Lew Alton, a key figure in the Darkover series, demonstrates the traditional features of the epic hero: an unrecognized son who emerges, through a series of tests, to a sense of personal worth and self-knowledge. Although a good swordsman, Lew also brings the less traditional values of intuition, sentience, and gentleness to the traditional ones of courage and justice. As an outsider, half-Terran, he is in the position to mediate between the two worlds. He is trained to take full advantage of the more feminine, emotional parts of himself; and as such is a model for younger boys, such as Regis, and a foil to Lord Dyan and Robert Kadarin. His one flaw, his unquestioning acceptance of an authoritarian system, is mended when he risks his own life and sanity to deflect the destructive power of the Sharra matrix.

Robert Kadarin, who reappears in different shapes and names...