An extremely short novella and initially released in 1958 in one of the pulp magazines, The Planet Savers is understood to be the first published short story / novella set on Zimmer Bradley's Darkover.
It's a fairly quick read, easy to source (available in various print editions and as a digital download) and most readers of the Darkover books probably have come across it at one point or another. It's not necessary to make it your starting point, if you wish to delve into the world of Darkover (the books do not have to be read in order of publication), but it's as good a starting point as any - or it might perhaps be an interesting add-on for readers already familiar with the setting.
It's a fairly quick read, easy to source (available in various print editions and as a digital download) and most readers of the Darkover books probably have come across it at one point or another. It's not necessary to make it your starting point, if you wish to delve into the world of Darkover (the books do not have to be read in order of publication), but it's as good a starting point as any - or it might perhaps be an interesting add-on for readers already familiar with the setting.
In The Planet Savers Darkover's population (Terrans and Darkovans alike) are threatened by the outbreak of a deadly virus for which no cure or vaccination exists. Only the tree-dwelling Trailmen living in the hostile mountain ranges of the Hellers seem to be immune to the fever.
Dr Allison, a Terran surgeon specialising in parasitology, is both capable of finding and synthesising a cure, whilst Jason is a skilled mountaineer, who has lived amongst the aboriginal humanoids and is able to speak their tongue. Dr Allison and Jason have been chosen to go on a mission to seek out the Trailmen, to convince them to leave the Hellers and accompany them to one of the medical research facilities where a cure can be synthesised from the Trailmen antibodies.
Yet, before Dr Allison can go on this mission, he has to forget that he is in fact Jason Allison. Though being one and the same person, their traits and beliefs are fundamentally irreconcilable as the desires and beliefs of Jay's younger self are diametrically opposed to his present-day personality.
Following a plane crash over the Hellers in which Jason's father tragically died, the young toddler is initially taken in and fostered by the Trailmen. Eventually the Trailmen return him to the Darkovan civilisation when he reaches adolescence. Having managed to successfully repress Jason since his return, Jay has come to denounce his former self and rejects the socialisation he has received. But only Jason's unique knowledge and understanding of the Trailmen and their culture combined with Jay's medical expertise will ensure the survival of the planet’s civilisation.
Through hypnosis - a feat performed by Randall Forth - Jason is stripped of Jay and subsequently sent on the journey into Trailmen territory. He is accompanied by Regis Hastur, representative of Darkovan nobility, and Kyla Raineach, who turns into Allison's love interest and one of the main catalysts for the ensuing struggles between Jason and Jay throughout the remainder of the story. Suffice it to say that Allison's internal battle with all the suppressed elements of his other self not only threaten the mission but also compromise his sanity.
The Planet Savers benefits from a clearly structured plot for a story of this length and an easily accessible introduction to Darkover, its geography, inhabitants and some of the author's well-known character creations (Regis Hastur) as well the dynamics between Terrans, Trailman and Darkovans. The language comes across as stilted and the dialogue is sickly melodramatic at times. These negatives aside, this is an interesting venture into the beginnings of Zimmer Bradley's world building, which doesn't overwhelm the reader with details. Well worth a quick read, but by no means representative of Bradley's later Darkover novels.
