Domains of Darkover (The Friends of Darkover Present) [Paperback]

Marion Zimmer Bradley (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 6, 1990

Join Marion Zimmer Bradley and The Friends of Darkover as they reveal previously unknown legends and lore about one of the most fascinating worlds in the annals of science fiction. "Bradley's Darkover series grows richer by the book."--Science Fiction Review. Original.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

From the origins of one of Darkover's most potent mysteries ("Beginnings" by Cynthia Drolet) to the exploration of the many meanings of honor ("To Serve Kihar" by Judith Sampson), this collection of 17 stories continues to flesh out Bradley's popular world of the Bloody Sun. Featuring contributions by Mercedes Lackey, Deborah Wheeler, and others, the book belongs in libraries where the series has a following.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 254 pages
• Publisher: DAW; First Edition edition (March 6, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0886774071
• ISBN-13: 978-0886774073
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #923,910 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The weakest of the anthologies I've read so far, October 4, 2000

By 

A.J. Chodan - See all my reviews

This review is from: Domains of Darkover (The Friends of Darkover Present) (Paperback)

However, there are three stories (all from the Ages of Chaos, oddly enough) that stood out as true gems, and I give the whole book one star for each of them:

First, there is "Clingfire," which takes two minor characters from the novel Stormqueen! (Coryn, Keeper of Hali Tower; and his lover Arielle, far below his station), fleshes them out, and puts one of the early, male Keepers in what seems to be the classic dilemma of the later female teneresti: is doing work that you love more important than spending your life with the person you love most?

Next, there is "Just a Touch..." which is nearly as powerful as the story it reminded me of ("The Alton Gift", which appears in _The Keeper's Price_), but with a much more uplifting ending. This was my favorite in the anthology, and in and of itself makes the collection worth seeking out.

The third story that deserves special mention is "The Plague." The theme is typical for a Darkover story (in a stressful situation, a woman of supposedly limited skills discovers her laran is far stronger than she thought), but the circumstances are unique, and the author captures the understanding I would expect Darkovan culture to have of bacteria ("tinylives") very well, and doesn't start sounding like she's giving a 20th-century Terran explanation (I hate that!)

For these three stories, the anthology is worth trying to get your hands on, but none of the rest particularly stand out (except for "Mists" and "Man-eater" which both annoyed me and stood out as BAD). However, there are much more enjoyable and better-organized anthologies of Darkover short stories, IMHO.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Some good stories, some not-so-good stories., August 30, 2000

By 

James Yanni (Bellefontaine Neighbors, Mo. USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Domains of Darkover (The Friends of Darkover Present) (Paperback)

There are some excellent stories in this anthology, notably "An Object Lesson" by Mercedes Lackey, in which she once again brings back the character Tayksa the ex-assassin, a character she has written several stories about in previous anthologies. (This was an excellent story, even if it WAS merely a set-up for an abysmally clever pun.) But there were also some stories that I didn't think much of, particularly "The Gift From Ardais", by Barbara Denz, which started out well, was well-written, and ended in a needlessly depressing way, serving no point that I could discern. Less bad, but still not much to my liking, was "To Serve Kihar", by Judith Sampson, which seemed to me to have an implausibly upbeat ending, not justified by the story to that point. Now, I'd rather see unjustified optimism than unjustified cynicism, but it still isn't really a good story if I don't feel the ending is justified by the story leading up to it.