Blood of Paradise: A Novel (Mortalis.)

Book Description

El Salvador: America’s great Cold War success story and the model for Iraq’s fledgling democracy–if one ignores the grinding poverty, the corruption, the spiraling crime, and a murder rate ranked near the top in the hemisphere. This is where Jude McManus works as an executive protection specialist, currently assigned to an American engineer working for a U.S. consortium.

Ten years before, at age seventeen, he saw his father and two Chicago cop colleagues arrested for robbing street dealers. The family fell apart in the scandal’s wake, his disgraced dad died under suspicious circumstances, and Jude fled Chicago to join the army and forge a new life.

Now the past returns when one of his father’s old pals appears. The man is changed–he’s scarred, regretful, self-aware–and he helps Jude revisit the past with a forgiving eye. Then he asks a favor–not for himself, but for the third member of his dad’s old crew.

Even though it’s ill-considered, Jude agrees, thinking he can oblige the request and walk away, unlike his father. But he underestimates the players and the stakes and he stumbles into a web of Third World corruption and personal betrayal where everything he values–and everyone he loves–is threatened. And only the greatest of sacrifices will save them.

“This big, brawny novel runs on full throttle from first to last page. Brutal and heartrendering, eloquent and important, this is a fully engrossing read.”
–Michael Connelly

“A Quiet American for the new century. Angry and impassioned, Blood of Paradise is that rare beast: a work of popular fiction that is both serious and thrilling.”
–John Connolly, New York Times bestselling author of Every Dead Thing

“David Corbett is a supremely gifted writer and Blood of Paradise reminds me of a Robert Stone novel. Its lyrical prose and exotic setting filled with damaged souls grasping for redemption any way they can combine in a tour de force that will haunt you long after you reach the end.”
–Denise Hamilton, nationally bestselling author of Prisoner of Memory

“If you’re looking for the best in contemporary crime fiction, this is it.”
–The Washington Post, on Done for a Dime
_________________________________________________________________

THE MORTALIS DOSSIER- BONUS FEATURE FROM DAVID CORBETT

FROM TROY TO BAGHDAD (VIA EL SALVADOR)

The Story's Genesis
I conceived Blood of Paradise after reading Philoctetes, a spare and
relatively obscure drama by Sophocles. In the original, an oracle advises
the Greeks that victory over the Trojans is impossible without
the bow of Herakles. Unfortunately, it’s in the hands of Philoctetes,
whom the Greeks abandoned on a barren island ten years earlier,
when he was bitten by a venomous snake while the Achaean fleet
harbored briefly on its way to Troy.
Odysseus, architect of the desertion scheme, must now return,
reclaim the bow, and bring both the weapon and its owner to Troy.
For a companion, he chooses Neoptolemus, the son of his slain
archrival, Achilles.
Neoptolemus, being young, still holds fast to the heroic virtues
embodied by his dead father, and believes they can appeal to
Philoctetes as a warrior. But Odysseus–knowing Philoctetes will
want revenge against all the Greeks, himself in particular–
convinces Neoptolemus that trickery and deceit will serve their
purposes far better. In essence, he corrupts Neoptolemus, who subsequently
deceives Philoctetes into relinquishing his bitterness to
reenlist in the cause against Troy.
The tale has an intriguing postscript: It turns out to be the corrupted
Neoptolemus who, by killing King Priam at his altar during
the sack of Troy, brings down a curse upon the Greeks even as they
are perfecting their victory.
This story suggested several themes, which I then molded to my
own purposes: the role of corruption in our concept of expedience,
the need of young men to prove themselves worthy in the eyes of
even morally suspect elders (or especially them), and the curse of a
hard-won ambition.
Why El Salvador?
I saw in the Greek situation a presentiment of America’s dilemma at
the close of the Cold War: finally achieving unrivaled leadership of
the globe, but at the same time being cursed with the hatred of millions.
Though we have showered the world with aid, too often we
have done so through conspicuously corrupt, repressive, even murderous
regimes, where the elites in charge predictably siphoned off
much of that aid into their own pockets. Why did we look the other
way during the violence and thievery? The regimes in question were
reliably anticommunist, crucial to our need for cheap oil, or otherwise
amenable to American strategic or commercial interests.
We live in a dangerous world, we are told. Hard, often unpleasant
choices have to be made.
It’s a difficult argument for those who have suffered under such
regimes to swallow. They would consider it madness to suggest that it
is envy of our preeminence, or contempt for our freedom, that causes
them to view America so resentfully. Rather, they would try to get us
to remember that while their hopes for self-determination, freedom,
and prosperity were being crushed, America looked on with a
strangely principled indifference, often accompanied by a fiercely patriotic
self-congratulation, not to mention blatant hypocrisy.
Not only have we failed to admit this to ourselves, but the New
Right has embraced a resurgent American exceptionalism as the antidote
to such moral visitations, which such conservatives consider
weak and defeatist. Instead, they see a revanchist America marching
boldly into the new century with unapologetic military power, uninhibited
free-market capitalism, and evangelical fervor–most immediately
to bring freedom to the Middle East.
The New Right’s historical template for this proposed transformation
is Central America–specifically El Salvador, trumpeted as
“the final battleground of the Cold War,” and championed as one of
our greatest foreign policy successes: the crucible in which American
greatness was re-forged, banishing the ghosts of Vietnam forever.
There’s a serious problem with the New Right’s formulation,
however: It requires an almost hallucinatory misreading of history.

