Marion Zimmer Bradley was one of a kind. She and I met on Hugo Awards night in KC, my very first convention. I was so mundane I’d brought Sunday best and high heels for my only attire, especially since I’d heard the award banquet was going to be tux and tails. I believed it. Of course—in reality, this event is teeshirts and flipflops for most of the audience. But Robert Heinlein was GOH that year and he suggested tux and tails for the nominees…I’d gotten only part of the story. Anyway, I thought I was underdressed, so instead of going to the banquet, I sat it out at the counter in the hotel coffee shop (if I’d been in the lobby I’d have seen immediately that I was overdressed.) But Marion, whom I’d met for the first time that afternoon, saw me sitting by myself, asked if she could join me, and no, she felt underdressed too. 🙂 So that was how we really met. We spent the event sitting and talking over coffee and dessert, and having a very nice time.
I’d read Marion’s stuff for years. She could get pretty political, and she had her notions, but in the midst of it all, she told one heckuva good yarn. She deserved a Hugo, and it was a question (literally) why she didn’t get one for Heritage of Hastur (since that event, the votes are always preserved for a recount). I don’t remember what won that year, but everybody remembers Heritage.
She was a passionate person: put herself where her theories were; took risks—not all of which panned out. But she believed in what she did. She was a fighter. She wasn’t always right, but you were left with no doubt as to what she thought was right.
And most of all she told stories about passionate people. I respected her as a person, and as a writer. It’s getting harder to find her books. But try one. You may find your library needs them.
I am proud to say my library has them all, and well read too. I worry about those copies, though – like my 1980 Faded Sun paperbacks, recently reread as the books of the month at Shejidan, they don’t hold up well – physically – to re-reading. Wish i could get them all on my Kindle.
Marion Zimmer Bradley’s book “Hawkmistress” was one of the first SF books I read. I lived in a rural area, and couldn’t afford new books, so was limited to what I could find in my high school library. I don’t know how it made it in their collection. Once I was in college and had more funds and access to new books and used book stores I fleshed it out until I found all the Darkover books.
Now that we’re in a recession I’m spending time reading my old books rather than many new ones and this post is inspiring me to pull them all out again.
MZB has always been one of my favorites. I’ve never been able to name my “favorite” book of her collection because I’m quite fond of them all.
I, too, met her at a convention and found her a lot of fun, opinions and all. I miss her presence.
I have read most of MZB and most of your books too!!!!
MZB’s Dark Sun novels were my first exposure to SF/F. I think I was all of 11 or 12. My library had the whole lot of them, lined up (out of order) on the shelf. I never looked back.
MZB’s Thendara House got me through a rocky patch, and eventually helped me figure out that where I was wasn’t where I wanted to be. I had most of her novels at one point, but had to prune the library when I moved. Fortunately, the local library has most of them.
I used to have most of her books – even if the covers seemed to suggest that Darkover was such a warm place that the women seemed to prefer to wear a bikini or less – though I had to trim my collection a lot before move. There are a couple of omnibus editions that have come out recently (or that we found recently) and I have been introducing them to my other half who seems to be getting quite into them. Sadly, not every book that wins the Hugo lasts as well as some of those that didn’t. 1975 – wasn’t that The Forever War? It might be a sign of me getting old, but the mid 70s did seem to throw up some absolute stunning winners and runners ups. Though 1982 seemed to get it about right 😉
1975: The Dispossessed, Ursula K LeGuin. And 1982—lol—Thanks. I couldn’t believe I’d won against that competition.
The Dispossessed was a stunning book, well-written and very innovative for its time. But I’ll admit — my copy of Heritage has much more serious wear. Comes from being part of a series where one cares not just about the characters, but about the world itself and its fate, I think. Sort of like the world of the atevi….
I started reading the Darkover series around the same time I found you! I think I have all of that series, and it makes good summer floating-in-the-pool reading.
Project Gutenberg has a handful of MZB’s early books — including the magazine version of The Planet Savers, the first Darkover novel. I still have my copy of that old issue of Amazing Stories, which I bought new.
This brings up an important point. MZB wrote Darkover novel her entire career, and the internal order of events does not track the order that they were written. The Planet Savers is probably not the best introduction to Darkover for those who haven’t anything in the series. Trying to read the books in chronological order will have you jumping from works by a mature professional to those of a young author just perfecting her craft and back again. Start with something like Heritage of Hastur and see if you like the mature work.
