Plagued by a feeling of general uselessness, I decided to re-read

MARION ZIMMER BRADLEY

's "

Stormqueen!

" today (first published in 1978) ...  which, if you ask me, is by far the most interesting (dare I say

fabulous

?) of her

DARKOVER

novels. Well, it's certainly the only one that I have read more than once. In fact, it seems that I tend to come back to it every decade or so, which is clearly

not

a good thing.
 
Anyway, if you are not familiar with the Darkover universe, then … hmm, how shall it best describe it? Well, it's essentially

epic fantasy for frustrated housewives

. You know, the usual fare.
 
I really can't remember where or when I first encountered her books, but when I was shuffling through my transition, I - sort of - developed a temporary (and rather pretentious) soft spot for superficial feminism, and in its wake, I suppose, I must have read all the Darkover novels that were available at the time.
 
My second favourite back then was "

Hawkmistress!

" (yes, also with an exclamation mark, and also from the so-called 'Ages of Chaos'), which - now that I think about it - I must have read at least twice as well … - though I can hardly recall anything of its plot anymore (apart from a handful of colourful scenes and the occasional hint of homo- erotica). But back to "

Stormqueen!

" …
 
… which, actually,

IS

quite fabulous, because it really has it all: the soap-opera-esque

family drama

,

genetic engineering

(slash

selective breeding

, including

forced incest

... of course!),

Romance

(with a capital R),

napalm

(here 'clingfire'), a variety of

psychic- powers

,

sword & sorcery

,

sex

with non-humans (some animal-like, others manufactured),

Lords & noblemen

,

Kings & Queens

,

tele-transportation

… and many more fun things (even spaceships, though not in this particular book) … - all set in an extra-terrestrial version of the

Scottish highlands

! (Well, at least in

my

interpretation).
 

Oh, yes... and it has this

really

tasteful

cover-illustration:

Speaking of

Marion Zimmer Bradley

... (and this is aimed at all the little witches out there) ... if you haven't done so already, go and read the book she is (I suppose) most famous for: "

The Mists of Avalon

". It's a must. It's essential. It has sex with crippled dwarves in it ...
 

... well,

one

dwarf, anyway.