Misremembering the Past
In their ongoing public campaign to justify the Iraq war, many
supporters and members of the Bush Administration–including
both Vice President Dick Cheney and former defense secretary Donald
Rumsfeld–have singled out El Salvador as a shining example of
where the “forward-leaning” policy they champion has succeeded.
Mr. Cheney did so during the vice presidential debates, contending
that Iraq could expect the same bright future enjoyed by El Salvador,
which, he claimed, is “a whale of a lot better because we held
free elections.”

What Mr. Cheney neglected to mention:
• At the time the elections were held (1982), death squads
linked to the Salvadoran security forces were murdering
on average three to five hundred civilians a month.
• The death squads targeted not just guerrilla supporters
but priests, social workers, teachers, journalists, even
members of the centrist Christian Democrats–the party
that Congress forced the Reagan Administration to back,
since it was the only party capable of solidifying the
Salvadoran middle.
• The CIA funneled money to the Christian Democrats to
ensure they gained control of the constituent assembly.
• Roberto D’Aubuisson, a known death squad leader,
opposed the Christian Democrats as “Communists,” and
launched his own bid to lead the constituent assembly,
forming ARENA as the political wing of his death squad
network. His bid was funded and supported by exiled
oligarchs and reactionary military leaders, and managed
by a prominent American public relations firm.
• “Anti-fraud measures” proved intimidating. For example:
ballots were cast in glass jars. Many voters, who had to
provide identification, and who suspected the government
was monitoring their choices, feared violent reprisal if
they were observed voting “improperly.”
• ARENA won thirty-six of sixty seats in the assembly, and
D’Aubuisson was elected its leader.
• This was perceived by all concerned as a disastrous
failure for American policy. When D’Aubuisson tried
to appoint one of his colleagues as assembly president,
U.S. officials went to the military and threatened to cut
off aid. D’Aubuisson relented, but it was the only
concession he made to American demands.

In short, there was American influence, money, and manipulation
throughout the process, putting the lie to the whole notion the
elections were “free”–though Mr. Cheney was arguably correct
when he stated that “we” held them. Unfortunately, all that effort
came to naught, as what America wanted from the elections lay in
shambles. Even when, in the following year’s election, a great deal
more money and arm-twisting resulted in Washington’s candidate
being elected president, he remained powerless to reform the military,
curtail the death squads, or revive the economy, measures
Washington knew to be crucial to its counter-insurgency strategy.
By 1987, the Reaganites decided to abandon the decimated Christian
Democrats for ARENA–the party it had spent five years and
millions of dollars trying to keep from power.
As for Mr. Rumsfeld’s remarks, he made them in the course ...

