worse is that the rebellion no longer trusts him, and the chances for peaceful talks dwindle rapidly, daily.

The device is being used to control individuals and small crowds, which could mean dozens of worlds under virtual slavery by a ruthless politician.

Their only hope is a more primitive planet where telepaths are supposed to genuinely exist in fair numbers. Bryn must somehow get her father there (although at times he doesn't recognize her, or becomes combative and confused), while being hunted by the StarGuard and a man called "Black."

For a non-violent child trauma therapist who prefers a quiet life, things are very un-quiet and getting more violent. Is this even something Bryn can do? This hopeful trip will change Bryn in ways she never imagined, and the world of Darkover will know her new name; Bruna.

I enjoyed this book, although it was a bit slow in the last 1/3.

4/5 Stars

Caution: Violence, political rebellion, attempted rape, mind-control, rescue of a prisoner. Mild swearing.


Thanks to the Marion Zimmer Bradley Literary Works Trust and NetGalley for the temporary digital preview; any review is voluntary and entirely my own opinion.

#TheLaranGambitDarkover #NetGalley
#MarionZimmerBradley #MarionZimmerBradley Auth
#DeborahJRoss #DeborahJRossAuth
#Marion Zimmer Bradley Literary Works Trust
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#ScienceFictionPoliticalAbuseofPower
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#ParanormalUrbanFantasy

[Maaike Bateson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many thanks to the Marion Zimmer Bradley Literary Works Trust and Deborah J. Ross for the advanced copy of The Laran Gambit via NetGalley, in return for my honest and unbiased review. Quick note: I don’t recap plots in my reviews, as it’s easy enough to read the book’s synopsis and blurbs, I purely focus on my feelings & opinions of how the books makes me feel.

I read Marion Zimmer Bradley’s (MZB) books in my teens and early twenties and collected the Darkover novels from second-hand book shops over many years. Once I became aware of the controversy surrounding MZB the books were packed away as I genuinely wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with them.

I’d put it out of my mind until I saw this book appear on NetGalley, and the nostalgia and genuine longing to read about Darkover was instant and I did an actual squeal when the approval came through. And the book itself did not disappoint.

The writing is updated and different enough to MZB’s for me to feel for comfortable reading it. The first portion of the book actually takes place off Darkover entirely (on Terra, the equivalent of Earth). The underlying political nuances and topics are ones that are relevant to modern life now – something which would have been relevant to readers when the originals were being released.

I inhaled the book and spent every spare minute I had reading it. I’m very much looking forward to the promised two sequels.

Moods: adventurous, challenging, tense
Pace: medium
Character development: medium
Plot or character driven: 50/50
Diversity: medium
Spice: 0/5
Trigger warnings: Death, Guns/weapons, Physical or mental abuse, Sexual assault
Rating: 5/5

[Geoffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I have mixed feelings about this novel. I eagerly looked forward to it and was delighted when I discovered I could obtain a NetGalley account where my request to read it was approved. I read the book over the course of perhaps a week, trying to savor the experience. In the past 18 months I've re-read almost all the Darkover novels and all but 1 or 2 of the anthologies; so was delighted to get a 'new' one to enjoy.
Although the first part which took place on 'Terra' was interesting, particularly the 'mind control' aspects which kind of reflect trends in our current socioeconomic world; it was a bit disappointing that so much of the book actually happened in what used to be the 'Terran Federation' (now the 'Star Alliance' mentioned in prior novels). I do understand why it was needed, but I wanted more 'Darkover time'.
However, once the main characters got to Darkover it was more satisfying to read. Yes, a lot of the themes were repeats of themes in prior novels, but isn't that the charm of Darkover itself? A pseudo-feudal society highly resistant to change and so-called 'modernization'. The exploration of novel use or application of laran was intriguing.
Overall it was an entertaining read, but I wasn't that pleased with the ending. I'm hopeful that ensuing books completing the series will be more satisfying overall. Kudos to the author for continuing her works in MZB's magnificent world of Darkover- and for editing more anthologies. I hope they keep coming!

[Kristjan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a return to the world of Cottman IV (aka Darkover) … the series that hooked me on reading (under a different author). As such, I took a particular pleasure in the “Easter Eggs” or references to canon found throughout the book that played well with my nostalgia. More than a generation has passed since Darkover had any connection to the Off World Terrans when Bryn lands on Darkover seeking refuge from a despotic ruler and help for her mentally compromised father. Personally it took longer to get there than I would have liked, but that is mostly because of how fascinated I am with he world of Darkover itself.

The story doesn’t really add much that is new, but it was well written and easy to read. The one element of a powerful and corrupt Terran leader as the “Big Bad” made for a decent plot hook, but was otherwise not all that unique … so the book was fairly average unless you are a fan … which I am. It is also a quick read that can stand alone to introduce you to the series, so I still would recommend it.

I was given this free advance reader copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
#TheLaranGambit #Darkover #NetGalley.

