Misplaced Pages

#583416

69-463: This book is the first in a trilogy within the Darkover series dealing with the evolution of Towers and Keepers. The sequels are The Forbidden Tower (1977) and The Bloody Sun (1979), which takes place many decades later. In "Author's Notes on Chronology", Bradley states that in her view, The Spell Sword occurs about thirty years before Star of Danger . Andrew Carr is employed as a technician in

138-452: A Darkover book which I think could be altered for the better, I simply write it in the next book the way I think it ought to have been all along... I can't imagine why readers should be bothered by this kind of thing". In "A Note from the Author", published with Sharra's Exile , Bradley says that she wrote the novels "as they occurred to me" instead of in "strict chronological order" and that, as

207-659: A Renunciate is to take the Renunciate's oath and make the lie come true. Rohana does not think this is all coincidence; Bradley suggests there is a higher power at work. Bradley often implies that fate is at work when a character uses the Darkovan proverb, "The world will go as it will, not as you or I will have it", which appears in nearly all the Darkover books. Bradley says, in A Darkover Retrospective , that she does not really like "series books". She also claims, "I am simply not up to

276-405: A Terran, looks exactly like Rohana Ardais's son, except for the lack of a sixth finger. When attempting Haldane's rescue, disguised as a Renunciate on Rohana's advice, Magdalen Lorne meets Jaelle, who is a Renunciate and Rohana's niece. Jaelle is the one person who can expose Magda as a fake, because Magda claims to have the same oath-mother, which Jaelle knows is a lie. The remedy for masquerading as

345-677: A backstory, amounting to an entire history of Darkover . As noted below , this history was not always self-consistent. Bradley says that " Yeats ’ Irish Fairy and Folk Tales [sic, perhaps Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry ] and books by James Stephens " probably suggested to her a race of non-humans like the "Irish faery folk of Gaelic legend". After she read Tolkien, the chieri became more like Tolkien's elves, but Bradley conceived of them as ambiguously sexed. She says this idea may have derived from Theodore Sturgeon , who wrote stories about legendary people who "could appear as men to

414-484: A dark-skinned Terran woman (actually from Alpha Centauri), is asked more than once if her dark skin is the result of a disease. There is no overt racism; Darkovans are simply curious because they have never seen anyone like her before. Bradley handles this issue with sensitivity and at times, wry and ironic humor, having Cholayna's Darkovan friends (who are Renunciates) become outraged at the question. This theme overlaps with "Clash of Cultures" because some Darkovans express

483-462: A dislike for Terrans without giving a reason other than they have "different ways". Bradley says that the clash of cultures, Darkovan v. Terran, that she strengthened when rewriting The Sword of Aldones , was a "theme of all the early Darkover novels". According to Linda Leith, the opposition between the Terran and Darkovan civilizations is a theme of "nearly all" Darkover fiction. This opposition has

552-539: A few: for example, Marguerida Alton, who is the granddaughter of a chieri , has golden eyes. Brown-eyed Terrans are casually said to have "animal eyes". This epithet is also applied to Lew Alton, who is Comyn, a member of the Alton clan, and a powerful telepath who possesses the Alton Gift. He has a Terran mother and his eyes are brown. Lew has a "problem with identity" that he never solves. In City of Sorcery , Cholayna Ares,

621-410: A planet unlike Earth, although of course, this idea is unproven. Bradley was particularly criticized for the scene in which Camilla Del Rey is forbidden to have an abortion, although she wants one, because the child is needed for the colony's survival. In Bradley's comment for the book: " Darkover Landfall stirred up a furor because some outraged feminists objected to the stand I took in the book, that

690-457: A result, the chronologically earlier novels were written after the later ones, and were more mature. When she wrote The Heritage of Hastur she decided she would not be "locked into" the immature concepts of The Sword of Aldones , which she had "dreamed up at the age of fifteen". She rewrote it as Sharra's Exile . Although the books written between 1958 and 1995 were intended to be stand-alone stories in accord with Bradley's "ground rules", with

