Marion Zimmer Bradley 1 hr 36 min read

Fishing an icy mountain stream, a man reaches for a jolt of voltage out of nowhere, and is hurled into Narabedla, a strange realm of psychic falcons and ancient powers.

Marion Zimmer Bradley's 1957 novella, an early work by the future author of Darkover, blends science fantasy and time-slip adventure. Vivid, romantic, imaginative. Read it for early Bradley, a colorful plunge from an ordinary trout stream into a world of sorcery and winged menace.

In its time

Published in 1957, during the 1950s, post-war optimism meets cold war anxiety.

Reading it

1 hr 36 min read (a novella, a full arc in one sitting or two).