Customer Reviews:

Serious & Intriguing.......2007-08-08

Inspired by the eloquent, yet deeply disturbing Greek tragedies of long ago, Blood of Paradise, is a dark novel, penned by one of today's most passionate writers. David Corbett's third novel, shines an unflinching and unapologetic light into the backrooms and back-alleys, corporate boardrooms and finally, the lofty and corrupt offices of the politicians sworn to serve and protect.

Whether defined or haunted by, his late father's choices, Jude McManus left Chicago and joined the Army. He now provides protection services for high profile executives in El Salvador. Assigned to guard Axel Odelberg, an American hydrologist, hired to evaluate the effects a proposed bottling plant expansion may have on local water supplies. The powers that be expect a "rubber stamp report", and will go to any lengths to ensure both favorable findings and total silence.

A brilliant liar and master manipulator, Bill Malvasio knew Jude McManus was an easy target. Exploiting his father's memory and using their friendship as a base, Malvasio spun a story filled with half truths. He explained to Jude that an old warrant prevented him from returning to the US. He asked Jude to escort the ex-cop, Phil Strock (the third member of his father's disgraced trio) back to El Salvador. While not entirely certain of Malvasio's intentions, Jude agrees.

However, he soon realizes all is not what it seems, as he finds himself in the eye of life-threatening storm fueled by greed and maintained through violence. The true extent of the danger slowly becomes apparent as the Salvadoran mob flexes its' muscle, ordering the murder of a female villager that complained her well was destroyed by the water project. Soon thereafter, an infant is kidnapped to guarantee her mother's silence.

The characters are flawed, three dimensional and absolutely believable. Throughout the novel recognizing good and evil becomes more difficult, as the reader begins to question their own moral assumptions and attitudes. The plot and subplots work well together and often propel each other forward. Intricately layered and complicated, Corbett revs up the suspense and the stakes as the novel hurtles toward the conclusion.

With a practiced eye for detail, Corbett's thoughts on the modern predicament are as insightful as they are chilling. Acknowledging the complexity of the politics and the difficult decisions being made by politicians, lends a realism to the novel, making it almost impossible to discern the line between fact and fiction. He weaves a myriad of seemingly disparate situations in the world - gang activity, terrorism, US foreign policy, corruption, murder, - into a seamless story that ties everything together. Exceptionally well written, with haunting depictions that capture both the beauty and the despair of a land and its people, which no longer seem so foreign or distant.

Powerful, shocking and thought provoking, Blood of Paradise is a challenging read that I would recommend to all who enjoy serious thrillers. For interested readers, Corbett included a dossier at the end of the book, describing the political atmosphere of El Salvador.

Happy Reading!
RJ xx
3Rs-Real Reader Reviews
Personal Note:
A dense and complex read, I often found myself returning to previous chapters to clarify the various aspects linking the characters. (A character list was an absolute necessity.) Also, I was frustrated by the use of undefined and obscure Spanish words that could not be interpreted by the surrounding text. Dark and disturbing, David Corbett's passion is both refreshing and moving, so much so, I immediately checked out his 2003 release, "Done for a Dime" from my local library.

