Author | Deborah J. Ross and Marion Zimmer Bradley |
---|---|
Cover artist | Shutterstock |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Series | Darkover |
Genre | Science fantasy |
Publisher | DAW Books |
Publication date | January 2010 |
Media type | Print (hardcover) |
Pages | 421 |
Preceded by | The World Wreckers |
Followed by | Exile's Song |
Hastur Lord is a science fantasy novel by American writers Deborah J. Ross and Marion Zimmer Bradley in the Darkover series. It was first published by in hardcover by DAW Books in 1996. [1] The book falls in the part of the Darkover timeline that the author called "Against the Terrans: The Second Age (after the Comyn)".
Hastur Lord is an allegory, illustrating the consequences to a religiously pluralistic planet, when a small group of monotheistic fundamentalists tries to impose their will on a larger society that doesn't share their views.
In terms of Darkover's timeline, the book takes place ten years after The World Wreckers . [2]
Dan Lawton, the Terran Legate, sends word to Regis Hastur of a medical emergency in the Terran zone. Regis discovers that Dan's son, Felix, is experiencing symptoms of Threshold Sickness. Dan's wife, Tiphani, is hysterical, regarding Threshold Sickness as a symptom of moral degeneracy, rather than simply an illness experienced by telepaths. Regis learns that Tiphani has taken a keyed starstone away from her son, fearing that it is a pagan object. Regis returns the stone to Felix.
Regis asks Linnea Storn, the mother of his only child, to come to Thendara and attend to Felix. Regis also asks her to be his wife, saying she is the only woman he could possibly marry. Linnea, knowing that Regis is romantically committed to Danilo, refuses.
Danvan Hastur, the elderly Regent of Darkover, dies. On his deathbed, he tells Regis that he has a brother, whose rights in the Comyn must be ensured.
Regis learns that his brother, Rinaldo, has for many years been a cristoforo brother in the monastery of St. Valentine of the Snows at Nevarsin. Rinaldo tells Regis he is emmasca, and this is why their grandfather never had him legitimated. On the journey to Thendara, Rinaldo displays a tendency to lecture and scold, that both Regis and Danilo find disturbing.
Rinaldo meets Tiphani Lawton, and finds a kindred spirit in the overwrought Terran woman. They determine to build the Chapel of All Worlds to teach a syncretistic version of their similar theological views.
Danilo Syrtis-Ardais and Mikhail Lanart-Hastur are kidnapped from Comyn Castle by Valdir Ridenow. Ridenow demands that Regis abdicate in favor of Rinaldo. Threatened with Danilo's death by torture, Regis agrees.
Rinaldo demands that Regis give up all contact with Danilo, on the grounds that their relationship is sinful. He also demands that Regis take a wife. Linnea Storn-Lanart agrees to the marriage, both because she truly loves Regis and because she knows lives are at stake.
Danilo learns that he is now Rinaldo's paxman, against his will. He is ordered to escort Rinaldo's intended bride, Bettany Ridenow, from Serrais. Bettany and Rinaldo are married a week later in a cristoforo rite. At the reception, Danilo observes Rinaldo's unusually close relationship to Tiphani Lawton. Linnea manages a short, reassuring conversation with Danilo, and then goes into labor.
Despite threats of open warfare by Valdir Ridenow, Rinaldo thinks it's more important to impose the cristoforo religion on all of Darkover.
Bettany announces that she is pregnant. Tiphani tells Danilo that she has abandoned her husband and now goes by the name Tiphani Luminosa. She is clearly mad.
Regis learns that Rinaldo has ordered the kidnapping of young Comyn children. They have been sequestered in a school whose purpose is to brainwash them with Rinaldo and Tiphani's version of cristoforo doctrine.
Regis confronts Rinaldo about the kidnapped children. Rinaldo agrees to release them, but Regis doubts his sincerity. He searches the Old Town, and seeing Tiphani, follows her. He discovers the missing children in an upstairs dormitory, and while attempting rescue, encounters a spaceforce detachment sent by Lawton to recover his son, Felix.
During a confrontation between Comyn factions, Rinaldo's behavior becomes increasingly disordered. Regis restores paxman status to Danilo, and summons his brother to answer charges in the Crystal Chamber.
Several days later, in the presence of many of the Comyn, Regis declares his brother unfit to rule. As Rinaldo waivers, Tiphani appears with a blaster. She tries to shoot Regis, but Rinaldo throws himself between the two, taking the full force of the blast. Regis returns Rinaldo's body to be buried at St. Valentine of the Snows.
Darkover is the planet giving its name to the Darkover series of science fiction-fantasy novels and short stories by Marion Zimmer Bradley and others published since 1958. According to the novels, Darkover is the only habitable planet of seven orbiting a fictional red giant star called Cottman.