The early Darkover stories would have been right at home in the stf pulps where young Marion Zimmer used to letter hack. The later stories are mature, thoughtful novels that should appeal to most of CJ’s readers.
I’ve sent off for Heritage of Hastur. We’ll see how it survives my “To Read” pile. 🙂
Hope you enjoy it!
Another MZB fan here :waves: ! I’ve read them all over the years, some many times, and have kept up with the series after MZB passed away. I have enjoyed those books as well, though they are somewhat different in style. She did a very good job of managing the Darkover franchise and allowing it to continue for her fans. So we’re doubly in her debt — for her great writing and allowing her works to continue under good stewardship.
Heritage was a Nebula nominee in 1985. Turns out that was a VERY strong year (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebula_Award_for_Best_Novel). No shame in coming in behind The Forever War.
A handful of books have really stood out for me from that period. Heritage of Hastur, Downbelow, Gateway and the Forever War. I just wish I could find four new books now that blew me away as much as those ones did.
The definitive list of Hugo nominees and results: http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/ —however, they list the nominee in 78 as The Forbidden Tower, and I’m just nearly certain it was actually Heritage of Hastur. I know it wasn’t up against The Forever War because I was at Mac and remember Joe winning, while Marion and I sat out the awards in the coffee shop, but my strong memory of Marion and the awards mess was at Phoenix, which was in 78.
Here’s another MZB fan. Actually, I discovered MZB and CJ at the same time. I was a youngster (sophomore) at USNA and bought Faded Sun-Shon’jir (the edition with Melein in the filmy white Arabian Nights getup) and Spell Sword at the same time–the Academy book store was well stocked! That was it, I was a goner. My grades suffered… as did my pocketbook (my pay was a princely $50 a month). I scarfed up every book I could find. Have to say, I think Forbidden Tower was almways my favorite Darkover book. And all those books survived (by actual count) 11 moves in 6 years.
Ah I understand. It all depends on if you count the year the award was given or the year the award covered.
That’s exactly it. The books are eligible for the prior year. Publishers used to pay close attention to when their better books came out relative to Hugo eligibility. I’m not sure that’s the case now in all houses. The Hugo is nominated and voted by all the members (attending and non-attending) of the WorldCon. The Nebula is nominated and voted by the eligible members (paid up and professional writers) of the Science Fiction Writers Association. I don’t know about the Lovecrafts and the Edgars, which sometimes cross into our territory. The World Fantasy Awards have a committee of writers as well as a popular vote, last I recall—I was on that committee once, back in the 90’s. There are also the British Science Fiction Awards and the British Fantasy Awards (the British are a bit more modest than the American committee, who named their awards The World Fantasy Awards); the Sunburst and Aurora Awards for Canada; le prix litteraire des francophones, France and Quebec; and the Aurialis for Australia.
MZB does take me back….I read many of the Hastur books years ago. I liked the way she did not write her books in chronological time…. reading was like assembling a mosiac…..gradually the history became clear….which I think is how we learn history…initially excited by incidents or facts and working outward.
BTW one of the things I liked about Regenesis was the changing perspective on Jordan….and his perspective on Ariane. 😀
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Oh, yes, MZB. I think I’ve read all her Darkover books since I was a teenager. The ones that really stand out for me are Hawkmistress! and The World Wreckers. She build a very distinct world which still shines clearly in my memory.
I recently did a Faded Sun Trilogy reread, and wondered, not for the first time, if your Kadarin character was a cameo of MZB’s (or the reverse), or just coincidence.
I don’t think so. But I’ll tell you a funny Marion story: she’d had this notion of a wonderful scene she thought she’d created, then was sure it was out of an Andre Norton story. After years, when she hadn’t written it—she talked to Andre, who said, “I never wrote a scene like that.” So Marion did. But she wouldn’t tell me which scene, in what.
Writer’s memories for what they have and haven’t written are that crazy. It’s even possible that Marion was right in the first place. 😆
And it’s possible on your question that there’s some connection, but who knows? If I could ask MZB right now we’d probably do one of those Andre Norton moments.