Traitor's Sun (Darkover) [Mass Market Paperback]

Marion Zimmer Bradley (Author)

Book Description

Series: Darkover | Publication Date: February 1, 2000

Traitor's Sun continues the epic saga of Darkover, the award-winning series by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Her most brilliant and popular creation, the Darkover books take readers to a planet torn by rebellion--and struggling for freedom...

"Darkover is the essence, the quitessence, my most personal and best-loved work."-- Marion Zimmer Bradley

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The 33rd book in the author's popular Darkover series (begun in 1958 and composed mostly of Bradley's novels but also of some story collections edited by her) moves the epic slowly forward, primarily by explicating the emotional lives of the many characters, telepathic and otherwise, who make up the population of the planet of Darkover. Senator Hermes-Gabriel Aldaran receives a telepathic wake-up call to return home to Darkover before the rapacious Expansionists in the Terran Federation destroy what few personal freedoms are left to their citizenry. Arriving planetside with his children and his wife, Katherine?who has been kept ignorant of his psychic gifts?Herm finds life on Darkover more difficult than anticipated. The on-planet Terran contingency not only wants to arrest him, but also is plotting various illegal political assassinations in order to usurp power during the interregnum. Regis Hastur is dying and the succession has become a bone of contention among the nobility, which puts young Domenic, who is legitimately in line of rule, in the crossfire of the political fallout. Herm decides to accompany Domenic on a spy mission after the overly dutiful boy takes a night off and inadvertently becomes embroiled in the Terrans' murderous plans. This trip takes Herm away from his wife, allowing him to avoid dealing with her outrage at the hard truths he has kept from her. Though characters constantly explain what is going on, and every major plot point is seen through several substantially similar viewpoints, fans of the series not put off by the repetition and glacial pace should be satisfied with the happy glow engendered by spending time with familiar characters and their warm, humanistic values.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

This sequel to Shadow Matrix (LJ 9/15/97) continues Bradley's epic saga of the world of the bloody sun. The death of Regis Hastur, Regent of Darkover, signals the beginning of an uneasy time for the planet. As his heir, Mikhail, prepares to assume the reins of power, the relationship between Darkover and the Terran Federation reaches a boiling point, drawing the major families of the planet into a crucible of intrigue and treachery. Bradley's consummate skill at presenting complex political intrigue side-by-side with acute personal drama makes her Darkover series both involving and intricate. Highly recommended for most sf collections.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: DAW (February 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0886778115
• ISBN-13: 978-0886778118
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #509,619 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Marion Eleanor Zimmer was born in Albany, NY, on June 3, 1930, and married Robert Alden Bradley in 1949. Mrs. Bradley received her B.A. in 1964 from Hardin Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, then did graduate work at the University of California, Berkeley, from 1965-67.
She was a science fiction/fantasy fan from her middle teens. She had written as long as she could remember, but wrote only for school magazines and fanzines until 1952, when she sold her first professional short story to VORTEX SCIENCE FICTION. She wrote everything from science fiction to Gothics, but is probably best known for her Darkover novels and for her Arthurian novel, THE MISTS OF AVALON.
In addition to her novels, Mrs. Bradley edited magazines, amateur and professional, including Marion Zimmer Bradley's FANTASY Magazine, which she started in 1988. She also edited an annual anthology called SWORD AND SORCERESS, which is still published annually under the title MARION ZIMMER BRADLEY'S SWORD AND SORCERESS.
She died in Berkeley, California on September 25, 1999, four days after suffering a major heart attack.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best of a great series., April 2, 2002

By 

James Yanni (Bellefontaine Neighbors, Mo. USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Traitor's Sun (Darkover) (Mass Market Paperback)

Marion Zimmer Bradley wrote stories set in her world of Darkover for something like 30 or 40 years; not surprisingly, the earliest novels were very different from the later ones. For one thing, they were written by someone with a great deal less experience as a writer (and as a person), and for another thing, they were written in a time that what was expected of Science Fiction was very different from what is expected now.

In the '60s, most science fiction was still envisioned as juvenile fiction, pulps written for young readers. So "The Planet Savers", "World Wreckers", "Star Of Danger", and "Winds of Darkover" were interesting, but mostly unrefined novels with a very strong flavor of the pulp sci-fi novel.

