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Darkover Omnibus #6
Darkover: First Contact
This omnibus features two classic, long-unavailable Darkover novels-Darkover Landfall and Two to Conquer-in one volume for the first time.
512 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 1, 2004
94 people are currently reading
337 people want to read
About the author
Marion Zimmer Bradley
799 books4,867 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fan fiction and reprinted some of it in commercial Darkover anthologies, continuing to encourage submissions from unpublished authors, but this ended after a dispute with a fan over an unpublished Darkover novel of Bradley's that had similarities to some of the fan's stories.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 - 22 of 22 reviews
February 27, 2017
I always enjoy Landfall, but hoo boy the casual misogyny. I think I didn't notice it as much last time I read the book because I'd just finished some Niven/Pournelle books, in contrast to which basically anything is a breath of fresh air.
September 22, 2024
Great introduction to the world of Darkover.
January 21, 2025
I’ve been curious about Darkover for many years. I think the name of the planet is kind of dumb though. I was not really impressed, obviously, given my rating. The first book was somewhat intriguing. But I was astonished that this supposedly feminist writer would send these people from the future of earth with all the same chauvinisms that were current in her own time. Unlike, say, Le Guin, she is not really trying to imagine anything different. However, there were many intriguing hints at the true reality for this planet, and how humans might adapt to it. The natives seemed to feel that humans have minds that are not open enough for the real experience of this environment.
That seems to be borne out by the sequel, which is even more horribly anti-women. And also: why why why do these cultures on other planets always wind up being feudal? So sick of that and I would’ve liked a visual on what the “horses” etc actually looked like. Did the people who domesticated the wildlife in the first place end up genetically modifying them into horses and donkeys and chickens and whatever, and if so, where did the technology to do so come from and even the memory of horses? there seem to be some referrals to some of the wildlife that we would recognize from the first book but most of the time they’re called by terms we humans currently on earth would recognize and I wasn’t sure how the language would even develop so that they were called horses or whatever. So it wouldn’t have hurt to have a description of what a horse looked like.
Bradley also seems incredibly bound by the idea of human exceptionalism. I don’t necessarily mean in reference to the native species that are sort of human-like, but the idea that there are hierarchies of consciousness and intelligence. Clearly the animals of the planet were affected by the weather changes that brought the pollen and all the group hallucinations, etc.. how did they really respond to being domesticated? Anyway, I didn’t think she did a very good job with the ethnography, or with having a mind open enough herself to address some much bigger questions. Or suggest different social organizations, the way Le Guin did. Even Star Trek was more progressive than this author’s imagination. And also while I’m at it, I don’t understand the lack of ethnic diversity in this group of colonizers. I do not understand how this lingering chauvinism or parochialism is possible on a planet in which the very environment forces you to see other people’s experiences and points of view. So very disappointed. It’s too bad that so many classics of science fiction and fantasy just are unreadable today.
That seems to be borne out by the sequel, which is even more horribly anti-women. And also: why why why do these cultures on other planets always wind up being feudal? So sick of that and I would’ve liked a visual on what the “horses” etc actually looked like. Did the people who domesticated the wildlife in the first place end up genetically modifying them into horses and donkeys and chickens and whatever, and if so, where did the technology to do so come from and even the memory of horses? there seem to be some referrals to some of the wildlife that we would recognize from the first book but most of the time they’re called by terms we humans currently on earth would recognize and I wasn’t sure how the language would even develop so that they were called horses or whatever. So it wouldn’t have hurt to have a description of what a horse looked like.
Bradley also seems incredibly bound by the idea of human exceptionalism. I don’t necessarily mean in reference to the native species that are sort of human-like, but the idea that there are hierarchies of consciousness and intelligence. Clearly the animals of the planet were affected by the weather changes that brought the pollen and all the group hallucinations, etc.. how did they really respond to being domesticated? Anyway, I didn’t think she did a very good job with the ethnography, or with having a mind open enough herself to address some much bigger questions. Or suggest different social organizations, the way Le Guin did. Even Star Trek was more progressive than this author’s imagination. And also while I’m at it, I don’t understand the lack of ethnic diversity in this group of colonizers. I do not understand how this lingering chauvinism or parochialism is possible on a planet in which the very environment forces you to see other people’s experiences and points of view. So very disappointed. It’s too bad that so many classics of science fiction and fantasy just are unreadable today.