759-486: A result. Damon realizes that their actions constitute an unofficial matrix circle – a forbidden tower. Leonie Hastur informs him that she will bring charges in council regarding his illegal matrix work. The two couples confront the council. Leonie challenges Damon to a duel between Arilinn Tower and the Forbidden Tower. Damon breaks down the remaining emotional walls separating the two couples, realizing that essence of

SECTION 10

#1732869389584

828-475: A science fiction convention ( Boskone ) and discussed writing with Anne McCaffrey . Bradley told McCaffrey that she was tired of science fiction and wanted to write Gothics . She did not like the avant-garde novels she had lately read. In response to a question from McCaffrey, she answered that no, she had not read Ursula K. Le Guin 's The Left Hand of Darkness and she did not intend to. McCaffrey gave Bradley her own copy of that book, and Bradley read it and

897-506: A series of anthologies. After Bradley's death, the series was continued, mostly by Deborah J. Ross with the permission of the Marion Zimmer Bradley Literary Works Trust. Commenting on the significance of the Darkover series, science fiction author Baird Searles said that the books were "destined to be The Foundation of the 1970s". In the introduction to "The Ballad of Hastur and Cassilda" by Bradley in

966-515: A woman, or as women to a man". Another influence was Maeterlink ’s Pelleas and Melisande : she thought of Melisande as a lost fairy who could not find her way home. After she wrote Star of Danger , Bradley began a science fiction novel about colonists who encountered these faery people, the chieri , one of which she had included in Star of Danger . This novel chronicled "the attempts of this lost and alien race to interbreed with humans." She says it

1035-483: A world, such as interfering with a fragile ecology. She also saw this book as the end of the Darkover series; a way to end it, like "tossing Sherlock Holmes off the cliff at the Reichenbach Falls". However, Bradley realized that she needed one fairly explicit sex scene to make the human- chieri interaction work. Don Wollheim reluctantly told her to go ahead, although he demanded that she use no profanity (which

1104-400: A writer". Neither society is presented as a utopia, Bradley seems confused about the value of each, and she "is unable to make up her mind whether it is desirable for Terran influence to triumph once and for all". Leith says that the opposition of cultures has an "impressive simplicity". The Terrans are technologically advanced, liberal and imperialist. Darkover is non-technological (as far as

1173-463: Is a Keeper. Damon says he will attempt to rescue Callista. Lord Alton suggests he use his Alton gift of forced rapport so that he can provide Damon with his own superior sword skills, which Damon lacks. After testing this theory and mounting a small matrix jewel in the hilt of his sword, Damon leaves for the darkening lands and the Caves of Corresanti. They engage the cat-men in several small skirmishes along

1242-546: Is aware that Callista wishes to marry the Terran, Andrew Carr, who rescued her from the Caves of Corresanti (as seen in The Spell Sword ). After they arrive, Leonie meets with Callista and unable to persuade her to return, releases her from her Keeper’s vow. Dom Esteban, Callista’s father, consents to her marriage. The next day, a joint wedding is held – Ellemir is joined to Damon and Callista to Andrew in freemate marriage. Andrew recalls that Leonie has warned him that Callista

1311-582: Is being held by the cat-men. Ellemir's father, Esteban Lanart, Lord Alton, arrives with his guard. His party has also been attacked by an invisible enemy, and Lord Alton was gravely wounded. Damon uses his laran abilities to save one of the wounded guards, but can do nothing for Lord Alton, who is permanently paralyzed. The next day, Lord Alton is informed of the situation, and Damon Ridenow tells him he wants to marry Ellemir. Alton approves Damon's suit, but disapproves of Andrew Carr's interest in Callista because she

1380-522: Is not the version published by Ace Books in "1961 [sic, 1962] or thereabouts". The first Darkover novel to be published was The Planet Savers in 1958, originally, Bradley thinks, in Amazing Stories . Bradley wrote it when she was exploring the idea of multiple personalities, after reading The Three Faces of Eve and some other stories that dealt with the concept. She says: "So that a deeply repressed Terran Medic, Jay Allison, discovered himself in

