Customer Reviews

Zandru's Forge: The Clingfire Trilogy, Volume II (Darkover)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Hi, Steve Y. Normally, I don't respond to reviews personally, but I want you to know that Marion and I worked together on the concept of this 3-book project before she passed away. Many of the ideas, as well as characters and settings, are hers. You probably noticed that a number of scenes appeared in HAWKMISTRESS!

She left several partial manuscripts, which I will be finishing over the next few years, and they will appear with both our names. After that, we'll see where the saga of Darkover leads us...

I hope you enjoy how I have developed and completed these stories. Thank you for your input!

Best,
Deborah

Also, I'm not tooting my own horn with the stars. They wouldn't let me post a reply without them. Consider it a comment on your comment!

The world of Darkover is a richly imagined place, with a long not-completely-remembered history, a society rich in intrigue and appropriate niches for many kinds of people, a technology solidly grounded in its people's unique laran abilities - in short, this is a complete world. A world that you can easily get lost in for many hours of enjoyment, a world so complete that at times you find yourself feeling that it is more real than the one we inhabit.

This book, the second entry in the Clingfire trilogy, is very much a book in the mold of previous books in the set, even though written by Ross instead of Bradley. Ross shows in this book that she has mastered not only Bradley's styles and methods of telling a story, but has found the 'feel' of this world, where she can make additions to it that fit. This book is set during the Hundred Kingdoms era, and deals specifically with how the Compact forbidding use of laran weapons that act at a distance was first formed. Varzil the Good is one of three main characters here, a man gifted with a very strong laran ability and a healthy dollop of common sense entwined with an idealistic dream. His friend and compatriot is Carolin Hastur, heir to the throne, who, while not as well gifted as Varzil, has the character traits needed to be a competent ruler. In opposition is Eduin, son of Rumail Deslucido, who was instrumental in destruction of two towers in the prior book, The Fall of Neskaya. Eduin has been inculcated from birth with his father's obsession with wiping out the Hastur line. The last major player is Rakhal, Carolin's brother, who is never really developed as a character, but is rather the mover of major events as seen from a distance, as he usurps Carolin's right to the throne and institutes some draconian measures in an attempt to stamp out all resistance to his rule.

The stories of each of the three major characters are well developed. Varzil grows from laran neophyte to Keeper and his burgeoning love interest with a lady, who is one of Eduin's targets for elimination, is both believable and provides an emotional charge to the final tally of events. Carolin grows from boy to a sturdy man, one who knows and values friendships and finds himself bound by duty to those who swear allegiance to him. Eduin may be the most interesting character, a man conflicted between the desires of his father that are so strongly engrained that they may be impossible to eliminate, and his basic good nature, that yearns for the friendship that Varzil and Carolin so freely offer to him.

Some of the underlying methods and processes of matrix technology are shown within this book, but more to the point, the true horror of some of the laran weapons is shown, the driving impetus behind Varzil's and Carolin's idea to ban such weapons and have the towers answer only to themselves, not subject to the commands and whims of the local ruling lord. This thematic point is one with high relevance in today's world with its talk of 'dirty bombs', biological weapons, and chemical pollution of essential drinking supplies. Unfortunately, I don't think the purveyors of such ideas and weapons are reading this book, or if they do, will not take its message to heart.

A fine addition to the Darkover universe, a good adventure, another time spent within the spell of this incredibly imagined world.

--- Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)

On the world of Darkover during the age of THE HUNDRED KINGDOMS, petty kings make the Towers (places where people with strong psychic powers gather) build laran (psychic) weapons that can be used without the combatants ever coming face the face. In the tower of Arilinn two young men strike up a friendship that will last them all their lives and change their world for the better.

Carolin Hastur, destined to become king, is sent to Arillinn tower to learn how to use and control his laran powers. Varzil Ridenow, whose family was former enemies of Hastur and now become wary allies, goes against his father's wishes to enter the Tower because he feels Darkover needs his powers as they are the strongest in the land. They share a dream of making The Towers independent of Kings and banning all distance weapons. That goal has a chance of being fulfilled if Aerlin and Carolin elude the evil sorcery of Eduin, whose father is the outlawed ex-keeper Rumail Deslucido. Carolin must also wrest the kingdom away from his cousin Rokhal who seized it when the old king died.

ZANDRU'S FORGE is a powerful sword and sorcery tale starring two heroes who share a dream and fight to make it a reality. Marion Zimmer Bradley and Deborah J. Ross have written a novel so fulfilling and satisfying that it is impossible to put down. There is plenty of action and the characters are fully developed, even the villains, making it easy to understand what motivates them. Fans of Darkover will not want to miss out on this work that adds more detail to the age of The Hundred Kingdoms.