July 8, 2012
I read the first book in this omnibus, Darkover Landfall in 2008. I'm now continuing with Two to Conquer. I am following my own reading order for the Darkover novels as described on my blog - http://www.brigidsflame.com/feymorgai... - except that I read Darkover Landfall earlier and am reading Two to Conquer now after Hawkmistress! instead of after City of Sorcery.
The 5 star rating on here is for Darkover Landfall. I'll adjust the rating, if necessary, after I read Two to Conquer (and maybe write a review of the omnibus).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(As posted on my blog, see "Book Blog" dated July 8, 2011)
Two to Conquer is a tough story, I think, for some people to swallow. In this story, you have two protagonists who are not very likable. I'm understating. In real life, you'd hate these two men. They both have violent natures, and both men treat women as objects, not persons of worth. However, this is not real life (or more correctly, this is not our world, our universe) - it's Darkover. Darkover, where laran (telekinetic powers) is common. While reading this novel, I don't think that Bradley is making excuses for rapists and abusers in our world, but rather she's exploring an idea, a "what if?" Essentially, this novel is asking "What if the rapist/abuser could actually feel everything his/her victim is feeling regarding the abuse?" Bradley's take is that a certain amount of empathy is required in order for someone to feel remorse for inflicting pain on another. In the case with laran, the remorse someone could feel would be devastating. If you have been reading Darkover like I have been, you will be familiar with the idea that laran needs to be awakened and trained in the person who's gifted with it. Persons with untrained laran pose a danger and a risk to Darkovan society. This was the subject of the novel Stormqueen! (reviewed previously; see above for the link), though it was much easier for some people to swallow. In Two to Conquer, it becomes clear later that Bard had untrained laran and a form of laran that hadn't awaken yet. He has a type of laran that allows him to control another person's thoughts (this allows him to easily rape women). Only later does another type of laran awakens - telepathy.
In choosing the subject matter of Two to Conquer, Bradley has chosen a difficult story to write. However, she writes this story well. While mostly writing from Bard's perspective, Bradley also wrote a bit from the rape victim's perspective. In this case, the rape victim forgives Bard because she feels that had she not been conflicted with other goals (that of saving her virginity so that she could be Keeper; note that at the time period of this story, Darkovans believed that women had to be virgins in order to be Keepers; this was disproved later), she would have wanted to sleep with him anyway because she was attracted to him. Her explanation is simply that with his laran he tapped into her unconscious desire; and had she been more aware of her own desires, she may have made the choice to sleep with him anyway. As it happens, this girl that Bard rapes who later forgives him turns out to be highly gifted with laran anyway. She earns respect and authority through her ability, and consequently gained confidence in herself. Of course, not all rape victims in our world will be or need be so forgiving. Each rape case is different; and each rape victim needs to come to their own decisions and conclusions about how to deal. It's not up to anyone else to tell a rape victim how s/he should be feeling.
Another plot in this novel is the formation of the "Compact". In Darkover history, this is the time of "Varzil the Good". In an attempt to bring peace to the warring Hundred Kingdoms, Varzil has come up with the Compact. Essentially, it's a law that "bans all distance weapons, making it a matter of honor that one who seeks to kill must himself face equal risk of death." (See "Darkover series" on Wikipedia.) In this time period, Darkovans were killing each other with what amounts to "weapons of mass destruction" created via laran. Bard, although he has hurt others in his personal life, actually agrees with Varzil about the Compact and hopes to get others to agree to it. Bard had previously fought as a soldier and witnessed others burned to death with laran-based weapons. Having witnessed that, he wishes no one to die in that same manner.
