Includes stories by Deborah Burros, Mercedes Lackey, Laurell Hamilton, Rima Saret, Gary Herring, Jennifer Roberson, Paula Helm Murray, Diana Paxson, Walter Kleine, Nancy Pine, Andrea Pelleschi, Vera Nazarian, Stephanie Shaver, Eluki bes Shahar, Josepha Sherman, Linda Gordon, Jere Dunham, Dave Smeds, Elisabeth Waters, Lois Tilton, Cynthia Ward, and Margaret Howes.

The series of twenty-one novels and a dozen anthologies that sprawls across the history of human settlement on the planet of Darkover consists not of an ordered sequence of novels but of trilogies, duos and stand alones which weave in and out of each other, sometimes in direct conflict. This is one of the stand alones in this series, an aside from Darkovan events at large. Very few of the characters appear in or are even mentioned in any of the other novels, and this is not greatly dissapointing as it is definitely not one of the best Darkovan novels. The protagonist is a Terran who, being stationed on this primitive planet finds himself in service to one of the great lords of the Comyn, Valdir Alton. The contact between this Terran and another, Larry Montray (the foster-son of Valdir, due to events related in 'Star of Danger')is used typically by MZB as a platform from which to demonstrate Darkovan culture and explore the effects of culture shock - this technique of immerging a Terran in Darkovan nobility and standing back to watch the effects is one MZB uses in most of the novels set after recontact between Earth and its lost colony Darkover. It is quite slow getting into the story, but when it does it is quite a good rolic. It is a must read for devotees of the series but definitely not one to start on if unfamiliar with the series - The Heritage of Hastur or The Bloody Sun are probably the best to start on. Those more aware of the series will enjoy the brief contact with Larry Montray, destined to become uncle to Lew Alton, one of the most poignant and troubled characters of the whole series, and the focus on the Storn family, who are one of those families in the complex genealogies of the Comyn which receives little attention in the main novels. Particularly interesting for those who found Desideria Storn in 'The World Wreckers' a fascinating character. Perhaps the most interesting part of the novel for devotees though is the taboo broken by the Storn scion in order to obtain help from the Terran: he telepathically 'overshadows' him and takes control of his mind and body. Darkover is a society run by powerful telepaths and the observation of certain conventions, all of which utterly forbid such a maneuovre, is the only way to make such a society functional. This makes for interesting ramifications for all characters in the novel, and interesting explorations of conscience. The other bonus for those familiar with the series is the only excursion to the Dry Towns (except for the notable rescue in 'The Shattered Chain')in the whole series. However, these items of trivia for the fan are not enough to sustain a middling novel above a rating of three.

These books were written early in the author's career, and have many inconsistencies with the rest of the Darkover series. Nevertheless, taken as stand-alone novels, they are both enjoyable. The Planet Savers is an interesting study of a man with two personalities, representing opposite psychological extremes... and what happens when those personalities are put under stress. Overall, these are fun "light" SF reading, not to be taken too seriously, but good for an evening's entertainment.

I have to say I did enjoy this book. The mistake I made was reading it after MZB's Arthurian tales. It's good for a modern fantasy book, although not really my thing. This book was a little to creepy for me with the whole evil boyfriend scene. If you don't mind a little black magic in the story it's ok. It was well written and did have good prevail over evil which made me feel much better. I did feel that Marion Zimmer Bradley almost brought me over the edge with too much evil.

The Inheritor is an early attempt at occult fiction of the type that came to fruition in books such as Ghostlight. All things considered, this is a good idea for a novel. The problem is, it needs about a hundred extra pages to resolve all the character development and side plots that Bradley builds up. The story centers around a psychotherapist named Leslie and her sister, Emily. Leslie has been experiencing psychic phenomena before the story begins, and "The Unseen" seems to be tracking her down. She buys a house in San Francisco (the book was written in 1984, before the idea of a normal person buying a house in San Francisco would have been the most fantastic element of the story) which happens to be a vortex of occult power. The place was owned by another psychologist, an occultist named Alison Musgrave who died without training a succsessor. The reason she didn't train a successor is because the person who would have filled that role, a musician named Simon, had a nasty habit of sacrificing cats and junkies in the garage. Leslie is, of course, sleeping with Simon. These could have been the ingredients of a very good book, if Bradley were to follow through. However, so much is left unfinished that the novel feels like a Persian carpet with a thousand frayed ends.

