Publication
DAW, c1983
Collection
Series
Status
Available
Description
A romantic fantasy set in a futuristic society divided by two cultures, one male dominated and one egalitarian, where the roles of male and female, love and marriage and justice and injustice are brought sharply into focus. From the author of CASTLE TERROR.
Media reviews
Un de mes préférés. Le choc culturel terrien/ténébran est très bien décrit, et ces deux huit-clos, dans le QG terrien et dans la Maison de la Guilde, ne manquent pas d'intérêt...
User reviews
LibraryThing member LisaMaria_C
Marion Zimmer Bradley wrote 18 Darkover novels--more if you include collaborations. 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
The books were designed to be read independently, and so you could start here, but some books are somewhat connected and that's the case here, and you may see it marked as book two of the "Renunciates Trilogy." The Renunciates are also known as the "Free Amazons" and the first book in the trilogy, The Shattered Chain also deals with Jaelle and Magda and makes an excellent entry into the series. Indeed, it's the book I started with on the recommendation of a friend, and the book that hooked me on the series. Thendara House was certainly a good read, even if I do prefer Shattered Chain, and I'm not completely happy with where MZB took her two characters in this one, but I still think of it as a good read. Ditto the third book in the trilogy, City of Sorcery.
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of both science fiction and fantasy. Most books in the series examine this culture clash and this book is no exception as it focuses on a Terran, Magda, who has come to live on Darkover and a native of Darkover, Jaelle, who has come to work among the Terrans. The books were designed to be read independently, and so you could start here, but some books are somewhat connected and that's the case here, and you may see it marked as book two of the "Renunciates Trilogy." The Renunciates are also known as the "Free Amazons" and the first book in the trilogy, The Shattered Chain also deals with Jaelle and Magda and makes an excellent entry into the series. Indeed, it's the book I started with on the recommendation of a friend, and the book that hooked me on the series. Thendara House was certainly a good read, even if I do prefer Shattered Chain, and I'm not completely happy with where MZB took her two characters in this one, but I still think of it as a good read. Ditto the third book in the trilogy, City of Sorcery.
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LibraryThing member satyridae
Re-read. Hack writing, lousy editing, strong characters & plotting.
LibraryThing member quondame
One of MZB's longer Darkover novels, and one in which she did write as a continuous part of the series, clearly having it's sequel in mind and taking advantage of The Shattered Chain's character and plot. It still has some strange jerks in it's story telling as if scenes from multiple drafts were
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never entirely integrated. Thendara House could fairly be described as a feminist tract, but the quality of the characters and the validity of multiple types of interaction kept my interest on more than one read, though this is by no means a favorite. Show Less
LibraryThing member N.W.Moors
This is a reread in my quest to read all the Darkover books, both the ones I've missed and the ones I've read, in order. The story deals with the Free Amazons, or Renunciates, a guild of women who live amidst the more feudal settings on Darkover. Jaelle and Magda are the protagonists: Jaelle is a
The book probes questions about what the role of women is: are they merely carriers for children, or can they do meaningful work? The book was written in the early 1980s, and while times have changed, this is still an ongoing question in our society. There's a lot to think about here, now as much as when I first read the story.
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Comyn Renunciate who marries Magda's ex-husband and goes to live among the Terrans while Magda takes oath in the guild house. Both women must navigate living in strange settings with people of different cultures. The book probes questions about what the role of women is: are they merely carriers for children, or can they do meaningful work? The book was written in the early 1980s, and while times have changed, this is still an ongoing question in our society. There's a lot to think about here, now as much as when I first read the story.
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Language
Original language
English
ISBN
0886772400 / 9780886772406
Original publication date
1983