- Harsher in Hindsight: Some of the sexual details of the series (like the preteen girl being talked into sleeping with her brother) became a lot more problematic after the stories about Marion Zimmer Bradley's private life became known.
- Especially the way Lord Dyan Ardais, who grooms, sexually harasses and abuses teenage boys in his role as teacher/officer at a military academy, gets away pretty much without punishment beyond reprimandsnote really prevents some former fans from enjoying The Heritage of Hastur any longer, now that the parallels with the author's husbandnote have come to light. Which is a shame, because otherwise that book was very Fair for Its Day with regards to queer male representation and a subplot that seems to come straight from the "Me Too" era. Originally, the novel seemed to just take the 'realistic' route where the rich and powerful get away with their crimes, and after all, the abuse is clearly depicted as very harmful and traumatic for the victims. But in hindsight, it comes across like the author is trying to say that the perpetrators of such sexual abuse of minors are just misguided and deserve a second chance... Or even that acting on ephebophile desires is okay as long as the teenager is 'consenting', given that Lord Ardais later got a young male concubine who was something of a sugar baby (i.e. he wasn't from the upper class and saw this as his ticket to a comfortable life) and not much older than the pubescent boys at the military academy were.
- Overshadowed by Controversy: The real-world accusations of incest and child abuse against Bradley have not only tainted the series in general, but cast some of the sexual incidents in the stories in a rather darker light.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/YMMV/Darkover
FollowingYMMV / Darkover
Go To