I enjoyed The Inheritor, I only wish Bradley had seen fit to finish it before sending it to her publisher.

Marion Zimmer Bradley has written another well-known book The Mist of Avalon. It is on the bestsellers list of New York Times, as well as this book should be. The reading keeps you wondering where it will take you next. With the turning of a page, you are not sure what to expect.
The Inheritor holds your attention while the author introduces her characters to you. There are Leslie, a doctor of pschology and her sister Emily, a conservatory student of music. The book opens simply with Leslie looking at a house because the apartment that Leslie and Emily share has become too small for them. She looks till she finds this wonderful little number that gives her the feeling of home.
The book becomes more intense from there. With the turn of a page, you wonder what will happen or who will pop up. I would recommend this book to any reader that enjoys a suspense reader with a twist of an ending.

I just stumbled upon Bradley's Darkover series recently, and have really been enjoying them, so I figured I'd like a selection from her witch series, as well.

'Witch Hill' is a quick and somewhat entertaining read about a young woman who has just experienced a horrific series of deaths in her immediate family that quickly wipes everyone she's close to out. But, right before her father's death he starts to tell her about an aunt of his, her namesake Aunt Sara, and she soon learns she's inherited Aunt Sara's ancient house in rural Massachusetts. Sara heads out to check out her inheritance, and decides to spend the summer. Everyone in the town thinks she's Aunt Sara (who died seven years earlier at the ripe old age of 80), and a portrait shows the resemblance IS uncanny. Ol' Aunt Sara was a powerful witch, and the town is ready for young Sara to take up her Aunt's reigns in the local witch temple. Meanwhile, a sweet romance has sprung up between Sara and the young hunky doctor.

But all the intricate plot-work aside, this novel never really gets revved up. The reader is put through the paces, but the story is pretty two-dimensional. The characters have the MOST atrocious dialogue ever. But, it's a fun, goofy, light, and FAST read, so I give it a neutral two-stars.

I gave this book 3 stars because, while I enjoyed it, it was totally unlike the other MZB books I have read. But thats OK. It was essentially pulp. It reminds me of some of the Gothic type romances I used to find at our local used book store when I was a kid. Way back in the day when books cost a dollar! So I guess I enjoyed this story, with the old dilapidated inherited home setting, and steamy sex scenes more out of a feeling of nostalgia. But, you know, sometimes it's just nice to read something that flows along and allows you to relax. There's nothing wrong with that. A Calgon bath for the mind. I am tempted to give this a higher rating just because I enjoyed it, but I suppose it doesn't really warrant it. Not a bad read for all of that.

I'm a fan of MZB, but this book was just- different. I felt that it definitely was rather risque, and believe that it definitely has some chapters that are just pure porn, which is unlike MZB. I think it's very pro-sexuality. The plot gets a little bit odd, and is sort of cut off, but is not impossible to follow. It starts out well, but about halfway through goes sour. I really wish it had been better, and I enjoyed it even though it was absolutely nothing like what I expected. I just wouldn't expect something like that out of MZB. She's usually different.

I haven't read any other Darkover novels, but I have read other novels of Bradley, and she can write well. The problem with this novel is that it is predicable and the ending was too tidy. Almost the moment there was a problem, it was solved by magic or by coincidence.

This books feels like the author might even have been thinking of writing a Darkover children's book. There is almost no conflict. What should have been a tense story of twin brothers separated from infancy, each of whom thinks he is the sole heir of the kingdom, works out far too neatly and with unrealistically little fuss. The main reason to get this book would be to complete a Darkover collection. I wouldn't seek it out otherwise.

The story is more simplistic than Bradley's best work, yes.

It is not the best Darkover story, and not one I'd advise starting off with.

However, for those familiar with the setting, it's an enjoyable tale, perhaps on par with _Star of Danger_: fun, light reading in a familiar world.

I hunted down this book used because I was desperate to read some commentary -- any commentary -- on Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover series. When I found this, her ex-husband's work on the series, I was immensely disappointed.

"Darkover Concordance" is extremely outdated, to begin with. It was published sometime in the 1970's, and many Darkover books have been written since then. It contains reminders of the stormy relationship between Marion Bradley and Walter Breen -- almost every sentence of his harbors a tone of resentment.

