Type of bind: Hardcover
EAN num: 9780727812285
Format: Import
ISBN number: 0727812289
Label: Severn House
Manufacturer: Severn House
Page Count: 160
Printing Date: 1986
Publishing house: Severn House
Studio: Severn House
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Rated by buyers -
In a refreshing departure from her previous Darkover entries, Marion Zimmer Bradley takes us back to the very first human presence on the planet. A ship containing colonists from Earth crash lands on Darkover, and its crew struggles -- first, to repair the ship -- and then, just to survive.
Bradley creates an interesting dynamic here. A schism develops among the survivors. Some would bring their Earth technology, culture and religion to Darkover... to remain in their comfort zone. Others feel that Darkover represents a new beginning, and that what was developed on Earth, was developed for Earth and should be let go.
This was a thought-provoking look at Darkover's distant past, and if you've read Bradley's earlier books (I'm taking them on in order of publication), you'll notice that all sorts of connections to the future of the planet are scattered throughout.
Some of the book feels a bit dated, as one of the ship's "subcultures" feels suspiciously like it's made up of residents of a hippie commune. (They're the only characters in the book who end their sentences like this one, man!) And as with every Darkover book I've read so far, the characters lack a certain depth. They never come alive; I don't miss them when I finish the book.
Still, Darkover Landfall is one of the best Darkover books I've read to date.
Rated by buyers -
Marion Zimmer Bradley's world, "Darkover", came into being as a prism to examine the interactions between a pre-technological culture and a spacefaring "Terran Empire". Her very first half dozen to a dozen stories set in the world were set in the period after the two cultures met; during those stories, there were some hints that the world of Darkover was a "Lost Colony" that had initially been settled by Earthmen, probably unintentionally. This is the story of that beginning to human habitation on the world. It does an excellent job of establishing how the settlement happened, and how their technology was lost. Still, it is from early enough in her career that Bradley's writing style isn't as polished as it later became, so I'll only give it four stars rather than five. For fans of Darkover, this is a must-read; for newcomers to the series, it isn't a bad place to start, even if it isn't where Bradley herself started.
Rated by buyers 
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If you like sci fi you will like this book. Extremly fast short easy read that instantly makes you want to read the rest. I have read this book over and over and I highly recommend the author and this book in particular.
Rated by buyers -
A Darkover novel.
Chronologically, this is the very first Darkover novel. Here we are introduced to the founders of Darkover. We see how humans very first came to the planet, and how they began to adapt to their new surroundings. Unlike many other fantasy series, humans were not created on Darkover, but rather there was a space ship on a trip to begin a colony on another planet when the ship had troubles and crashed on an uncharted planet. Granted, that is not a terribly original idea either, but the how Bradley treats the topic is very original, and very well done.
The crew is faced with the dilemma of whether to try to rebuild the ship (which will take several years at best) or to try to settle in and adapt on the unnamed planet (the planet does not get the name Darkover for at least a hundred years of its history). The crew and colonists are divided on this. Before anything else can be done there must be preliminary exploration of the planet so that they will be able to survive for as many years as necessary and also because if they are to be trapped on the planet for a while they must know what kind of planet it is.
We are given glimpses of an ESP power that will be refined throughout the series and are introduced to an alien (though native to Darkover) race. We are shown the Ghost Wind, which induces humans to release their inhibitions. ...
This novel serves as an introduction to Darkover (I believe it was the very first novel in the series that I read years ago) as well as an important time in the history of Darkover (obviously, it is the founding). Darkover Landfall may not be the best novel in the series, but it provided enough interest for me to want to read more in the series.
Rated by buyers -
Heroines: varied
Colonists journeying to a new home make an emergency landing on an inhospitable planet and are stranded there. The once technologically advanced people regress to a medieval type of feudalism but acquire some impressive psi powers along the way thanks to intermarrying with the planet's natives, a large supply of a psychic ability boosting flower called Kireseth, and matrix crystals.
The Darkoverans' still spacefaring Terran cousins rediscover them a few thousand years later and culture shock ensues as they try to become members of a galactic Imperial society.
What worked for me:
You may already know her as the author of "The Mists of Avalon" and "The Firebrand", but Marion Zimmer Bradley was also an excellent writer of science fiction as well. I got into the "Darkover" series as a teen and slurped them up quite eagerly. (Bear in mind these novels were written from the early 1960s onward, so some of them have a heavy dose of pro-woman thinking. But I can live with that, as there were no stories of this sort in that day and age. DARKOVER was groundbreaking when it came to putting women at the forefront of science fiction and fantasy novels instead of relegating them to the cast of supporting characters behind a "more capable" male protagonist.)
Size-wise the women come in every shape, size, and ability.
What didn't work for me:
Opinion is divided as to how to sort out all these books. There are 20+ novels set in this world, but the author did not write them "in order". You can go to her home page and see both the publication order and the chronological order of the books and decide for yourself how to read them. If you choose to start with the chronologically earliest novel be forewarned it's good and will give you a great sense of background on the world, but it isn't the very best of the series so read a few more titles as well before making your decision about the universe of DARKOVER. (There lots of enjoyable short stories about this world as well, but I suggest reading at least a few novels before trying an anthology.)
Overall:
Princess Leia meets Xena Warrior Princess in this blend of science fiction and fantasy where laser pistol shootouts occur alongside sword fighting. A must-read for fans of those two genres.
Warning: There are some references to homosexuality in some of the books.
If you liked the Darkover series you might also enjoy "Cosm", "HomeGoing", "A Civil Campaign", "Memory", "Mirror Dance", "Channeling Cleopatra", "Time Pressure", "Ascendant Sun", "StarKissed", "Star-Crossed Lovers", or "Oracle".
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