Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover

Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover
Marion Zimmer Bradley
DAW Books
Copyright: 1993
088675930

The back jacket blurb:

A COLLECTION OF DARKOVER STORIES WRITTEN BY MARION ZIMMER BRADLEY HERSELF!
Return to Darkover, planet of the Bloody Sun, with this collection written solely by the originator of this exotic world, Marion Zimmer Bradley, and including two entirely new stories never before in print. From the Founding to the Ages of Chaos, to the era of the Hundred Kingdoms, to the time of Recontact, travel through the history of Darkover with the writer whose work has inspired so many others to enter her world. Fight alongside the Free Amazons, master the powers of laran with those who work the matrix crystals within their secluded towers, feel the magical pull of the Ghost Wind, explore the mysteries of this long-lost colony with those who come from beyond the stars, and experience all the wonder of Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover.

Well, I found myself reading this one a lot sooner than I originally anticipated. As I'd thought, I quite enjoyed it too - though I know I need to re-read some of the full novels set in the world of Darkover now. I'd forgotten just who Dyan Ardais was, and also a lot of the finer points around Camilla, Kyria and the other Renunciates.

Some of the stories I recognized right off - though I couldn't tell you which anthologies they were from originally. Others seemed to be new to me - specifically some of the stories about Hillary. I think a couple of those were published in this volume for the first time.

Believe it or not, one of my favorite things about an anthology like this one are the various notes that begin each section. Especially for a set of short stories set in an already established world, where I can learn a few more tidbits about how that world came to be, and the author's thought processes. Seeing the origins for some of the Free Amazons, for example.

I don't know if this would be a good book for someone who's not already familiar with the world of Darkover. I suspect it, like all the other anthologies of Darkover stories, is really more for the fans who already know the world, have some favorite characters or regions and truly wish to explore more.

For myself, I'm wondering if it's now time to do a Darkover re-read. Anyone interested?

Found at the Thrift Store: Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover

Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover
Marion Zimmer Bradley
DAW Books
Copyright: 1993
088675930

The back jacket blurb:

A COLLECTION OF DARKOVER STORIES WRITTEN BY MARION ZIMMER BRADLEY HERSELF!
Return to Darkover, planet of the Bloody Sun, with this collection written solely by the originator of this exotic world, Marion Zimmer Bradley, and including two entirely new stories never before in print. From the Founding to the Ages of Chaos, to the era of the Hundred Kingdoms, to the time of Recontact, travel through the history of Darkover with the writer whose work has inspired so many others to enter her world. Fight alongside the Free Amazons, master the powers of laran with those who work the matrix crystals within their secluded towers, feel the magical pull of the Ghost Wind, explore the mysteries of this long-lost colony with those who come from beyond the stars, and experience all the wonder of Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover.

I'm pretty sure I've read most of these stories before, as they were published in a number of the Darkover anthologies that have come out over the years. Nonetheless, I don't own most of those books, so it'll be nice to have Marion Zimmer Bradley's stories collected together. I honestly have no idea of when I'm going to get around to reading this one however.

As I noted in my title, I found this one at a local thrift store, on a quick scan through their book section - something that's usually worth doing I find. I can't help but ask what your most recent thrift store/used bookstore find has been.

Reading - albeit not reviewing

I know I've been quiet when it comes to reviewing books for the last few months. I've been doing a bit of reading nonetheless. Just not reviewing. In part that's because I've been getting more work of late - and it's hard enough to find time to read, much less put together some thoughts on the books I've been reading. Also, I've been doing a bit of camping and traveling over the summer too.

Anyway, to try and play catch-up with my books, here are some of the books I've been reading over the summer. I will admit to having a bit of a problem with starting books and not finishing them. I can tell you that doesn't help when it comes to reviewing too.

Terry Fox: His Story
Leslie Scrivener
McLelland and Stewart
Copyright: 2000
978-0771080197

The Amazon.com product description:

Terry Fox, the one-legged runner from Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, made an indelible impression upon people across Canada and around the world. An outstanding athlete with a stubborn and competitive spirit, he lost his leg to cancer at 19, but said “nobody is ever going to call me a quitter.”

On April 12, 1980, Terry Fox set out from St. John’s, Newfoundland to begin the run across Canada that he named the Marathon of Hope. His ambition was to raise a million dollars for cancer research. It wasn’t easy. Initial support from communities varied from terrific to nothing at all. His prosthetic leg was painful to run on, and there were always traffic and extreme weather conditions to deal with. But, by the time he reached Ontario – a journey of more than 3,000 kilometres – word of his achievement had spread, and thousands cheered him and followed his progress. Terry’s spirits soared, and now he hoped to raise $22 million dollars – one dollar for every Canadian. He succeeded in this ambition, but the Marathon of Hope ended near Thunder Bay, Ontario on September 1, 1980. The cancer had spread to his lungs, and, after running 24 miles in one day, on the next he could run no further.

When cancer finally claimed his life in 1981, Canada mourned the loss of a hero, but the Terry Fox Marathon of Hope lives on. The Terry Fox Foundation raised more than $17 million in 1999, and support for the event nationally and around the world is growing.

I read this book after my husband recommended it to me and I really have to pass this recommendation along. It's a very well-written book that captures the attention right off and doesn't let go. It is something of a quick read however. At least I found that to be the case.

