Product Description
'This is an exciting adventure story,and first-ratescience-fiction.' -ST.LOUIS GLOBE DEMOCRAT I n 1959 Andre Norton published The Beast Master, an exciting science fiction adventure that introduced Hosteen Storm, one of her most popular heroes. Storm is a Navajo scout for Earth's forces in the future. When Earth is destroyed by the alien Xik, Storm becomes a rancher on frontier planet Arzor. In telepathic rapport with a team of animals, he is the closest thing the planetary Confederacy has to law on Arzor. In this novel and its sequel, Lord of Thunder(1962), he finds that safeguarding the colonists, the native aboriginals, and the natural resources of the planet is a full-time job full of action and excitement. Arzor's ruins of a bygone race present their own puzzles and problems, but thwarting a genocidal plot of a crazed war vet turns his job into a deadly challenge. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Classic science fiction and an exciting read
When Beast Master opens, an interstellar war has just ended, with Earth destroyed by the alien and incomprehensible Xik invaders. Demobilized Commando and expatriate Navajo, Hosteen Storm is relocated to the planet Arzor with his special forces team of meerkats, an eagle and a desert cat. He finds employment as a hired hand on a ranch in an amazingly harsh planetary environment. Acceptance follows in his new situation through his abilities and willingness to work. His animal team aids him and provides continuity with his past. Strange happenings lead Storm to investigate the possibility of a Xik holdout band operating on Arzor. Storm has to deal with his own isolation and loss, while making headway in solving a complex puzzle.

The fast moving story line follows his investigation, engaging your attention and sympathy. This is the first tale (1959) in a quartet of "Hosteen Storm" books. The last three additions were fielded in 2002, 2004, and 2006 co-written by Lyn McConchie.

The omnibus concludes with Lord of Thunder (1962), following Hosteen Storm when the Arzoran native population withdraws from normal contact with the human colonists. A rescue operation gone wrong results in Storm being stranded in a remote mountainous area of Arzor with an unusually mild climate for the seasonally extreme planet. The discovery of an ancient and alien weather control installation still humming away in mountain caverns leads to the reason for the withdrawal of Arzor natives from contact with humans. The very existence of the human colony on Arzor is in peril from the energies rising in the mountain peaks. The alien environment is expertly revealed, as Norton does so well. Storm's passage through the mystery is well presented and so well portrayed that readers can truly feel they have been looking over the shoulder of Hosteen Storm throughout the adventure.

Norton's reputation for solid science fiction was enhanced by these two stories, in concert with the Time Trader and Solar Queen series. She often had several story lines being published in parallel, a feat rarely accomplished by other authors since. These two stories are a firm foundation in appreciating Andre Norton's ability to spin an engrossing tale while creating a truly believable universe populated by substantive characters, both human and non.

An Amerindian on Arzor
Beast Master's Planet (2005) is an omnibus edition of the first two SF novels in the Beast Master series.It includes The Beast Master and Lord of Thunder.The action takes place on Arzor, a human colonized planet, but with intelligent natives and alien ruins.The situation is much like that of the Spanish settlers among the southwestern tribes in the North American plains.

In The Beast Master (1959), Hosteen Storm is a native of Terra and an Amerindian.He is also a Galactic Commando and a Beast Master with an unusual affinity with animals, who is mustering out of the service to be repatriated on Arzor."The last desperate thrust of the Xik invaders had left Terra...a deadly blue, radioactive cinder", leaving the native Terrans homeless and in shock.Some had gone mad, killing themselves and others.Finally, all Terran troops had been forcibly disarmed.Since Hosten has not displayed any symptoms of such delayed shock, the service medics reluctantly agreed they could not deny Storm's release.

Storm travels with Baku, Ho, Hing and Surra -- his commando team -- to Arzor on a troop ferry and then looks for employment herding horses to the auction to be held during the Gathering at Irrawady Crossing.To prove his ability to ride, he tames a young stallion and introduces him to Surra, the dune cat.When the horse tolerates the cat breathing in his nose, Storm gets the job without further questioning.He claims the stallion as his working mount and names him Rain-On-Dust.

Since the horse herd is an attraction for covetous natives as well as wild animals, Surra patrols the camp at night and Baku, the African Black Eagle, scouts the route by day as they proceed cross-country to the Gathering.On the first night, they encounter a yoris and Storm, Surra and Baku kill the lizard in a coordinated attack before it can harm the horses.But its scent and hissing causes the horses to stampede.

With the herd scattered all over the area, the drivemaster hires some Norbies, the local native sentients, to track down the horses.It soon becomes evident that someone has separated the herd and stashed the small bands in out of the way places.However, even the Norbie trackers cannot determine who has done this.

While the horses are being returned to the herd, Storm spends some time gentling a few of the wild stock to replace riding animals lost in the stampede.The other men soon come to respect his skills and he gains an even closer relationship with Put Larkin -- the drivemaster -- and Dort Lancin -- an old Arzor hand -- who is teaching him finger talk and other lore.However, Coll Bister has developed a hostile attitude toward Storm for some unknown reason.

Storm has also become accepted by the Norbies as a fighting man with a fighting bird totem.Gorgol, the youngest of the trackers, is drawn to Storm by admiration and curiosity, providing him with lots of chances to practice finger talk as he answers Gorgol's questions.

At the gathering, Storm fends off a couple of attempts to kill or maim him, in which Bister seems to be involved, and meets Brad Quade, the man he has come to Arzor to see, but not quite yet.He accepts a job with the Survey Service to locate and explore the Sealed Caves within the High Peaks.

In Lord of Thunder (1962), Storm is returning to the Quade place after staking his claim within the Peaks country.It's the Big Dry season, so nobody rides during the heat of the day.He takes shelter in a cave and finds the Norbie warrior Gorgol there before him.

Gorgol is working for Storm this season.Storm expected him to be back at the Quade spread watching the horses.After explaining that he had left the horses in the Quade corral, Gorgol tells Storm that all the natives have been recalled to their clans for medicine talk.

Storm knows better than to probe too deeply into medicine talk, but he is quite puzzled by the recalls.Usually the Norbies urge warriors to hire on with the settlers during Big Dry season, if for no other reason than to reduce the number of thirsty mouths drinking scarce water.Of course, these warriors are commonly paid in horses and the clans are always short of the offworld creatures.

This recall puts a cramp in a lot of plans.Most settlers in the Peaks will be short of riders with the natives gone back to their clans.After the land cools down, Gorgol heads into the mountains and Storm rides toward the Quade ranch.

Upon returning home, Storm finds Brad Quade hosting an impromptu settler conclave on the native recall.Rig Dumaroy is busily running his mouth about native uprisings, although he is finding fewer settlers willing to listen to him after his mistaken accusations during the Xik attacks a few months ago.Brad Quade, the Lancin brothers and a few other level-headed settlers are more concerned about the shortage of riders.

During this conversation, Storm learns that the natives have moved out of their home ranges and are heading into the Blue range.No settler knows much about that section of mountains, although Logan -- Storm's half-brother -- probably knows more than anyone else.But Logan has not returned from his visit with the Shosonna clan and is probably traveling with them toward the meeting.

When the conclave ends, Brad Quade points out that Storm has a claim to file.The next day, he should take a 'copter into Galwadi to make his claim and then he can find some extra riders to hire.He could also try to meet with Kelson and learn what the Peace Officer knows about this strange native behavior.

These stories introduce outside forces into Arzor affairs, raising the possibility of native uprisings.Even the Norbies, who are friendly and used to human customs, have problems with settlers such as Rig Dumaroy, who definitely doesn't hire native riders.On the other hand, Storm and the Quades have friends among the natives.Logan Quade has even been adopted into the Shosonna clan.

These novels are vintage Norton, but with an older protagonist than usual.However, there is the psionic bond between man and animal, natives who are strangely like his own kin, and a deadly danger that must be faced.Moreover, there is the element of hope that survives among disaster.

Highly recommended for Norton fans and anyone who enjoys tales of competent and talented persons, dangerous but friendly animals, and mysterious alien artifacts.

-Arthur W. Jordin

Grateful for this omnibus edition
My originals of the two books collected in this omnibus were so old and ragged that I was tremdously grateful that they were re-printed!Andre, or Mary Alice, Norton was one of the shining lights among women writers in science fiction, and we will miss her.And never was her writing better than in Beast Master and Lord of Thunder.

New readers, beware!Andre Norton is addicting, and mostly you have to locate her books in the Young Readers sections.The saving grace is that she was also a prolific writer (two whole shelves on my bookshelves!) so that it will take a while to read them all.She is one writer you can give a young reader without worry about too much violence or "adult" content, and she liked to write about younger heros/heroines before they were a more widespread phenomenon.But her books cover some wonderful, thought-provoking topics, as timely now as they were when she wrote them.

Beast Master's Planet
Ok--while I do not own this book--I do own the 2 stories that it contains (4 copies of Beast Master and 2 of Lord of Thunder--what can I say--I'm a major Andre Norton fan) and the 2 stories are GREAT.The little blurb provided by the publisher frankly does nothing to engage a possible reader's attention.

Basically Hosteen Storm (called only Storm by his own choice) is one of the few survivors of an Earth that has been totally destroyed during a war with an alien race.There are many human settled worlds tho, so there is still no shortage of humans in the galaxy. Storm, with his beast team, 2 meercats, an African Black Eagle and a Sand Cat (all genetically enhanced so that they are at least semi-intelligent and also able to telepathically communicate with Storm and each other) come to Arzor to settle.Altho there is a secondary agenda on Storm's part.While riding herd they become mixed up in other adventures.

