The Children of Kings (Darkover Book 28)

This novel put together so many not-completed story lines and wove them together seamlessly and with great satisfaction. The story itself started slow, but quickly accelerated as it's characters were introduced both old and new. I realized while reading the end just how many familiar characters there were, and I knew them. I had the thought that the last time I felt this was reading Heinlein and the Lazurus Long chronicles, as far as recognizing so many participants. If you are into Darkover, this is a required read.

The Children of Kings is a worthy successor in the continuing story of the world of Darkover.Darkover, as created by Marion Zimmer Bradley, was colonized by humans who, after generations of living on this strange alien world, and a few incidents of mating with the indigenous alien chieri, now possess psychic talents and abilities. While their own society has become somewhat medieval in feel--with feudal loyalties given to the now noble Comyn families and using swords and daggers- the Darkovan humans have been drawn back into galactic contact with the rest of the human Federation. The Federation, with its starships, technology of metal and blasters, sees Darkover as a precious possession and wants to own it.Deborah J Ross has united all the magnificent elements that have made Darkover so wondrous. Characters like Gareth, the protagonist of this novel who could be King himself, or like his aunt Silvana/Stelli, the firstborn child of Regis Hastur and his Linnea fostered by chieri, rise from feeling unworthy, unwanted, out of place, to realizing they have and can make choices that affect and shape their entire world. Characters like Merach, a man of high honor and dignity-- to some is little more than a dusty desert savage--yet he sees his way to helping his lord form new alliances that will change Darkover for generations.Some must choose how, or if, to choose weapons--whether these are blasters that could level an entire city, or are psychic abilities that could bring down a starship. Some must choose to see past the strange other, whether that is a Dry-Town savage lord or a scion of an often mentally incompetent noble line.Gareth begins this story as the un-confident prince who is certain everyone thinks he will never amount to anything, or, want to use him as a weakling puppet. So he leaves his home secretly, half-hoping only for adventure, but eventually finds that he holds the key to saving not only his home city, but can bring about an alliance never before attempted, a bond between two cultures. Along the way, Gareth also finds that love can also be his, not just mere simpering romantic love, but a love of strength, acceptance, and fervent devotion.Darkover stories have always at their heart been about transcendant acceptance-not only one's own acceptance of who and what one is, and not only the acceptance, of one, by others. Darkover's tale of acceptance is the story of how, in the very act of accepting oneself and of the other--which too often is perceived as an act of weakness or simple naivete--instead, brings about a unity of soul and spirit that carries with it immense power and purpose.The Children of Kings definitely does not disappoint, in this regard. It opens another brilliant chapter into a world of future possiblities, where not only do humans travel between the stars, not only find destiny and heart's home in the strangest of places, but also, find that they can do anything wondrous, build anything marvelous, if they find the way to do it together.Well done, Children of Kings. Be warned, once you begin this book you will want to continue through to the end.

Initially the plot was slow, until Gareth left Thendara, then the plot became much more interesting. He is a character that is usually not focused on in this series (let alone other books): that of a man who is unsure of himself, can be bumbling and speak before thinking (i.e., immature); but his character develops nicelythrough the book.The main reasons I gave this book 4 instead of 5 stars are the slow pace of the book initially and the sudden appearance of Gareth's aunt partway into the book and her pat, very brief, saving of Thendara. Her attitude of "I was abandoned by my parents and now I hate them" is too stereotypical; her character should have been developed more, especially her relationship with the Chieri.I really liked Ross tying in previous events and characters from other books; however, one or 2 sentences for some (such as David) would have given me more of a reference as to where the characters came in. I don't want to read through all short stories or novels to find out where (if any) David comes into the Darkover plots. His character seems interesting, but not worth plowing my way through all Darkover books (some of which, namely short stories, written by authors other than MZB and Ross are not necessarily positive additions to the Darkover series).Actually I have read some Darkover stories by other authors (too many to list) and found either the style of writing or the lack of research into MZB's plots show me that many of these other authors are not very good. This is my own opinion and others may actually like them as authors. I actually have then gone to some authors' own books that are not Darkover, to see if their writing styles are inherent for all of their books or just bad concerning Darkover. More often than not, I find the authors not particularly good whether writing about Darkover or not.Anyway, I do like Ross, her Clingfire trilogy was better than most of the books by other MZB "coauthors" (I did think that the trilogy had nothing new in them, comparable to other Darkover plots, focused on the towers, rivalry, breeding, etc). The Children of Kings does offer something different to the Darkover series and I hope Ross can continue to branch out into other directions with additional Darkover books.I would love Ross or other authors to more go into the Chieris' history, such as space travel. I would also like a few books on the period of time between Darkover Landfall and the books of the Age of Chaos. Too much time (1000 years?) between these events, leaves a blank area that could be very interesting. Specifically, development of laran, the Chieri influence, pitfalls about the initial pioneering efforts, etc.

The novels of darker are unique and great reads. I may have missed some short stories but I have read all the novels at least uonce, probably more than once. I have always enjoyed them.

ハスターロードで行方不明になったむすめがみつかり、ダーコーヴァの危機を救う。

I have read every Darkover novel there is and was quite excited to start on this one. I really wanted to like it and rooted for Gareth in the beginning but somewhere halfway through I got really annoyed, and quite frankly, bored.It starts out ok, the characters are interesting and believable and then things start falling apart. The story does not pull the characters together, they kind of happen to come across each other, no tension. After a lot of pretty aimless wandering all over there is sort of a climax. The problem is that the main character, Gareth, is agonising over every decision he makes but never gets anywhere. I couldn't get anything coherent in the development of his character. He just kind of does this then that and then something else. There is no driving force, nothing truly compelling.Compared with the complexity of earlier Darkover novels this would be a short novella at best. I hope this is not an example of how Deborah Ross is going to continue the world that MZB created. Her legacy deserves better.In short: Borrow from the library if you are a true fan. If you want the real Darkover experience stay with the master herself!

Another satisfying instalment in the Darkover series. This concentrates mainly on Gareth, Heir to Elhalyn. He is restless and seeking to find his path in life. Most of the story is placed in the Dry Towns,with the involvement of off-worlders. Deborah Ross doesn`t disappoint with magical use of telepathy and more stories of the Cheri. We have an interesting story of 2 Keepers and Regis` missing daughter is found. If you enjoy Darkover, don`t miss it.

Love her stuff

Very good