What kind of story is this? You should also establish the feel, or mood, of your story, so that the reader knows at once whether this is a funny, flip satire or a serious romance, whether it is farcical, melancholy, or tragic. Most readers know exactly what they want to read, and they expect a certain kind of story when they buy a certain kind of magazine.
If your reader is bored or disappointed by your first page—or paragraph—nothing on earth will induce him to turn the page and read the second.
And if the editor is bored or disappointed with page one, no reader of that magazine will ever see the story. Most of the elements of the short story as well as the novelette or novel come down to these simple elements. They seem so obvious it is hard to understand why many amateur writers never bother to think about them, far less to check them.
Yet I get several manuscripts every day in which the writer pays no attention to these simple things. Remember that the editor needs good stories. Ask yourself:. What kind of person is your main character? First person? Third person? Omnipotent observer? Is the story funny, tragic, thoughtful, slapstick? Where do you start your story? It is seldom right to start when the main character is born. She then realizes that she believes the oath.
Throughout the section, the three female protagonists confront the choices they have made and the prices they have paid or will pay. Rohanna renounced her freedom of choice for security in marriage. Jaelle gained her freedom but renounced the ability to ever marry.
Magda has to renounce her Terran allegiance to live as a Free Amazon. Rohanna did not have that choice and learns to live with it. Jaelle did have that choice but realizes it requires a price. She eventually chooses to live as a freemate with Peter Haldane. The fact that she wants to give herself to a man is her choice as well.
There is a brief mention of the theme of fate in this novel, a theme Bradley explores in greater depth in later works. It seems to be pure chance that Magda meets Jaelle on her way to free Haldane.
Bradley suggests that there is a higher power at work. Reviewer Joanna Russ, critical of the earlier work, later included The Shattered Chain in a listing of feminist utopias. Although she will be known forever among the science-fiction community for creating Darkover, Bradley is known to a wider literary audience for The Mists of Avalon.
It could be considered her magnum opus. An impressive length, it stayed on The New York Times best-seller list for months after it was published in It was her first and most successful crossover mainstream novel.
This is the story of the women of the Arthurian legend and their struggles with fate, religion, and the social strictures of that time. It deals with the matters of choice, or lack thereof. Bradley reimagines the thematic conflict of the legend. In the book, the old ways of the Goddess religion are dying out to the encroachments of Christianity.
The Lady of the Lake is the high priestess of the Goddess faith, with Avalon as her seat of power. The Merlin is the chosen messenger of the gods. Shwartz in The Feminine Eye: Science Fiction and the Women Who Write It, "For every gain, there is a risk; choice involves a testing of will and courage … on Darkover any attempt at change of progress carries with it the need for pain-filled choice.
Among the most popular Darkover novels are 's Star of Danger, 's The Shattered Chain, and Heirs of Hammerfell, a more recent work published in The Shattered Chain is agreed upon by most critics as among the best of the series. It is the story of a quest, a traditional story form in which the main character must surmount a series of obstacles on her way to achieving her goals. In Bradley's version, Lady Rohana, a member of the privileged ruling class, attempts to free a friend from a tribe of men who chain women up to demonstrate their power over them.
To accomplish her task, Rohana gains the help of the Free Amazons, but only at the cost of reassessing her own life and values. The Darkover novels occupied much of Bradley's time during the s and s, although she also managed to find the time to publish a collection of short fiction, The Dark Intruder and Other Stories, as well as several volumes of literary criticism. Bradley's personal life was undergoing transition during this period as well; she divorced her first husband in , and married for a second time shortly thereafter.
She and her second husband, Walter Henry Breen, would raise three children Bradley's son from her first marriage, plus a son and daughter of their own before divorcing in The demands of parenthood on her limited time may have multiplied, but they did little to staunch Bradley's enthusiasm for writing-or her published output.
Perhaps these demands are at the root of her efforts to find, through the dilemmas of her fictional female protagonists, that ideal balance between a woman's duty to self and her obligations to others. She published over 30 books between and , and in undertook a long-term project: editing a series of short-story collections for New York-based DAW publishers under the Sword and Sorceress title.
Hailed by several critics as Bradley's most notable novel, The Mists of Avalon was published in and remained on the New York Times best-seller list for 16 weeks. Taking place in Arthurian Britain, called Britannia, the novel features such well-known female characters as Morgan Le Fay and the Lady of the Lake, given heightened strength of will under Bradley's pen as they perform their parts in the tragic legend of King Arthur.
Although published afterward, the novels The Forest House and Lady of Avalon serve as precursors to The Mists of Avalon, detailing the chain of events leading up to the events surrounding Bradley's version of the King Arthur legend.
Shelves: short-stories , fiction , fantasy. I'm also a Marion Zimmer Bradley fan, or at least, a fan of her Darkover books. Looking to winnow my book collection, I couldn't bear to get rid of even the weaker books in that world, but I find it easy to let go of Lythande. This isn't a novel but six linked short stories about Lythande, an "Adept of the Blue Star" whose powers depend on keeping a secret--that's she's really a woman disguised as a man.