Two to Conquer is book two in the Darkover: First Contact omnibus. I give the omnibus 5 out of 5 stars on my GoodReads. I read Darkover Landfall a while back and really enjoyed it (see "Darkover novels and some reading material"). Both books in the omnibus are well-written (although Darkover Landfall is more fun and less serious in tone) and both provide the reader with some things to think about.
The 5 star rating on here is for Darkover Landfall. I'll adjust the rating, if necessary, after I read Two to Conquer (and maybe write a review of the omnibus).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(As posted on my blog, see "Book Blog" dated July 8, 2011)
Two to Conquer is a tough story, I think, for some people to swallow. In this story, you have two protagonists who are not very likable. I'm understating. In real life, you'd hate these two men. They both have violent natures, and both men treat women as objects, not persons of worth. However, this is not real life (or more correctly, this is not our world, our universe) - it's Darkover. Darkover, where laran (telekinetic powers) is common. While reading this novel, I don't think that Bradley is making excuses for rapists and abusers in our world, but rather she's exploring an idea, a "what if?" Essentially, this novel is asking "What if the rapist/abuser could actually feel everything his/her victim is feeling regarding the abuse?" Bradley's take is that a certain amount of empathy is required in order for someone to feel remorse for inflicting pain on another. In the case with laran, the remorse someone could feel would be devastating. If you have been reading Darkover like I have been, you will be familiar with the idea that laran needs to be awakened and trained in the person who's gifted with it. Persons with untrained laran pose a danger and a risk to Darkovan society. This was the subject of the novel Stormqueen! (reviewed previously; see above for the link), though it was much easier for some people to swallow. In Two to Conquer, it becomes clear later that Bard had untrained laran and a form of laran that hadn't awaken yet. He has a type of laran that allows him to control another person's thoughts (this allows him to easily rape women). Only later does another type of laran awakens - telepathy.
In choosing the subject matter of Two to Conquer, Bradley has chosen a difficult story to write. However, she writes this story well. While mostly writing from Bard's perspective, Bradley also wrote a bit from the rape victim's perspective. In this case, the rape victim forgives Bard because she feels that had she not been conflicted with other goals (that of saving her virginity so that she could be Keeper; note that at the time period of this story, Darkovans believed that women had to be virgins in order to be Keepers; this was disproved later), she would have wanted to sleep with him anyway because she was attracted to him. Her explanation is simply that with his laran he tapped into her unconscious desire; and had she been more aware of her own desires, she may have made the choice to sleep with him anyway. As it happens, this girl that Bard rapes who later forgives him turns out to be highly gifted with laran anyway. She earns respect and authority through her ability, and consequently gained confidence in herself. Of course, not all rape victims in our world will be or need be so forgiving. Each rape case is different; and each rape victim needs to come to their own decisions and conclusions about how to deal. It's not up to anyone else to tell a rape victim how s/he should be feeling.
Another plot in this novel is the formation of the "Compact". In Darkover history, this is the time of "Varzil the Good". In an attempt to bring peace to the warring Hundred Kingdoms, Varzil has come up with the Compact. Essentially, it's a law that "bans all distance weapons, making it a matter of honor that one who seeks to kill must himself face equal risk of death." (See "Darkover series" on Wikipedia.) In this time period, Darkovans were killing each other with what amounts to "weapons of mass destruction" created via laran. Bard, although he has hurt others in his personal life, actually agrees with Varzil about the Compact and hopes to get others to agree to it. Bard had previously fought as a soldier and witnessed others burned to death with laran-based weapons. Having witnessed that, he wishes no one to die in that same manner.
Two to Conquer is book two in the Darkover: First Contact omnibus. I give the omnibus 5 out of 5 stars on my GoodReads. I read Darkover Landfall a while back and really enjoyed it (see "Darkover novels and some reading material"). Both books in the omnibus are well-written (although Darkover Landfall is more fun and less serious in tone) and both provide the reader with some things to think about.
September 17, 2019
I keep trying out the first in these giant series to see if it strikes me by any chance. I'm not sure why. It's a terrible experiment. If I like it, that's just more added to my enormous to-read list, and if I don't like it, why was I even bothering, really?