These are the first 2 of a 5 part story arc.Altho many years elapsed between the publishing of these 2 and the other 3 books in the series.While I have enjoyed the other 3 books in the series (Beast Master's Ark, Beast Master's Circus and Beast Master's Quest) these 2 are my favourites in the arc of stories.Because of the almost 25 years between the publishing of books 1 and 2 (comprised in this book) and books 3,4 and 5, you can really see the difference in attitudes that have occured in even that short a time.

The stories in this book are also popular with younger fans (6th grade reading level and above), especially with boys.I was 13 myself when I found Andre and have been an addict ever since.

Omnibus Book
Excellent single book containg both stories. Saves shelf space. These are both intriguing narratives of a possible future. ... Read more

Product Description
Preparing to travel through time in order to face a band of predatory aliens, Ross Murdoch plans to leap into the feudal period of Dominion, where he can help win a war that will bring defeat to the aliens. Reprint. AB. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

The best of the new Time Traders
This is the best of the new Time Trader stories.Very good plot and characters.As good as any of Norton's earlier works.

Utterly disappointing
**** Spoilers follow, but that's OK because you want to avoid the book like the plague anyway ****

Having recently read the first four books in the Time Traders series (which are OK but not the best of Norton), I expected this book to be more of the same.

I was disappointed to find out that the book was not in fact written by Norton, and this is clear from the cloying parsing and utter lack of dramatic plotting which the book suffers from throughout. Griffin, the co-author, is obviously the author of this book, with little to no input from Andre Norton herself.

Worse, it was obvious to me that Griffin's original effort was not a Time Trader's story at all, but a book written by her otherwise, and then hastily and ineptly adapted to wedge it into the Time Traders series. Yep, add a chapter to the beginning and to the end, globally replace a few character names, insert a few references to the project, and there you have it ... a Time Traders series book! Well, not really.

Griffin is so in love with her characters that they NEVER suffer a setback to their plans, completely relieving any possibility of dramatic tension. The very evil plans of the bad guys are briefly discussed by the bad guys ... and never again bear on the course of the book.

The two sets of 'bad guy' leaders are found and dispatched in the most contrived and simplistic way (un)imaginable.

Ashe's contributions to the story are effectively completely dumped for Griffin's newly introduced character Eveleen Riordan, with whom she is completely in love.

Let me just tell you that Ross Murdock falls in love and marries Riordan during the course of this book. Knowing that, you can safely bypass this and you are caught up for the next installment.

You may notice that Griffin was dumped as the new author of the series very quickly after the appearance of this stinker.

I'm not a big fan of authors turning over their work to a 'guest author', and having their name appear on the cover only to spur sales. This book is a perfect example of why that can go VERY VERY wrong. The book has nothing of Norton but a few character names. The plot is completely broken, and even action sequences near the end that resolve the conflict are contrived and unworkable.

Book 6, written by the replacement 'guest author', Sherwood Smith, is a big improvement, and I recommend that you skip this pitiful sell out and go directly to Echoes in Time!!

A Rescue in Time
Firehand (1994) is the fifth SF novel in the Time Traders series, following Key Out of Time.In the previous volume, Ross Murdock, Gordon Ashe and Karara Trehern drove the Baldies off Hawaika.In the process, Karara gained some Foanna talents.Still, they and the dolphins were stranded in the past after the battle.

In this novel, Eveleen Riordan is sent into the past to fetch Ross and Gordon back to their own time.The Project already knows that Karara and the dolphins will be staying in the past.In fact, Karara has written a masterpiece about the battle and the eviction of the Baldies.

Ross and Gordon return with Eveleen and are taken to the Dominion of the Sun-Star Virgin.At least to the system where it had existed.The Dominion population had disappeared at the same time that the people of Hawaika had appeared.For some reasons, the actions of the Time Agents on Hawaika had also disrupted the Dominion.

The Dominionites appeared to be humans, maybe transported to the Dominion by some other aliens.They were less bellicose than Terrans and had developed starflight on their own.They had also developed a means of navigating their ships without voyage tapes.Furthermore, they had defeated a Baldie invasion of their system by a form of mind power.Now their home planet is burnt to a cinder.

In this story, the Baldies contact Zanthor I Yoroc, Ton of Condor Hall.They offer gold to support his efforts to conquer the island.Zanthor had already been thinking of taking a neighboring domain from a weak lord.Despite the Baldies destruction of the minds of his guards, he agrees and returns to his hold with only his son Talroc I Zanthor.

Ross, Gordon and Eveleen travel back to the crucial period in the Dominion past.Gordon poses as a native physician while Ross and Eveleen are disguised as mercenary guards.They pass on the news of the coming invasion by Ton Zanthor.In Saphirehold, they also convince the Ton to try a new tactic:guerrilla warfare.

Zanthor conquers or intimidates all northern domains and prepares to take the Corridor, the only pass through the mountains suitable for large forces.He hires mercenaries to invade the south.Then he takes them toward Saphirehold.

But the Saphirehold contingent uses unconventional tactics to hold back the forces of Condor Hall until the winter weather precludes further warfare. The southern domains now have time to prepare for his coming.They hold the Condor Hall forces slightly south of the Corridor.

Meanwhile, the Saphirehold forces -- under the command of Ross -- are raiding the supply lines.Their raids force Zanthor to retain some of his forces to guard the convoys and patrol the pass.The guerrillas send part of their booty to the southern alliance to remind them of Saphirehold's contribution to the war.

This tale reduces the invasion into a static conflict and finally into a losing proposition for Zanthor.No matter what he tries, the Saphireholders ambush sufficient convoys to reduce the comfort level of his mercenaries.The hired troops have become thoroughly disgruntled.Zanthor needs to do something to regain the initiative.

Firehand is the name used by the Dominion populace for Ross Murdock.He had gotten the scars fighting the mind control of Baldies back in Terra's past.Ross is rapidly becoming a legend on Dominion.

One wonders about the salvation of Ross and Gordon by the Project.One would think that their modification of the past on Hawaika would divert them to an entirely different timeline.Yet the same thing happens on Dominion.Evidently the author had a conception of timelines that differs from the common viewpoint.

The story has a traditional ending.Ross and Eveleen are married on Dominion.Who would have thought that he would get married?Enjoy!

Highly recommended for Norton & Griffen fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of time travel, alien meddling, cold steel, and a touch of romance.

-Arthur W. Jordin

return of Ross Murdock and the Time Traders
This book was written many years after the first four of the Time Traders books (Time Traders, Galactic Derelect, Defiant Agents and Key Out of Time.)This tells about the "return" of Murdock and Ash to modern day Earth after they had thought that they were trapped on the world of Hawaiiki by the destruction of their time gate.It was fairly good, but frankly, I didn't like the "love interest" thrown in.Sorry, but I LIKED my loner Murdock and wasn't happy to see him letting down his walls the way he did.On the other hand, Evie (called several different names in the book, depending on if she was undercover in time or not) was a fairly good match for him, being almost as big a loner as he was.

Again, they are battling to save a world from the Baldies (the resident alien bad guys) and this tells the story of that attempt.

surprise
I picked up this book at a resellers shop with no cover on it or any idea what it was about.(It is hardback,not stolen).Norton is great and she doesn't let you down here.Smooth writing and great characters who you feelyou know by the end of the book.My only complaint is that the book isfairly short and therefore not a terribly engrossing novel.Try it,you mightbe surprised as pleasantly as I was. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Witch world #4
Three Against the Witch World
(1965)


"Three Against the Witch World" is the fourth fantasy novel in the Witch World Series by Andre Norton.It follows Witch World, Year of the Unicorn (Witch World )and Web of the Witch World


This story begins a trilogy of the adventures of Kemoc, Kyllan, and Kaththea, the three children of Earth-born warrior, Simon Tregarth and his witch-wife, Jaelithe This book is told from Kyllan's point of view.My guess is that the other two novels are told from the point of view of the other two. The following two books are Warlock of the Witch World (1967) and Sorceress of the Witch World (Witch World Chronicles) (1968).

Kaththea Tregarth, born one of three triplets, could link telepathically with her birth-brothers, Kyllan and Kemoc. At an early age, she was forcibly separated from her brothers and taken to the Place of Silence to be trained in magic by Wise Women of Estcarp, just like her Mother, Jaelithe.

Some of the highlights include:
- The Flannan
- Escore,
- Euthayan
- The Green People, and
- The Lady of the Green Silence.



Andre Norton was a powerful mythmaker and world-builder (she passed away on 03/17/2005 at age 93

I highly recommend this book to fans of Andre Norton and fans of fantasy.If you've read the first three, you might as well read this one.I intend to read them all sooner or later.Enjoy.

GunnerSeptember, 2010

First book in a great Witch World trilogy
"Three Against the Witch World" (1965) begins a very fine trilogy of the adventures of Kemoc, Kyllan, and Kaththea, the three children of Earth-born warrior, Simon Tregarth and his witch-wife, Jaelithe.The following two books are "Warlock of the Witch World" (1967) and "Sorceress of the Witch World" (1968).

Kaththea Tregarth, born one of three triplets, could link telepathically with her birth-brothers, Kyllan and Kemoc.At an early age, she was forcibly separated from her brothers and taken to the Place of Silence to be trained in magic by Wise Women of Estcarp.

In "Three Against the Witch World" the triplets escape from witch-ruled Estcarp to the magical land of Escore.There, they accidentally destroy the false peace that had long abided between the great powers of Light and Dark."Things awoke and gathered, and the land was troubled..." and the three learn that they must fight with the forces of Light, or be utterly annihilated by the Dark.

