Friday Memes: Hastur Lord by Marion Zimmer Bradley & Deborah J. Ross

Happy Friday everybody!

Book Beginnings on Friday is now hosted by Rose City Reader. The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice. Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

This week I dug deep on TBR mountain and chose Hastur Lord: A Novel of Darkover by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Deborah J. Ross. This book has been on my stack since March of 2010. I used to read the books about Darkover obsessively. I haven't read any for years.
Here is the description:

Regis Hastur, lord of the most powerful of the seven domains of Darkover, learns that the Terran Federation's operatives are pressuring Darkover to give up its closed world status and become a full member of this intergalactic empire. But Regis knows that if Darkover joins the Federation his beloved home planet will become nothing more than a military hub, sapped of its resources and cultural heritage. Still there are those among Darkover's ruling families who are tempted by the promise of increased technology that membership in the Federation would bring.

Meanwhile, Regis learns that he has an older illegitimate brother, Rinaldo. But his joy in finding his sibling is short-lived, as Regis's enemies try to force him to abdicate leadership of Darkover in favor of his older brother. They hope to manipulate Rinaldo into agreeing to join the Federation. But unbeknownst to anyone, Rinaldo has a plan of his own...

Beginning:

Above the ancient city of Thendara, the great crimson sun of Darkover crept toward midday.

Friday 56:

In times gone by, they would have had to obtain permission to marry from the Comyn Council. Now, with the Council disbanded, that was not possible, but Danvan Hastur must be consulted.