The Spell Sword is a sword and planet novel by American writer Marion Zimmer Bradley, part of the Darkover series. The book was co-authored by Paul Edwin Zimmer, Bradley's brother, though he was not credited. The Spell Sword was first published in paperback by DAW in 1974 OCLC 156484864 and has been republished several times.
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 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 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.
The Fall of Neskaya is a science fantasy novel by American writers Marion Zimmer Bradley and Deborah J. Ross, part of the Darkover series. Set in The Hundred Kingdoms time period, the book is the first in a three-novel series subtitled The Clingfire trilogy. The Fall of Neskaya is followed by Zandru's Forge, which takes place about 25 years later.
Zandru's Forge is a science fantasy novel by American writers Marion Zimmer Bradley and Deborah J. Ross, part of the Darkover series; it is set in The Hundred Kingdoms era, at the end of the Ages of Chaos. This book is also part two of The Clingfire trilogy.
The Heritage of Hastur is a science fantasy novel by American writer Marion Zimmer Bradley, part of the Darkover series. It was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1975. It explores sexual themes, particularly the view that homosexuality is a normal variant of human sexuality.
Sharra's Exile is a science fantasy novel by American writer Marion Zimmer Bradley. Part of the Darkover, it is a sequel to The Heritage of Hastur. This novel is a complete rewrite of The Sword of Aldones published by Ace in 1962. The second chapter of book one of Sharra's Exile was previously published in a slightly different form as a short story entitled "Blood Will Tell" in The Keeper's Price.
The Sword of Aldones is a sword and planet novel by American writer Marion Zimmer Bradley, part of her Darkover series. It was first published by Ace Books in 1962, dos-à-dos with her other novel The Planet Savers. Bradley revised and rewrote the novel publishing it as Sharra's Exile in 1981.
The Bloody Sun is a science fantasy novel by American writer Marion Zimmer Bradley, part of her Darkover series. It was first published by Ace Books in 1964. The novel was substantially rewritten, expanded, and republished under the same title in 1979; Bradley's short story "To Keep the Oath" was included in this edition and all subsequent reprintings.
Star of Danger is a science fantasy novel by American writer Marion Zimmer Bradley, part of her Darkover series. It was first published by Ace Books in 1965.
The Forbidden Tower is a science fantasy novel by American writer Marion Zimmer Bradley, part of her Darkover series. Originally published by DAW Books 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.
Thendara House is a science fantasy novel by American writer Marion Zimmer Bradley, part of her Darkover and is a sequel to The Shattered Chain. It was originally published by DAW Books in 1983. The book was co-written by Jacqueline Lichtenberg, without credit.
The Winds of Darkover is a science fantasy novel by American writer Marion Zimmer Bradley, part of her Darkover series. It was first published by Ace Books in 1970, as an Ace Double bound tête-bêche with The Anything Tree by John Rackham.
The World Wreckers is a science fantasy novel by American writer Marion Zimmer Bradley, part of her Darkover series. First published by Ace Books in 1971, it features a complex sub-plot involving the sexual interactions between hermaphrodite native species, known as the chieri, and humans.
Rediscovery is a science fantasy novel by American writers Marion Zimmer Bradley and Mercedes Lackey, part of the Darkover series of novels and short stories published in the United States since 1958. It was first published by DAW Books in 1993.
The Heirs of Hammerfell is a science fantasy novel by American writer Marion Zimmer Bradley, part of her Darkover series. It was first published by in hardcover by DAW Books in 1989. The book takes place during the era of Darkover's history known as the Hundred Kingdoms. This is the last book in the Darkover series written entirely by Bradley without the assistance of a co-author.
The Shadow Matrix is a science fiction novel by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Adrienne Martine-Barnes in the Darkover series. It was first published by in hardcover by DAW Books in 1996. Since the book involves time travel, it falls in both the Darkover time periods that the author called "Against the Terrans: The Second Age " and in the Ages of Chaos.
Traitor's Sun is a science fiction novel by American writers Marion Zimmer Bradley and Adrienne Martine-Barnes in the Darkover series. It was first published by in hardcover by DAW Books in 1998. The book falls in the Darkover time periods that the author called "Against the Terrans: The Second Age ".
The Alton Gift is a science fiction novel by American writers Marion Zimmer Bradley and Deborah J. Ross in the Darkover series. It was first published by in hardcover by DAW Books in 2007. The book is the first in the "Children of Kings" trilogy.
Exile’s Song is a science fantasy novel by American writers Marion Zimmer Bradley and Adrienne Martine-Barnes, part of the Darkover series. It was first published in hardcover by DAW Books in 1996. The book takes place during the era of Darkover's history known as the second age post-Comyn and after the coming of the Terrans.