Taut thriller with a message.......2007-07-28

David Corbett's best novel to date. Excellent feel for El Salvador and its corrupt political situation caused in part by its multi-layered relationship with the USA, the great provider and exploiter. As stated in Patrick Anderson's recent review in the Washington Post (March 12, 2007), "...El Salvador is still ruled by a few rich families who use rigged elections, corrupt police and unrelenting violence to maintain their power, and who are supported by the U.S. military-industrial complex."
As Anderson writes, "...(Corbett) clearly loves the beauty and the decency of it's working people; his book is replete with rich, sometimes
poetic descriptions." Corbett sets you down in this troubled country in a
way that you can only get from a book that has been researched thoroughly.
The characters are well-written. Especially interesting is Corbett's
deeply disturbed villain, Malvasio, one of the creepiest soldiers of
fortune you're likely to meet.
As Mr. Anderson writes, Blood of Paradise "is above all, serious novel. But seriousness, when combined with moral concern and novelistic talent, can produce outstanding fiction."

great book.......2007-07-20

Corbett's work is a thriller-reader's dream: flawed heros, colorful troubled settings, and sociopathic villians set in paradise.

stranger than fiction.......2007-07-19

Corbett's third portrait of evil plays out in the real world, real time setting of El Salvador, a tiny country where truth is, alas, stranger than his fictional riffs. The descriptions of place are wonderful. The plot, built on an ugly mix of American and Salvadoran motives, stirred up by unchecked greed, and fueled by mercenaries and thugs makes for a dark story. To me, it reads most like a cold war spy thriller, even though it's a story of a psychopath, some bad cops, and a lot of crooked businessmen and politicians. But there are rays of goodness, albeit vaporous at times, that kept me engaged and hopeful. I liked Corbett's end papers, his obvious desire to be a witness for truth in a country that has too many modern martyrs. This is fiction that's hard to pigeonhole as mystery or crime. As with Done for a Dime, Corbett refuses to write formula fiction - good for him!

Haunting and compelling read from beginning to end.......2007-05-30

I need to state at the outset that I had a bit of a problem while reading BLOOD OF PARADISE by David Corbett. It's a simple one: Corbett and I happen to have different world views. But, politics aside, this is a haunting and compelling read from beginning to end.

The novel is set almost entirely in El Salvador, a country that (depending on who you speak with) is either a Cold War success story in the face of communist insurgency or yet another example of an American foreign policy disaster. Corbett takes the latter stance and views it through the reluctant eyes of Jude McManus, an executive protection specialist who is assigned to guard Axel Odelberg in a hostile and dangerous environment.

Odelberg is a hydrologist (Corbett does an exemplary job of explaining what that is and how the job is done) who is tasked with evaluating a plan for the expansion of a soft drink bottling plant. Odelberg's considerations include the effect, if any, that this will have upon the availability of water in the region, which is crucial to the impoverished residents of the area around the plant as well as to the business and political interests of the United States. Much is riding on Odelberg's report, and McManus finds himself kept busy protecting his charge, even as he is slowly and unwillingly pulled into a political maelstrom.

The source of a good deal of his difficulties is Bill Malvasio, a former Chicago policeman who fled a decade before to El Salvador one step ahead of an indictment that ended the careers of a number of Chicago policemen, McManus's father among them. Malvasio enlists McManus's assistance in bringing Phil Strock, another former Chicago cop and an expert sharpshooter, down to El Salvador, ostensibly for guard duty but with more sinister intent.

Where BLOOD OF PARADISE truly shines is with the creation of the murky situational undertow that Corbett creates and slowly pulls McManus toward, even as we see (or think we see) where things are heading. Corbett is an absolute master of creating a scenario leading unexpectedly to explosive violence, and the result is a work in which one is compelled to keep turning pages even as one dreads seeing what will happen next.

