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The Saga of the Renunciates (Darkover Book 3) by [Marion Zimmer Bradley, Romas Kukalis]

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Marion Zimmer Bradley

The Saga of the Renunciates (Darkover Book 3) Kindle Edition

by Marion Zimmer Bradley (Author), Romas Kukalis (Illustrator) Format: Kindle Edition

104 ratings

Book 3 of 6: Darkover Omnibus

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Return to the genre-bending world of Darkover, to a trilogy that follows the thrilling story of two Free Amazon women

In the three novels which comprise THE SAGA OF THE RENUNCIATES, Marion Zimmer Bradley tells the masterful tale of two valiant women who face and try to break the invisible chains of custom, convention, habit and expectation with which society binds women, and women bind themselves.

Magdalen Lorne is a Terran woman born and reared on Darkover. She thinks herself the perfect Terran undercover Intelligence agent, and disguises herself as a Free Amazon to enable her to fulfill a mission to free a Terran man from kidnappers. But when she herself is captured by a band of real Renunciates, she discovers they have a harsh punishment for any pretenders: she must swear the Oath of the Free Amazons, relinquish her former life, and become a Renunciate in reality.

Jaelle has been raised in the harsh patriarchal environment of the Dry Towns. Her mother Mellora is a Comyn woman who has been kidnapped in order to breed laran-gifted offspring for her barbarian "husband." But when a desperate, pregnant Mellora dies in childbirth following a daring escape aided by a band of Renunciates, the still young Jaelle is adopted into the Guild, and becomes the Free Amazon Jaelle n'ha Mellora, a woman who has never known kindness from a man.

Together Magda, now known as Margali n'ha Tsabet, and her Guild-sister Jaelle will follow a twisting course neither could have predicted. A course which will lead them to question every aspect of themselves and of their two so-different societies. And one which will eventually set them on a life-threatening journey not only to the frozen ends of the physical world, but to the perilous limits of the spiritual overworld as well.

Print length

1116 pages
Language

English
Publisher

DAW
Publication date

August 1, 2002
Reading age

18 years and up
File size

1985 KB
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Darkover:

“Suspenseful, powerfully written, and deeply moving.” —Library Journal

“A warm, shrewd portrait of women from different background working together under adverse conditions.” —Publishers Weekly

“For sheer skill in storytelling and worldbuilding, for wit, for strikingly intelligent development of the concept of telepathy, above all, for continuous concern for people, Bradley has put some more famous sagas in the shade.” —Chicago Sun-Times

“A rich and highly colored tale of politics and magic, courage and pressure.... Topflight adventure in every way!” —Analog Magazine, Lester Del Rey

“Delightful...a fascinating world and a great read.” —Locus

“Literate and exciting.” —New York Times Book Review

“May well be [Bradley’s] masterpiece.” —New York Newsday

About the Author

Marion Zimmer was born in Albany, NY, on June 3, 1930, and married Robert Alden Bradley in 1949. Mrs. Bradley received her B.A. in 1964 from Hardin Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, then did graduate work at the University of California, Berkeley, from 1965-67.

She was a science fiction/fantasy fan from her middle teens, and made her first sale as an adjunct to an amateur fiction contest in Fantastic/Amazing Stories in 1949. She had written as long as she could remember, but wrote only for school magazines and fanzines until 1952, when she sold her first professional short story to Vortex Science Fiction. She wrote everything from science fiction to Gothics, but is probably best known for her Darkover novels.

In addition to her novels, Mrs. Bradley edited many magazines, amateur and professional, including Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine, which she started in 1988. She also edited an annual anthology called Sword and Sorceress for DAW Books.

Over the years she turned more to fantasy; The House Between the Worlds, although a selection of the Science Fiction Book Club, was "fantasy undiluted". She wrote a novel of the women in the Arthurian legends -- Morgan Le Fay, the Lady of the Lake, and others -- entitled Mists of Avalon, which made the NY Times best seller list both in hardcover and trade paperback, and she also wrote The Firebrand, a novel about the women of the Trojan War. Her historical fantasy novels, The Forest House, Lady of Avalon, Mists of Avalon are prequels to Priestess of Avalon.

She died in Berkeley, California on September 25, 1999, four days after suffering a major heart attack. She was survived by her brother, Leslie Zimmer; her sons, David Bradley and Patrick Breen; her daughter, Moira Stern; and her grandchildren.

--This text refers to the mass_market edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00J8V5ZP2
Publisher ‏ : ‎ DAW (August 1, 2002)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 1, 2002
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1985 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 1116 pages
Lending ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #274,859 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #633 in Science Fiction Anthologies (Kindle Store)
- #804 in Fantasy Anthologies & Short Stories (Kindle Store)
- #929 in Fantasy Anthologies

Customer Reviews:
104 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		80%
4 star		14%
3 star		5%
2 star		1%
1 star		1%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Kindle Customer

Brave women finding a unique path in a male dominated society.

Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2016

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This book has very well developed characters, a good plot line and a unique perspective on women surviving in a very male dominated society. I am a long time fan of the Darkover novels and found this collection of stories so much fun to read I couldn't put it down. Fantasy and science fiction combined in a believable context. Also there is a love story between women on so many different levels. If you are homophobic some of this may bother you but there is no graphic sex just implied and only a microscopic part of the story. Most of the love story here is bonding on a mental level and is what makes these books so different. Learning about natives of Darkover and what makes them so special is fun.