The Mists of Avalon
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Ballantine Books
Copyright: 1984
978-0345350497

The amazon.com product description:

In Marion Zimmer Bradley's masterpiece, we see the tumult and adventures of Camelot's court through the eyes of the women who bolstered the king's rise and schemed for his fall. From their childhoods through the ultimate fulfillment of their destinies, we follow these women and the diverse cast of characters that surrounds them as the great Arthurian epic unfolds stunningly before us. As Morgaine and Gwenhwyfar struggle for control over the fate of Arthur's kingdom, as the Knights of the Round Table take on their infamous quest, as Merlin and Viviane wield their magics for the future of Old Britain, the Isle of Avalon slips further into the impenetrable mists of memory, until the fissure between old and new worlds' and old and new religions' claims its most famous victim.

I think this book was my first major exposure to the variations of the Arthurian stories. It's certainly shaped my impressions of how the story should go ever since. All I know at the moment is that it had been at least ten years or so since I'd last read it (or any of the other books in the Avalon saga). High time really. Now I kind of want to re-read Mercedes Lackey's take on the story - also from a woman's point of view.

The Ship Who Searched
Anne McCaffrey and Mercedes Lackey
Baen Books
978-1451638738

The amazon.com product description:

Special 20th Anniversary Edition, with a new introduction by Mercedes Lackey.  A beloved classic of romantic space adventure returns.  A novel of Anne McCaffrey’s Brainship series.  A young woman becomes paralyzed and must become a brainship—and find her Brawn, her human soul mate, so that she can discover a cure for her illness.

Tia Cade is a headstrong, smart, and very normal girl—until she contracts a terrible illness that leaves her with the bare semblance of life. Tia’s only hope: to become the oldest person ever to train to be one of the legendary star travelers, the brainships  But now that Tia is free of her ravaged body, there still remains the task of finding the right partner to be her Brawn, the human element every brainship requires. And when the disease that debilitated Tia threatens thousands more, selecting a Brawn who is her true soul mate may allow Tia to find the origin of the terrible plague—and perhaps even a cure.

20th Anniversary edition featuring a new introduction by Mercedes Lackey. 

The Ship Who Searched is my favorite of the whole Brainship series. Perhaps it's the way archaeology is woven through the story in this one that helps catch my attention. Not to mention the main character herself. Either way, this is the one that I end up re-reading the most often.

1633
Eric Flint and David Weber
Baen Books
Copyright: 2003
978-0743471558

The amazon.com product description:

 AMERICAN FREEDOM AND JUSTICE
VS. THE TYRANNIES OF
THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY

The new government in central Europe, called the Confederated Principalities of Europe, was formed by an alliance between Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, and the West Virginians led by Mike Stearns who were transplanted into 17th-century Germany by a mysterious cosmic accident. The new regime is shaky. Outside its borders, the Thirty Years War continues to rage. Within, it is beset by financial crisis as well as the political and social tensions between the democratic ideals of the 20th-century Americans and the aristocracy which continues to rule the roost in the CPE as everywhere in Europe.

Worst of all, the CPE has aroused the implacable hostility of Cardinal Richelieu, the effective ruler of France. Richelieu has created the League of Ostend in order to strike at the weakest link in the CPE's armor—its dependence on the Baltic as the lifeline between Gustav Adolf's Sweden and the rest of his realm.

The greatest naval war in European history is about to erupt. Like it or not, Gustavus Adolphus will have to rely on Mike Stearns and the technical wizardry of his obstreperous Americans to save the King of Sweden from ruin.

Caught in the conflagration are two American diplomatic missions abroad: Rebecca Stearns' mission to France and Holland, and the embassy which Mike Stearns sent to King Charles of England headed by his sister Rita and Melissa Mailey. Rebecca finds herself trapped in war-torn Amsterdam; Rita and Melissa, imprisoned in the Tower of London.

And much as Mike wants to transport 20th-century values into war-torn 17th-century Europe by Sweet Reason, still he finds comfort in the fact that Julie, who once trained to be an Olympic marksman, still has her rifle . . .

One for the alternate history fans out there... This is the second book in the series, following on 1632. Which is followed by many more books in the series as well as anthologies of short stories, all by different authors. The two books I've read feel pretty well researched and thought through. I'm going to suggest giving them a try some time.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? - May 29, 2017

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week.  It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit and comment, and er... add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.

After a couple of dead weeks for reading - which explains the overly quiet blog, I've finally gotten back in the swing of things for reading - how long I'll be able to keep it up is another question.

Anyway, I've finished a couple of books in the past week:

The first was Circus of the Damned by Laurell K. Hamilton.

The amazon.com product description:

First time in trade paperback: the third novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling series. In Circus of the Damned-now in trade paperback for the first time-a rogue master vampire hits town, and Anita gets caught in the middle of an undead turf war. Jean-Claude, the Master Vamp of the city, wants her for his own-but his enemies have other plans. And to make matters worse, Anita takes a hit to the heart when she meets a stunningly handsome junior high science teacher named Richard Zeeman. They're two humans caught in the crossfire-or so Anita thinks.

I'm not going to write up a separate review for this one - I stopped reading in the middle for long enough that I can't really remember what happened for the earlier parts of the book. The main thing that stuck with me is Anita's sheer stubborn nature. Of course, that's something laid out through the whole series, so it's not all that surprising.


The second book I finished in the last week was 1632 by Eric Flint, which I posted about yesterday.

