Darkover Landfall by Marion Zimmer Bradley
"Darkover Landfall" is a science fiction novel by Marion Zimmer Bradley that serves as a foundational narrative for the Darkover series, detailing the origins of its unique people and culture. The story begins with a starship crash that leaves its crew and passengers stranded on an unfamiliar planet. After the ship's technical systems are compromised during a strange phenomenon, the survivors are forced to adapt to their new environment, which presents significant challenges such as harsh weather and limited resources, yet is capable of sustaining human life.
The protagonist, Rafael MacAran, is a geologist who, alongside First Officer Camilla Del Rey, navigates the complexities of survival and the emotional toll of losing their previous lives. Their journey explores the development of a low-technology society and the emergence of psi abilities, or extrasensory gifts, that become integral to Darkovan culture. Over the course of 2,000 years, the descendants of the survivors establish a feudal society steeped in these psi talents, setting the stage for the broader themes and motifs explored in subsequent Darkover novels. The series reflects on issues of technology, gender dynamics, and the moral implications of power, resonating with diverse human experiences and societal changes.
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Darkover Landfall
First published: 1972
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Science fiction—alien civilization
Time of work: The twenty-first century
Locale: The planet Darkover
The Plot
Marion Zimmer Bradley wrote Darkover Landfall to explain the origins of the people and culture of her created world of Darkover, the setting of numerous books. After a starship crashes, its surviving crew and passengers are stranded on an unknown planet. Repair of the ship, a tenuous hope at best, becomes impossible when someone erases its computer programs during a hallucinatory “ghost wind” episode. A survey group discovers alien life, including two reclusive humanoid races. The planet has terrible weather, poor soil, few metals, and mysterious psi phenomena, but it can support human life. Building a low-technology society on this strange planet is an unappealing prospect to many from the ship. As the book ends, however, households and basic crafts, as well as the colony’s first children, are flourishing.
Rafael MacAran, a geologist, leads the initial survey party. Romantically linked with First Officer Camilla Del Rey, he is able to follow a hunch to locate her when a sudden blizzard hits. This paves the way for using extrasensory gifts as technology. As a scientist, MacAran understands the captain’s initial impulse to repair the ship and his wish to save technical knowledge for future generations. He also appreciates the planet’s rugged beauty, however, and the logic of the New Hebrides commune’s simple lifestyle. These conflicts are heightened for him because Camilla, space-born and-bred, has difficulty accepting the loss of her profession and of the ship.
Two thousand years pass before the colony’s descendants are rediscovered by the Terran Empire. During that time, Darkovans develop a feudal society dominated by families with hereditary psi talents. The other Darkover novels take place in this subsequent Darkovan history. Most are set during an era of rapid cultural change after rediscovery, but three—Stormqueen! (1978), Two to Conquer (1980), and Hawkmistress! (1982)—take place in the Darkovan dark ages, or “time of the hundred kingdoms.”
The plots and themes vary, but most of the Darkover novels contain motifs introduced in Darkover Landfall. The World Wreckers (1971) tells of technology run amok on the fragile planet. Camilla Del Rey’s unwanted motherhood and lost career are a distant mirror image for Callista’s anguish in The Forbidden Tower (1977), when her Keeper’s training makes her chosen marriage almost impossible.
Laran, or extrasensory gifts, that empower also can destroy. The need for telepathic training and ethics is a frequent story element. From Stormqueen!’s young heroine, whose anger summons lightning bolts, to the arcane battle that ends Sharra’s Exile (1981), laran is central to the novels’ plots.
The Heritage of Hastur (1975) is a powerful coming-of-age novel. Young nobles Regis Hastur, Lew Alton, and Danilo Syrtis try to reconcile the demands of duty and class with inner desires. Along the way, a city is blown up, with weighty consequences for the planet’s future. The Shattered Chain (1976) and Thendara House (1983) are novels that address women’s issues. The young Darkovan Jaelle and the Terran intelligence agent Magda change roles and find new paths, while Jaelle’s aunt, Lady Rohana, after trying independent life with the Free Amazons, returns to home and husband with new, inner strength.