Rating: 
Summary: Advise about the chronological order of the Darkover Series
Review: This was the first Darkover book I read, and I instantly fell in love -- with the story, with Darkover and especially with Magda Lorne. I think it's a good starting point, though male newcomers to Darkover might prefer _The Spell Sword_ or _The Forbidden Tower_. This is a book that improves upon re-reading. There are so many layers to what is happening that I'd even say that you haven't *really* read this book until you've read it at least twice. Darkover is a bit like Roger Zelazny's Amber series in that respect, at least for me. Although their world is different from ours, I could identify closely with Rohana's slow loss of her class-based prejudices, with Magda's feeling of being torn between two worlds, and with Jaelle's fear of sacrificing her beliefs for the sake of love. It's the little things that make this book truly great -- the minor incidents between characters that portray far better than any lecture or even work of realistic fiction could the misunderstandings that exist between men and women, or even between "traditional" women and their "modern woman" counterparts. In a word: WOW.
Rating:
Summary: WARNING: this book could change your outlook on life!
Review: This was the first Darkover book I read, and I instantly fell in love -- with the story, with Darkover and especially with Magda Lorne. I think it's a good starting point, though male newcomers to Darkover might prefer _The Spell Sword_ or _The Forbidden Tower_. This is a book that improves upon re-reading. There are so many layers to what is happening that I'd even say that you haven't *really* read this book until you've read it at least twice. Darkover is a bit like Roger Zelazny's Amber series in that respect, at least for me. Although their world is different from ours, I could identify closely with Rohana's slow loss of her class-based prejudices, with Magda's feeling of being torn between two worlds, and with Jaelle's fear of sacrificing her beliefs for the sake of love. It's the little things that make this book truly great -- the minor incidents between characters that portray far better than any lecture or even work of realistic fiction could the misunderstandings that exist between men and women, or even between "traditional" women and their "modern woman" counterparts. In a word: WOW.
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