Kyllan, the warrior brother narrates this first book of the trilogy.After he and his brother free their sister, Kathea from the Witches, they make the long, arduous journey over-mountain to the forbidden lands of the East.Then Kaththea troubles the land by sending forth a familiar, and Kyllan is magicked and carried away by a creature of the dark in the form of a black stallion.He almost perishes but for the healing powers of the Lady of Green Silences. Once he is reunited with his brother and sister, they learn how Kaththea's witchcraft disturbed the magical balance of ancient Escore.Kyllan returns to Estcarp to recruit new soldiers for the battle to come.

Andre Norton was a powerful mythmaker and world-builder, and her fantasies concerning the triplets Kemoc, Kaththea, and Kyllan do not suffer in comparison with Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea books.In fact, my own personal preference is for Norton's Witch World.

Telepathic triplets discover Escore
"Three Against the Witch World" (1965) begins a very fine trilogy of the adventures of Kemoc, Kyllan, and Kaththea, the three children of Earth-born warrior, Simon Tregarth and his witch-wife, Jaelithe.The following two books are "Warlock of the Witch World" (1967) and "Sorceress of the Witch World" (1968).

Kaththea Tregarth, born one of three triplets, could link telepathically with her birth-brothers, Kyllan and Kemoc.At an early age, she was forcibly separated from her brothers and taken to the Place of Silence to be trained in magic by Wise Women of Estcarp.

In "Three Against the Witch World" the triplets escape from witch-ruled Estcarp to the magical land of Escore.There, they accidentally destroy the false peace that had long abided between the great powers of Light and Dark."Things awoke and gathered, and the land was troubled..." and the three learn that they must fight with the forces of Light, or be utterly annihilated by the Dark.

Kyllan, the warrior brother narrates this first book of the trilogy.After he and his brother free their sister, Kathea from the Witches, they make the long, arduous journey over-mountain to the forbidden lands of the East.Then Kaththea troubles the land by sending forth a familiar, and Kyllan is magicked and carried away by a creature of the dark in the form of a black stallion.He almost perishes but for the healing powers of the Lady of Green Silences. Once he is reunited with his brother and sister, they learn how Kaththea's witchcraft disturbed the magical balance of ancient Escore.Kyllan returns to Estcarp to recruit new soldiers for the battle to come.

Andre Norton is a powerful mythmaker and world-builder, and her fantasies concerning the triplets Kemoc, Kaththea, and Kyllan do not suffer in comparison with Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea books.In fact, my own personal preference is for Norton's Witch World.

The start of one of fantasy's finest trilogies
"Three Against the Witch World" (1965) begins a very fine trilogy of the adventures of Kemoc, Kyllan, and Kaththea, the three children of Earth-born warrior, Simon Tregarth and his witch-wife, Jaelithe.The following two books are "Warlock of the Witch World" (1967) and "Sorceress of the Witch World" (1968).

Kaththea Tregarth, born one of three triplets, could link telepathically with her birth-brothers, Kyllan and Kemoc.At an early age, she was forcibly separated from her brothers and taken to the Place of Silence to be trained in magic by Wise Women of Estcarp.

In "Three Against the Witch World" the triplets escape from witch-ruled Estcarp to the magical land of Escore.There, they accidentally destroy the false peace that had long abided between the great powers of Light and Dark."Things awoke and gathered, and the land was troubled..." and the three learn that they must fight with the forces of Light, or be utterly annihilated by the Dark.

Kyllan, the warrior brother narrates this first book of the trilogy.After he and his brother free their sister, Kathea from the Witches, they make the long, arduous journey over-mountain to the forbidden lands of the East.Then Kaththea troubles the land by sending forth a familiar, and Kyllan is magicked and carried away by a creature of the dark in the form of a black stallion.He almost perishes but for the healing powers of the Lady of Green Silences. Once he is reunited with his brother and sister, they learn how Kaththea's witchcraft disturbed the magical balance of ancient Escore.Kyllan returns to Estcarp to recruit new soldiers for the battle to come.

Andre Norton was a powerful mythmaker and world-builder (she passed away on 03/17/2005 at age 93), and her fantasies concerning the triplets Kemoc, Kaththea, and Kyllan do not suffer in comparison with Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea books.In fact, my own personal preference is for Norton's Witch World.

Beginning of a powerful, magical trilogy
"Three Against the Witch World" (1965) begins a very fine trilogy of the adventures of Kemoc, Kyllan, and Kaththea, the three children of Earth-born warrior, Simon Tregarth and his witch-wife, Jaelithe.The following two books are "Warlock of the Witch World" (1967) and "Sorceress of the Witch World" (1968).

Kaththea Tregarth, born one of three triplets, could link telepathically with her birth-brothers, Kyllan and Kemoc.At an early age, she was forcibly separated from her brothers and taken to the Place of Silence to be trained in magic by Wise Women of Estcarp.

In "Three Against the Witch World" the triplets escape from witch-ruled Estcarp to the magical land of Escore.There, they accidentally destroy the false peace that had long abided between the great powers of Light and Dark."Things awoke and gathered, and the land was troubled..." and the three learn that they must fight with the forces of Light, or be utterly annihilated by the Dark.

Kyllan, the warrior brother narrates this first book of the trilogy.After he and his brother free their sister, Kathea from the Witches, they make the long, arduous journey over-mountain to the forbidden lands of the East.Then Kaththea troubles the land by sending forth a familiar, and Kyllan is magicked and carried away by a creature of the dark in the form of a black stallion.He almost perishes but for the healing powers of the Lady of Green Silences. Once he is reunited with his brother and sister, they learn how Kaththea's witchcraft disturbed the magical balance of ancient Escore.Kyllan returns to Estcarp to recruit new soldiers for the battle to come.

Andre Norton is a powerful mythmaker and world-builder, and her fantasies concerning the triplets Kemoc, Kaththea, and Kyllan do not suffer in comparison with Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea books.In fact, my own personal preference is for Norton's Witch World.
... Read more

Product Description
Star Born is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by Andre Norton is in the English language. If you enjoy the works of Andre Norton then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Great book!!!
Andre Norton has always been the best.The story line will have everyone smiling and crying at one time or the other.This is a great book for younger readers and adults too.The world she makes is so real and the characters so very alive.I recommend this book and author to all sci-fi fans.

sequel to (The Stars Are Ours)
Star Born


Star Born (1957) is a sequel to (The Stars Are Ours) 3 to 4 generations in the future. Dalgard Nordis of the colony, with a Merman, Sssuri, are on a "man-Journey", sort of like a continental tour, to gather knowledge and a scouting trip to investigate some old ruins in the North that were rumored to have been visited by the evil former inhabitants only to see a space ship in the sky land near there. After discovering the old ones looting the city for lost technology Dalgard finds the people from the star ship to be of his race. Good sequel.

Highly recommended for fans of Classic Andre


Gunner, June, 2009

A First and Second Contact
While this book is a nominal sequel to The Stars Are Ours(1954), being set in the same universe/alternate future history, its events happen so much later (two hundred years) than those of the first book that it can easily be read as a stand-alone, without any loss of context or meaning.

The Terran refugees of the first book are now long established colonists of their new planet home, and have developed a culture fitting to the planet and to their much lower level of technology than their ancestors had. It's a culture fitted to the ecology of the planet, and has established an excellent partnership relationship with the native partial sea-dwellers. But there is also a great amount of evidence of another race that once ruled the planet, from their ruined cities and abandoned farms, and who apparently still exist, though now a very small group of entities that the colonists and their mermen sea-partners hope will stay safely far away on another continent. But two young people, the Terran Dalgard and the merman Sssuri, while on Dalgard's 'man-trip' of exploration, discover evidence that the former planet rulers are once more making forays near the colony's location.

A second plot thread is the arrival of a new ship from Terra, crewed by members of The Federation of Free Men, a group that came into being with the overthrow of the Pax, the tyrannical government that the colonists originally fled from. The new group, technologically oriented, finds and attempts to form a partnership with the old planet rulers.

With these two threads as starting points, Norton weaves a very good adventure tale, which, while not excessively deep, can provide a great deal of entertainment and involvement in the final outcome. As is almost immediately obvious, the two plot threads eventually have a meeting point, with a conclusion that while foreseeable is also satisfying. Along the way towards that conclusion, she throws in items that would become something of hallmarks for her, from telepathic bonds with animals to a certain distrust of technology, along with a warning that not all alien races would be either approachable or understandable, that some ways of thinking will always be antithetical to normal humans.

I think I first read this a couple of years after its first publication, and was deeply enthralled by this great adventure. Reading it again today, I find that while it is still a very good adventure, some of its magic has gone away, and that it hasn't stood the test of time as well as some of her other excellent science fiction adventures from this period, such as her Star Rangers (aka The Last Planet) (Central Control, Bk. 1), being too much a straight-forward adventure and without enough character development or her masterful hints of 'otherness' that often permeate some of her other books.

Certainly readable by just about any age, but most adults will find this just a little too light in intellectual meat.

---Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)

WHAT IS A MAN? Or WHAT IS A SENTIENT BEING?



Star Born


Star Born (1957)is a sequel to (The Stars Are Ours) 3 to 4 generations in the future. Dalgard Nordis of the colony, with a Merman, Sssuri, are on a "man-Journey" sort of like a continental tour to gather knowledge and ascouting trip to investigate some old ruins in the Norththat were rumored to have been visited by the evil former inhabitants only to see a space ship in the sky land near there. After discovering the old ones looting the city for lost technology Dalgard finds the people from the star ship to be of his race.