1449-492: Is set approximately forty years after the events in the book Rediscovery . The Hilary Castamir stories in the collection Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover precede the events in The Forbidden Tower by about ten years. On the road to Armida, Damon Ridenow encounters Leonie Hastur, Keeper of Arilinn. Leonie tells him that she wishes to persuade Callista Lanart to return to Arilinn Tower and replace her as Keeper. She

SECTION 20

#1732869389584

1518-525: Is sworn to lifelong virginity, contemplates giving up her vows to be with Andrew. The Forbidden Tower The Forbidden Tower is a science fantasy novel by American writer Marion Zimmer Bradley , part of her Darkover series. Originally published by DAW Books (No. 256) in 1977, it is the sequel to The Spell Sword and is followed by The Bloody Sun . The major characters also appear in Thendara House and City of Sorcery . This book

1587-462: Is that Darkover is presented as weak compared to the Terran Empire. Darkover is the society that changes in response to Terran pressure, and it slowly but surely becomes less Darkovan. In The Shattered Chain there is a brief mention, or appeal, to the theme of fate. In later books, both Darkovan and not Darkovan, Bradley explores her ideas in greater depth. In The Shattered Chain , Peter Haldane,

1656-552: The "old ways" that Leonie had warned him about. Andrew is overwhelmed the experiences of the past day and walks out into the courtyard to think. He is overcome by a compulsion to leave Armida, and wanders out into the snow. Damon realizes that Dezi has overpowered Andrew telepathically and driven him away. After Andrew is rescued, Dom Esteban tells Damon that "there is bad blood" in Dezi. Damon strips Dezi of his matrix. Damon decides to attempt timesearch – to contact Keepers in other times via

1725-471: The Darkovan chronological order, as her writing style changed considerably over her career. In The Planet Savers , Jason Allison says that the city of Carthon is 5000 years old (pg. 24). In Darkover Landfall , the final sentence suggests that 2000 years elapsed between the colonization and rediscovery by the Terran Empire. In Sharra's Exile , published in 1981, Lew Alton says, in the Prologue, "Travel among

1794-544: The Empire's Mapping and Exploration survey of Cottman IV, known locally as Darkover. His survey plane encounters a storm over the mountains and crashes. Carr survives through the intervention of a diaphanous figure that he initially believes to be a ghost. She tells him her name is Callista, a Keeper, and she is communicating with him through the Overworld. Carr believes none of this, but follows her directions to shelter. Meanwhile, on

1863-883: The Overworld. He meets the legendary Varzil the Good of Neskaya. Varzil recommends the sacrament of Year's End as a way of freeing Callista from her Keeper's restrictions, but the meaning of the ritual has been lost. Dom Esteban has premonitions of evil menacing his son, Domenic. That night, Callista wakes from a dream in which Domenic has come to harm. A guardsman arrives at Armina to inform Dom Esteban that Domenic has died during sword practice. Callista believes that he has been murdered. Dom Esteban designates his youngest son, Valdir-Lewis Lanart-Alton to be his heir. He designates Damon Ridenow as Regent of Alton. Damon discovers that Dezi has taken Domenic's matrix while he lay injured, thus killing Domenic, and rekeyed it to himself. Callista uses her ability to take Domenic's matrix away from Dezi. He dies as

1932-531: The Terrans know) and feudal. The rational, scientific, and utilitarian Terran society, aimed at efficiency and practicality, placed on Darkover, which lacks these qualities, creates tension. First, these two opposing cultures prove to have more in common than one suspects at first. Second, the contact between them brings about growth or a maturing process in each of them. Leith expresses the meaning of this cultural clash as "to grow or to mature ultimately means to accept

2001-570: The anthology Red Sun of Darkover , Bradley writes that the literary antecedents of this ballad are "obscure" and arose "before Darkover was Darkover ". The antecedents are The King in Yellow (1895) by Robert W. Chambers and perhaps J. R. R. Tolkien 's poem "The Lay of Beren and Lúthien", found in the first book of The Lord of the Rings . Bradley adapted many names from The King in Yellow into her books and stories, often using them differently, e. g.

