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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
2 versions of the oath + 18 short stories, December 1, 2002
Armistead, Barbara: "On the Trail" features two of Kindra's band from THE SHATTERED CHAIN.
Bigelow, Jane M.H.: "Tactics" Neither Bronwyn or her cousin Danilys are Renunciates. Bronwyn's marriage is disintegrating, as her husband Donal cares only for warfare; when he isn't fighting, he talks tactics at the dinner table. When he's killed in battle, however, the tedium stands the cousins in good stead.
Boal, Nina: "The Meeting" A magician from another culture, with reversed male/female social roles, strays onto Darkover.
Bradley, Marion Zimmer: "The Legend of Lady Bruna" was cut from THENDARA HOUSE, where it would have been a story-within-a-story read to Margali and Jaelle.
Bradley, Marion Zimmer: "Knives" Marna, a contemporary of Gwennis of THENDARA HOUSE, has often ventured to the local Guildhouse on business - but this time, although she's a year underage, she seeks sanctuary from her stepfather's abuse and her mother's disbelief.
Breen, Walter and Jaida n'ha Sandra each present a version of the oath - Breen's analysis of *the* oath, Jaida's a version tailored to 20th century society. Breen was MZB's husband, incidentally.
Carter, Margaret: "Her Own Blood" Gwennis' putative father often called her six-fathered when he beat her for her 'seizures', but she didn't know it was true until her mother brought her to Dom Elric - the only man who could have given her flame-colored hair, let alone the untrained, unidentified laran that brings on the seizures. Gwennis' life as a junior servant is a vast improvement, but given that Elric's only son is like to die of haemophilia, her life may not remain peaceful for long.
Holtzer, Susan: "The Camel's Nose" Seven Domains society is notoriously technophobic, but there are anomalies in every society. Elinda's love of technology drew her into the Renunciates, and from thence to study Terran engineering. Upon seeing her first bicycle, she feels it's obviously superior to a horse, and Cholayna Ares is willing to let her try this unusual entering wedge for technology, which falls outside the ban on powered devices.
Kramer, Sherry: "The Banshee" Janet Rhodes, Terranan biologist, gets more than she bargained for when her hosts introduce her to the fine art of banshee-removal.
Lackey, Mercedes: "A Different Kind of Courage" Rafi's rejection from Keeper training drove her into the Guildhouse to escape being sold into marriage as a broodmare. Her oathsisters see her as a disastrous failure at everything she tries: she's almost supernaturally clumsy, and timid to boot. But when a courier team is to be sent to Caer Donn, her familiarity with Keeper protocol puts her on the team, despite her inability to defend herself. (Compare her with the more assertive Herald-Chronicler Myste in EXILE'S HONOR - neither lady can fight her way out of a henhouse. If you like this story, try Elizabeth Moon's 'Gut Feelings' in LUNAR ACTIVITY, where a similarly timid personality develops backbone under pressure.)
Paxson, Diana: "The Mother Quest" Caitrin raised her son to the age of four - but no male past five may live in a Guildhouse, so she finally gave him up to his father's custody. Four years later, word has come of his death - but Donal's half-sister follows hard on its heels to mount a rescue operation.
Riggs, P. Alexandra: "To Open a Door" Buartha fled rape and betrayal in the Domains to a hermit's life in the Hellers with her daughter. But now her daughter's laran is beginning to flower
Shannon, Maureen: "Recruits" The narrator is the housemother of the Sisterhood of the Sword's new house in Caer Donn, left to the Sisterhood in gratitude by a man whose sister left a life of prostitution to join the Sisterhood. Since they're forbidden to actively recruit, Maellen worries over how anybody will find out they're here - needlessly, as it turns out. *Everybody's* heard of old Larren's will. There's an old saying that every Renuciate's story is a tragedy, but the motley crew of recruits who appear on the first day test that theory.
Shaw-Matthews, Patricia: "Girls Will Be Girls" My favorite. Catlyn, Dalise, and Ariane react to the standard 'your childhood has put chains on you' with laughter - 'well, they *tried*.' They're wild - a living challenge to sober Renunciate discipline, even without the practical jokes. :)
Shwartz, Susan: "Growing Pains" Like 'Girls Will Be Girls', this story makes the point that a misfit in the outside world may also be a misfit in the Guildhouse. After the fall of the Forbidden Tower, Catriona can't get laran training even at Neskaya. She plans to follow her foster-brother into the Empire, but her oath-sisters see Ann'dra's payback of old debts as a violation of the oath.
Silvestri, Margaret: "Cast Off Your Chains" Marissa Del Gado has hired Guild guides to take her into the desert - but her real goal is to rescue her sister Teri. Teri, it turns out, fell into the hands of Dry-Town slavers - and after escaping, has her own goal: establishing a new Underground Railroad.
Verba, Joan Marie: "This One Time" A childhood story of Lady Bruna Leynier, told from her mother's viewpoint. When Lord Alton leaves a skeleton force at home during a bandit-hunt, another band of raiders attack the estate.
Waters, Elisabeth: "Child of the Heart" As with Caitrin in 'The Mother Quest' (see above), Jamilla has given birth to a son - but she has chosen to give him up at birth.
Wheeler, Deborah: "Midwife" Trapped in a banshee's nest while travelling alone, Gavi helps the egg hatch - only to have the giant predator imprint on her. :)
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent antidote to Testosterone Poisoning, October 5, 2000
If you've grown tired (as I occasionally do) of fantasy and science fiction filled with either damsels in distress or "women warriors" who seem to spend most of their time half-dressed, give this collection a read. You'll feel much better.The quality is uneven, of course, and there were some stories I didn't particularly care for (which kept this from being a five-star review). My two favorites were "Knives" and "A Different Kind of Courage," but your mileage may vary, as always. There's something for almost everyone here, unless you WANT half-dressed warrior women and damsels in distress. :)
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5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent anthology., August 24, 2007
A collection of short stories written by fans of Marion Zimmer Bradley's "Darkover" series, edited by Ms. Bradley herself, this is a very enjoyable read. Like almost all anthologies, some of the stories are stronger than others; personally, I wasn't much taken with "Girls Will Be Girls", by Patricia Shaw-Mathews, but even that story was entertaining and well-written; I just didn't feel that it treated the Comhi-Letzii with the respect they were due. It was an enjoyable piece of fluff, but a piece of fluff nonetheless, and seemed to me out of place. But any anthology which can claim that the worst story in it is well-written but possibly a bit out of character for the subject is doing pretty well.
Of course, if you've read Darkover fiction before and didn't care for the stories of Free Amazons, you may want to give this one a pass, but I shouldn't need to tell you that; the title should be all the hint you need.
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