The amazon.com product description:

FREEDOM AND JUSTICE -- AMERICAN STYLE

1632 And in northern Germany things couldn't get much worse. Famine. Disease. Religous war laying waste the cities. Only the aristocrats remained relatively unscathed; for the peasants, death was a mercy.
2000 Things are going OK in Grantville, West Virginia, and everybody attending the wedding of Mike Stearn's sister (including the entire local chapter of the United Mine Workers of America, which Mike leads) is having a good time.
THEN, EVERYTHING CHANGED....
When the dust settles, Mike leads a group of armed miners to find out what happened and finds the road into town is cut, as with a sword. On the other side, a scene out of Hell: a man nailed to a farmhouse door, his wife and daughter attacked by men in steel vests. Faced with this, Mike and his friends don't have to ask who to shoot. At that moment Freedom and Justice, American style, are introduced to the middle of the Thirty Years' War.

This one I quite enjoyed, though I'm a bit hesitant about the rest of the series - based on the sheer quantity of books set in the world of the Ring of Fire.

My currently reading pile is pretty big:

There's The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley.
Amazon.com product description:

In Marion Zimmer Bradley's masterpiece, we see the tumult and adventures of Camelot's court through the eyes of the women who bolstered the king's rise and schemed for his fall. From their childhoods through the ultimate fulfillment of their destinies, we follow these women and the diverse cast of characters that surrounds them as the great Arthurian epic unfolds stunningly before us. As Morgaine and Gwenhwyfar struggle for control over the fate of Arthur's kingdom, as the Knights of the Round Table take on their infamous quest, as Merlin and Viviane wield their magics for the future of Old Britain, the Isle of Avalon slips further into the impenetrable mists of memory, until the fissure between old and new worlds' and old and new religions' claims its most famous victim.

It's been quite a few years since I read this book, but I'm enjoying as much now as I did the last time. If my memory serves as well, the Mists of Avalon may well have been my first real introduction to the various Arthurian stories.

Second on the list is The Lunatic Cafe by Laurell K. Hamilton

The amazon.com product description:

Vampire hunter and zombie animator Anita Blake is an expert at sniffing out the bad from the good. But in The Lunatic Cafe-now in trade paperback for the first time-she's about to learn that nothing is ever as it seems, especially in matters of the not-so-human heart.

Dating a werewolf with self-esteem issues is stressing Anita out. Especially when something-or someone-starts taking out the city's shapeshifters.

Here's where we start seeing more of the characters who are going to shape the next several books: Raina, Gabriel, Marcus... We've already been introduced to Richard and Larry in the previous book, so the stage is being set for future plotlines.

I'm only a couple of chapters in, so I can't say much more than that yet.

And finally, 1633 by David Weber and Eric Flint

The amazon.com product description:

AMERICAN FREEDOM AND JUSTICE
VS. THE TYRANNIES OF
THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY

The new government in central Europe, called the Confederated Principalities of Europe, was formed by an alliance between Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, and the West Virginians led by Mike Stearns who were transplanted into 17th-century Germany by a mysterious cosmic accident. The new regime is shaky. Outside its borders, the Thirty Years War continues to rage. Within, it is beset by financial crisis as well as the political and social tensions between the democratic ideals of the 20th-century Americans and the aristocracy which continues to rule the roost in the CPE as everywhere in Europe.

Worst of all, the CPE has aroused the implacable hostility of Cardinal Richelieu, the effective ruler of France. Richelieu has created the League of Ostend in order to strike at the weakest link in the CPE's armor—its dependence on the Baltic as the lifeline between Gustav Adolf's Sweden and the rest of his realm.

The greatest naval war in European history is about to erupt. Like it or not, Gustavus Adolphus will have to rely on Mike Stearns and the technical wizardry of his obstreperous Americans to save the King of Sweden from ruin.

Caught in the conflagration are two American diplomatic missions abroad: Rebecca Stearns' mission to France and Holland, and the embassy which Mike Stearns sent to King Charles of England headed by his sister Rita and Melissa Mailey. Rebecca finds herself trapped in war-torn Amsterdam; Rita and Melissa, imprisoned in the Tower of London.

And much as Mike wants to transport 20th-century values into war-torn 17th-century Europe by Sweet Reason, still he finds comfort in the fact that Julie, who once trained to be an Olympic marksman, still has her rifle . . .

At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (DRM Rights Management).

It's the second book in the Ring of Fire series, I believe. However, I'm only a chapter or two in.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? January 19th, 2015

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a fun and dangerous meme hosted each week over at Book Journey. Fun, because we're sharing what we're reading. Dangerous, well, that comes from adding more books to the already shaky and toppling TBR stacks.

Anyway, it's been a long, long time since I've had a week as good as this past one. I finished reading three books!

Completed reads:

Arrow's Fall (Heralds of Valdemar Vol. 3) 
Mercedes Lackey

The amazon.com product description:

With Elspeth, the heir to the throne of Valdemar, come of marriageable age, Talia, the Queen's Own Herald returns to court to find Queen and heir beset by diplomatic intrigue as various forces vie for control of Elspeth's future.
But just as Talia is about to uncover the traitor behind all these intrigues, she is sent off on a mission to the neighboring kingdom, chosen by the Queen to investigate the worth of a marriage proposal from Prince Ancar.

Of the three books in this trilogy, I've got to note that this one has my favorite cover art. My full review is here.

Read for both the Hardcore Re-Reading Challenge and my own Valdemar Reading Challenge.

The Children of Kings
Marion Zimmer Bradley and Deborah J. Ross

The amazon.com product description:

Millennia ago, the planet Darkover, a cold world orbiting a giant red sun, was settled by a lost colony ship from the Terran Federation. Alone on a new world, survivors interbred with the native chieri, psychically Giften alien humanoids. The children of these matings were Gifted with telepathy and other psychic abilities, and their descendants, the aristocratic Comyn, forged a civilization in which the arts of the mind were cultivated and cherished.