2070-510: The books of the series. Psychic powers, treated as a science, are a theme that places the books firmly within the category of science fiction, even in the books that do not have "Terrans", spaceships, or the "Galactic Empire". They can also be called fantasy, because psychic powers appear to be "out and out magic". Other themes are feminism, sexism, the roles of women in society, the roles of men in society, racism, social division (the Comyn nobility and

2139-402: The books that follow, particularly The Bloody Sun , Bradley acknowledges that the reaction of a traditional society to unwanted progress is often a retreat to more traditionalism and violence. Darkover series#The Ages of Chaos The Darkover series is a collection of science fiction - fantasy novels and short stories written by Marion Zimmer Bradley . The series is set on

The Spell Sword - Misplaced Pages Continue

2208-485: The case that the official readers guide places a book in one era, but internal plot evidence places it in another (or both). Additionally, Bradley was not particularly sympathetic to her fans' need to organize the books into a consistent chronology, and the timeline evidence from one book to another is sometimes in conflict. Commenting on this problem, Bradley wrote, "I have fiercely resisted any attempt to impose absolute consistency, straightforward chronology, or anything but

2277-563: The cloistered residents of the Towers. He reflects that it is commonly believed that this would bring back the Ages of Chaos . Callista agrees to share Andrew's bed. They become telepathically aware of the lovemaking of Damon and Ellemir. When Andrew accidentally breaks the link, Callista's Keeper training cuts in and Andrew takes the full blast of her laran. Damon comes to realize that Leonie has tampered with Callista's channels before she reached puberty –

2346-611: The colonists intermarry extensively and produce as many children with as many different partners as possible. Psychic and psionic abilities are acquired through interbreeding with the indigenous people , the Chieri . Bradley is silent about the developments that followed the first generation of the colony, and does not make clear how many years intervene between the founding and the Ages of Chaos. The novels Darkover Landfall and Rediscovery suggest that at least 2000 years have passed between

2415-557: The element that has hitherto been missing, in short to reconcile the opposites in oneself". As an example, in The Forbidden Tower , Callista, a virgin untouchable Keeper who has renounced all family ties for the sake of being a Keeper, becomes Andrew's wife. Damon's challenge of the Tower norms and the rules that Keepers must follow helps Callista free herself from her rigid training. In addition, Andrew Carr must accept Darkovan culture and

2484-548: The fact that his relationship with Damon must be a closer one than Terran culture would allow. The "hope" (Bradley's hope, or the hope of the books) is that the opposites will merge and grow. In other books, Bradley creates more characters capable of crossing the gap between cultures, some of whom have mixed Terran-Darkovan parentage, or were removed from Darkover at a young age (Jeff Kerwin in The Bloody Sun ), or Terrans who are able to join Darkovan society. Leith's opinion

2553-426: The following pairs of contrary elements: These contrary elements, as indicated, place Terra to Darkover in a relation of the same type as maleness to femaleness. While there are "cross-overs in the fictions between the two columns", the general linking of Terra with the items in the first column and Darkover with the ones in the second enables the reader to "understand what lies behind some of Bradley's limitations as

2622-402: The fourth planet in a red giant solar system. Unable to repair their ship and equally unable to make contact with Earth, the survivors establish a colony. The colonists are primarily Celts and Spaniards , and this mix is reflected in the resultant blended culture. Bradley uses a standard "lost colony" trope: to maintain the available gene pool and maximize the chances of colonial survival,