Good sequel. Highly recommended for fans of Classic Andre Norton, science fiction and good storytelling.

GunnerNovember, 2008

A Meeting Among the Stars
Star Born (1957) is the second SF novel im the Astra duology, following The Stars Are Ours.In the previous volume, the Terran refugees found a habitable planet, which they named Astra.It had evidence of a prior civilization.Still, the Terrans had little choice except to settle the planet, for their ship was not capable of taking them any further.

Although the technological civilization seemed to be defunct and its inhabitants to be extinct, some of their experimental animals still remained.One breed -- the mermen -- had since achieved sapience.The Terran colony had made peaceful contact with these amphibious creatures and traded with them.

In this novel, Dalgard Nordis is making his man-journey into strange lands.With him goes Sssuri, a merman and his knife brother.The two are traveling by outrigger along the coastline when they sight a break in the cliffs.They paddle their boat into the cove.

While Sssuri slips into the sea with his spear, Dalgard waits by a stream broadcasting a feeling of friendship and goodwill.When he makes mind contact with a hopper -- a twenty inch high animal with some mental talents -- Dalgard trades some crystal beads for dried fruit.After Sssuri returns with a fish, they prepare their meal.

Dalgard and Sssuri intend to explore a city of Those Others that is shunned by most of the mermen.The city is one of the accursed sites, only a rumor to the merman and unknown to the Terrans.So they will be the first to investigate the ruins.

After they finish eating, Sssuri notices the presence of runners in the dark, primitive primates distantly related to the mermen.Usually the runners are nocturnal, but something has excited them.They have left their hunting grounds to seek new territory.

Seeking the cause of the runner migration, Dalgard and Sssuri travel inland to the central plains.They are observed by hoppers and notice a small herd of duocorns.Finally they discover a running stream and settle down to await the runners.As night falls, they see a streak of fire cross the sky from east to west.

In this story, centuries have passed, the Pax has fallen, and Earth is once again trying to reach the stars.Experimental overdrive ships are being built and sent into space every five years.None have returned, but the latest venture has brought the RS-10 to an unknown planet.

The crew soon discovers that the new world has cities.When they set out to explore the nearest city, they also find natives.Although Raf Kurbi is suspicious, his crewmates seem to accept the aliens as benign survivors of a great civilization.

Raf meets a fellow pilot and is invited to tour their only remaining longrange ship.He also is shown the remains of another alien who was savagely attacked with a spear.Later, Raf sees the aliens burn down members of another alien species armed with such spears.

Dalgard and Sssuri find a hopper that is afraid of them.Since the hoppers have not been scared of them in the past, Dalgard and Sssuri wonder if Those Others are out wandering the land.Then they find the bodies of slaughtered hoppers and know that Those Others have been hunting for sport.

Sssuri searches the minds of the nearby animals and discovers that Those Others are no longer present.Dalgard and Sssuri paddle an alien boat across the river to enter the alien city.There they find a lair of snake devils in an ancient arena.

This story has the aliens looting a store of alien technology within the abandoned city.The ship crewmen have come with the aliens to see these artifacts and learn about the technology.Eventually Dalgard and Raf discover each other in the alien city.

Unlike the previous novel, this tale includes mutations among the Terran settlers from the long centuries of spaceflight.These mutations allow them to communicate mentally with the mermen and hoppers.They can even communicate with Those Others to some extent.

This tale heralds the beginnings of the spread of humanity to the stars.Moreover, it also relates the initial development of psionic talents among humanity.This duology lays the foundations for most of the later SF novels by the author.Enjoy!

Highly recommended for Norton fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of strange civilizations, alien motivations, and telepathic powers.

-Arthur W. Jordin ... Read more

Product Description
The powerful magic of ruthless Elvenlord masters has for centuries rules the world. Even Shana, the legendary Elvenbane prophesied to deliver the oppressed into freedom, is helpless before such power. She and her ragtag band of outcasts, half-blood wizards, escaped human slaves, and free-thinking dragons have gained only a token victory against the mighty lords.

Only the long-forgotten Iron People, a band of human nomads, have escaped the tyranny of the reigning wizards. How have they survived through the centuries?

As the winds of change sweep the world, and as tensions seething beneath the surface of Elven society threaten to break into open revolt. Shana meets the ancient tribe. Could an age-old secret free Shana and her people...or will its discovery call down their doom.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (27)

A Fun Adventure!
I thought, that when I bought this one, that I had read it before and simply misplaced my copy - but while parts did seem a little familiar, I am fairly certain that the familiarity is more from Mercedes Lackey's writing style. I certainly did not remember any of this and it was a fun, adventurous fantasy novel that I enjoyed more than the re-reading of the first book. I'm excited to read the next one and I hope the one written after that is actually published soon!

Adventure
"Andre Norton", just the name says a lot. Intricate story line, but a grand trip.

Poorly Written/Edited & but decent story
I liked both this book and its predecessor but I thought both were poorly written and edited, the second more so than the first.The beginning of the first book started well, with rich descriptions of the world and the things in them, but by the end of the book I felt like I was being told a story by a child who was making things up as he/she went along.This book had a very similar feeling, except without the rich description in the beginning.Both books seemed rushed toward the end of the story.

It almost seemed that the book was quickly penned during a "rap session" between the two authors but was never "smoothed out."There's even one part in the book when two character's names are substituted for one another. It made me begin to wonder if anyone REALLY read (not just scanned) the book before it was published.

Keep in mind I did really enjoy this book as well as the first, and it was definitely a nice change of pace to see a lot of things happen in one book (unlike the sometimes molasses like pace of the most recent books by Robert Jordan).I just wish the book(s) had a bit more polish and depth to them.It's a very interesting world with a lot of potential, but it just doesn't seem as well developed as some of the others from different series.

For crying out loud, where's the third book already?!?
I loved The Elvenbane. I really liked the stereotype-defying, "evil, nasty elves" concept. The characters (that mattered) were fairly well developed, and the plot, while a bit cliche, still kept me entertained. This book was good also. Not *as* good as the first one, but still good. I thought the story moved a bit too quickly-I finished the book in about a day. I've been waiting for the third book ever since since. The publishers have been lying about the release date of Elvenborn since 1995! I enjoyed the series and am still waiting for it to continue. Please TOR, make me happy!

good, but a bit of a let-down
The first book in this series, The Elvenbane, was excellent, but I experienced a feeling of dissatisfication at the end of Elvenblood.The plot was more confusing and the resolution of the conflict seemed abrupt and very connived, as if Norton and Lackey were in a hurry to finish the book.It was still an wonderful read, but I expected more, especially coming after such a phenomenal first book. ... Read more

Product Description
In a future where humanity has scattered itself across the stars and Earth itself is now a dimly-remembered place of legend, two worlds of near-supernatural strangeness challenge two naive but courageous heros. The planet Beltane had been unscathed by the all-encompassing war of the four Sectors when Vere Collis and his friends, exploring caves underground, were trapped by powerful explosions on the surface. Their leader was killed, but the group wandered for days underground to find a way to the surface. They emerged to find that they were the last human survivors on Beltane. Only strange and deadly mutant creatures now roamed the surface. Elsewhere in the galaxy, Kilda's home planet had no place for her, so she took employment as a teacher and governess to two young children on the planet named Dylan. But she soon found that one of her charges has an invisible "dread companion"-and soon Kilda knows that the companion is not imaginary at all, as it leads her charges into an other-dimensional world resembling the legends of Faerie. Though the other world has unknown dangers on every hand, Kilda follows the children across the spatial barrier, knowing that she is their only hope. Two complete novels of two very different heroes battling alien and unknown evil, and fighting to protect the helpless in worlds that are wondrous, terrifying, and utterly alien.Publisher's Note: Dark Companion has previously appeared separately as Dark Piper and Dread Companion. This is the first combined publication of the complete book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

If you're someone who likes journeys that don't go anywhere interesting, this should be right up your alley.
If you're the kind of person who likes reading Umberto Eco and watching French films, you might like this. Otherwise, happy slogging. Trying to read & enjoy this book is like trying to play chess blindfolded without anyone telling you the rules - some people can do it, but whether you're one of them is another matter entirely.

The first story, Dark Piper, isn't too bad. The second story, Dread Companion, can be read entirely separately from the first, which is actually not a point in its favour. It would be a much better story if its middle 80% was chopped out and the story continued from where it ends.

Dark Piper and Dread Companion
Two of the late Andre Norton's novels "Dark Piper" and "Dread Companion" have been reissued under a single title:"Dark Companion."

"Dark Piper" was first published in 1968 and is one of the few `post Apocalypse' science fiction novels of Lifetime Grand Master of Fantasy, Andre Norton, who passed away on March 17, 2005 after a long and extremely fruitful career.Her first novel, "The Prince Commands" was published in 1934, and her last, "Three Hands for Scorpio" in 2005.Her magically detailed world-building skills and upright, against-all-odds characters will be sorely missed.

"Dark Piper" features her usual cast of likeable, self-reliant young men and women, who have to fight both inscrutable, powerful aliens and the evil mercenaries who attempted to erase all other human life on Beltane.There are hints of Norton's Forerunners, the mysterious beings who preceded humans into space, but this novel is mainly one of survival after the near-destruction of the Beltane colony.