When the Terrans rediscovered Darkover, the seven Domains of Comyn struggeld to maintain their unique culture and independence, often at a terrible price. More than once, assassins and environmental saboteurs from the Terran Empire attempted to bring Darkover to its knees and erode the native culture for the benefit of the Federation -- seing Darkover as nothing more than a port of call for Terran military and trade. Eventually, a vicious interstellar war forced Federation forces to withdraw from Darkover, but Darkovans knew that it was only a matter of time before they would return.

Prince Garth Elhalyn has grown up in the shadow of his legendary grandfather, Regis Hastur, one of the greatest leaders Darkover has ever known. But he is also haunted by fear of the insanity that is prevalent in his Elhalyn family line. His world has become an unbearable counterpoint of meaningless aristocratic frivoloty and dangerous political schemes -- plots in which powerful lords attmept to use him to further their own ambitions. He tries his best to better himself through the study of languages, swordplay, and training his psychic laran with his grandmother, Linnea Storn-Hastur, Keeper of Comyn Tower. But Gareth cannot stop dreaming about a future without fame or family.

In a desperate attempt to remove himself completely from the restricted life of the Comyn, Gareth confesses his desire to his powerful grandmother, and with her blessing, disguises himself as a simple trader and travels to Carthon, on the border of the barbarous, warklike Dry Towns. The Dry Towns do not live under the rule of the Comyn, and no one in this isolated part of Darkover will recognize a Comyn lord.

In Carthon, protected by his guise of anonymity, Gareth overhears rumors of deadly, illegal Terran blasters being used in the barren lands beyond Shainsa -- one of the main Dry Towns. If the Federation has returned and is now arming the bellicose Dry Towners with banned technology, it will mean a disastrous conflict for the Comyn of the Domains, who have long sworn themselves to the Compact, an oath of honor that forbids the use of distance weaponry. Venturing deeper and deeper into the desert lands, Gareth stumbles upon a terrible reality no one could have suspected and he is ill-prepared to deal with.

But in fact, Gareth holds the key to protecting his world, if he can only stay alive in the deadly Dry Towns long enough to discover what it is....

The Children of Kings follows The Alton Gift and Traitor's Sun in the Darkover timeline.

Not the best introduction to the world of Darkover as it assumes that the reader already has the background knowledge, but a book I really enjoyed reading nonetheless. My full review can be found here.

The Oathbound Book I: Vows and Honor
Mercedes Lackey
DAW Books
Copyright: 1988
978-0886774141

The amazon.com product description:

Tarma witnessed her clan's murder and, swearing vengeance, became a master warrior. Kethry fled her forced "marriage" and became an adept--pledging her power to the greatest good. When Kethry obtains a magical sword which draws her to others in need, the two vow to avenge the wrongs done to womanhood.

This was the third book I read last week, and I haven't had a week like that in well over a year, perhaps two. My full review, though short, can be found here.

Read for both the Hardcore Re-Reading Challenge and my own Valdemar Reading Challenge.

 I'm currently reading:
Oathbreakers by Mercedes Lackey, the sequel to Oathbound above, and I'm still working away at Adrienne Mayor's book on the Amazons.

I honestly don't know what I'm going to read next, although I suspect that there's a good chance it'll be Oathblood, the completing volume in the Vows and Honor series by Mercedes Lackey.

The Children of Kings - Marion Zimmer Bradley and Deborah J. Ross

The Children of Kings
Marion Zimmer Bradley and Deborah J. Ross
DAW Books
Copyright: 2013
978-0756408541

The amazon.com product description:

Millennia ago, the planet Darkover, a cold world orbiting a giant red sun, was settled by a lost colony ship from the Terran Federation. Alone on a new world, survivors interbred with the native chieri, psychically Giften alien humanoids. The children of these matings were Gifted with telepathy and other psychic abilities, and their descendants, the aristocratic Comyn, forged a civilization in which the arts of the mind were cultivated and cherished.

When the Terrans rediscovered Darkover, the seven Domains of Comyn struggeld to maintain their unique culture and independence, often at a terrible price. More than once, assassins and environmental saboteurs from the Terran Empire attempted to bring Darkover to its knees and erode the native culture for the benefit of the Federation -- seing Darkover as nothing more than a port of call for Terran military and trade. Eventually, a vicious interstellar war forced Federation forces to withdraw from Darkover, but Darkovans knew that it was only a matter of time before they would return.

Prince Garth Elhalyn has grown up in the shadow of his legendary grandfather, Regis Hastur, one of the greatest leaders Darkover has ever known. But he is also haunted by fear of the insanity that is prevalent in his Elhalyn family line. His world has become an unbearable counterpoint of meaningless aristocratic frivoloty and dangerous political schemes -- plots in which powerful lords attmept to use him to further their own ambitions. He tries his best to better himself through the study of languages, swordplay, and training his psychic laran with his grandmother, Linnea Storn-Hastur, Keeper of Comyn Tower. But Gareth cannot stop dreaming about a future without fame or family.

In a desperate attempt to remove himself completely from the restricted life of the Comyn, Gareth confesses his desire to his powerful grandmother, and with her blessing, disguises himself as a simple trader and travels to Carthon, on the border of the barbarous, warklike Dry Towns. The Dry Towns do not live under the rule of the Comyn, and no one in this isolated part of Darkover will recognize a Comyn lord.