2691-445: The kind of planning and long-range forethought that a "series" demands", such as Robert A. Heinlein's Future History series. She mentions a fellow novelist who has a grand scheme worked out for 2000 years into the future, and every book must fit into the scheme. She thinks that is "horrible". Bradley says: "So these are the ground rules for the Darkover books, series or not; every one is complete in itself, and I do not assume that

2760-482: The manuscript to her. He returned it. Bradley rewrote it and sent it to Wollheim, who accepted it and the two novels became an Ace Double . The Sword of Aldones was nominated for a Hugo Award , to Bradley's astonishment. She agrees with critics who say it is "juvenile". She also says that later, when Don Wollheim wanted another science fiction book, she wrote a juvenile novel purposely: Star of Danger . Bradley, on demand from publishers and fans, later created

2829-447: The most superficial order on the chronicles of Darkover". Furthermore, in the introduction to the "Between the Ages" section of Sword of Chaos , Bradley concedes, "chronology in the Darkover novels was never my strong point anyway", after humorously quoting an old rhyme about a centipede who did not know "which leg moved after which". Bradley herself recommended that the books be read in the order in which they were written, rather than

The Spell Sword - Misplaced Pages Continue

2898-470: The name of a city might become the name of a person. Chambers borrowed some terms in The King in Yellow from the writings of Ambrose Bierce . In her essay (perhaps a transcribed interview) called "A Darkover Retrospective", Bradley mentions reading the works of H. Rider Haggard , Talbot Mundy , Robert W. Chambers , and Sax Rohmer , but that she did not begin writing fantasy until she became acquainted with

2967-471: The need for a male heir. In the fictional Darkover world, the Renunciates may be the author's reaction to this sexism. The Renunciates call themselves by that name because they renounce all loyalty to their clan or family and swear never to have a child because a man wants one. Bradley's first novel in the Renunciates series, The Shattered Chain , describes the Renunciates and their principles, and begins with

3036-457: The non-Comyn "commoners"), xenophobia and the clash of cultures, sexual taboos, fate and the horrors of war. According to Nasrullah Mambrol, "though Bradley did not call herself a feminist, she was both criticized and applauded by those who have". Bradley received much criticism for her book Darkover Landfall because of the way the women of the incipient colony were treated. When the colonists realized that their spaceship would never fly again,

3105-538: The novels. Women have few rights, even at the time that the colony is found by the Terran Empire some thousands of years later, because they are still perceived as the bearers of children. The Comyn women are supposed to have children at least until they produce a male heir; the exception to this is in the Aillard Domain, where the head of the Domain runs in the female line. Most males who are not Comyn have similar ideas about

3174-513: The personality of his repressed alternate who calls himself Jason". She placed the story on the planet she had created for The King and the Sword a.k.a. The Sword of Aldones . Bradley then published Seven from the Stars and The Door Through Space , also published as Birds of Prey . The latter is expressly said by Bradley to draw on the material that might be called "Darkovan": " The Door Through Space

3243-538: The planet of Darkover , where a group of humans have been stranded and have developed their own unique culture and society. The books focus on the conflicts between the human settlers and the native population of Darkover, as well as the struggles of the various factions on the planet. The series is known for its complex world-building and exploration of themes such as gender, sexuality, and mental illness. Occasionally, Bradley collaborated with other authors, and she also edited and published Darkover stories by other authors in

3312-581: The publication of Exile's Song the story was continued from book to book with The Shadow Matrix and Traitor's Sun . Adrienne Martine-Barnes was the uncredited co-author of these books. {The dedication of the ebook edition of Exile's Song say "For Adrienne Martine-Barnes, who created the character Margaret Alton, and worked on this book with me." Further, the copyright page of the ebook editions of "The Shadow Matrix" and "Traitor's Sun" both list Adrienne Martine-Barnes as co-copyright holder, along with Ms. Bradley.} . This broke Bradley's "ground rules". Bradley

3381-402: The reader has read, or will ever read, any other book in the series". As an example of what she avoids, Bradley cites Roger Zelazny 's Amber series, which led her to believe that it was soon to be resolved when she was reading it, but then it wasn't. Another example is the cliffhanger ending of one of Edgar Rice Burroughs 's Barsoom books, "where at the very end of the book the heroine ...

