This is probably the last Darkover novel I'll read, though there may be one more lurking in the TBR stack. The series is best when the elegantly-crafted alternate universe Bradley created is permitted to take center stage. This slim tale of the rescue of a kidnapped adept focuses on how the mystical starstones enhance psi powers, and how multiple adepts can join forces to increase their power. But the nebulous villains of the tale are never given any coherence, and after 140 pages of buildup, they are vanquished in pretty straightforward slash and hack swordplay and everyone lives happily ever after.

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