As time went on, Ms. Bradley evolved as a writer, and what was considered publishable in the science fiction genre also evolved, so the next few novels were somewhat different. "Heritage of Hasteur", Sharra's Exile", and "The Bloody Sun" were much better than her earliest novels, and at least "Heritage" and "Sharra" are still two of her best. But she continued to evolve, and the stories that interested her changed, so people who love her stories from one period don't always enjoy the stories from another period. That's one of the beauties of Darkover, however; it's big enough, and complex enough, that all kinds of stories can be written about it.

There are some constants, however: on the down side, Ms. Bradley always has been a trifle sloppy in her copyediting. In this book, that shows up not only in the usual periodic typos that slip through, but in the scene toward the end of the book, in which a character who'd been sent home with a serious injury before the funeral train reached its destination (Hermes) gives a eulogy at the funeral.

On the positive side, her characters have always been her strong suit, and this book is no exception. What's more, they actually change and grow, not just within a book, but from book to book as the same characters are seen at different stages of their lives.

Interestingly, for most of her career, it was obvious that a big part of what fascinated Ms. Bradley about Darkover was the opportunity it provided for comparing and contrasting a highly technological Federation with an archaic, almost medieval culture. Generally, she found an interesting balance between the two, with Darkovan culture being found lacking in its treatment of women and education, and Federation culture being found wanting in terms of respect for individuality and honor. By this book, it seemed that she'd solved the question of which she found preferable in her own mind; there was no longer anything to recommend the Federation at all, so that Darkover, for all that it still had its failings, won by default.

The only real flaw to this book, other than the nit-picking copyediting problems mentioned previously, is that it was left openended enough that she'd obviously intended to tell us more later.But having died, it seems unlikely that she'll ever show us the end to the storyline begun here. Unfortunate, but unavoidable. When you spend almost 40 years writing 21 Darkover novels, sooner or later, you won't get to write the next one.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW!! IT BLEW MY MIND!!!, April 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Traitor's Sun (Daw Book Collectors) (Hardcover)

I was a bit skeptical when I first purchased this book. In order for me to read science fiction, the storyline has to grab me. Well, this book definitely grabbed my attention. In the TRAITOR'S SUN, Regis Hastur has passed away, leaving Mikhail Hastur, his heir, as the new regent of Darkover. Mikhail must once again face opposition from some of the members of the domains and go against a new threat from the Terran Federation. We learn about other characters aswell, especially about Marguerida and Mikhail's oldest son, Domenic. Because I wanted to learn more about the Darkover series, I also purchased the two books before this one, EXILE'S SONG which took place fifteen years earlier and introduced us to an adult Marguerida Alton and Mikhail Hastur and THE SHADOW MATRIX in which Marguerida and Mikhail go back in time and Mikhail inherits a great power. These are also fantastic books. I cannot wait for the next addition to this amazing saga.

TRAITOR'S SUN is filled with sci-fi action and with enough of a romantic twist to keep you enthralled. I recommend this book and it's predecessors. You'll love it. Trust me!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I weep for MZB --- she is dead!, March 4, 2001

By 

Stephen Richmond "Librarian/Teacher/Reader an... (Newton, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Traitor's Sun (Darkover) (Mass Market Paperback)

This, a part of the author's long Darkover series, is one of her last since she died in 1999. To this reviewer's mind, it, like it's other recent predecessors, suffers from the author's return to her science fiction roots and her departure from the high fantasy at which she was near peerless (only Anne McCaffrey comes close). The fantasy elements dealing with the Darkovans and their large aristocratic families and the rich culture Bradley had so carefully wrought over the years are still superb and well worth the reading; the science fiction is competently written, if at times derivative. This novel also deals with the death of one of Bradley's most memorable characters, first met years ago in on e of the earliest novels. Indeed this work seems to dwell much on death; perhaps Mrs. Bradley was aware of her own imminent demise. An essential read for fans; not a good introduction to the author and her series --- try Heritage of Hastur or The Forbidden Tower instead.