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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9780756404802
ISBN number: 0756404800
Label: DAW
Manufacturer: DAW
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 544
Printing Date: June 03, 2008
Publishing house: DAW
Sale Popularity Level: 103220
Studio: DAW
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
First in a brand new Darkover trilogy— Now in paperback!
The long-awaited continuation of the popular science fiction saga is the story of Darkover’s telepathic ruling class, the comyn, and their struggles to reclaim their realm from the devastating effects of the Terran Federation...
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Rated by buyers 
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I bought this expecting continuity with the prior three novels, the best MZB wrote IMHO. This novel completely lacks the atmosphere, the personalities, and the greatness of the Darkover story-telling. It didn't even seem like the same place - as if Ross hadn't bothered to read the prior novels. My advice: save your money and give this a pass. I wish I had.
Rated by buyers -
Its a satisfactory but not stunning conclusion to the Darkover series. It ties up all the relationships in a predictable way but does explore the ethics of using the Alton Gift in a darkovian way. I felt the significance of Domenic's gift was a bit overlooked considering the emphasis it was given in Traitor's Sun. Not quite as complex as Marion Zimmer Bradley but ends the series without major cliff hangers.
Rated by buyers -
This is an enjoyable enough book if you're willing to ignore or overlook some of the small details that are inconsistent with previous books. I was glad to find out what happened to some of the characters from the previous books, though I found some of the characters, particularly Illona, poorly developed and romantic relationships that developed far too abrupt.
Unfortunately, I found too many things that made me go "huh?" Too many Darkovan characters in this book are described as having brown eyes. That's extremely unlikely, given that there was so much prejudice against brown-eyed Marius Alton in Sharra's Exile because of the brown eyes he inherited from his Terran mother. The Darkovans in Bradley's books all have green, blue or gray eyes, not brown, which they consider alien and like the eyes of an animal -- "beast eyes." That prejudice wouldn't be gone, despite some of the brown-eyed Terrans mixing it up with the Darkovans since they reestablished contact 100 or 150 years before the book opens, yet ordinary Darkovans without Terran blood are described as brown-eyed here. Are the minor character Yllana's eyes pale blue, as in Traitor's Sun, the previous book by this author, or are they golden like her mother Marguerida's? Marion Zimmer Bradley very firmly established that Lew Alton has dark brown hair, a fact which he comments upon in passing, along with the fact that his "laran" is nonetheless strong; in this book he's described as having graying blue hair. Aside from that, I had a really hard time believing Lew would do many of the things he does in this book.
Then there are the glaring inconsistencies with the genealogy described in the books. Darius-Mikhail Zabal, yet another minor character, is described as an illegitimate grandson of Auster, a character from the Bloody Sun, and is made heir to the Aillard domain, which would be completely impossible if the original genealogy laid down in Bradley's previous novels is followed. Auster was a child of the Terran Jefferson Andrew Kerwin and of the Darkovan Cassilde, the illegitimate daughter of Callista Lanart-Alton and her brother-in-law and cousin Damon Ridenow. It was Cassilde's half-sister Cleindori, daughter of Damon Ridenow and of Jaelle Aillard, an illegitimate daughter of the Aillard family, who had the claim to the Aillard family through her dead mother. The entire plot of the Bloody Sun centered around Cleindori's son Jeff Kerwin Jr./Damon Aillard and his discovery of his heritage. Jeff Kerwin's children, if he had any, would be heirs to the Aillard Domain; the descendants of Auster Ridenow would have NO claim whatsoever. Anyone who's read the books is going to know better. If the author plans to continue this series with Darius-Mikhail Zabal as a character in future books, she would do well to clarify the genealogy. Maybe one of his other grandparents is a previously unknown daughter of Jeff Kerwin from the Bloody Sun.
These little details matter, especially when an author is attempting to continue a very popular series. It wouldn't have taken much for a good editor to catch the inconsistencies. The fact that these things weren't caught makes the continuation of the series feel inauthentic.
Rated by buyers -
The Alton Gift, as written by Deborah J. Ross is one that was only half heartedly satisfying to me. While this book did answer some questions on "what happens next" in Lew Alton's world, I am mystified as to why there were so many disconnected threads that did not live up to the books written by MZB before she passed away - why the "Shadow Matrix" on the various hands of the subsequent generation Hasturs seemed to take different roads than what had happened previously and why there was such an obvious plot of "Nico Alton Hastur" following his heart - or not - or following it again when it seemed that his character from the previous books was not able to grow out of some elements that make life difficult as a Hastur and seem to leap beyond his character boundaries as a new and totally different stylized character.
While I have read Deborah J Ross's other works with MZB, I am disappointed that this particular adventure really leaves me with - "I really don't care what happens subsequent for it just doesn't fit with what I know and understand in the Lew Alton world of Darkover."
Please, Ms. Ross - in the subsequent two versions - either come closer to what has been written before and ensure that whomever does your fact and character checking really knows the previous books and characters - or give up the post and let us readers imagine on our own how to address the "Dry Towners" and the return of the Terran Empire - sure to be difficult and one that centers on the entire theme of technological societies vs. magical/mystical/primitive societies.
Thanks,
Dr. Judy Kunkle
Rated by buyers 
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I wanted to like this book a lot. Some of my favorite characters are in the story arc before this one. (Marguerida, Mikhail, cantankerous old Javanne, brilliant and quiet Domenic, Katherine and Herm, Illona etc). I have to say, Deborah Ross's grasp on characterization isn't good in this book. She doesn't get the feel exactly right, and she has done a few things that completely contradict the characters long-term personalities. For example- Javanne has always been controlling and nasty. ALWAYS. She chalks it up to a long-term illness and brain tumour and writes it completely off. NOT. That's the least of it.
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