In Carthon, protected by his guise of anonymity, Gareth overhears rumors of deadly, illegal Terran blasters being used in the barren lands beyond Shainsa -- one of the main Dry Towns. If the Federation has returned and is now arming the bellicose Dry Towners with banned technology, it will mean a disastrous conflict for the Comyn of the Domains, who have long sworn themselves to the Compact, an oath of honor that forbids the use of distance weaponry. Venturing deeper and deeper into the desert lands, Gareth stumbles upon a terrible reality no one could have suspected and he is ill-prepared to deal with.

But in fact, Gareth holds the key to protecting his world, if he can only stay alive in the deadly Dry Towns long enough to discover what it is....

The Children of Kings follows The Alton Gift and Traitor's Sun in the Darkover timeline.

Of late, I've done some muttering about the Amazon.com product descriptions. I take that back for this one. It's actually better than the back cover blurb (of course, it's also two or three times the length).

It's been a while since I've read any of the Darkover novels, and to a slight extent, that did affect my read-through of Children of Kings. Mostly because I was struggling to remember completely who the main character was in relation to all the other characters and what had happened in the previous books.

Once I got past the first hundred pages or so (and got the who's-who straightened out in my head again) I found myself almost unable to put the book down. I really liked Deborah's take on Darkover and the Dry-Towns - a place we just haven't heard a lot about before now. It's always been in the background, but not too much has been written about them or the inhabitants, aside from The Shattered Chain.

I think that about all I knew about the Dry-Towners before this book was how touchy they were about their honor. Now, they feel like a fully-fleshed out part of the whole world of Darkover. Actually, I'd love to see something written about their origins now, aside from the rumors and hints given in this book. They're just so different than the rest of the Darkover inhabitants.

Slightly an aside, but does anyone know offhand, which was the book where the Terrans and Darkovans were studying telepathic powers? I think it was a fairly early book in the recontact era, but I can't even remember the title. It's just that one of the characters from it - which I remember vaguely - was mentioned briefly in The Children of Kings, and that's made me curious about it again.

I'm also feeling the need to re-read the World Wreckers - one of the Darkover novels not in my personal collection - as the events in that book are fairly integral to the background of this one. More so than the rest of the recent Darkover books, I think.

The Children of Kings is probably not the best book to start with if you haven't read any of the Darkover novels before; for that I might suggest Exile's Song and its sequels, which introduce the word quite thoroughly and starts off the story-line for the characters and events in The Children of Kings.

Overall, a book that I really enjoyed reading.

Sword and Sorceress VIII - Ed. Marion Zimmer Bradley

This was the final book I read in 2014. I just didn't have time to get the review in before the new year began.

Sword And Sorceress VIII
Ed. Marion Zimmer Bradley
DAW Books
Copyright: 1991
978-0886774868

The back cover blurb:

Spells Cast And Swords Crossed
As the forces of evil reach out to conquer new realms, claiming the lives and treasures of unprotected innocents, there are always a valiant few ready to oppose these masters of darkness and destruction. Bold women warriors, wise women, sorceresses wielding the powers of light - all are ready to aid those in need with no thought to the perils they themselves will face.

Let some of today's finest fantasy writers - Mercedes Lackey, Jennifer Roberson, Diana Paxson, and their fellow visionaries - carry you off to the enchanted lands where stalwart heroines pit their skills against such terrors as: an ancient dragon that has long held a kingom hostage to its terrible hunger... a stealer of magics who seeks to drain the power from all who cross her path... a mortal so caught in evil's thrall that not even his own family is safe from harm... and all the other enemies that only those long-trained to battle with sword and spell can hope to overcome...

Well, the back blurb is definitely over the top in its descriptions, but there are some really good stories in this volume nonetheless. My favorites have to be Wings of Fire by Mercedes Lackey and Geese by Laurell K. Hamilton.

I always forget that Laurell K. Hamilton has written fantasy outside of her Merry Gentry and Anita Blake series, but Geese serves as a good reminder of that fact, and it was an amazing story.

Wings Of Fire is a story I've read at least a couple of times now. I think I may have read some of the stories from this anthology before, aside from this one (also available in Oathblood, where Mercedes Lackey has gathered together all of the Tarma and Kethry stories she wrote for the Sword and Sorceress series of anthologies).

The one other story that seemed familiar enough to make me wonder if I read Sword and Sorceress VII a while back was Marayd's Escape. Not completely familiar - I couldn't remember the story, just some of the plot points - but familiar nonetheless.

Also neat for fans of some of the books Mercedes Lackey has co-written is that there is a story in this anthology from Eluki bes Shahar, who has written books under the name Rosemary Edghill. A name that's familiar from the more recent books in the world of the SERRAted Edge series. Unfortunately I have to admit that the titles of those books escape me for the moment.

Overall, this is a volume that's full of moments of humor - even in the various author biography notes at the beginning of the stories.

15 Days Book Blogging Challenge: Books You've Thrown Across The Room

The 15 Days Book Blogging Challenge is a challenge to write for fifteen days on a set of book and book blog related topics hosted at Good Books and Good Wine. One neat thing with this challenge is that there's no time limits to participate. My originating post is here.

Today's topic, Books You've Thrown Across The Room is one that's an interesting one. As far as I can remember, I don't think I've ever physically thrown a book across the room. I just can't bring myself to risk causing any damage to a book, regardless of how much I dislike it.

There are though, a number of books I've given up on in disgust or ranted about after finishing them. Two that came to mind immediately are:

Darkover Landfall by Marion Zimmer Braldley, set me off years ago and I ended up ranting about it here back then. I won't duplicate the rant, just say that my opinions haven't changed since. There's also too many unanswered questions left by the book, but my biggest issues with Darkover Landfall come down to the characters' attitudes.

