fate e multiversi, noioso ( )

Bought and read this many, many years ago and can't find it amongst my books, which means I either loaned it and never got it back OR it's buried in a box in the attic. Either way, I need to procure another copy. ( )

Read twice: once when I was in high school, and once in 2020. I loved it in school, and couldn't bring myself to finish it the second time around. (DNF at about 35% in.) I'm giving it 2 stars because I did enjoy it so much that first time. If you're able to get past the writing style and questionable characters (I didn't like any of the characters, personally) you might enjoy the story in this one. I did still like the concept in my 2020 re-read, though it seemed wasted in the amount of book I read. ( )

This book is not a Darkover book. However, it makes a great read. As far as I know, there isn't another about these folks, but don't let that stop you. ( )

This is an alright book. Not as engaging as [Mists of Avalon] but not so dull I wanted to put it down and walk away. This is also the first book of hers I've read/re-read since her daughter's revelations of childhood abuse and I needed to know where Bradley stands for me on the spectrum of my reading list.

The basic story is that Cameron Fenton is a participant in ESP experiments in the (fictional) Department of Parapsychology of Berkley College in California. He finds himself able to travel to a world of Faerie where there are horrible Ironfolk who attack the party of the Queen of the Faerie, Kerridis. In this first adventure Fenton finds out that he is a "'tweenman" in the world of Faerie, insubstantial but able to be wounded by tripping over rocks. His body is somewhere in Berkley, and so far, a good premise.

But the book falls apart in much the same way that Mists becomes a bit much: the repetition of an unchanging theme. In this book, it's that Fenton needs/wants to go back to Faerie and help them, but no one will believe him. And the idea of a House Between Worlds is a good one but the quest of Fenton finding this House becomes frustrating rather than an exciting plot twist.

The premise is good, the characters are pretty well-developed, the world-building is logical, but the constant re-iteration of the same themes brings any excitement down. The action resolves itself in the last few chapters and is pretty exciting. And the descriptions of changelings, including one that Fenton falls for in Faerie, are quite well done. I kind of liked at the end how Dungeons and Dragons becomes a playboard for the different worlds. ( )