Fall of Neskaya, Vol. 1 FROM OUR EDITORS
The Barnes & Noble Review
Following Marion Zimmer Bradley's passing in September 1999, fans of her Darkover series despaired of ever reading a Darkover novel again. Yet, here is exactly that: The Fall of Neskaya, the first volume in The Clingfire Trilogy, is a Darkover novel that was being written by Bradley and Deborah Ross at the time of MZB's death.
What a delight this book was to read. I slipped back into Darkover as easily as putting on a pair of old, faded jeans. For those of you who have read the 20-plus novels, the story begins in the Darkover timeline between the novels Stormqueen! and Hawkmistress! -- very early in the history of Darkover.
Corwyn Leynier is a young Verdantan prince with a secret. He's suffering from threshold sickness, although he doesn't know it yet. Corwyn's bouts with dizziness and nausea are actually a psychic disorder that affects telepaths when they reach puberty and their laran (psychic talent) starts awakening. Corwyn's secret is eventually found out, and he is sent to the Tower of Tramontana to help him deal with his ailment, as well as to hone his powerful skills.
Meanwhile, Rumail, the brother of King Damian of Ambervale, has come to Verdanta with an offer to unite the handsome Prince Belisar and a Leynier daughter in marriage. Rumail checks all royal daughters for laran (makes better offspring), and decides to handfast Belisar to the eight-year-old Kristlin. Corwyn's father blesses the union for the good of both kingdoms, but there is something sinister behind the Ambervale offer of partnership.
Corwyn excels living in the Tower and learns quickly how to use his laran. The years pass, and Corwyn matures into a powerful young man. One of his best friends at the Tower turns out to be Liane Storn, the daughter of his father's enemy, the King of High Kinally. But reality comes crashing down on the friends, when it is learned that Corwyn's country has been plagued with lungrot and most of his family is dead. To make matters worse, King Damian invades Verdanta and several other smaller kingdoms, including Acosta. Damian withdraws the handfast between Belisar and Kristlin (Verdanta is a defeated country now) and picks Queen Tanquiel of Acosta as his future wife. But Damian underestimates the woman's cunning and she escapes to safety with her unborn child -- the true heir to the throne of Acosta. What exactly is Damian planning? And can his evil plan succeed?
As usual with MZB stories, the characters are superbly drawn. I've found myself saying this before about MZB novels, but I loved some of the peripheral characters the best. I particularly liked One-Eyed Rafe, six-fingered Kieran, and Taniquel of Acosta, the exiled queen who vows to get her country back. (Paul Goat Allen)
ANNOTATION
In a terrible time of strife and war, when this unique fantasy world is divided into a multitude of small belligerent domains vying for power and land, one corrupt, ambitious tyrant will stop at nothing-even the use of terrifying matrix weapons-to control all of Darkover!
FROM THE PUBLISHER
More than four decades ago, best-selling author Marion Zimmer Bradley first envisioned the world of Darkover - a frigid world lit by the dim glow of a dying red giant star. On this mysterious planet of the Bloody Sun, a generational starship from faraway Terra crash-landed, stranding her colonists in a land of unknown dangers and unimagined potential.
Now in The Fall of Neskaya, the lands of Darkover are fragmented into a multitude of small belligerent realms torn apart by constant border conflict.
High in the mountainous Hellers, Corin Leynier, adolescent son of a minor nobleman, wakes from a nightmare of a raging forest fire, only to find that the fire is real. Running toward the fire lines, Corin fights to suppress waves of nausea and dizziness - feelings that have become more and more frequent over the passing months - to help his kinsmen. As all the inhabitants of Verdanta lands, nobleman and commoner alike, struggle hopelessly to contain the worst fire in memory, Lord Leynier sends a desperate message to his nearest neighbors, The Storns of High Kinnally, with an appeal for help and passage through Storn lands to Tramontana Tower. But despite the tradition of "fire truce" Lord Storn refuses aid to the Leyniers because of an ancient feud. When all seems lost, and Verdanta doomed by uncontrollable flames, help arrives.
SYNOPSIS
Return to the world of Darkover during the tumultuous era of The Hundred Kingdoms. In a terrible time of strife and war, when this unique fantasy world is divided into a multitude of small belligerent domains vying for power and land, one corrupt, ambitious tyrant will stop at nothingﾽnot even the use of terrifying matrix weaponsﾽto control all of Darkover!
FROM THE CRITICS
VOYA - Bonnie Kunzel
Young Coryn Legnier must leave Verdanta Castle for Tower training when the powerful mental laran he does not know he possesses rages out of control. Dom Rumail, brother to King Deslucido, tests him for laran, an ability that can be used for good or misused for evil purposes, recognizes his gift, and primes him with a mindtrap for later use on behalf of the king. His training at Tramontana Tower gives Coryn the incentive to stop a family feud. Nevertheless it does not prepare him for a king's treachery or the love of a beautiful young queen. This novel is fast paced, with action-filled fun. After the death of author Bradley, this reviewer never expected to see another new Darkover novel, but happily, this first book of the new Clingfire trilogy fills the void. Ross captures Bradley's love for her creation and her smooth-flowing style perfectly. Because the two had been friends since Bradley began editing the Darkover and Sword and Sorceress anthologies, Ross was a natural choice to work with Bradley as her health began to decline. They decided to return to the Ages of Chaos in the early days of Darkover. The plan was to create a trilogy beginning with the Hastur Rebellion and the fall of Neskaya, go on to the enduring friendship between Varzil the Good and Caroline Hastur, and finish with the fire bombing of Hali and the signing of the Compact. Ross scribbled notes as fast as she could while Bradley described what she had in mind. Courtesy of the Marion Zimmer Bradley Literary Works Trust, here is that novel. Fansﾽand othersﾽwill rejoice! VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P S A/YA (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12; Adult andYoung Adult). 2001, DAW, 464p,
Home