This isn't bad, it's just not my cup of tea. I did not make it very far.
This isn't bad, it's just not my cup of tea. I did not make it very far.
February 15, 2021
I’ve always loved these books. Now with Fantasticfiction.com I can read them in the order they were written. This is the start. Beginning with the landing and moving on to the way things will work in this new world. There’s still a lot of world building ahead. Join me.
May 31, 2017
I do miss Marion Zimmer Bradley.
July 27, 2020
I want to know more about the times before the Age of Chaos!!
I quite like both stories. It seems an odd pairing, but there you are 🤷
I quite like both stories. It seems an odd pairing, but there you are 🤷
April 16, 2022
Avarra is powerful indeed.
These characters suck you into the story. I hate Bard. Yet he repents and is accepted/forgiven. There is hope for us all.
These characters suck you into the story. I hate Bard. Yet he repents and is accepted/forgiven. There is hope for us all.
February 5, 2024
Darkover
All Marion Zimmer Bradley's Dark over stories are great. Love the end of both of these. Recommend them to everyone.
All Marion Zimmer Bradley's Dark over stories are great. Love the end of both of these. Recommend them to everyone.
July 17, 2024
Fabulous
Darkover is still a wonderful read. This is my second time reading the stories and it’s as good as the first.
Darkover is still a wonderful read. This is my second time reading the stories and it’s as good as the first.
August 23, 2020
Read only the first book "Landfall", because I want to read the in chronological order.
Sidenote: Why is it so hard to get Kindle books of old SciFi books of the 60s and 70s and thereabout? Kindle books don't cost anything, it's not like they are books rotting in a storage room. Damnit.
I liked it a lot, and am going to try to get the other MZB books in chronological order. Been reading a lot of them, but not all by far, back in the 80s.
Sidenote: Why is it so hard to get Kindle books of old SciFi books of the 60s and 70s and thereabout? Kindle books don't cost anything, it's not like they are books rotting in a storage room. Damnit.
I liked it a lot, and am going to try to get the other MZB books in chronological order. Been reading a lot of them, but not all by far, back in the 80s.
December 16, 2012
I read "Darkover: Landfall" some time ago, and didn't truthfully much like it - but waited till later to read "Two to Conquer"; it was very intriguing to me to read about something I'd only seen something from Kathie Marshall and Linnell Aillard; here is Bard Di Asturian and the Terran Paul Harrell; Bard's first part of the book made me very uncomfortable with him as a character, these are clearly not meant to be very good men, but a tragically sympathetic one, yes - and Paul while no worse, is certainly sort of better, he has morals and different limits than Bard, he knows it - and so does Bard.
There is a almost erotic tension these two realize. Going so far to make love to one woman between the two; but the woman wasn't really important.
With actual twins I know it to be quite likely different, but for those of us without doubles/twins/doppelgangers, it just is a sort of a vain fascination bordering on surreal subduction. You have to love yourself to love others, after all.
There is also this song, which always makes me grin; Yankee Doodles: - Darkover Kathy March
There is a almost erotic tension these two realize. Going so far to make love to one woman between the two; but the woman wasn't really important.
With actual twins I know it to be quite likely different, but for those of us without doubles/twins/doppelgangers, it just is a sort of a vain fascination bordering on surreal subduction. You have to love yourself to love others, after all.
There is also this song, which always makes me grin; Yankee Doodles: - Darkover Kathy March
July 6, 2011
I kind of want to give this a 1.5. Ugh, so many wall-banging moments. The crowning moment of wallbanging was probably when one of the female characters (in the second book, Two to Conquer) said that even though she was compelled to come to a male character's room and have sex with him, it somehow wasn't rape. Because even though she didn't want it, she didn't resist except to say "no"? The most charitable interpretation of these books is that naturally the descendants of a culture where women were forced to have as many children as possible (so that the colony could survive after they crash-landed on the wrong planet) ended up with a society that is repressive of women and has narrow roles for them.
