author : Adrienne Martine-Barnes
Novels/Collections
- Darkover
- Against the Terrans - The Second Age (after the Comyn)
Short works
Novels/Collections : reviews
Darkover (series)
Series review:
Tales of life under the 'bloody sun' of Darkover, a lost human colony,
reverted to feudalism, where some humans have interbred with the natives
to produce the Comyn, a psi-caste of rulers. The series ranges right from
the original Landfall, through the Ages of Chaos where the new psi powers
lead to devastating wars, through to the crisis of recontact with
mainstream, relatively alien, Terrans.
The early books in the series are okay romps
(and are probably half a point lower than the overall series rating),
but in 1975 with Heritage
of Hastur something changed, and they improved, and deepened,
dramatically (and most of these are probably half a point higher than the overall series rating).
The focus of plots varies widely throughout the series, but
they are known for dealing sensitively with the intense intimacy between
husband and wife brought by psi-contact, with homosexual relations, both
male and female, with the place of women in a feudal society, with the use
and abuse of power, with culture shock.
Series rating: 3.5
[ unmissable | great stuff | worth reading | mind candy | waste of time | unfinishable ]
Marion Zimmer Bradley, Adrienne Martine-Barnes. The Shadow Matrix. Daw. 1997
Marion Zimmer Bradley, Adrienne Martine-Barnes. Traitor's Sun. Daw. 1998