If you like the Darkover world, I think this is a book you're going to end up reading, but by far my preferences run to some of the later books such as Exile's Song, or even The Bloody Sun, which was also one of the earlier books in the series.

The other book is one I tried reading last year, Norman F. Cantor's biography of Alexander the Great. Honestly, I don't think I got even twenty pages into the book before I put it down permanently. I found the author's point of view to be judgmental, biased and irritating on several aspects of ancient Greek culture.  I don't read a book like this for the author's biases, I read to learn about the subject in question. Give me the information and let me make up my own mind on how I feel about how they lived.

Not only that, but if my memory's not playing tricks on me, the map in the front has some errors in it too, namely the location of Alexandria. That's just sloppiness, though that might be more the fault of the publisher, and didn't give me the best feeling either. Based on this book, I don't even want to try any of his other works, and Norman Cantor is supposed to be quite a well respected writer on history.

There are definitely some better books on Alexander out there.

Traitor's Sun - Marion Zimmer Bradley

Traitor's Sun
Marion Zimmer Bradley
DAW Books
Copyright: 1998
9780886778118

The jacket blurb:

The power of laran

It has been fifteen years since Marguerida Alton returned to Darkover, discovered the terrifying powers of her special laran, and fell in love with Mikhail Lanart-Hastur, heir designate to the regency of Darkover. With the proper instruction, Marguerida has has, over time, learned to control her telepathic Gift, and can even work with her unique shadow matrix.

Now Marguerida's life is more settled - though no less hectic. As the second-in-command to the aging Regent, Regis Hastur, life in Comyn Castle for Marguerida and Mikhail is far from serene.

But the current tensions on Darkover have more to do with the Terran Federation than with anything internal to Darkover. For nearly ten years, Lyle Belfontaine, the corrupt and ambitious Station Chief at Federation Headquarters in Thendara, has been pressuring Comyn Council to relinquish Darkover's Protected status and join the Federation as a full member planet. Yet this is something Comyn Council will never agree to do, for it would mean the death of their culture and the rape of their planetary resources.

But when a military coup rocks the Federation, cutting off all communication with local envoys, Belfontaine sees an opportunity to wrest by force what he has been unable to gain thorugh diplomacy and plans a violent takeover on Darkover.

Can Mikhail and Marguerida face the might of Terrann weapons with only their combined telepathic laran powers?

The sequel to The Shadow Matrix and Exile's Song, Traitor's Sun is both connected to the previous books and a stand-alone in a sense. I'm almost more inclined to view it as a stand-alone in the world of Darkover: the book is set fifteen years after The Shadow Matrix and the main viewpoint characters are all new: Herm Aldaran and his wife, Katherine, and Dominic, the son of Marguerida and Mikhail. Even the plot lines are all new ones.

This book is signaling the end of an era in more ways than one: The changing characters, for example, and also the way the Terran Federation is falling apart, although there have been hints of that beginning in the previous books. Things are never going to be the same again, even on Darkover.

Definitely a needed book in the world of Darkover, it matches up nicely with Rediscovery in some ways - that being the introduction of the Terran Empire/Federation to Darkover, and this one being about the last days. Who knows what's going to happen next now?

Traitor's Sun winds things up very nicely, and yet at the same time leaves them open for some future date. Overall, I really liked reading this book.

The Shadow Matrix - Marion Zimmer Bradley

The Shadow Matrix
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Daw Books
Copyright: 1999
978-0886778125

Amazon.com product description:

After spending her youth in the Terran Empire, Margaret Alton returns to Darkover, the planet of her birth. There she discovers she has the Alton Gift--forced rapport and compulsion--one of the strongest and most dangerous of the inherited "Laran" gifts of the telepathic Comyn--the ruling families of Darkover. And even as she struggles to control her newfound powers, Margaret finds herself falling in love with the Regent to the royal Elhalyn Domain, a man she has been forbidden to marry, for their alliance would irrevocably alter the power balance of their planet!.

 Not the best description for this book at all, but I didn't have my copy of The Shadow Matrix handy to copy off the jacket blurb myself. The Shadow Matrix picks up more or less where Exile's Song left off, as Margaret is busy learning about the mental gifts she has and her role in Darkovan society. At the same time, Mikhail, the heir to Regis Hastur has been made the Regent to the Elhalyn Domain, the family who, historically have been the Kings of Darkover. All this causes a whole new set of problems to replace the ones solved in the previous book.

I found that even though this was a re-read of the book, it still picked me up and swept me along into the story. The characters are vivid and full of life, problems and all. There was the occasional line of dialogue that was incredibly stilted, but not too much overall.

To really enjoy The Shadow Matrix though, you really need to have read Exile's Song, as so many of the events in this book build off of what happened in the previous book. I liked it, and if you like the Darkover books, you might find yourself agreeing that these two books are the best in the series.

Exile's Song - Marion Zimmer Bradley

Exile's Song
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Daw Books
Copyright: 1996
978-0886777340

The jacket blurb:

She was Margaret Alton, the daughter of Lew Alton, the Darkovan representative to the Terran Imperial Senate, but she remembered almost nothing about the plantet of her birth, or her early and tumultuous childhood. What fleetimg memories disturbed her sleep were fragments of terror - a strange silver man and a screaming woman with hair that circled her head like a ring of fire.