Vere Collis, a young man from a military family, narrates in first-person the near obliteration of Beltane, a very remote Terran outpost whose human colonists were mainly scientists.As the Terran Confederation gradually disintegrates under the burden of interstellar wars, Beltane becomes more and more isolated--an easy target for mercenary soldiers who still possess the ships to travel between stars. Retired Sector-Captain Griss Lugard attempts to warn the colonists of impending danger.When this fails, he leads a group of youngsters (including the narrator, Vere Collis) deep underground before a series of explosions seals them from all contact with the outer world.

Vere and his friends must return to the surface, in spite of monsters who have adapted to life underground.That which awaits them among the silent ruins of their home is even more soul-shattering.

This is another fantastically populated universe, created by one of the most underrated fantasy/science fiction writers of our time.It is more darkly themed than most of Norton's science fiction, and will never be my favorite of her novels.However, "Dark Piper" is a must-read for fans.

"Dread Companion" begins and ends in a future where humanity had long ago reached the stars and scattered itself across thousands of planets.Terra itself is nothing but a half-remembered legend of origin.

Norton combines a theory of parallel universes with themes from folklore to create her story of a changeling who drags her brother and governess out of the twenty-fifth century AF (After Flight) and into the world of Faerie.

It's an odd amalgamation, but I think it works well because her story is anchored by the governess, Kilda and her brave attempts to rescue her charges. Almost as soon as she meets the children, Kilda realizes that the girl Bartare has some kind of unnatural hold over her younger brother, Oomark.The governess does everything she can to solve the mystery of Bartare's invisible `Dread Companion'---invisible that is, until Kilda and her charges are yanked into Faerie.

Kilda has to drink the water of Faerie before she can even see properly.The boy Oomark stays with her, but eats freely of alien fruit.When Kilda finally regains her normal vision, Oomark has begun a physical transformation into a creature of hooves and horns---a faun.Kilda must now struggle to stay human, locate a gate back to the sane world of the 25th century, keep Oomark by her side, and find Bartare who has gone to join the Dread Companion she believes to be her true mother.

"Dread Companion" was originally published in 1970, sandwiched between the Witch World novels, "Sorceress of the Witch World" (1968) and "The Crystal Gryphon" (1972), as well as many other works by this prolific author.Norton fans will discern several common elements between her excellent Witch World fantasy series and this stand-alone SF novel.Examples: there are nurturing trees that are havens from evil hound- and vulture-like creatures; and Bartare's kidnapper turns out to be a Great One of the Light---not that it matters so unhuman is She.

In "Dread Companion," you will read some of the best descriptions of Faerie ever written, even though this book is officially classified as science fiction.

Norton has written of a place that is wondrous, terrible, and truly alien.

Darker than normal Norton
This book is darker that the normal A. Norton. It does expose some ideas about parallel universes and how the things we love can be or own worst enemy.
Well written, it is dark . but thought provoking. Good for the reader familiar with "Norton".

Two Dark Tales
Dark Companion (2005) is an omnibus edition including two SF novels: Dark Piper and Dread Companion.These stories are unrelated except in their mutually dark ambience.

In Dark Piper (1968), Beltane had lost most of its security and technical men during the ten years of the Four Sectors War.Those that remained became even more work focused and pacifistic, especially after the Corfu incident.Now the war has ended, not by victory but mutual exhaustion.

The Beltane population rejoices that their forced separation from the outside worlds will no longer continue.They are looking forward to word of new scientific advances and renewed trade with other planets.The end of the war will surely bring good things to their world.

In this novel, Vere Collis is the son of the former Security Commander on Beltane.On the day that a fifth-rate tramp brings the Beltane survivors back home, Vere recognizes Griss Lugard among the other halt and lame.He was much too thin and had a partially restored face, but Vere recognized his father's former second in command.

Lugard has been given title to Butte Hold and all that it contains in lieu of back pay.The old security hold is probably the sturdiest structure on the planet.Shortly before the war started, Lugard had discovered artifacts in a lava cave nearby.According to his papers, Lugard is assigned responsibility for continuing these studies.

Vere gives Lugard a lift to his new homeTheir conversation during the journey does not forebode a peaceful future.Lugard discusses the ships and men that have lost their homes and now have no central control to restrain their actions.They talk of pirates and raids upon the central worlds.After seeing Lugard into his hold, Vere leaves with an invitation to return at any time.

In this story, Vere brings the Rovers -- a study group for the younger set -- to visit Butte Hold.Lugard makes them welcome and invites them to return again.The Rovers are very interested in the Hold, but Vere puts a damper on any talk of forerunner treasure.

This story introduces a homeless ship that asks permission to settle on Beltane.Despite Lugard's objections, the ruling council agrees to let the refugees have land in the vacant areas.Then two more homeless ships turn up asking to join their associates.

Lugard invites the Rovers to explore the lava caves on the day that the council has scheduled a full meeting to discuss this request by the new refugees.Vere and the youngster arrive later than expected, but Lugard has a troop carrier ready for their journey.They have entered the cave and are enroute to the old underground shelter when the earth shakes.

Dread Companion (1970) is set in the 25th century After Flight.The Survey Service allowed their space personnel leave to marry and to produce children.After several years, the marriage was break-bonded and the couple went their own ways.Any children from the marriage were raised in a Service creche.

In this novel, Kilda c'Rhyn was born on Chalox.Her father was Rhyn Halcrow, a Survey scout, and her mother was a Forsmanian of a trading family.After three years, the marriage is ceremoniously broken and Rhyn spaces out.Kilda's mother remarries within her clan and Kilda goes to the creche.

Kilda does well in the creche.Unluckily, she takes after her father in her restless nature.She doesn't want to just bear children and raise a family, but to explore new worlds.

Her mentor and sponsor -- Lazk Volk -- finds her a job that will get her off the planet to a less conventional society.She is employed as a house aide for a woman traveling to Dylan to be with her husband.Kilda is to take care of the two young children.

Oomark -- the younger child -- is a typical boy.However, Bartare -- the older sister -- probably has too much influence on the boy.Kilda notes an element of slyness in the girl and hears them talk about a mysterious "She" in their private conversations.

Gentlefem Guska -- the children's mother -- journeys to Dylan in deep sleep.Kilda stays with the children to supervise their activities during the journey.When they reach the spaceport at Tamlin, Commandant Piscov meets them with bad news.Konroy Zobak -- the children's father -- has been killed in a freak accident.But Bartare already knows of the death.

In this story, Kilda finds herself living in a daze for days at a time.She suspects that Bartare is an esper, but forgets to call for an appointment with the parapsychologist.Eventually she breaks out of the daze, but is still unable to talk to any other person about the girl.

Bartare wants to go on a field trip with Oomark's class.Her brother refuses and something bad happens to Griffy, Oomark's fur friend.When Oomark changes his mind, Griffy starts to recover.

On the field trip, Bartare and Oomark slip off and down the hill.When Kilda notices their absence, she follows behind the pair.Kilda finds them striking rocks against red boulders, producing clear tones.When Kilda tries to catch up, she slips and bumps the supply bag against a boulder at the same time as the children strike their boulders.The three tones blend and Kilda falls unconscious.

When Kilda recovers, she finds herself in a gray space filled with bright, colorful geometric figures.Oomark is also there, but he sees normal terrain, plants and insects.When Kilda drinks from a stream, she too starts to see a normal environment.

This work is a precursor to the Witch World series.In the other world or dimension, magic is effective and controlled by the Folk.So, too, is magic a force in the dimension containing the Witch World.

Recommended for Norton fans and for anyone who enjoys tales of strange worlds, struggling youths, and desperate actions.

-Arthur W. Jordin

Tells of two very different heroes who battle evil in alien worlds.
Norton's DARK COMPANION is vintage Norton writing at her best. It combines two of her classics - DARK PIPER and DREAD COMPANION - under one cover and tells of two very different heroes who battle evil in alien worlds. ... Read more

Product Description
Civilization had collapsed on Earth. But one young rebel fought to find the ancient knowledge that had taken men to the stars. When he found the truth, his people could regain the stars themselves-if he could survive to make them listen. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Thank you Baen for reviving two old favorites
DARKNESS AND DAWN

DARKNESS AND DAWN is an omnibus edition put out by Baen that contains two of Andre Norton's post-apocalyptic stories, Star Man's Son: 2250 A.D.and No Night Without Stars

Thank you Baen for reviving two old favorites



StarMan's Son


This was the very first Science Fiction book that I ever read, my Brother had purchased the paperback version sometime in the 1950's and was kind enough to let me read it,I was "hooked" then and still am, Andre Norton shall never die as long as she has readers.

This is about a young boy, Lars of the Puma clan; Lars's father was a Star Man- explorers of the blasted wilderness beyond the mountain stronghold of the Star Hall. The brotherhood of Star Men sought to carry on the tradition of their research scientist ancestors- to seek out new knowledge for the betterment of the tribe- and of the world.Unfortunately Lars was a mutant, and his mutation was very apparent, his hair was white, and the Clan had not accepted him.What was not so apparent was that he had the ability to telepathically communicate with his great hunting cat, Lura.When Lars's Father failed to return from his last mission Lars snuck out of his village to explore the vast Wilderness, rather than accept the insult of a lesser life, Lars took up his sword, bow, and his father's pouch, and along with his great mutant hunting cat, Lura, went out to find the great lost city of the Old Ones that his father's last journal entry spoke of.
Published in 1952 this was one of the first post-apocalyptic novels. It is also one of the most believable. Even in light of current knowledge you still find it believable.
One other thing, in spite of the tales about the unimaginable horror of nuclear war, this book was about hope. You see, even after you press that big "reset" button, mankind will yet find a way to survive; the great cycle of re-civilization from the ruins of former greatness will start again. If you were a kid growing up during the Cold War this was an important message to keep at the back of your mind.
I believe that this was the first book that I used a lined 3 X 5 card as a bookmark.Anytime I came across a word that I wasn't 100% sure of the meaning I wrote in on the lined 3 X 5 card.At the end of the book, I would write down the word and the definition into my personal Lexicon.Over the years I found that there were fewer words on the 3 X 5 cards.Science fiction seems to have an unwritten rule that the author must use a wide vocabulary.
I strongly recommend this book to every teenager who wants to discover the exciting world of Science Fiction and to their parents who want to improve their reading ability and their vocabulary.You might want to do the lined 3 X 5 card thing, also.



