Talk:Darkover

Is it quite as cold as that?
"the warmest parts of the world snow-free for only a few weeks out of the year."

I don't recall that being clear, and I think it would cause trouble for plants if it was so. Midgley 04:54, 16 March 2006 (UTC)


 * My copy of Rediscovery (1994, first Daw paperback printing) notes on p. 119 that the plants have evolved thick 'pods' to encase the flowers and fruits, which pull back during more clement weather - this is vegetation from the Aldaran region, which is in the Hellers and colder than the Dalereuth plains (which, at this time of year, as noted earlier in the story, aren't likely to see snow on the ground for 'some time' [p. 96]). So this may be partly erroneous, but isn't necessarily a detriment to agricultural efforts in the less hospitable climates, thanks to evolutionary developments. I'm not sure how it should be edited to clarify this point. 24.152.208.42 (talk) 16:48, 19 March 2008 (UTC)

My impression is that Darkover has a climate similar to Canada.Symphony Girl (talk) 03:36, 17 June 2013 (UTC)


 * Yes, I have thought for quite a few years that British Columbia was comparable, with its relatively mild climate by the ocean rising into mountains. Of course you can say much the same about Northern Italy and some other places. Wastrel Way (talk) 20:11, 27 March 2019 (UTC) Eric

Merge Darkover Pages?
Should Darkover and Darkover series pages be merged? The pages seem very similar but I don't know the series well enough myself to just dive in and edit/merge the things. Marc Kupper 22:11, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Also, the URL for the convention has changed-it's www.darkovercon.org now. 131.182.170.50 (talk) 20:09, 20 November 2007 (UTC)

I don't see any practical way to merge Darkover and Darkover series without creating a huge mess. Though I would not personally have created two separate pages, they do seem to cover different material.Symphony Girl (talk) 03:35, 17 June 2013 (UTC)

I have moved two sections into the Darkover series article, where they seem to make more sense.Symphony Girl (talk) 01:15, 26 June 2013 (UTC)

My impression is that Darkover is about the fictional planet, and Darkover Series is about the books, which exist. I have added two sections to this article, briefly listing the plants and animals of Darkover. You can add a lot more. Wastrel Way (talk) Eric —Preceding undated comment added 20:05, 27 March 2019 (UTC)
 * And having said that, I went and (mistakenly) added some totally fictional material to the Darkover Series article, following the lead of whoever added the "Religious traditions of Darkover". That, and the stuff I added, belongs in this article, since it is fictional material and not about the books themselves. If anyone is following these changes, please tell me what you think. I intend to move the fictional material here in a few days. Wastrel Way (talk) 01:56, 5 May 2019 (UTC) Eric
 * Please see my talk note on the other article as well. Wastrel Way (talk) 17:44, 5 May 2019 (UTC) Eric
 * And with all respect to Symphony Girl, who seems to no longer have an account, the sections she moved to Darkover series are about the fiction itself, and belong here, in my opinion. A short review of what the books are about is appropriate for that article, but if the wikipedia user wants detail, they should be referred here. Wastrel Way (talk) 17:55, 5 May 2019 (UTC) Eric
 * I have added some things and moved some other things around. I think it is not necessary to cite page numbers for the books themselves and I am only using book and chapter. Walter Breen's Darkover Concordance presents a problem because it is cited by page numbers in numerous references but I have not seen it. Is it possible that, since it is a concordance, you can look up topics in it? I may remove all the page numbers there and combine all the references into one. I also wonder if it is necessary to cite the books themselves by edition. Book and chapter should be enough. I am done for the day and I see many things that still need improvement, and I have more text written that I have not yet added. Wastrel Way (talk) Eric —Preceding undated comment added 17:26, 9 June 2019 (UTC)
 * I added TVTropes as an external link because it is informative and amusing, and it is not possible to cite it for Darkover series because it is unreliable. Taken as comments on the fictional elements summarized in this article, it seems very pertinent, but I'm not altogether happy with it. Just... being bold. Wastrel Way (talk) 16:48, 11 June 2019 (UTC) Eric
 * It was removed as an "unreliable source." I added it again. I have made it clear in the "External Links" that it is merely a link of interest, and not a source. If you do not understand why it is interesting, you don't read much science fiction, fantasy, or litterachur at all. Wastrel Way (talk) 00:27, 8 June 2020 (UTC) Eric
 * , I removed the note from the external link; it's appropriate in an edit summary or on the talk page to communicate with other editors, but not in the article for general readers. Schazjmd   (talk)  00:31, 8 June 2020 (UTC)
 * And now you've added it back. General readers have no idea what our sourcing requirements are or what we mean by "source". That is a comment for the editor who removed it and does not belong in the article. Please revert yourself. Schazjmd   (talk)  00:36, 8 June 2020 (UTC)
 * Ah, I was just telling you that I was going to change it back, since I understand the problem now. My edit here didn't get published. Wastrel Way (talk) Eric
 * Appreciate it! Schazjmd   (talk)  00:40, 8 June 2020 (UTC)

Cthulhu Mythos derivation of Darkover location names
Is this or one of the other Wikipedia pages on Darkover the place to point out MZB's use of Cthulhu Mythos names as developed by Robert W. Chambers in The King in Yellow? The beginnings of the Mythos lie, of course, with Ambrose Bierce; but it seems clear to me that references to the "Lake of Hali", the city of "Carcosa", and the personal names "Hastur", "Alar" (a city in Bierce but a persnal name in MZB), "Camilla", and "Cassilda" are taken from the Lovecraft and Chambers stream of the Mythos. There is a good paragraph on the derivation of "Carcosa" in the Wikipedia article on that name, which is fine as far as it goes; but shouldn't the main reference be in one of the Darkover pages? Originalylem (talk) 20:16, 15 October 2009 (UTC)


 * This is very interesting, of course, and has probably puzzled many a reader of fantastic fiction when they were introduced to Darkover, and vice versa. It is the sort of information that belongs in the article Darkover series, in my view, because it is meta-info about the books, and not about the fictional world of Darkover itself. If we had sources... Wastrel Way (talk) 17:36, 5 May 2019 (UTC) Eric

Moving forward
I added a section called "Various Customs and Music" and at this point I'm burned out on creating an encyclopedic image of Darkover. Wastrel Way (talk) 02:12, 6 March 2020 (UTC) Eric

The issues with the article
Thanks for the critical evaluation.


 * This article needs additional citations for verification. (August 2020)

Indeed it does. Many of the "facts" are not referenced. I have tried to add book and chapter whenever I could, but some of the "facts" are simply part of the "universe" and could be referenced from many places in the series. I hope that someone will help.


 * This article may contain an excessive amount of intricate detail that may interest only a particular audience. (August 2020)

Probably true, but one of the things that appeals to readers of the Darkover books is the amount of intricate detail. It could probably be toned down a bit. Maybe I got carried away :-)


 * This book-related article describes a work or element of fiction in a primarily in-universe style. (August 2020)

Frankly, that was the intent, since I didn't know about that issue when I was expanding the article. I made a distinction between "Darkover" the planet and "Darkover" the series, which I thought was sufficient. The verb tenses need to be changed to past historical and there must be other changes made to make it clear that this is all fiction. Again, I hope that someone else takes on the task, because I'm not up to it. Cheers. Wastrel Way (talk) 03:06, 28 February 2021 (UTC) Eric