And the commentary itself? Any drooling Darkover fanatic could have written a better work. Don't waste your time trying to hunt down this book -- it's obscure for a reason.

The Darkover Concordance contains a lot of information about the universe of Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover that is not available anywhere else. Much effort has been put into the etymology of the different languages, and it offers a good guide to pronunciation of Darkovan words and names, which is of great help for, for instance, live role players. Also fan writers may find this book a nice source. Apart from the concordance itself, it also contain several appendices, including proverbs, genealogies, and ballads.

The book does not contain much information about characters, events, places, etc., described in material published after 1979, which, of course, makes it incomplete as a guide.

However, only 5000 sewn paperbacks and 300 sewn cloth copies were made, and this makes this book a real treasure for any collector. 100 copies of the cloth version are numbered and signed by Breen, MZB herself (she wrote the foreword), and the illustrator, Melisa Michaels.

I am a lucky owner of a paperback copy, bought in Sweden in 1989 for the incredible sum of 30 Swedish kroner which in those days were worth about 3 US dollars...

"The World Wreckers" is awful. Plain and simple. Now, I'm a die-hard Marion Zimmer Bradley fan, so this is not an easy thing to say. Take my word for it -- this is a BAD BOOK.

Why? The plot is inane. Basically, some evil scum developers come to the invented planet of Darkover with the intention of exploiting its people and antural resources. The aristocracy of the planet jumps into action, and the author seems to forget their previous indifference to the well-being of the peons.

Why else? The characters are better described as caricatures -- always seen by the reader as stereotypes and extremes. The writing itself is confusing, unstructured, and full of grammatical errors. The book lacks originality, and reads like every other science fiction pulp ever written. Even if you love the Darkover series, skip this one.

Although this is not the best Darkover novel written, it contains a conflict we all knew had to happen--Terran interests try underhanded methods to gain control of Darkover. How Darkovans deal with it is interesting. I do think it's a shame that the major villain had to be a lost Cheri. Too predictable. However, I like the reorganization of the Comyn which was forced by the ecological disasters and the weakening of the major bloodlines.

This was Bradley's third published book, originally published in slightly abridged format in 1963, later re-issued in 1983 in its complete form. Readers picking up the later release may be surprised by the relative unsophistication of this book compared to other works she was writing in eighties.

Technically, this is a semi-juvenile, with a protagonist, Bart Steele, who has just graduated from the Space Academy, ready to return to his Vegan home, where his father manages a fleet of inter-planetary space ships. Interstellar travel is the sole province of the alien Lhari, and humans can only ride as passengers in cold sleep in their vessels, supposedly due to the inability of the human body to withstand the stresses of hyperspace travel. The Lhari have formed a simple relationship with the Mentorians, humans who have had a slight genetic shift that allows them to withstand very high light illumination levels. The Lhari, who are also color blind, normally prefer these high light levels, matching their home world's level of illumination. Bart, who is half Mentorian, can also see farther into the optical spectrum than normal, allowing him to see an eighth 'color'. This provides the basis for the book's title, and plays a role in the final plot resolution. The Mentorians provide translation, color interpretation, and other services for the Lhari, setting them somewhat apart from the rest of humanity, who look upon them with some suspiscion.

The story revolves around Bart being co-opted to find the secret of the Lhari warp-drive fueling material by surgically changing his appearance so he could pass as a Lhari and having him ship out as a crew member on a Lhari ship that is home world bound. During the trip, he naturally finds that many of his Lhari crewmates are neither ogres nor saints, and comes to question the moral rightness of 'stealing' this secret. The story is told as a very straight line progression, without any real surprises, and is therefore quite predictable in terms of final outcome, both in external society sense and in terms of Bart's development. Thematically, this book restricts itself to 'different is not necessarily bad' and 'the end does not justify the means', providing little in the way of fresh insight.

In general, a pretty standard space-opera plot typical of the late fifties and early sixties in science fiction, good for some mild entertainment, but also clearly showing that Bradley had not yet found her unique and powerful voice.

--- Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)

While reading this book, I continually had to check the cover to verify it had been Marion Zimmer Bradley who produced this twaddle. The authors she uses are continually getting younger and the quality is dropping.