Corbett weaves an extremely complex tapestry throughout BLOOD OF PARADISE while, interestingly enough, making McManus a devil's advocate --- a skeptic who wonders, with some merit, whether the Salvadorans' lot in life would improve regardless of who governs them. While things occasionally drag just a bit when one of the socialists who wander in and out of the novel begins an oral dissertation over tea, for the most part Corbett keeps the action moving slowly but steadily toward a series of horrifying denouements where it's difficult to sort out winners from losers --- if indeed such classifications ultimately matter.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

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The Blood of Paradise
Stephen Goodwin
Manufacturer: E. P. Dutton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0525068465

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Blood in Paradise (Black Horse Western)
R.M. Litchfield
Manufacturer: Robert Hale Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Average customer rating:

The Blood of Paradise
Stephen Goodwin
Manufacturer: Dutton/Plume
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000KPL4TG

4 Titles By John Leslie - Blood on the Keys - Bounty Hunter Blues - Killer in Paradise - Havana Hustle

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4 Titles By John Leslie - Blood on the Keys - Bounty Hunter Blues - Killer in Paradise - Havana Hustle
John Leslie
Manufacturer: Pocket Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000S2WVV6

Product Description

Multiple books shipped as one item for your convenience. Save on Shipping/Handling charges.

6 Titles By Steve Hamilton Alex McKnight Series (1-6) : 1. A Cold Day in Paradise 2. Winter of the Wolf Moon 3. The Hunting Wind 4. North of Nowhere 5. Blood Is The Sky 6. Ice Run

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6 Titles By Steve Hamilton Alex McKnight Series (1-6) : 1. A Cold Day in Paradise 2. Winter of the Wolf Moon 3. The Hunting Wind 4. North of Nowhere 5. Blood Is The Sky 6. Ice Run
Steve Hamilton
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Minotaur
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000MQLTSE

Product Description

6 Titles By Steve Hamilton Alex McKnight Series (1-6) : 1. A Cold Day in Paradise 2. Winter of the Wolf Moon 3. The Hunting Wind 4. North of Nowhere 5. Blood Is The Sky 6. Ice Run. Six mmpb books.

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Blood of Paradise: A Novel (Mortalis.)
David Corbett
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O33GVI

Book Description

Long out of print, these three Darkover books tell the tale of two Free Amazon women whose lives are irrevocably entwined.

"Literate and exciting." (The New York Times Book Review)

Customer Reviews:

A long ride, not always rewarding, but not a complet loss.......2006-12-08

This Saga of the Renunciates, makes only any sense if read all togheter. Dismiss all those comments that say you can enter Darkover at any novel.
And this books are a proof of that. "Shattered" is a short novel, almost nothing realy important happens, is just an introduction for the characters. "Thendara" is long book about the lead roles, Lorne and Jael, and as all this saga, this is a story about two particular beings, and has no impact on big planetary scale, or in Darkover history. Altough very long, I found the books very adult oriented, and heartbroken, wich made me feel the troubles and sorrows of this two girls. I was amaze how Bradley managed to pull me inn with her view of the woman`s world. "Sorcery" on the other hand is an adventure driven story, and is very entertaining. (spoilers head) But the end is somehow dissapointing, more even so, considering that is the end of all the saga. It took some time to read them all, (one after the other, I might add) and I felt exausted at end, but somehow altough this is not best on Darkover, I end up missing those the girls.

Riveting and memorable...definitely worth your time.......2006-08-07

I wasn't sure what to expect going into this book - I loved Mists of Avalon, but wasn't fond of the other Avalon books. I wanted to like Darkover, but the two other Darkover novels I read (Stormqueen and Hawkmistress) didn't appeal to me much.

And then I began The Shattered Chain.

It started off exactly as I'd feared it would - a band of Amazons (just...read the other reviews for technical details) walk into a town and are laughed and jeered at by the men and treated with greater hostility by the women. I thought at this point that the book would be full of "Woman Power" and show how strong these Independent Women had to be to exist on a world like Darkover.

But the novel quickly became something more than that. I felt that it greatly picked up when we were introduced to Magda, the Terran - because for the Terrans, men and women are pretty much equal. And this viewpoint GREATLY helped balance out the supressing Darkover views, and made them not just bearable, but interesting. The resulting main plotline between the Terrans and Darkover people, with the Amazons building the bridge between the two worlds...it was pretty awesome. And of course there's all the subplots, and the huge personal developments taking place within the two main characters: the Terran woman and the Amazon one.

