The Winds of Darkover (original 1970; edition 1982)

This is an enjoyable novel, but not one of the more memorable in the series, and definitely not the one I'd recommend as an entry into the series. Darkover is a "lost colony" of Earth that falls into a medieval society ruled by a psychic aristocracy and is later rediscovered by a star-spanning advanced human federation after centuries, giving the series a feel of both science fiction and fantasy. Most books in the series examine this culture clash and this book is no exception as a member of the Terran spaceforce, Dan Barron, gets involved with the comyn, the planetary aristocracy.

The series was written out of chronological order, and Bradley wrote them so they could each stand alone. And this particular book has few connections to other books, many of which do have recurring characters. This was the fifth book published, and I think Bradley came into her own as a writer later, and the best Darkover books were in my opinion written from 1974 to 1984, before her stroke. So I'd start perhaps with The Shattered Chain, which is where the friend who introduced me to this series told me to start, or The Spell Sword and it's immediate sequel Forbidden Tower or Heritage of Hastur. Once you're hooked on the series, yes you'll want to read this one, it's a fun yarn, but not one of the essentials. ( )