Inconsistencies aside, an enjoyable read!

books:

	• The World Wreckers (Darkover: Against the Terrans: The Second Age) Marion Zimmer Bradley DAW, 1994 - 288 pages view larger image
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Inconsistencies aside, an enjoyable read!

I've been reading Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover novels in order of publication, and given my fairly negative reviews of the earlier titles, you may be wondering why I keep reading them. Well, before The World Wreckers, Marion Zimmer Bradley was wondering why she kept writing them. They hadn't sold well. She felt like she was repeating the same stories. She was ready to call it quits -- and then she found inspiration. (So she says in her introduction to this book.)
That inspiration shows here, and I am glad I kept on. This one is much better than its predecessors -- yes, I enjoyed reading it! Sure, I still get annoyed at the oddities that should have been caught in editing. And if you're a Darkover die-hard, well, take heed of those other reviewers who voice bitter complaints about inconsistencies with other stories of the, uh, Darkover-verse. Still, none of that came at the expense of my enjoyment of this book.
The World Wreckers takes place as Andrea Closson, representing a shady interplanetary business interest, plots to destroy the fabric of Darkovan society. See, Darkovans have been resisting outsiders' attempts to exploit its resources for profit. Andrea wants to destroy Darkover's unique civilizations, so that those who seek profit can move in and build it up again as they desire.
Closson is close to succeeding in her destructive scheme. The old ways, the old peoples, are dying out, the sabotaged environment is killing the planet's population, and those who remain are scattered, unorganized and unable to fight back. This book is the story of a few who come together, from far and wide, to fight for Darkover's survival. The crisis is planetary, but the stories are intensely personal for our protagnoists. And even if the culmination of their struggle is -- well, rather sudden and most definitely a reflection of the era of free love in which the book was written -- I was entertained from beginning to end.

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An essential Darkover novel.

Although this is not the best Darkover novel written, it contains a conflict we all knew had to happen--Terran interests try underhanded methods to gain control of Darkover. How Darkovans deal with it is interesting. I do think it's a shame that the major villain had to be a lost Cheri. Too predictable. However, I like the reorganization of the Comyn which was forced by the ecological disasters and the weakening of the major bloodlines.

reviews: page 1, 2

The wild and beautiful planet of Darkover becomes the target of the World Wreckers, an intergalactic company that destroys the ecology and economy of a planet so that Terran investors can make a profit in restoring it. Reprint.

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