This book has some good action scenes, but the major focus is definitely on the characters themselves, and their relationships to one another and the world. Normally I would stay away from something like that, but the Terran/Darkover worlds created here are so interesting that it's pretty much impossible to not be caught up in it.

It had great, memorable characters, a great plot, and scenes you'll remember for a long, long time. I'd say it's definitely worth a read for anybody who likes fantasy/sci-fi...and books in general.

Terrific Darkover trilogy!.......2005-10-16

I've read most of the Darkover series during the last five yrs. I started off with MZBs Avalon books & ended up hooked on the Darkover series.
In many the Darkover books the renunciates (free amazons) are mentioned, but usually not in much detail. It was wonderful to stumble upon a whole trilogy of books about them. They explain
how & why the group started, and how they worked out a way to marginally fit into the society by being of service to both Darkovans & Terrans. I thoroughly enjoyed this series & would highly recommend it to any MZB fan.

More than a fantastic novel, a manifesto.......2005-07-28

I am an avid MZB fan and have read most of her novels, but the Darkover series is the closest to my heart and The Saga of the Renunciates stands above all. This novel is more than just a story, deconstructing femininity is a central part of this trilogy: as a reader I found myself pondering the same questions that trouble the women on Darkover and thinking that eventhough they are only sci-fi characters, their insigth would change a lot of women.

The first novel is about a group of mercenary warrior women who hire themselves out to Lady Rohana to rescue her cousin from the Dry Towns, a country where married women are kept in chains. Rohana's cousin never makes it but she does bring back Jaelle, her 12 year old niece and a very unconfortable awareness of the invisible chains she has fashioned for herself.

In the 2nd part we meet Magda and Peter, two Darkover-born Terranan and the best spies the Empire has on Cottman 4. Altough Magda is the better agent, as a woman there is not much she can do outside HQ. When Peter goes missing on a mission and his superiors have no plans to rescue him Magda disguises herself as an Amazon and goes looking for him. All goes well until she meets some real Amazons whose leader is none other than a grown up Jaelle.

The final chapter in this story is about a journey to a mythical city in the enormous mountains of Darkover where an all-knowing sisterhood of wise women is supposed to be hidden from all but those by whom they wish to be seen. Jaelle leaves everything behind for even a chance to get there and Magda has no choice but to follow.

Better on rereading.......2005-01-01

I read these 3 novels in the late 70's-early 80's and loved them...recently found the 3 novel compendium and enjoyed it more the second time around. What a wonderfully imagined world!! How I wish we had something like the Guild here on Earth! As an old feminist in my 70's, I cannot recommend them more highly...READ!!

Shattered Chains (Magic : the Gathering)

Average customer rating:

Brings the first two novels together.
I liked the "special appearances"
GREENSLEAVES GOING TOE TO TOE WITH GARTH? BULLSH!T!
It was very good.
Greensleeves, the greatest mage of all time!

Shattered Chains (Magic : the Gathering)
Clayton Emery
Manufacturer: HarperEntertainment
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Anthologies | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

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Anthologies | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0061054194

Customer Reviews:

Brings the first two novels together........2005-11-22

The characters from Arena and Whispering Woods (the first two MTG novels) are brought together in this book. Noreen (Garth's Benalian lover from the first book) plays an important role here, having an affair with Gull before finally getting back with Garth... While this one reads a little too much like a soap opera for me, there are still some of the gory and tragic incidents that make the MTG books worth reading.

The evolution of Gull's army into a real fighting force and Greensleeve's training as a master druid are cool aspects of this book (although the appearance of Chanel the druid was not explained at all).

Overall, I wasn't too impressed by this one but I will continue reading the series.

I liked the "special appearances".......2000-10-14

I was about to put the book back on my bookshelf when I read the chapter where some of the characters of Arena appeared. I liked this, because it gives a sense of continuity in a series. As for the rest, well... I am not sure where the story is going.