3450-500: The rescue of a woman who is held against her will by a chieftain of the Dry Towns. Thus Bradley answered the criticisms that arose after the publication of Darkover Landfall . Critics of the earlier work called The Shattered Chain a feminist novel; Joanna Russ placed it on a list of feminist utopias. Racism as a concept is unknown on Darkover, because there are no races. All Darkovans are fair-skinned and have blue or grey eyes, except

3519-444: The road to Armida, Damon Ridenow discusses recent violent conflicts with a native species called the cat-men with his guardsmen. Ridenow is a matrix technician who was recently dismissed by Leonie Hastur, Keeper of Arilinn, on the grounds that he is "too sensitive". During the journey, the group is attacked by an unseen entity. Only Damon Ridenow survives. He arrives at Armida to find that it, too, has been attacked, and Callista Lanart

SECTION 50

#1732869389584

3588-428: The sacrament of Year's End is a shared sexual experience under the influence of kireseth flowers. Callista and Andrew finally consummate their marriage. At dawn, they enter into the Overworld and build their tower. After a prolonged battle with Arilinn, Damon asks for a truce. He tells Leonie that they have rediscovered the old way of working, where a Keeper need not be a cloistered virgin. He realizes that Leonie herself

3657-578: The same as in later novels, with specific telepathic gifts. The seven families were the same, except the Altons were called the Leyniers and the Aillards were called the "Marceau of Valeron", a name that Bradley changed after hearing of the book Skylark of Valeron by E. E. Smith , whom she admired. Bradley was unable to sell "The King and the Sword", even after she cut it down to "500 manuscript pages" and "located

3726-488: The science-fiction/fantasy of C. L. Moore and Henry Kuttner , apparently when she was in her middle teens and realized that she would never be an opera singer. She wrote, among other things, "about a ruling caste of telepaths which I named Seveners". By the time she was in college this had turned into an "hugely sprawling novel" called "The King and the Sword". In that book, the Comyn (although called "the Seveners") were much

3795-401: The scientists said that for any colony to survive with a founding population of only a few hundred and no real hope of immigration, the greatest amount of genetic diversity must be maintained. That meant that women must have as many children as possible, by as many men as possible, and every child that survives is needed. The experts believed that miscarriages and infant deaths would be greater on

3864-421: The stars has strange anomalies; the enormous interstellar distances play strange tricks with time... The elapsed time on Terra was something like three thousand years. Yet elapsed time on Darkover was somehow more like ten thousand..." This is but one example of inconsistency. At the end of the 21st century, Earth sends colony ships out to the stars. One of these ships becomes disabled and crash-lands on Darkover,

3933-472: The success of The World Wreckers , Don Wollheim was more willing to publish material that would have been considered controversial before. In particular, Bradley mentions How Are the Mighty Fallen by Thomas Burnett Swann . But every time Bradley said that the Darkover series was ended, friends, fans and casual readers objected, "Oh, don't do that!" Several themes are explored by Bradley at length within

4002-492: The survival of the human race on Darkover could, and should, be allowed to supersede the personal convenience of any single woman in the group. I have debated this subject ad nauseam in the fanzines, and I absolutely refuse to debate it again, but to those who refuse to accept the tenet that "Biology is Destiny", I have begun to ask them to show me a vegetarian lion or tiger before they debate the issue further". The notion of women as "brood mares" (and similar expressions) pervades

4071-501: The way. At Armida, Andrew Carr has learned how to enter the Overworld, and locates Callista. Desperate to help her, he somehow manages to teleport himself into the caves. Andrew and Callista make their way through the caves with Damon and face off against the Great Cat, a larger cat with a powerful matrix jewel. The matrix is destroyed, and everyone returns to Armida. Callista, the Keeper who