2 people found this helpful

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NFLA Mom

5-Star Story, 3-Star Kindle Scan

Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2016

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5-stars for the story, 3-stars (being generous!) for the "Kindle-ization." Not as bad a some scanned-in Kindle books, but enough words wrong/missing/etc. to be distressing; I really wanted to grab my tattered paperback and do a page-by-page but sent it on to Goodwill instead. After all, I KNOW the words from several readings over the decades. I feel sorry for any new readers who are likely to wonder why us old-timers heap such high praise on ancient writers who seem oblivious to spelling/grammar/word choice or usage/etc., and agree with a comment I read somewhere from another aggravated-but-loyal reader wishing publishers and/or AMZ would make some provision to permit avid detail-freak readers to make or at least more-conveniently note errors for updating by those "in charge."

6 people found this helpful

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Zen Elder

The Saga of the Renunciates (The Shattered Chain, Thendara House, City of Sorcery) (Darkover)

Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2020

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The Saga of the Renunciates (The Shattered Chain, Thendara House, City of Sorcery) (Darkover), by Marion Zimmer Bradley: I read at least one of these years ago and wanted to read it again, but the library doesn't have most of her older books, so I decided to get this one used. Although I like Kindle books, the good thing about paperback books is that you can donate or sell them.

Helpful

Hasn't aged well...

Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2020

Verified Purchase

I read these decades ago when I first discovered the Darkover series. I was happy to find the books as a bundle that could be used on the Kindle text-to-voice feature. I was disappointed that they seemed too stridently "fem-lib" (all men are bad...etc) for todays culture. They are still good stories in an interesting fictional world, but other Darkover books have aged better.

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schristy

Searching for truth.

Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2018

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This a definitive series of books that display the culture of Darkover and how it interacts with the Terran Empire and the changes that befall both of their peoples. One culture is a space traveling entity and the other is more feudal with strict gender roles. This story follows the life of a group from both sides and shows how they adapt. Thought provoking and dazzlingly written.

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Nanakitteh

Three books in one

Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2017

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The Shattered Chain, Thendara House and City of Sorcery. Tales of Magda the Terran born on Darkover and Jaelle, who both become Renunciates and their times together. In the first book, it's mostly about Magda who lives as a Terran Intelligence on Darkover. The second book is a crossing of lives: Madga lives in the Renunciates Guild house and Jaelle lives with the Terrans. The last book is a very long travel took Nevarsin, city of snows and beyond. It is very philosophical.

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Therin

Darkover Series

Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2013

Verified Purchase

Until reading the Darkover Series, I had read little of this Author past "The Mists of Avalon," which totally captivated me. I was looking for a fantasy series that would hold my interest and stretch my imagination in ways it had not been challenged previously. This series does an amazing job in creating an entire world, a new planet, including climate, suns and moons. The characters are fun, creative and the ideas are fun well worth reading and considering. This was my favorite.

2 people found this helpful

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R. Roderick Rowe

Delving into the battle of the sexes

Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2016

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And found much more than expected. This world of Darkover sometimes seems more real, more fleshed out and complete, than the mundane world I am forced to live in. I was amazed that an artist, as an author, could make me feel headblind in the absence of laran, yet that is exactly what Bradley has done.

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Top reviews from other countries

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Grey Lady

Great read, original and interesting characters

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 25, 2008

Verified Purchase

I enjoyed this book very much. I got "hooked" to Darkover through the Spell sword and the Forbidden Tower, but this book is even better than those two (although as I said I enjoyed them as well!).

Although having read Marion's work on early Britain, Troy and Atlantis, Darkover was a nice original surprise. And this book especially. Well, actually, it's three books, but once you start off with the first you just won't stop reading until you've also finished the third! The two central characters, two renunciates from very different origins, develop a great deal during the course of the books, but remain interesting all the time.

The Dry Towners are a bit simplistic, although to be honest, I just couldn't help thinking about the Taliban and their view of women when I was reading that particular part. And, as I have very strong negative feelings about the stupidity in being afraid women might sometimes be more intelligent than certain men are, and then just forbidding schooling altogether, I quite liked reading this part anyway even if it was simplistic.

But the reading about the very different cultures (Darkovan and Terran), as well as the clash between them, were terribly interesting. You must have a high developed imagination just to put the strorylines together.

I also liked two side characters very much, Rohana in the first two books, and of course Camilla in all three of them.

Finally, I enjoyed meeting up with some of the characters from the two earlier books. But, if I had not read those, I am sure it would not have a problem whatsoever. You truly can read every Darkovan novel in itself. But, if you do read more, it's just nice to meet up with old friends!

Kindle Customer

A great exploration of gender roles in society

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 25, 2006

Verified Purchase

While some of the other reviewers have considered this a feminist work, I would rather deem "The Saga of the Renunciates" a look at the chains that both men and women bind themselves with, willingly and not so willingly. Trying to free ourselves from our previous roles can often lead us to new chains and so the dance goes on. At the same time, I do realize that the chains that men bind themselves with are a whole lot more pleasant than women get to, so in that sense this is a feminist work. I would call it a sociological study of a potential society or perhaps even a sociological study of our own societies. All of the different customes portrayed in it are found in one place or another on this world.
As the other reviewers have stated, this is a highly entertaining read. There was suspense, humor and sadness throughout. Magdalena, Peter and Jaella's characters are enjoyable to get to know. The fact that I got to follow them through a long period of time in these three books (though Peter had a tiny role in the last book) made it even more pleasing to read Bradley's work. This is a book that I have read before and will come back to later.

april

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 27, 2020

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i did not remenber all the agonizing...all the swirling emotions...i read it, years ago, for the adventure...still good, just much more conflict than i recalled...

Richildis1

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 7, 2018

Verified Purchase

Love her stuff

S. Loftus

One of the Best Darkover books

Reviewed in Italy on September 25, 2017

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I am slowly working my way through the entirety of the Darkover chronicles. Written as they were, when authors were often paid a penny per word, these books can be a bit uneven - this was great all the way through! Loved it.

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