GREENSLEAVES GOING TOE TO TOE WITH GARTH? BULLSH!T!.......1999-08-08

First of all, Garth beat a Planeswalker in the previous book, without anyone's help...but somehow, Greensleaves and her idiot brother, Gull, he was able to fight Garth to standstill...Pathetic and stupid.

It was very good........1999-07-20

I liked how the book was written and the use of good words. I liked how the book flowed. I also enjoyed the many battles in the book.

Greensleeves, the greatest mage of all time!.......1999-03-16

This is the fabulous continuation of Gull and Greensleeves. This book focuses more on Greensleeves and how she comes to realize her untold power.

Average customer rating:

one of Darkover's best
Get chained to reading it!
Fascinating world where contradictions abound
Introducing Free Amazons from Darkover
Advise about the chronological order of the Darkover Series

The Shattered Chain (Darkover)
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Manufacturer: DAW
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Epic | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0886773083

Customer Reviews:

one of Darkover's best.......2004-01-13

Each Darkover novel can stand on its own as a complete story, but taken together, they weave a rich tapestry about a world different from our own. "The Shattered Chain" is set after the rediscovery period when the Terran Empire discovered the planet of Darkover and that the inhabitants are descendants of colonists on a "lost ship" from thousands of years ago. This story is about the Order of Free Amazons. Darkover society is very restrictive towards women and women have few rights; and in some cases no rights to speak of. The Free Amazons reject that attitude and by law, any member of the Free Amazons does not have to submit to the rule of men. Rather, they are held accountable by the Charter of the Free Amazons for their actions and to the Guild to which they belong. They represent another option for women who feel the oppression of Darkovan society (some do not feel the oppression).

The novel is broken out into three sections, each focusing on a different character, though the same cast of characters moves in and out of the stories being told in each section. The first section focuses on the lady Rohana Ardais. Before the novel begins, Lady Rohana is given information that a kinswoman who had been kidnapped more than a decade ago is still alive and that she wants to be rescued for the sake of her children. Rohana defies convention, hires out a team of Free Amazons, and sets out to rescue Melora from the Dry Towns. This rescue results in Melora's daughter, Jaelle, being fostered by the Free Amazons. There is a twelve year interval between section one and section two.

Section two focuses on a Terran named Magda Lorne, and again, there is someone who needs rescuing. This time it is her former husband, also a Terran. Both are Terran agents working out of the spaceport at Thendara. Since they were raised in a Darkovan city, they are able to work undercover, learning the languages and the changes in language and style and culture to better assist the Terrans to interact with the natives of Darkover. Magda's ex-husband, Peter, seems to look identical to a relative of Rohana's, and with Rohana's suggestion, Magda disguises herself as a Free Amazon to negotiate the release of Peter.

Section three features a grown Jaelle. Jaelle met up with Magda during section two, and is a leader of a small band of Free Amazons. But she is still young, and has not yet known love and does have the experience to know if she will regret her decision to become a Free Amazon. This becomes the central conflict of the third section, after the action of section two.

Ultimately, this is a novel that looks at the gender roles in Darkovan society and how there is one segment of society that works outside the typical roles of women. The Free Amazons will also be a very important society in the relations between Darkover and the Terran Empire.

This is one of the better Darkover novels. With the three section structure, Bradley was able to pack the detail and story and emotion into a tighter form, and the novel is stronger because of that. Each of the three women (Rohana, Magda, and Jaelle) are characters that I want to know more about, they are well written and interesting, and this is an excellent chapter in the world of Darkover.

Get chained to reading it!.......2001-09-15

The Darkover series is an excellent blend of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Plus, Bradley describes action scenes with a flair that even men could appreciate, while never sacrificing the sensitivity and feeling that marks female writing. You get a good buy with this one.

