''The Planet Savers'' is a

science fantasy Science fantasy is a hybrid genre within speculative fiction that simultaneously draws upon or combines tropes and elements from both science fiction and fantasy. In a conventional science fiction story, the world is presented as being scientif ...

novel by American writer

Marion Zimmer Bradley Marion Eleanor Zimmer Bradley (June 3, 1930 – September 25, 1999) was an American author of fantasy, historical fantasy, science fiction, and science fantasy novels, and is best known for the Arthurian fiction novel ''The Mists of Avalon'' an ...

, part of her ''

Darkover Darkover is the planet giving its name to the ''Darkover'' series of science fiction-fantasy novels and short stories by Marion Zimmer Bradley and others published since 1958. According to the novels, Darkover is the only habitable planet of ...

'' series. It was first published in book form in English by

Ace Books Ace Books is a publisher of science fiction (SF) and fantasy books founded in New York City in 1952 by Aaron A. Wyn. It began as a genre publisher of mysteries and westerns, and soon branched out into other genres, publishing its first scienc ...

in 1962,

dos-à-dos Dos-à-dos (French for "back-to-back") may refer to: *Dosado or do-si-do, dance move *Dos-à-dos binding In bookbinding, a dos-à-dos binding ( or , from the French for "back-to-back") is a binding structure in which two separate books are bo ...

with Bradley's novel '' The Sword of Aldones''. The story first appeared in the November 1958 issue of the magazine ''

Amazing Stories ''Amazing Stories'' is an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Science fiction stories had made regular appearances i ...

''. It subsequently appeared in a German translation in 1960 with additional chapters added that were not by the author. ''The Planet Savers'' takes place at least 152 years after the events described in ''

Rediscovery ''Rediscovery'' is a science fantasy novel by American writers Marion Zimmer Bradley and Mercedes Lackey, part of the ''Darkover'' series of novels and short stories published in the United States since 1958. It was first published by DAW Books ...

''.In the first chapter of ''The Planet Savers'', Randall Forth says that the Terrans have had a trade compact with Darkover for 152 years, which suggests that they have been on Darkover somewhat longer; 1976 paperback, pg 6.

Plot summary

Desperate to discover a cure for the cyclical 48-year-fever, known as Trailmen’s fever, Dr. Randall Forth persuades a colleague, Dr. Jay Allison, to undergo hypnosis. He calls forth a secondary personality, Jason Allison, who is gregarious and an experienced mountain climber, while Dr. Jay Allison is a cold, clinical man with no outdoor skills. Jason is asked to lead an expedition into the Hellers to collect medical volunteers from among the Trailmen. Accompanying him are Rafe Scott, Regis Hastur, Kyla Raineach, a Renunciate guide, and several others. During the trip, Jay/Jason yo-yos between his two personalities – one warm and charming, the other distant and clinical. Jason, the warm personality, falls in love with Kyla. They are attacked on the trail by a party of hostile Trailwomen. As a result of the attack, the Jay personality reappears, and is considerably more formal than the Jason personality. When they reach the Trailmen nest where Jay/Jason lived as a child, he is recognized. The party is invited into the Trailmen’s tree habitat. The Old Ones of the Sky People (Trailmen) inquire why Jay/Jason has brought an armed party of humans to their nest. Jay/Jason explains his mission, to find a remedy for 48-year-fever. He introduces Regis Hastur to the Old Ones, and Regis also pleads for the Sky People's assistance. One hundred Trailmen volunteer. The party, with volunteers, returns to the Terran Trade City. Some months later, a serum is developed for the treatment of 48-year-fever. Regis Hastur arrives to congratulate Jay/Jason Allison. The exposure to Regis reminds Jay/Jason of the expedition, and causes Jay/Jason to merge into a third, more stable personality.

Characters

* Jay/Jason Allison * Dr. Randall Forth, psychiatrist * Regis Hastur, the Darkover regent's grandson * Kyla Raineach, Renunciate back country guide * Buck Kendricks, a spaceforce man * Rafe Scott, half Darkovan/half Terran

Publication history

* 1958, USA, ''

'', pub date November 1958, magazine publication * 1960, Germany, Utopia-Zukunftsroman , pub date 1960, in German as ''Dr. Allisons zweites Ich'' with additional material not by Bradley * 1962, USA,

, pub date September 1962, paperback, dos-à-dos with '' The Sword of Aldones'' * 1979, USA,

Gregg Press Gregg Press was founded about 1965 by Charles Gregg in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey to distribute in the United States the antiquarian reprints published in the UK by Gregg Press International. Gregg decided he wanted to publish scholarly repri ...

, pub date 1979, hardcover * 1979, UK,

Arrow Books Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

, pub date 1979, paperback * 1980, USA,

, pub date 1980, paperback, with '' The Sword of Aldones'', an additional short story and an article * 1995, USA, DAW Books , pub date April 1995, paperback, with ''

The Winds of Darkover ''The Winds of Darkover'' is a science fantasy novel by American writer Marion Zimmer Bradley, part of her Darkover series. It was first published by Ace Books in 1970, as an Ace Double bound tête-bêche with ''The Anything Tree'' by John Rackh ...

References

Sources

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Planet Savers, The Darkover books 1962 American novels Novels by Marion Zimmer Bradley American science fiction novels Works originally published in Amazing Stories Books with cover art by Ed Emshwiller Ace Books books