[Stormqueen! is] another story of Darkover—by now one of the most fully realized of the worlds of science fiction. This time, however, it isn't about the period when Darkover has been discovered by the men of Earth, with the conflict placed between the natives and the Terran Empire.

Instead, Bradley has gone back long before the coming of the terrans….

As has been the case for all her recent novels, this is a complicated story with many threads and subplots. But the key to it all is Dorylis, a young girl whose laran, or psychic power, is such that she can control the storms and direct lightning to strike where she wills. She's still a child, however—a rather badly spoiled child. And unless she can discipline herself to master her talent, it must master and destroy her—and those about her….

I'm not entirely happy about one small section near the end where Dorylis suddenly seems to have a change of heart that isn't justified as well as I'd expect from Bradley; she seems suddenly too mature and too altruistic. But that's a small point in an excellent story, in all other ways.

I enjoyed the novel, and hope now that Bradley will go on to cover a lot more of the history of Darkover, hitherto only revealed in tantalizing hints.