No Night Without Stars


No Night without Stars is a post-apocalyptic novel that takes place centuries after the cataclysm that caused the Dark Time. "When the Earth danced, mountains belched fire and sea waves hammered the land", many animals and numerous men had perished. The cold and great choking clouds of evil air killed many more. Only a handful of men and animals survived here and there.
After the skies cleared once again, there were changes. Some animals grew larger, like the clever and adaptable koyots who became riding animals for the Mobs. And the Traders spoke of distant species of men who had grown into giants.
In this novel, Sander (the Smith) left Jak's Mob to search for the secret of working the strange metals found among the ruins of the "Before People". Together with Rhin, his mount, Sander came East seeking the ancient ruins where such metals were found. He finds a village by the sea that has been attacked by the Sea Shark slavers. Although he only takes some food and tools from the village, a survivor tracks him down during the night and questions him.
The next day, Fanyi (A Shaman of her people) finds him again under the open sky. She and her companions, the fishers Kai and Kayi (possibly weasels or such), had been away when the raiders attacked Padford. Now, as the village shaman, she works to pay back the blood debt. She tells Sander that her foreseeing has shown their paths to run together, following her shining pendant toward the Great Place of the Before People.
In this story, Sander, Fanyi and their animal companions trek north and east, crossing forests, rivers and dry sea beds. They discover strange and dangerous new species, demolished cities, and ocean bottoms littered with huge bones, dead ships and ancient ruins. Eventually, they find the cache of old knowledge for which they are searching and face therein a danger greater than any other they have encountered.
Highly Recommended for Norton fans.

If you enjoyed Star Man's Son (my first science fiction book), then you'll enjoy this one also.


Gunner August, 2008










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Post-apocalyptic Quests
Darkness and Dawn is an omnibus edition of two independent novels. It includes Star Man's Son and No Night Without Stars. Both novels are post-apocalyptic stories set after great cataclysms that destroyed the previous civilizations. Both involve quests for knowledge and materiel from the prior age. And both feature symbiotic relationships between humans and animals.

Star Man's Son (1952) takes place after the Great Blowup. Many areas are still radioactive. Mutated plants and animals abound. Fors is the son of Langdon, a Star Man killed by Beast Things on an exploration into a far city. Fors is rejected by the Star Men due to his white hair, a sign of mutation, and so he and his great hunting cat, Lura, leave on a great journey to search for the lost city in the north that was never bombed and thus is safe for scavengers.

No Night Without Stars (1975) takes place three centuries after the cataclysm that caused the Dark Time. Many animals and countless men perished, with only a handful of survivors here and there and, after the skies cleared once again, there were changes. Sander left his people to search for the secret of working the strange metals found among the ruins. Fanyi seeks weapons to pay back the blood debt due to the slavers who have killed or captured her people. Together with their mutated animals -- Rhin, Kai and Kayi -- they follow her pendant toward the Great Place of the Before People.

These stories are classical Norton. Star Man's Son was her first science fiction tale, written more than a decade prior to No Night Without Stars. They are very similar, but the second tale includes a heroine, which was against publisher policy when the first tale was written; however, the author has since produced many female characters with more substantial personalities.

Highly recommended for Norton fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of quests among the ruins of destroyed civilizations.

-Arthur W. Jordin ... Read more

Product Description
Two novellas, "Exile," in which a disfigured witch struggles to regain her powers, and "Falcon Hope," in which two unlikely allies try to preserve their peoples from extinction, are accompanied by "The Chronicler's Tale," by series creator Andre Norton. Reprint. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The Turning: a sub-series of Witch World
This book is the second in the mini-saga of Andre Norton's Witch World, called The Turning. It is interesting and enjoyable, with the usual evil dangers and magic. The second story in the book would be hard to really understand, though, without reading the first book before it, Storms of Victory. Fantasy readers and non-fantasy readers will enjoy.

A Good Read for all fans of the genre!
These stories are well rounded and interesting.They bring new ideas and flavor to the Witch World saga.Each book set here, whether by Ms. Norton personally, or a collaboration with another, "fleshes out" the place and the times.They don't have to appeal to everyone.That is one of the refreshing strongpoints to the series.She is not afraid to see new ideas or changes to the world she has created here.Just one more reason she is who she is. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Not quite what I expected
I've read (and own) most of Andre Norton's Witch World series (in fact, I am completing my collection now...anyone got a cheap copy of "Ware-Wrath"??).I'm not sure what I expected from this volume, but I didn't get it.Don't get me wrong, Andre Norton is a master and I enjoyed it...but something didn't work as well for me as in other novels in the witch world series.I didn't like the main character as much and the "cat" wasn't as large a factor as I expected (ciara's song, zathor's bane, the duke's ballad).I'll probably re-read the book and see if that changes my mind :-)

American falls through Gate into Escore
Andre Norton has a soft spot for cats, and she includes a wild cat and her two kittens in this latest venture into magical Escore.American Kelsie McBlair falls through an ancient stone gate in the Scottish Highlands while rescuing a wounded wild cat.She and the cat (who promptly gives birth to two kittens) are besieged on the other side of the Gate by a Dark Rider and a pack of skeletal hounds, almost before Kelsie realizes she is no longer in Scotland.(It will take the rest of the book to persuade her that there is no way back to her home world).

When a dying Witch bequeaths her true name and her jewel of power to Kelsie, the American finds herself compelled to take up the woman's sorcerous mission into the heart of Escore, where magic lies in "trembling balance between the forces of Light and those of the Dark."

"The Gate of the Cat" is a stand-alone fantasy in Norton's fabulous Witch World series.It takes place (roughly) after the conclusion of "Sorceress of the Witch World" and "Trey of Swords," since characters from both of those novels also play roles (or are at least mentioned) in this book.Yonan, a former border guard of Estcarp and the main narrator of "Trey of Swords," is one of Kelsie's companions on her reluctant quest.Their other companion is a rather nasty, man-hating witch who is known as Wittle. (Sometimes Norton attaches clunky names to her characters, but Wittle really is Wittle).

The magic and the narrative pace are vintage Norton, and she takes us into one of the vilest places of the Dark to be found in any of the Escore fantasies.

"The Gate of the Cat" is a must-read for Witch World fans. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Three Witch World novels originally published separately.
One important fact that previous reviews of 'Annals' failed to mention is that this book is actually three of Andre Norton's previous Witch World novels under one title.They are "Witch World," "Web of the Witch World," and "Year of the Unicorn."

"Witch World"--Simon Tregarth is a hunted man, unjustly cashiered from the U.S. Army for dealing in the post-war blackmarket.Since he had been labeled as a crook, he figured he might as well play the game.

After seven years in the underworld, surrounded by his enemies and a gunshot away from death, Simon treats himself to a decent last meal (Andre Norton heroes and heroines NEVER whine.They assess the odds, then keep on slogging).Enter the mysterious Doctor Petronius who persuades Simon that he has nothing to lose by vanishing from his enemies' gunsights through the Siege Perilous, a Cornish megalith that is rumored to be a gate to other worlds.Simon leaves the restaurant with Petronius, almost positive that he is walking into a trap. Instead of the bullet he is expecting, our hero is transported to the foggy moors of a new world.

The action doesn't let up.The first thing Simon does is rescue a witch from a nasty bunch of snake-headed dogs and hunters (we don't learn the witch's name until the very end of the book).The next thing he knows, he's embroiled in a war where the good guys appear to be losing.

Simon allies himself with "a tall, proud-walking race with...the carriage of rulers and an odd weight of years upon them."His new home, medieval Estcarp is a matriarchate, ruled by witches, whose powers depend on their continuing virginity.Nevertheless, Simon falls in love with the witch he rescued.

The enemies that he and Estcarp must confront have invaded Witch World via a gate similar to the Siege Perilous.The alien Kolder are technically advanced, with submarines and mind-control devices that they use to command their zombie soldiers.

Estcarp's only allies are the Sulcarmen, seafaring warriors and traders who lose their main port of Gorm to the Kolder.Simon, his friend Koris of Gorm, the witch he rescued from the Hounds of Alizon, and a youthful soldier called 'Briant' tread the mysterious byways of Estcarp and its warring neighbors, in an attempt to track down and destroy the technically superior aliens.

"Web of the Witch World"--WWW (1964) is the sequel to "Witch World" (WW) and continues the story of Simon Tregarth and his witch-wife, Jaelithe.They once again find themselves in combat with the alien Kolder, who invaded Witch World through a gateway from their own dying planet.The Kolder were temporarily stymied in the WW, but Simon and his fellow warriors know that they must somehow close the gate between worlds before there will truly be an end to the alien evil.

Witch-ruled Estcarp must do battle with her own neighbors as well as the aliens.Yvian of Karsten declares open war against the witches, and they in turn believe that he has somehow been tainted by the Kolder.The Hounds of Alizon, seething with hatred against all things magical must also be tamed.