[Freyja · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a well-paced story with constant action. It takes us to the later Darkover years, after Regis Hastur, after Earth had left. Earth was soon to turn its eye toward acquiring Darkover, without giving Darkover a say in how or whether it will associate with the Terran Alliance. An Earth leader was bringing worlds under his heel, with any means necessary, including mind control. When a major opposition figure suddenly ended his opposition, his daughter sought him to find out what happened and to get him to safety whilst figuring out how to reverse the mind control. Laran seemed to be the best option, so they fled to Darkover. Things really get going there. If you read a lot of these novels, you can guess how things resolve, but never completely.

[Ronald Spitzer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Readable book, but... The characters, both the good and bad are naive. I would have liked this one best when I was in junior high school. This is mostly a stock characterized novel with many of the stock character types of Darkover represented. It is an interesting glimpse into the further future of Darkover. I assume the book met the interest level of young teens with its actions and adventures of the main character heroine. I realize that most young teen readers this book is aimed at are girls. So if you are between ages 10-16 I recommend the book. If you are older and have read every Marion Zimmer Bradley novel, like I have, this one is an ok read, but nothing special. Use this book to get younger readers interested in Darkover.

[Annarella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read almost all Darkover stories but it's been a while I read one and stopped after what i discovered about MZB.
This new one by Deborah Ross was a surprise and i was curious to read it.
It's a slow burning story, it starts slowly and it tooks some time before reaching Darkover from Terra. Once on Darkover it a fast paced and gripping story.
I think it could be the first in a new series and I would be glad to meet again these characters.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

[Elisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was quite excited to read this long announced addition to the Darkover series, planned with MZB but written by Deborah Ross. I found it rather disappointing. For one thing, the entire first half of the novel takes place on Terran planets and one doesn't arrive at Darkover for a very long time. And when you do get there, it seems as if Darkover is composed of a bunch of repetitive cliches, tag-lines which always get recited.

[Ian Sims · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you for letting me review this title.

I have enjoyed reading these Deborah Ross Darkover novels in the past and whilst this story has the elements of a classic Bradley story the writing does not feel as crisp as previous novels. I found the plot concept quite interesting and read the book to the end but I find it slightly lacking. Ashame her previous stories have been very good this one is at best ok.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for an early review copy of this book.

This book for me is one of two stories. The first, is the good vs. evil tale where our heroes need to thwart the bad guys. The second is a tale of new found powers and development of that power while trying to find help for one of the characters. Ultimately, those two stories didn't blend well enough for me and the book felt disjointed.

[CAROLINA NOGUEIRA · Rating 3 out of 5]

I usually like DEborah Ross's depictions of Darkover. This was just.... not it. Yes, part of the plot is on Darkover, but it's just more like an afterthought. The book is about the Terran federation (Star Aliance). The darkovan characters and institutions (the amazons, the towers, the comyn) are almost an after thought.
I really wanted to like this book, since I was looking forward to some new Darkover stuff. But yeah, that was not it.

[Samon Wolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

A grand return to a classic series of fantasy fiction. Deborah Ross proves, here, that she has the chops to stand alongside fictional giants in the field. Her prose, in-depth world exploration, and fun takes on characters really helps to weave a story that, while very much representative of what has gone before, still feels unique.

I spent quite a bit of fun time reading this, and enjoying the thoughtful, well-written, and very interesting story here.

[Carol A. Sommer · Rating 5 out of 5]

a good story that has the feel of Ms Zimmer Bradley.

As along time fan of the Darkover series, I never expected another book could be written with the feel of the original Darkover books. This book surprised me. I remember going to the bookstore every month hoping a new book would be available. I have the same felling now that I felt after finishing a newly published book. Thank you Ms Ross for your effort in writing this story.

[Kristi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great darkover book I hope there are more

It Bern years since I read a darkover book.I grew up reading them and this was a great one to read visit this wonderful world. I have to go back and read alk my older books . thus story set in couple generations after world wreckers and last terrans leave and space port is abandoned. I do hope there are more books in thus time .

[Lizette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magnificent Darkover story, great characters, and marvelous world-building

Loved the intensity of this story, the strength of Bryn (the main character), Leonine and Desideratio (her partner and new friend), the beauty of Darkover and its multilayered societies, the realism of Terra run by a despot, the evolution of individuals, and relationships.

[Gary Stipe · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Well Crafted Darkover Adventure

Hopefully this won't be the end of the Darkover adventures as Darkover enters into joint association with Terra. I look forward to Ms Ross continuing the stories that are yet to be told in this amazingly diverse universe.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Laran Gambit

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Laran Gambit. Just like all the Darkover Series, each series of Darkover had its own problems and amazing finishes. Marion Zimmer Bradley and other authors who wrote about different ages added to Darkover.

[Lys · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book thanks to NetGalley and MZBTrust. All opinions are my own.
Review to come in the next days

[Bob · Rating 1 out of 5]

could not finish

[Aron Versteeg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cool!

It's been so long since I've read about Darkover. It's like coming home and meeting new friends. And I have found a blue crystal!

[Stuart Payne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book appears to be interesting, but at this time frame of mind wasn't where it needed to be to read it.