Harriet Klausner

MZB chose well in making Deborah Ross heir to her rich Darkover literary legacy and DJR does her predecessor proud in this rich and engaging novel. How uncanny it seems when Ross develops her plots and characters using techniques of which MZB was unequivably the mistress! This and it's sister and prequel THE FALL OF NESKAYA add much to the vivid and always enchanting world. Reviewers elsewhere stated that while this would be eagerly embraced by Darkover fans, it would fail to attract new readers. Not so! Indeed, the quick-moving plot and lush details would serve well as an introduction to one of the most long-lived fantasy series. However, the proofreading and editing here lack miserably. Frankly, I expect better from DAW Books and, as a college English professor, was appalled at the mistakes even my weakest Freshman Comp students would catch in a moment.

sob(i did not know that marion had passed). i am not sure whether this was done before her death or not but it is beautifully written and a credit. why does it seem all the good authors pass so quickly(v.c andrews was another).

anyway this book chronicles the lifes of the famous keep varzil the good and the hastur king carolin hastur and their many trials from adolescent to points that their separate destiny's take them.

for these 2 men meet at arillian for training in their laran. while carolin is a minor telepath, varzil is one of extraoridary ability and is soon put in keeper training. carolin soon returns home to assume his duties as heir to the throne and all the political strifes that were rampant in this period of darkover history.

the book keeps you interested from beginning to end and you are almost upset that you have to wait for the 3rd book in this story to come out to see the ending. for all darkover fans, this is definitely one you do not want to miss.

In this text the reader is treated to a different POV of the times around Hawkmistress! (a Zimmer-Bradley novel). Varzil, one of the greatest Keepers, is shown from the beginning of this training AND this novel takes up a few years after the first book in the trilogy left off (but that news is slow in being told to the reader).

Several different subplots are skillfully woven together, and at the end enough is left hanging to leave me wondering how Deborah will interpret Marion's notes.

That said, this is not a book to start with if one has never read any of Zimmer-Bradley or Ross' work, but it is an excellent and worthy addition to the Darkover fold.

On the world of Darkover during the age of THE HUNDRED KINGDOMS, petty kings make the Towers (places where people with strong psychic powers gather) build laran (psychic) weapons that can be used without the combatants ever coming face the face. In the tower of Arilinn two young men strike up a friendship that will last them all their lives and change their world for the better.

Carolin Hastur, destined to become king, is sent to Arillinn tower to learn how to use and control his laran powers. Varzil Ridenow, whose family was former enemies of Hastur and now become wary allies, goes against his father's wishes to enter the Tower because he feels Darkover needs his powers as they are the strongest in the land. They share a dream of making The Towers independent of Kings and banning all distance weapons. That goal has a chance of being fulfilled if Aerlin and Carolin elude the evil sorcery of Eduin, whose father is the outlawed ex-keeper Rumail Deslucido. Carolin must also wrest the kingdom away from his cousin Rokhal who seized it when the old king died.

ZANDRU'S FORGE is a powerful sword and sorcery tale starring two heroes who share a dream and fight to make it a reality. Marion Zimmer Bradley and Deborah J. Ross have written a novel so fulfilling and satisfying that it is impossible to put down. There is plenty of action and the characters are fully developed, even the villains, making it easy to understand what motivates them. Fans of Darkover will not want to miss out on this work that adds more detail to the age of The Hundred Kingdoms.

Harriet Klausner

I've read probaby all of the late Marion Zimmer Bradley's works (excepting the numerous short story compilations). I think I prefer MZB's writing in the books that came out chronologically in the middle of her series (not the early pulp fiction books), like Bloody Sun, Thendara House, Forbidden Tower, and the Sharra series. They were compelling stories of culture clashes, struggles with sexuality, gender roles, and technology. The later books seem to stray from the themes that are really what makes Darkover stand out. That said, this was my favorite of the collaborative books between MZB and another author. A fundamental part of Darkover culture is the "Compact", an agreement not to use any weapon that doesn't put you in reach of your opponent. This book discusses how the compact was reached. I found Varzil to be a fascinating figure - strong, serious, driven, brilliant. Very unusual for both MZB's work and other science fiction.

A wonderful book to "fill in the gaps" that leaves the fan of Darkover wanting more. This latest installment truly helps those who love Darkover with their un-answered questions related to the period known as "the hundred kingdoms." I can't wait until the next book. For those who are new to Darkover, I would imagine that this book would make you want to read all the other Darkover novels in order to understand the concepts of "matrix science" and culture. I would especially encourage you to read the books related to the "Ages of Chaos" and "Two to Conquer"

This book, begun as a collaboration between Marion Zimmer Bradley and Deborah J. Ross before Marion's death, and finished after her death by Ms. Ross, is a telling of the story of Varzil the Good, who was frequently referenced in many of the earlier-written Darkover novels as a historical figure, the author of the "compact" that kept Darkover from being consumed by unrestrained psychic warfare. That in itself made the book interesting; the fact that the plot also overlapped with that of "Hawkmistress", which has always been my favorite of all the Darkover novels, was an added treat (although for someone other than me, I'm not sure whether it would be a feature or a bug; significant sections of this book's plot might seem overly familiar to someone who has read "Hawkmistress" and didn't necessarily love it as much as I did; still, the book is hardly just a retelling of that story, and the parts of it that are retell it from the point of view of King Carolin, rather than from Romilly's viewpoint, so it remained fairly fresh.) There were a few more sloppinesses of proofreading here than I like, somewhere a bit over a dozen, I'd guess, but that's neither a new feature of the Darkover books, nor unique to them; mass-market paperbacks are pretty universally sloppily proofread these days, and the typos were neither abundant enough, nor egregious enough, to spoil a marvellous story.