WWW is a book of battles as well as a continuation of the love stories of Simon and Jaelithe, plus pale Loyse and the sea-faring Koris of Gorm.The plot is complicated and exceptionally bloody for one of Norton's novels, but she weaves most of the plot together in the end--leaving just enough unfinished business with Alizon, the sea-faring Sulcar, Karsten, and Estcarp to bewitch the reader through many more novels.

"Year of the Unicorn"--This is my favorite Witch World novel among the many five-star novels in this series by Lifetime Grand Master of Fantasy, Andre Norton (Alice Mary North).Each setting, each character is illuminated with clear description and color, like scenes from a medieval Book of Hours.Even though I first read this book in 1965, I can still close my eyes and see Gillan and the ancient Dame Alousan gathering herbs in the high-walled garden of Norstead Abbey.I can see the twelve and one high-born maids riding forth from the Abbey - the twelve and one maids who were promised as brides to the Were-riders of the Waste.

The heroine, Gillan realizes that she is not meant for the quiet life of her vowed companions.She possesses a magic that is forbidden to the goodly Dames, and a restless curiosity that is stifled behind the stone walls of the Abbey.And so she rides forth, disguised as the bride who had threatened to kill herself rather than marry a Were-rider.In order to survive, Gillan must rely on her unschooled magic to separate illusion from reality, and true love from the snarling masks of the Were pack.

"Year of the Unicorn" is a grand adventure, a love story, a coming-of-age novel set like a jewel amidst the fantastical Dark and Light of Norton's Witch World. `Unicorn' veers away from the `mainstream' WW adventures of the Tregarth family ("Witch World", "Web of the Witch World", "Three Against the Witch World", etc.), but it is perfect in its own setting (the Wastes and Dales of High Hallack), and in its own right.

Andre Norton Was a Master
I first read Norton's Witch World series about 35 years ago and in recent years I have managed to collect all of them.Compared to books written today, they certainly lack the wild hot sex that most of the today's writers seen to believe is required.Instead, all of Norton's books actually tell a story - one that takes place in a strange foreign world filled with artifacts from prior races and gates that can transport a person to an unknwown place.
Norton wrote these first books during or shortly after WWII and they reflect the events in our world - foreign invaders intent on taking over the Witch World - events that could be related to by people in the real world reading them at that time.The heart of the story is not that Tregarth was somehow magically relocated to another world through a gate, but rather it's the story of the gifted witches in that world, their internal struggles and prejudices, together with the courage of one witch to break with tradition and help a male who had witch-like powers of his own in this new world in which he found himself, something unheard of in the area where the witches lived.
Later books cover the horning, where an entire race of people was hunted and killed, probably reminescent of the Jews in WWII and then the turning, in which the witches combined their powers to literally turn the mountainstopsy-turvy to prevent invasion in their lands.
The landscape of the Witch World is littered with remnants and artifacts from prior battles that had taken place between powerful wizards many centuries in the past.There are pockets of powerfully protected lands where many races battle the forces of evil and there are many pockets of evil as well.
I would have to urge the first reviewer to give this series another try and visit a world populated by strange creatures of the light and powerful forces of the dark.The stories are, after all, about the struggles of the forces of the light to prevail against the forces of the dark and Ms. Norton did a fine job in the telling of these stories.

Some of Norton's best--however...
Norton was one of the first women and one of the best fantasy writer's around, and her recent death was a great loss. Her 'Witch World' stories were my entry into fantasy & sci fi--however, that was at age 8 or 9. I've passed this book on to my daughter, and perhaps that's what the above reviewer should do, or some other younger reader.

I can't seem to read this book
I kept opening this book and reading a few pages at a time but never found myself wanting to read further.I kept thinking surely I'll get more interested if I read just a bit further.For now I've quit reading it and am not even done with the first book in this set.
The story sounds and starts off like something I think I would enjoy.A man gets transported to another world where Witches exist and has to adjust and find his way.Sadly though the premise is more exciting to me than the actual work.
Perhaps if I'd just read a few more pages.. ... Read more

Product Description
An orphan, Blake Walker has never really known who he is, and his strange flashes of intuition have always set him apart from those who raised him and everyone else he has known. Acting on one of those flashes, he prevented a murder. But neither the assailant nor his intended victim were from the world Walker had always known, and he had stumbled onto the greatest secret of the ages. Our Earth is only one of an infinite number of Earths, each with a slightly different history from the others, each separated from the others in a crosstime dimension. Walker was drafted into a frantic search for a madman from an advanced Earth who desires to be an absolute ruler of men. The would-be tyrant has chosen our Earth as the place where his reign will begin. And, if the powerful technology he controls does not give him complete control of the planet, he will not hesitate to destroy it utterly . . .

Publisher’s Note: Crosstime was originally published in parts as The Crossroads of Time and Quest Crosstime. This is the first time both novels have appeared in one volume.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Crosstime Operations
Crosstime (2008) is an SF omnibus edition of theCrosstime series, including The Crossroads in Time and Quest Crosstime.These novels are about travel between alternate timelines and feature Blake Walker, an orphan found in an alley.

The Crossroads of Time (1956) is the first novel in this series.Blake is an entering art student at Havers who is staying in a hotel prior to registering at the school.Since both of his foster parents are now dead, he has no known kin.

Blake has a premonition that something dangerous is about to occur in his vicinity and, when it peaks, he is drawn to the corridor.After easing the door open, he finds a man holding a gun on another man who is unlocking the room across the way.Blake grabs the gunman's throat and yanks his head back, providing the other man with an opportunity to knock the gunman unconscious.

The rescued man introduces himself as Kittson, an FBI agent.Soon, two of Kittson's associates come and take away the gunman.Shortly thereafter, someone identifying himself as a hotel security officer knocks on Blake's door, but Kittson tells Blake to say that he is going to check with the desk and the stranger goes away.

Since someone is obviously curious about the recent events, Kittson takes Blake with him when he leaves.They travel to a loft apartment atop a warehouse, where Blake finds three other men in addition to Kittson.Apparently, these men are doing a great deal of reading, for piles of books -- with numerous bookmarks -- are all around the living room.

Jason Saxton claims that the books are part of his hobby -- the study of history -- and turns the conversation to the subject of decision points in history which cause diverging timelines.Later, Blake is awakened to find Kittson injured and being helped into another bedroom.The next day, that bedroom is locked and then someone or something comes up the elevator to the outside door and sends a mental presence into the room, attacking Blake.Although Blake holds out for a while, he collapses after the attacking presence is scared off by the returning agents.

When the others learn of the intrusion, they prepare to move their operation elsewhere.However, they tell Blake a little more about the crosstime secret and their mission to catch a power-mad renegade.Blake learns just enough to pretend to be totally ignorant of the true mission when he later falls into the hands of the opposition.

Quest Crosstime (1965) is the second SF novel in this series.Marva disappeared from the Project.Although her personnel disk indicates that she is well, her twin sister Marfy cannot reach her mind.So the detector is wrong.

Blake travels to the sterile timeline of the Project to deliver a minor instrument and to check up of the girls.When he arrives, neither girl is in the camp.Marfy is out in the storm and Marva is supposedly away in the helicopter.

When the storm lets up, Blake meets Marfy out by the rocks.She explains her concern over Marva and asks to return with him to Vroom.Then the Project loses contact with the helicopter.

Blake and Marfy take his crosstime shuttle back to headquarters, but it loses the settings and slips out into an unknown timeline.Blake checks the controls and finds them damaged beyond repair.Then they are attacked by intelligent turtles and lizards.Finally another shuttle detects their emergency beacon and takes them back to headquarters.

While not the first of their type, these novels are an early example of travel between probability universes or alternate timelines, such as in Smith's The Probability Broach.It did precede Piper's Paratime and Laumer's Imperium series by a few years but has a similar premise.These works also influenced Turtledove's Crosstime Traffic novels.

Highly recommended for Norton fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of alternate timelines, political intrigue, and personal courage.

-Arthur W. Jordin

Good Norton, different premise
I truly enjoyed reading a new(to me) story by Andre Norton.The book was quite fun to read.Enjoy.

As any collection still owning Norton likely has aging paperbacks, this all-in-one package is a satisfying pick
Orphan Blake Walker's unusual intuition has always set him apart from those who raised him and all he's known he prevented a murder based on one of these insights, for example. But his discovery of what revolved around the murder attempt and the other worlds it opened makes for an engrossing account in a reprint which blends to prior novels: CROSSROADS OF TIME and QUEST CROSSTIME. As any collection still owning Norton likely has aging paperbacks, this all-in-one package is a satisfying pick for new generations.

Reissue of "The Crossroads of Time" and "Quest Crosstime"
"The Crossroads of Time" (1956) is the first of two volumes, here combined into "Crosstime," concerning Blake Walker's adventures on alternate Earths.Blake, a 1950s citizen of our own Earth is accidentally caught up in the chase for a telepathic psychopath who is looking for an alternate Earth to rule.

This is a solid adventure about a brave band of Time Wardens, who have sworn to protect alternate Earths from manipulation by sociopaths.Blake is an appealing young man who is enlisted in the bizarre cross-world pursuit, almost against his will. He is tumbled from Earth to Earth, burnt, frozen, terrified at times and struggling to survive against ogres, robotic worms, and the renegade telepath.He finally lands in the ruins of New York City on an Earth where Hitler won the Battle of Britain.In an eerie echo of our own time, Blake joins the fight against evil with gritty New Yorkers who have survived both bombing and plague.

"Quest Crosstime (1965)" is the sequel to "The Crossroads of Time (1956)," and continues the adventures of Blake Walker and the Time Wardens.

