Condition: Acceptable: Please see the images for more details.
Cover Artist: George Barr
3250 reviews, average rating: 4.03 / 5
Blurb: “Described as "Bradley's best novel" by Locus, THE HERITAGE OF HASTUR, longest and most intricate of the Darkover books, is a brilliant epic of the pivotal event in the strange love-hate relationship between the Terran worlds and the semi-alien offspring of forgotten peoples.
This is the novel of the Hastur tradition and of the showdown between those who would bargain away their world for the glories of star-borne science and those who would preserve the special "matrix" power that was at once the prize and the burden of ruddy-sunned Darkover.”
Great review blurb from Ken on Goodreads in 2012: “Before picking up this book, I had read eight Darkover novels, generally in the order of their publication. What, I wondered, drew so many readers to them? Some of them were truly awful, while others were enjoyable, but not great. Then I got to The Heritage of Hastur, and it has given me an "a-ha moment."
In previous works, Darkover as a world was much more compelling than any of its inhabitants, whose personalities melted into sameness. Dialogue tended to be stiff, the narrative erratic. Yet, this fictional planet, with its Darkovan and Terran populace in constant friction, surrounded by the planet's native inhabitants who are at turns beautiful and deadly -- what rich material to mine!
With The Heritage of Hastur, Bradley has produced a tale with believably motivated -- and believable -- characters. The complex plot involves two young men who question the society from which they come and to which they feel indebted. Each considers casting off his destiny among the highest caste of Darkover, and each must struggle with demons within and without before finding his path.”
Awards: 1975 Nebula Nominated
Tags: Science-Fantasy, Colonization