Since leaving Darkover as a child, Margaret has lived her life on Thetis. Lew and her stepmother, Dotima, were gone much of the year, working in the Senate, struggling to keep Darkover safe from the all-consuming imperialism of the Terran Federation. She hardly knew her father, a brooding man who, when he returned to Thetis was prone to long bouts of drinking. At these times his normally morose and uncommunicative demeanor would take on an even darker hue...times when he seemed to look at Margaret and see someone else - someone he did not want to remember. As soon as Margaret was of age, she fled her stormy home and took refuge on University. Here Margaret, strangely uncomfortable around her peers found solace in the isolation of study. She excelled in music and was granted the position of assistant to her mentor, renowned musicologist, Dr. Ivor Davidson. This prestigious job took her to many worlds and when she and Professor Davidson were assigned to collect folk songs on Darkover, Margaret was curious and pleased.

But once on Darkover, Margaret's innocent excitement quickly waned. The world of her birth evoked long-buried memories, painful and terrifying, and she soon found herself falling deeper and deeper into a waking dream that threatened to become a nightmare. Margaret began to hear voices in her head - one voice in particular which seemed to confront her at every turn - and she wondered if she were losing her mind.

Beneath the light of the Red Sun, as Margaret slowly unraveled the veiled and mysterious secrets of her heritage, she found herself driven by a destiny more dreadful than any nightmare. For the screaming woman and the silver man were merely markers on a trail - a trail which lead into Margaret's own mind, and towards a trap which had been set for her centuries before her birth...

Although a relative latecomer in the Darkover series, this was the first book set in the world of the Bloody Sun that I'd ever read. As such, even though it's billed as being the follow-up to The Heritage of Hastur and Sharra's Exile, I found Exile's Song to be a very good introduction to the world. It lays out who the characters are, and as Margaret finds out about the world, so do we.

Darkover is a very interesting world, being a series that's spanned several decades in writing. I know of some titles that date to the 1970's (Darkover Landfall) and I think that some of the books are even earlier than that. And the most recent book in the series just came out this past January: The Hastur Lord. It's a world that's evolved as it was written, with some very neat concepts melding both science fiction and fantasy.

Almost from the first pages of Exile's Song I really got to like Margaret and feel for her - even on this re-read of the book. She's an intelligent, strong character with a very definite set of beliefs and now she's on a planet where everyone else has some very strong ideas about her place and what she should be doing, while expecting Margaret to have all the background knowledge that she doesn't have, all resulting in some very interesting situations and conflicts.

Exile's Song is the first book about Margaret, so while things are resolved by the end of the book, there are some hints of interesting things to come in The Shadow Matrix. Which is interesting all on it's own, even in the implications of the title.

Darkover Landfall - Marion Zimmer Bradley

Darkover Landfall
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Daw Books
Copyright 1972
978-0099154105

The amazon.com product description:

Darkover, a planet of wonder, world of mystery, has been a favourite of science fiction readers for many years. For it is a truly alien sphere - a world of strange intelligences of brooding skies beneath a ruddy sun, and of powers unknown to Earth. In this new novel, Mario Zimmer Bradley tells of the original coming of the Earthmen, of the days when Darkover knew not humanity. This is the full bodied novel of what happened when a colonial starship crashlanded on that uncharted planet to encounter for the first time in human existence the impact of the Ghost Wind, of the psychic currents that were native only to that world, and of the price that every Earthling must pay before Darkover can claim for itself.

The story of the first people on Darkover, two thousand years before their rediscovery by the Terran Empire, this is the very beginning of the Darkover saga. Everything began with the crash of a colony ship so bad that there was no way it could be repaired.

Darkover Landfall is nowhere near my favorite novel in the series. In fact, I'd have to say it's down near the bottom of the list. I'd read it before, but this time, I found myself gritting my teeth at character attitudes. Thankfully it's a quick read.

The whole book is littered with assumptions that any woman who doesn't want children has been brainwashed, that women are not capable of doing the same things as men at all, and should want to have as many children as possible. Etcetera, etcetera.

While I can accept that attitude in most of the Darkover series, because it's a different culture, in this book, where the characters are supposed to be from this high-tech society where equality is mandated under the laws, it just annoyed the heck out of me.

Were we really that bad in the early 1970's that this is seen as reasonable behavior?

I like most of the Darkover books, but this one, as you can see just rubbed me the wrong way completely. Still, it was interesting to see where the culture of the rest of the series originated, and for that reason alone, the book is likely to stay on my shelves. On the other hand, it leaves a heck of a lot of unaswered questions, such as where the horses, dogs and hawks of the later books came from as it sure doesn't look as though they came with the colonists, but neither were they already present on the planet.

The Hastur Lord: A Novel Of Darkover- Marion Zimmer Bradley and Deborah J. Ross

The Hastur Lord
Marion Zimmer Bradley and Deborah J. Ross
Daw Books
Copyright: 2010
978-0756406226

The Amazon.com product description:

A never-before-published fantasy novel set in Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover universe.

The world of Darkover, a unique, isolated, and protected world, has long avoided becoming part of the technologically advanced Terran Empire. But things are about to change. Regis Hastur, lord of the most powerful of the seven Domains in Darkover, learns that the Empire is about to become a Federation, and is extending an invitation for all of the worlds to join. While the offer seems tempting to his people, Regis knows that Darkover would become little more than a military base, used for its unique planetary position, and will be sapped of its resources. He must now stop at nothing to save his world.

As far as it goes, the description above is a good one for this book, but there's a lot more to it than that. The Hastur Lord is also a book about family, duty and wisdom. The biggest problem with this book is the way it's set between other books in the series.

Because we know how the later books go, it's harder to see how the events in this book work. That was what I was finding all the way through the story. I kept going "But how come we've not heard of this character before?" and "How is this going to work out with Exile's Song and the later books?". There are a few major characters that are completely new too.