For fans of the series as a whole, it was interesting to see Varzil the Good thinking about women as Keepers, and the conception of the Renunciates as we know them.
For fans of the series as a whole, it was interesting to see Varzil the Good thinking about women as Keepers, and the conception of the Renunciates as we know them.
August 6, 2014
This was the second Zimmer Bradley book I read after 'Mists of Avalon.' I had come a crossed mentions of the world of Darkover and decided to start with the first one chronologically. This is mostly due to the fact that I am a huge fan of genesis stories. Needless to say, I became a fan.
I feel that this book was written especially to the fans of this world. This copy came with two stories: 'Landfall' and 'Two to Conquer.'
'Landfall' deals with the initial crash of a Terran ship onto an unknown planet. This story shows how the Terrans discover the strangeness of their new home and whether or not they could survive.
'Two to Conquer' takes place just after the Age of Chaos and the beginnings of the Hundred Kingdoms. This story follows the misadventures of Bard di Asturien.
If you are a Darkover fan, I recommend it. If you are considering reading a Darkover novel, read it!
I feel that this book was written especially to the fans of this world. This copy came with two stories: 'Landfall' and 'Two to Conquer.'
'Landfall' deals with the initial crash of a Terran ship onto an unknown planet. This story shows how the Terrans discover the strangeness of their new home and whether or not they could survive.
'Two to Conquer' takes place just after the Age of Chaos and the beginnings of the Hundred Kingdoms. This story follows the misadventures of Bard di Asturien.
If you are a Darkover fan, I recommend it. If you are considering reading a Darkover novel, read it!
January 1, 2015
A note to English readers: the edition of names and also the sentence of Marco Zabal in Darkover Landfall (if you know what I mean) is awful for a Spanish reader. Furthermore, I hope that, in further editions, Camilla del Rey remains as Camilla del Rey, not Camilla del Roy (¿what?) or Camilla del Ray.
Le daría tres estrellas y media, si pudiera. Darkover Landfall es una historia sencilla, aunque creo que el epílogo no tiene mucho sentido con el resto de la novela... no sé, me parece un poco innecesario.
Sobre Two to Conquer (Dos para conquistar), la idea de la dualidad de Paul y Bard me ha parecido bien curiosa, aunque de este último hay escenas que se me han hecho bastante desagradables; me ha gustado descubrir también algo más sobre el origen de la Orden de las Renunciantes.
Le daría tres estrellas y media, si pudiera. Darkover Landfall es una historia sencilla, aunque creo que el epílogo no tiene mucho sentido con el resto de la novela... no sé, me parece un poco innecesario.
Sobre Two to Conquer (Dos para conquistar), la idea de la dualidad de Paul y Bard me ha parecido bien curiosa, aunque de este último hay escenas que se me han hecho bastante desagradables; me ha gustado descubrir también algo más sobre el origen de la Orden de las Renunciantes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 27, 2016
Having not read any of the Darkover books, I am now reading them in order. This omnimus contains two of them, though they are horribly out of order. The two books here are the very first novel and the seventh or eighth book. I think that's just crazy, but I read the first one and am now jumping to another omnibus and will have to come back to finish reading this one.
June 5, 2023
Reread and found that I just couldn't read the second book this time. I don't know why it didn't upset me before. I realize that it is not this world and they are not meant to be good people regardless, but the acceptance of it all was just too much.
November 3, 2012
Good yarn. Generates a lot of questions of the evolution to the main thread of Darkover stories. I have to admit for what is essentially fantasy MZB is strangely attractive. Yes, that good! I just wish it had been available before the other stories.
August 3, 2009
I liked the first book immensely, but was confused by the second. Then I figured out why - I had read them out of order! What publisher makes omnibuses and puts them out of order?!?
December 31, 2010
A kooky love story about the first contact with another society that parralels ours. Very funny.
August 25, 2014
The two stories included in this volume are very important, in a historical sense maybe, to the series. But I'm not sure if I can recommend this to those aren't fans of the series or her books.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews