Traitor's Sun: A Novel of Darkover

I love the Darkover books, but this one is the best I've read so far. I think it's the last one, though ... so sad. I really want to find out what happened next.This book is just so sophisticated in its character development! I love the way MZB looks at interpersonal relationships. What makes a person turn bitter, negative and destructive -- and how can she escape from that? What makes another person become dominant and powerful? How can a woman who is under the domination of a male chauvinist society nevertheless manage to have a meaningful life? How do children evolve in their thinking as they become teenagers and separate from their parents? What happens when a large number of strong personalities are confined together in a huge castle for years? These are the kinds of issues that are dealt with in this book. I particularly like the way this elaborate character development is combined with the sci fi/fantasy aspects. How does a primitive world of telepaths retain its cultural integrity in the face of a much larger and more powerful galactic technoculture? How does telepathy influence human relationships? What kind of adjustments does a society of telepaths have to make to avoid going crazy? I love how this series and particuarly this book deal with all that.And, of course, there is the wonderful, continuing romance of Mikhail and Marguerida, which has matured so heartwarmingly along with them. It's so rare to see a novel that takes a romance into adulthood. Most romance novels end with marriage. This novel accepts the challenge of addressing a romance that continues. OK, maybe this is the most fantastical element of the book, but I liked it anyway.I recommend this book most heartily.

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

Marion Zimmer Bradley has been getting better and better through the years, and this latest series (Exile's Song, The Shadow Matrix, and Traitor's Sun) is my favorite of all the Darkover material. I care about even more of the characters than I did in earlier books, and I find the action most satisfying. I bought these books in hardback, since I just couldn't wait till they came out in paperback, and I've read them 3 or 4 times already, each time with enormous satisfaction. I particularly like the beginning of this book; remembering it is almost enough to make me get the book out and begin it again. I earnestly hope MZB has not stopped writing these. I want to know what happens to Alanna, Domenic, Mik, Marguerida, and the young Traveller girl.

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!

This exciting new novel is set 15 years after THE SHADOW MATRIX and is a direct sequel to it. While the Premier of the Terran Federation suspends the legislature of the Federation and tries to establish a tyrannical rule, Lyle Belfontaine, the Terran station chief on Darkover, plots to grab control over Darkover by force. But his plans do not remain a secret and the Comyn have their own plans to meet Belfontaines conspiracy. Regis Hastur, who suffered a stroke at the beginning of the book, is unable to lead the Comyn, so Mikhail and Marguerida take over, despite the heavy opposition of the Comyn Council. The Darkovans have to struggle hard to rescue their world, because they not only have to fight against the Terrans, but they also have a traitor in their own midst. This book is full of wonderful, engaging and powerful characters. It has a complex and interesting story (that ends with the most important historical event since the rediscovery of Darkover). It is extremely fast-paced; all the action takes place within a tenday. And finally it is a real page-turner. No fan of Darkover or Marion Zimmer Bradley would want to miss this new chapter in the history of Darkover. It's great!!!