Regardless of my initial feelings towards The Hastur Lord, I did find it to be a good read, one that showed me a lot more about one of the pivotal characters in this period of Darkover's history: Regis Hastur. While not my favorite Darkover novel, it's certainly better than some of them - I'm finding this series to be a mixed bag. Some of the books are better than others. This one's pretty good, but not one of my favorites.

There is one other significant thing about The Hastur Lord: it's apparently, the last book that Marion Zimmer Bradley was writing before she died. How much of the book was her's and how much was written by Deborah Ross, I don't know, however.

Mailbox Monday - July 27th

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia of The Printed Page, and it's a lot of fun to see what people are getting each week.

I missed last week's although I had wanted to post due to not having internet that day. Now I can't remember the books I was going to include.

Anyway, I've got quite the pile this week thanks to a trip to my favorite used book store:

Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen

I've heard so many good things about this book that it's become one of the few books I recommend to people unread. Now I'm finally going to get a chance to read it myself.

The Amazon.com description:

When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, drifters, and misfits, a second-rate circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression, making one-night stands in town after endless town. A veterinary student who almost earned his degree, Jacob is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It is there that he meets Marlena, the beautiful young star of the equestrian act, who is married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. He also meets Rosie, an elephant who seems untrainable until he discovers a way to reach her.

Life In A Medieval Castle by Joseph Gies and Francis Gies

One of their series on medieval life. I already had their books on Life in A Medieval Village (which I've read) and Life in a Medieval City (which I've looked at, but still have on my TBR list). Overall, I've found their books to be quite readable and interesting, although I've seen some debate about accuracy. This is an older book, with a publication date of 1979, so there may well have been some new discoveries and interpretations since it came out. Still, the books make for a good introduction to the subject.

Joust by Mercedes Lackey

Interestingly (and amusingly) I bought this two days after I'd given in and gotten it through interlibrary loan. By which point I'd already finished reading it. My review is posted here.

The jacket blurb:

Vetch was an Altan serf working the land which had once been his family's farm. Young and slight, Vetch would have died of overwork, exposure, and starvation if not for anger which was his only real sustenance - anger that he had lost his home and family in a war of conquest waged by the dragon-riding Jousters of Tia. Tia had usurped nearly half of Alta's lands and enslaved or killed many of Vetch's countrymen. Sometimes it seemed that his entire cruel fate revolved around dragons and the Jousters who rode them.

But his fate changed forever the day he first saw a dragon.

From its narrow, golden, large-eyed head, to its pointed emerald ears, to the magnificent blue wings, the dragon was a thing of multicolored, jeweled beauty, slim and supple, and quite as large as the shed it perched on. Vetch almost failed to notice the Jouster who stood beside him. "I need a boy," the rider had said, and suddenly Vetch found himself lifted above the earth and transported by dragon-back to a different world.

Vetch was to be trained as a dragon-boy, and he hardly believed his luck. The compound seemed like paradise: he could eat until he was full, and all he had to do was care for his Jouster's dragon, Kashet.

It didn't take long for Vetch to realize that Kashet was very special - for unlike other dragons, Kashet was gentle by nature, and did not need the tranquilizing tala plant to make her tractable. Vetch became determined to learn the secret of how Kashet had been tamed. For if Kashet could be tamed, perhaps Vetch could tame a dragon of his own. And if he could, then he might be able to escape and bring the secret of dragon-taming with him back to his homeland of Alta. And that secret might prove to be the key to Alta's liberation....

The Forbidden Circle by Marion Zimmer Bradley

The Forbidden Circle is the omnibus edition of The Spell Sword and The Forbidden Tower. Both of them are from her famous (and long-running) Darkover series. I've read them both before, but my copies were pretty abysmal: the yellow-spined DAW covers, creased up and with spots pulled away where masking-tape had been peeled off. Please, please, never use masking tape on your books (and this was a used book store doing it for their price tags). The glue never comes off or, if it does, it takes the cover with it.

Medieval English Prose For Women edited by Bella Millett & Jocelyn Wogan-Browne

A smallish book, this contains selections from the manuscripts known as the Katherine Group, and also two parts of the Ancrene Wisse. The text is in the facing page form, where the Middle-English of the original is on the left-hand page, and the modern English translation is on the right. There is also a textual commentary and a glossary for the Middle-English words. Should be an interesting read when (some might say "If") I get to it.

The jacket description:

The Ancrene Wisse, a guide for female recluses in the West Midlands in the early thirteenth century, and the closely related works of the "Katherine Group," offer vivid and fascinating insights into the religious life of the time. The difficulty of the language however, which skillfully blends Latin and native English stylistic traditions, has made the documents largely inaccessible to all but experts in Middle English. This edition presents the works in a new and readable critical text that includes interspersed translations, notes, a select glossary, and a general introduction, making this volume highly useful to undergraduates and generalists with limited knowledge of Middle English.

The Art Of Medieval Hunting: The Hound And The Hawk by John Cummins
Another book on medieval life to add to my TBR list. I'll get to it one day, but it definitely looks interesting.

The jacket description:

The gentlemen of medieval and Renaissance Europe had three all-consuming passions: warfare, courtly love, and hunting with a hawk or hound--and the philosophy behind the last of the trio really encompasses them all. Hunting, the sport of kings, served as training for battle, a rite of manhood, and a powerful ritualistic pastime. In vivid and engrossing detail, here are all the appropriate methods for hunting deer, boar, wolves, foxes, bears, otters, birds, hares...even unicorns!