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I read this as part of an omnibus, To Save a World, which also included The Planet Savers and a short story, "The Waterfall." The latter demonstrates both MZB's often weird and creepy sexual politics, and that she was not very good at short stories. A psychic young woman gets rejected by a Tower because the Keeper senses something off about her. So she goes back home, where a serving man tries to rape her, then relents when he realizes that she's a lady and not another servant. If this was supposed to make him more sympathetic, it backfired. She then has consensual sex with him, then claims he raped her and has him killed. If this was supposed to make me feel sorry for him, it didn't work. Turns out she's a psychic vampire who feeds on fear and death. If this was supposed to make me feel anything other than grossed out by the entire story, it failed.
The World Wreckers is one of the earlier Darkover books in terms of when MZB wrote it, but is late in terms of Darkovan time, being set after Sharra's Exile. It reads rather oddly as a result, as MZB clearly got better ideas later (and wrote them better too), and so events and characterization doesn't quite mesh with what was portrayed in later books about earlier events. For instance, in this book Regis Hastur is not gay.
A horrifying corporation, the World Wreckers, has been hired to do what they do, which is destroy the environment and economy of a world to force it to join the Terran Empire to get the help it needs to survive. The mysterious woman in charge of World Wreckers starts her Darkover operation by mass-murdering telepaths, burning down the forests (which also causes a number of deaths), and planting a virus that destroys the fertility of the soil. The eventual explanation of why she's so mean does not make her more sympathetic in my eyes, because she's still a genocidal mass murderer, and she does not deserve the forgiveness she gets. (Yes, yes, I am sympathetic toward at least one other fictional mass murderer, but Hakkai had better reasons, was insane at the time, and most of his victims deserved it anyway. Also he is a more convincing and sympathetically drawn character. Cuter, too.)
So Regis and the Terrans send for non-Darkover psychics to figure out how psychic talents work, because this will help them. Somehow. This turns into the most interesting part of the book, as two of the male psychics get romantically involved with hermaphroditic aliens, and all four parties must overcome prejudices, fears, and difficulties in order to make their relationships succeed. This is a really nice theme, and the best part of the book. Generally speaking, though, this is an attempt at a less pulpy and more serious book with emotional depth, more like The Heritage of Hastur than Wings of Darkover, and she didn't quite have the writing chops to pull it off at that time. It's fine for what it is, but there's a definite feeling of more ambition than skill.
So far, in this reading and re-reading binge, my favorites have been The Heritage of Hastur, Stormqueen! Star of Danger, and The Bloody Sun. In case anyone's keeping track. Thendara House (an old favorite), Hawkmistress, or The Forbidden Tower will be next. Does anyone like The Shattered Chain? I was thinking of skipping it because I recall disliking it, but maybe I should read it before Thendara House.
The World Wreckers is one of the earlier Darkover books in terms of when MZB wrote it, but is late in terms of Darkovan time, being set after Sharra's Exile. It reads rather oddly as a result, as MZB clearly got better ideas later (and wrote them better too), and so events and characterization doesn't quite mesh with what was portrayed in later books about earlier events. For instance, in this book Regis Hastur is not gay.
A horrifying corporation, the World Wreckers, has been hired to do what they do, which is destroy the environment and economy of a world to force it to join the Terran Empire to get the help it needs to survive. The mysterious woman in charge of World Wreckers starts her Darkover operation by mass-murdering telepaths, burning down the forests (which also causes a number of deaths), and planting a virus that destroys the fertility of the soil. The eventual explanation of why she's so mean does not make her more sympathetic in my eyes, because she's still a genocidal mass murderer, and she does not deserve the forgiveness she gets. (Yes, yes, I am sympathetic toward at least one other fictional mass murderer, but Hakkai had better reasons, was insane at the time, and most of his victims deserved it anyway. Also he is a more convincing and sympathetically drawn character. Cuter, too.)
So Regis and the Terrans send for non-Darkover psychics to figure out how psychic talents work, because this will help them. Somehow. This turns into the most interesting part of the book, as two of the male psychics get romantically involved with hermaphroditic aliens, and all four parties must overcome prejudices, fears, and difficulties in order to make their relationships succeed. This is a really nice theme, and the best part of the book. Generally speaking, though, this is an attempt at a less pulpy and more serious book with emotional depth, more like The Heritage of Hastur than Wings of Darkover, and she didn't quite have the writing chops to pull it off at that time. It's fine for what it is, but there's a definite feeling of more ambition than skill.
So far, in this reading and re-reading binge, my favorites have been The Heritage of Hastur, Stormqueen! Star of Danger, and The Bloody Sun. In case anyone's keeping track. Thendara House (an old favorite), Hawkmistress, or The Forbidden Tower will be next. Does anyone like The Shattered Chain? I was thinking of skipping it because I recall disliking it, but maybe I should read it before Thendara House.
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I rilly wish MZB had done to The World Wreckers what she did to Sword of Aldones. There's nifty stuff in there that deserves to be rescued by a better writer.
---L.