4140-413: The whole thing on an imaginary planet with a red sun" in a "Galactic Empire". However, she kept writing and eventually sold "a shameless pastiche of a [Henry] Kuttner story", Falcons of Narabedla , to Ray Palmer , who had revived a magazine called Other Worlds . Palmer then accepted The Sword of Aldones for publication, but it was the version that had previously been called The King and the Sword . It

4209-463: Was "spellbound". Walter Breen , after reading it himself, told Bradley: "Now you can write that story about the chieri that you thought you couldn't write". Bradley then had the idea to write The World Wreckers . Edmond Hamilton had been called "The ol' world wrecker" because he destroyed planets, galaxies and even universes in his books. Norman Spinrad had written The Doomsday Machine , but Bradley thought there must be more subtle ways to wreck

SECTION 60

#1732869389584

4278-439: Was a kind of replay of the old The King and the Sword ". About the former, she does not say, but here is the number seven again. Don Wollheim , who edited Ace Books , bought The Planet Savers for a reprint, through Bradley's agent, Scott Meredith . Wollheim wanted another novel to print with it. Since Ray Palmer had never printed The Sword of Aldones , or paid Bradley for it, Bradley demanded that he either do that or return

4347-527: Was at that time approaching the end of her life; she died in 1999, the same year that the third book of this "trilogy" was published. This Darkover chronology uses the time period designations first provided by the author as " A Readers Guide to Darkover " in The Heirs of Hammerfell (1989). Some of these time periods overlap, particularly the Ages of Chaos and the Hundred Kingdoms eras. It's occasionally

4416-481: Was kidnapped. Her twin, Ellemir Lanart, assures him Callista is alive because she can feel her sister's telepathic presence, though they cannot communicate directly. Damon ventures into the Overworld to seek Callista, but finds only a "great darkness" and a vaguely evil presence. Meanwhile, Andrew Carr arrives at the door seeking shelter and assistance. He mistakes Ellemir for Callista. After introductions and food, Andrew describes his experiences. Damon concludes Callista

4485-488: Was not dissimilar to a novel by Vercors . She also says it was garbage and threw it all into the wastebasket before it had a good working title. Bradley then realized that the chieri were a unisex race, sometimes male and sometimes female. She decided that the issue of sexuality was too difficult to handle in the current milieu of science fiction. She says, "I had no desire to write the kind of story which would have to be published as pornography". In "1970 or so" she went to

4554-405: Was not her intention anyway), and she demanded in return that he would not change it without consulting her. Bradley claims that the scene, which "shocked some people and pleased others", was the first time the issue of homosexuality (not to mention sex-changing) had been dealt with directly in science fiction, and says, "I managed to become something like science fiction's token homosexual!" After

4623-427: Was stolen away and popped into some kind of giant wheel with cubicles which moved at a fixed rate" and "John Carter and his sidekick were left staring at the giant wheel until the next book". "Also", Bradley says, "... whenever consistency from book to book threatens to impair the artistic unity of any single book as a unit in itself, inter-book consistency will be relentlessly sacrificed... If I perpetuate anything in

4692-506: Was trained in the old ways (the illegal neutering of a Comyn woman), and mourns for her loss. Leonie acknowledges Damon's right to keep his tower. The two couples return to Armida. Like the Darkover-Renunciate books, what underlies The Forbidden Tower is a discussion of the value of monogamy, women's roles in society, the place of one's family in decision making, and whether a woman may act as an agent independent of these forces. In

4761-621: Was trained in the old ways of Keepers, and may not be able to consummate their relationship for a long time. Ellemir has a premonition of her father's death. Desiderio Leynier, a nedestro relation (Dom Alton's illegitimate son), creates trouble at the wedding feast. Guardsmen who have been caught in a blizzard are brought to Armida. When it becomes clear that some of the men will lose their feet to frostbite, Damon, working with Andrew and Dezi, uses his laran powers to restore their circulation. The experience causes Damon to feel that laran-based healing should be available to all Darkovans, not restricted to

#583416