In her introduction Marion Zimmer Bradley all but says Lythande is a lesbian, yet insists she doesn't want to cater to the "unhealthy curious male" by writing about lesbian women. It seemed an odd statement. Maybe it's just the times this was published in, but I don't get why the question is even raised given it's obvious this is part of Lythande's identity.
Actually, given her situation I think it would be more poignant if she were drawn to men--she can reveal her secret to women, but not men. In fact, Lythande doesn't relate to men at all--not as brother, father, mentor, colleague or friend and most of the men in these stories are fools, cads, or rapists. I didn't like how she made fun of the stammerer in "The Incompetent Magician. Most important, I didn't remember any of the stories without rereading--they're just not that memorable.
May 11, Corina rated it it was amazing. I had to review this, because Lythande is at the root of my love for fantasy, together with Rocannon's World. Parts of these were reprised in a long-dead fantasy magazine in Romania, called Orion, which came out in 3 or 4 editions shortly before and after the fall of communism. I remembered the interaction between Lythande and the girl at the brothel vividly, although I didn't remember the author, so two or three years later, when I discovered Thieves World at the local library I was reading eve I had to review this, because Lythande is at the root of my love for fantasy, together with Rocannon's World.
I remembered the interaction between Lythande and the girl at the brothel vividly, although I didn't remember the author, so two or three years later, when I discovered Thieves World at the local library I was reading everything available in English at the time , I recognized the passage, finished book I, then the series and related novels, and have never stopped reading fantasy since.
I don't know if the stories in Lythande will do the same for other readers, fantasy has evolved since, and thanks to Peter Jackson and George R. Martin it's no longer a niche thing to be suddenly discovered via an unexpectedly good book, but the novellas remain a good read, especially in the context of the entire shared-world anthology.
So long, frejojani! Nov 08, littlemiao rated it liked it. I didn't feel strongly enough about the stories to dislike them. They weren't riveting, but they were interesting enough that I didn't feel like I was wasting my time reading them. I do like MZB in general, but I must admit that this is my least favorite of anything she has written. Perhaps because she didn't create the world in which the stories took place, there were more elements that struck me as cliche.
Maybe being confined to the short story format didn't give her space to do mu 2. Maybe being confined to the short story format didn't give her space to do much interesting with the character. Or maybe I would have found them more interesting if I had read something else set in that world first. Aug 01, Kat rated it it was ok Shelves: magicians. I first read this as a kid when I was getting into fantasy, and I remember thinking it was pretty cool. Well, it has some good elements Lythande is a cool character, and the plots of the short stories gathered here are all pretty enjoyable , but honestly, MZB is not the best writer in the world, and her prose is clunky at best.
The final short story, not even by MZB but by another writer, is downright terrible. It would be fun if some other writer could pick up this character and spin some more I first read this as a kid when I was getting into fantasy, and I remember thinking it was pretty cool. It would be fun if some other writer could pick up this character and spin some more tales, because I think the ideas are solid, but the quality of the writing just isn't there. Nov 19, Spiderorchid rated it liked it.
I'm not a fan of Marion Zimmer Bradley - her ideas are good but her writing style is a mess. It features Bradley's Lythande character but thankfully, this author can write.
An enjoyable fantasy adventure with interesting world-building and likeable characters that can be read as a stand-alone story the stories by Bradley give some more information on Lythande, but you can skip them and still understand M I'm not a fan of Marion Zimmer Bradley - her ideas are good but her writing style is a mess. An enjoyable fantasy adventure with interesting world-building and likeable characters that can be read as a stand-alone story the stories by Bradley give some more information on Lythande, but you can skip them and still understand McIntyre's work.
Apr 03, Kron rated it really liked it. The coolest find. Not familiar with the author's works, or Thieves World, I read this based purely on the premise and partly the cover. I was delighted to find an intriguing character, a series of short stories, and even more interesting, commentary on each story by the author.
This book is a gem, as are the stories. I will find myself easily picking up this book and rereading the stories. Pure delight. The only thing i can really say is "i wish there was more" a continuation of a series that was never continued by a group of authors - marion zimmer bradley depicts a beautiful and poetic conflict in her main character - nice simple, enjoyable read. The only thing i can really say is "i wish there was more" Jan 28, Doris rated it really liked it Shelves: fantasy.
It has been quite a while since I read this compendium. Like many group offerings, some are better than others. This book is worth it though just to discover Lythande's secret. In addition, it is worth reading as it shows that anyone is worthy of being allowed to attempt to achieve in their chosen profession, regardless of origin, race, ethnicity, sex, or social standing.
Frustrating when fantasy authors choose names for their characters that sound completely differently to how they are written The character though overly tormented by the secret they carry is strong, and ambiguous Jan 30, Jordan rated it really liked it. Of the Thieves World spin-offs, this slim collection of short stories is definitely one of the better. As famous wizards go, she would be a great addition to the ranks of Gandalf, Potter, Ged, and company.
I didn't realise this was a short story collection until I opened it. It was a bit tricky being plunged into a world I didn't really know anything about. I did still really enjoy the book, despite feeling a little lost at first. Jan 24, Magda rated it really liked it Shelves: own , sci-fi , shortstories.
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