« The Shattered Chain » Marion Zimmer Bradley

In this Bradley’s latest Darkover novel, the many colourful threads of that part–human, part alien world are rewoven into a strikingly different literary tapestry. One such thread could be called the Heritage of Ardais, for the heir to the Ardais Domain has vanished and must be found. The major thread and pattern concerns the role of women. While only women can command the power of the matrix and the secret sciences which keep Darkover from Terran hands, in most respects they are still chattel — indeed in some barbaric parts even kept enchained. Yet there are the strange bands of pledged women known as the Free Amazons, equal to men and outside the laws that keep the rest of their sex subservient. And it is the Free Amazons who provide the key both to the Ardais mystery and the Terran–Darkover dilemma.