The Laran Gambit by Marion Zimmer Bradley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a return to the world of Cottman IV (aka Darkover) … the series that hooked me on reading (under a different author). As such, I took a particular pleasure in the “Easter Eggs” or references to canon found throughout the book that played well with my nostalgia. More than a generation has passed since Darkover had any connection to the Off World Terrans when Bryn lands on Darkover seeking refuge from a despotic ruler and help for her mentally compromised father. Personally it took longer to get there than I would have liked, but that is mostly because of how fascinated I am with he world of Darkover itself.
The story doesn’t really add much that is new, but it was well written and easy to read. The one element of a powerful and corrupt Terran leader as the “Big Bad” made for a decent plot hook, but was otherwise not all that unique … so the book was fairly average unless you are a fan … which I am. It is also a quick read that can stand alone to introduce you to the series, so I still would recommend it.
I was given this free advance reader copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
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My Ratings Explained ...
- [ ***** ] Amazing Read - Perfect story, exciting, engrossing, well developed complex characters, solid plot with few to no holes, descriptive environments and place settings, great mystery elements, realistic dialogue, believable reactions and behaviors; a favorite that I can re-read many times.
- [ **** ] Great Read - Highly entertaining and enjoyable, exciting storyline, well developed characters and settings, a few discrepancies but nothing that can’t be overlooked. Some aspect of the story was new/refreshing to me and/or intriguing. Recommended for everyone.
- [ *** ] Good Read - Solid story with a 'good' ending, or has some other redeeming feature. Limited character development and/or over reliance on tropes. Noticeable discrepancies in world building and/or dialog/behavior that were distracting. I connected enough with the characters/world to read the entire series. Most of the books I read for fun are here. Recommended for fans of the genre.
- [ ** ] Okay Read - Suitable for a brief, afternoon escape … flat or shallow characters with little to no development. Over the top character dialog and/or behavior. Poor world building with significant issues and/or mistakes indicating poor research. Excessive use of trivial detail, info dumps and/or pontification. Any issues with the story/characters are offset by some other aspect that I enjoyed. Not very memorable. May only appeal to a niche group of readers. Recommended for some (YMMV).
- [ * ] Bad Read - Awkward and/or confusing writing style. Poor world building and/or unbelievable (or unlikeable) characters. Victimization, gaslighting, blatant abuse, unnecessary violence, child endangerment, or any other highly objectionable behaviors by Main characters. I didn't connect with the story at all; significant aspects of this story irritated me enough that I struggled to finished it. Series was abandoned. Not recommended.
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