Fascinating world where contradictions abound.......2000-09-12

This is the first Darkover novel I read, and it made me hungry for more. Darkover and the Terran Empire in their diplomatic maneuverings. Free Amazons--a guild of women who renounce men's domination over women, the Comyn--the noble caste with psi powers, an intricate society with traces of the supernatural and feudal systems in place.

The novel starts with a daring rescue of a kidnapped, enchained, and very pregnant Comyn Lady from the barbaric Dry Towns chief who has kept her his prisoner/wife for over a decade. We meet the Free Amazons, the women who are hired as mercenaries to handle the rescue, as well as the Comyn Lady who hired them to rescue her imprisoned cousin and her young daughter.

The story returns to the Free Amazons and the Comyn Lady years later when a Terran woman needs their help to save one of her own. Their stories are linked in a series of adventures that establish Darkover as an irresistable world.

Introducing Free Amazons from Darkover.......2000-07-20

This book tells us about a society guided by women who do not accept the social rules in Darkover. This is the story about Jaelle and how she leave the dry town (where womwn are property of theirs husband and use chains around her arms)and became a renunciant. It's also the story of Magdalen Lorne and how, pretending been a renunciant she has became one in fact - Margali 'n Ysabeth. This two women cross each other life and after that theirs lives would be different forever. This book introduce us to these two caracthers that would re-appeared in Thendara House and City of Sorcery.

Advise about the chronological order of the Darkover Series.......2000-07-03

"The Renunciates" series is a must read if you love MZB and the World of Darkover. The female reader will be especially inspired! (as usual) However, a word of advise...If you like to discover a new world in chronological order, as I do, then I suggest you jump ahead and read "Rediscovery", "The Spell Sword" and "The Forbidden Tower," at least, before you dive into the thought-prevoking, and thrilling side story of "The Renunciates" trilogy.

This series is not just for the Sci-Fi/fantasy reader. It is probably the most "real" look at humanity, our gender struggles, and our mental potential that I've read in any genre. A truly intelligent rendering of the human landscape!

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5 Titles in Darkover Series - Two to Conquer - Keeper's Price - Stormqueen - Shattered Chain - Star of Danger
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Manufacturer: various
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000RZJBH6

Product Description

Multiple books shipped as one item for your convenience. Save on Shipping/Handling charges.

8 Titles in Darkover Series - Star of Danger - World Wreckers - Darkover Landfall - Shattered Chain - Forbidden Tower - Sharra's Exile - Thendara House - Red Sun of Darkover

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8 Titles in Darkover Series - Star of Danger - World Wreckers - Darkover Landfall - Shattered Chain - Forbidden Tower - Sharra's Exile - Thendara House - Red Sun of Darkover
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Manufacturer: various
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000RZKYI6

Product Description

Multiple books shipped as one item for your convenience. Save on Shipping/Handling charges.

Oath of the Renunciates: The shattered chain, Thendara House

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Darkover

Oath of the Renunciates: The shattered chain, Thendara House
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Manufacturer: N. Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
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ASIN: B000720NZ8

Customer Reviews:

Darkover .......2007-07-31

I started the first Darkover novels in the 1970's. When this came out, it was it was during the Women Liberation movement, so it was not surprising, the series from the beginning has been feudal family relationships with psi powers. Most of the strong female characters have either been heads of Towers or renunciates. Zimmer has covered a lot of topical subjects during this series and this was really the first social topic. The stories are well written and interesting, just occasionally heavy handed on how "evil" men are.

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The Shattered Chain

Manufacturer: Gregg Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HK5666

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The Shattered Chain (A Darkover Novel)
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Manufacturer: Daw UJ1327
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Similar Items:

ASIN: B000IEAX6E

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Shattered Chain :Darkover 6 191
Marion Z Bradley
Manufacturer: DAW BOOKS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000UDHLYU

Average customer rating:

The Shattered Chain A Darkover Novel
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Manufacturer: DAW Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000PAY07E

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