Bradley's fundamental technique is holistic, bringing together dualistic forces into a psychic whole which puts characters and civilizations in touch with their own powers. The fictive world of Darkover is one in which different races, sexes, cultures, even human and non-human beings, must learn to tolerate and learn from one another, creating the planet's whole identity. The traditional "lost world" motif of alien monsters is overturned in a co-operative vision which emphasizes connectedness, not separateness.

The traditional adventure narrative, here in the form of two young men's initiation tests, told alternately by Lew and by Regis, recounts the psychic development of the two characters as they are tested. Bradley's special strength is her ability to capture the sense of terror and wonder present in these mythic encounters, and especially to re-create the state of anguish—psychic and physical pain— which accompanies these trials, leading to a...