Science has never been Norton's strong suit, so when the action shifts to an alternate Earth where life never began, don't quibble over the presence of a breathable atmosphere.Breathe in, breathe out, and follow Blake Walker as he attempts to track down a missing telepathic twin, with the help of her similarly-gifted sister.

"Quest Crosstime" is a wildly scenic adventure through alternate Earths.One of my favorites---a jewel-like vignette to the main plot---is ruled by turtles whose brainy heads are too large to pull back into their shells.

E6525, the alternate Earth where much of the action takes place, had a couple of twists to its history as compared to our own time line:

* Richard III won the Battle of Boswell and the Plantagenets continued to rule in England;
* Cortez was killed in his final battle with the Aztecs, and the Spanish never established an Empire in the New World.

Norton expends a great deal of imagination and verve in creating a successor Aztec Empire that rules North America west of the Mississippi.The action never falters as Blake in his disguise as a trader from New Britain continues his search for the missing twin.

Crosstime
I first read this book in high school back in the early 1960's. Of course, it was two books then. As usual Andre Norton has done an outstanding job and this omnibus edition was a great reminder of the stories. The first book in the omnibus was one of the first books I read which dealt with Cross Time travel, what we call alternate history today. I highly recommend this book to everyone. ... Read more

Product Description
In the wake of their defeat of Pagin of Karsten, the Witches of Estcarp await news of those who have been lost or missing since the battle, and a young Sulcar woman awakens to her Power only to do battle with an ancient evil. Reprint. AB. PW. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

not happy
I ordered a new book and got a used paperback. I didn't realize it until I opened the package. The price that I was quoted was $16. something and I got a used $4.95 paperback. I asked for an explanation of my account which had an Eighty-some dollar charge on it. Got no reply. Maybe I will get an explanation for the charge to my card if I say it here. NOT A HAPPY CUSTOMER.

I have not read the book because as I get a reply I will be sending it back; I can't see me ordering anything from Amazon.com anymore.
Judy A. Turner

An important part of the Witch World saga
"Storms of Victory" is somewhere near the 20th book in Norton's popular Witch World series. It's also the first installment of the "Turning" trilogy, followed by Flight of Vengeance (Witch World: The Turning, Bk. 2)and On Wings of Magic: Witch World: The Turning Book 3. As such, it sets the stage for a larger story, but "Storms of Victory" can be read alone.

The book contains two separate novellas that come to a satisfactory conclusion by the end of this first volume. Both are decent fantasy stories with a strong sense of adventure and no profanity or scenes that might be inappropriate for younger readers. This volume is an important part of the Witch World saga, and I recommend it to fans of the series. If you're new to Witch World, this is not a bad place to dive in, but parts of it would be easier to understand if you've read previous Witch World books.


(MINOR PLOT SPOILERS)

The first tale, "Port of Dead Ships," was written by Andre Norton. A young Sulcar woman sets sail with Simon Tregarth, Jaelithe, and several other familiar Witch World characters to find out why so many ships have been found floating aimlessly, their crews mysteriously vanished. The expedition encounters assorted creepy creatures along the way, and finally an ancient evil that threatens to destroy them.

The second story, "Seakeep," was written by P.M. Griffin. Una has recently inherited the rule of a small territory named Seakeep. Suspecting that a neighboring ruler might be planning an invasion, Una hires a band of mercenaries called Falconers to protect her holdings. Unfortunately, the Falconers despise women. Una and the leader of the mercenaries struggle to work out their differences while identifying the pirates who have been wrecking ships along Seakeep's wild coastline.

A real page turner...
This is a good book which helps to "flesh out" the period of time of the turning of WW.A must for every WW fan, it is a great read and wonderful addition to your library.I have read my copy of the turning trilogy several times. ... Read more

Product Description
Snatched from his family by an alien race, Jony endures torturous experiments and comes to live with the People, a gentle tribe of intelligent animals. Reprint. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Caught on the cusp regarding target audience
I've seen this book in a couple of different covers. The one I have is almost indicative of a book suitable for younger audiences. This is not the case. The book centres on a sci-fi plot where humans are kept captive and bred - sometimes against their will, by alien creatures. So now you know why your 10 year old daughter may not be the most suitable recipient of this book as a gift etc.

The story moves along - at times written like a book for quite young teens oddly enough, and the finale of the novel is reasonably satisfying. There is an air of foreboding, there are twinges of comic relief and also a storyline thread that wends its way throughout the story involving searching for a place to belong, both physically and spiritually. As such it's a nice enough example of a sci-fi novel that doesn't pound the reader with bucket loads of irrelevant technical data nor waffle on for chapter after chapter of the characters performing psycho-analysis on themselves and others. Its' fairly simple prose and the fact it's not the size of a housebrick does indeed lend itself to makingthis a quick read and students of the genre may find some use especially in its set up chapters.

Non fans of sci-fi certainly won't find themselves converted by this.

Is an animal just a "thing" to be used?
The author makes a case for animal rights by describing the plight of an abused cat on planet Earth, compared to a parallel story about animal-like aliens on a distant world. Both are mistreated by brutal humans who consider them to be nothing but "things," not individual creatures with feelings and inherent value.

Although it's not quite clear, thenovel apparently takes place in Norton's Forerunner universe. (Click on my name to see a list of about 40 related books.) Iron Cage seems to feature the Psychocrats who also make an appearance in Ice Crown, and in Gods & Androids.

The story moves along at a fast pace and addresses some important issues. It was generally fun to read and held my interest to the end. As an animal lover, I appreciate the author's intent in writing about this theme. However, I don't agree that animals are equal to people. From a literary perspective, the book is not as strong as other "raised by animals" tales such as Tarzan and the Mowgli / Jungle Book stories by Kipling. Nevertheless, it is thought-provoking and worth a read if you are a fan of this author.

*
*
(SPOILERS - PLOT SUMMARY)

Most of the book explores the relationship between three human children and a race of aliens called "The People," who are so primitive that they are almost animals. The children and their mother have been brought to the planet by a different race of aliens, who keep them in cages and experiment on them. The humans escape, but the mother soon dies, leaving her kids to be raised by The People.

By the time the oldest, Jony, is about fourteen, he feels completely at home with the tribe. However, there are hints that The People don't entirely trust him. When he discovers the ruins of an old city and indulges his curiosity by exploring it, The People become enraged and turn against him. He has stirred up memories of something terrible that happened there when The People first encountered humans, long ago. Jony and his siblings find themselves torn between their human ancestry and the aliens who have been their family until this point.

Iron Cage
The prologue and epilogue give a clue to the inspiration for the story. Unfortunately for my enjoyment of the book I cared a great deal more about the cat and her kittens than I did for the three stranded humans on some distant planet. The story of man marooned among intelligent animals has been done much better in other stories (Planet of the Apes for instance) that it took quite a bit of determination for me to finish the book. Things finally pick up at the half way point when some other humans arrive to "rescue" the three castways and thankfully the book does give a happy ending back on earth to the cat and her kittens.

Great anthropomorphic adventure!
Iron Cage is the story of a young boy, Jony, who escapes from an alien race which used humans as experimental tools.He finds friends with the People - a race of bear-like, intelligent animals.When humans arrive upon the planet, and try to subject the People to their will, Jony finds himself in a difficult posistion - should he protect the People?Or should he join his own kind?

I really enjoyed this book!The only reason, in fact, I'm denying it that last star was because the story was sometimes hard to follow.Despite this, read it anyway!

Excellent, well crafted reading
This is one of those books that really make you think and re-evaluate your values and beliefs.Andre Norton is great, and this is one of her best efforts!If you like this one, try 'Breed to come'. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (10)

If you like a novel about people sitting around talking about action, then this is for you.
I love Andre Norton, and have read several of her books. This book can not possibly have been written by her. It is a dissapointing failure. The characters did not inspire any feeling from me. About 80% of the book is about the three main characters, Keelen, Hadrann, and Aisling, sitting around talking about what they needed to do and what they had done. The action was skipped over. The other 20% contained three action sequences. Two of them had nothing to do with the plot and could have been left out alltogether. The third was the ending which took up 10 pages of a 318 page novel. The action scenes were interesting and well written. If only the whole novel had been written that way.

I hate having to leave a bad review for an Andre Norton novel. But, truely, this is horrible. I didn't read the first novel in the series, Ciara's Song, maybe the two novels should have been combined into one. If you are an Andre Norton fan, you may want to skip this one and read another... any other.

The Return of Aisling
The Duke's Ballad (2005) is a Fantasy novel in the Witch World Chronicles series, following Ciara's Song.In the previous volume, Aisling escaped Lord Ruart with the help of Temon and fled across the mountains to Escore.On the way, she was wounded by a walking boulder and needs the healing mud of the Green Valley.

In this novel,Aisling has visionary dreams of returning to Karsten to protect the duchy from her brother Kirion.She has learned as much as she can from the adept Hilarion and is ready to return.Even Wind Dancer is homesick for his mother Shosho.

Hilarion declares that she has a geas to remove the magical influence of the blood-sorcerer Kirion.He sends word to his agents in Karsten to bring horses for her journey.Aisling packs and departs the Green Valley with Hilarion and other escorts.On the way to Karsten, they purge a new outbreak of the Dark Powers and then ride for the border.

After leaving her escorts, Aisling walks onward until she finds two men waiting for her.When they give the wrong countersign, she attacks them and binds them securely.Then she searches for the true agents.

When she finds the thoroughly bound Hadrann in a half-cave, she tries the password again and gets the correct response.He tells her that the other two had ambushed him and his companion.Hit with a slung stone, he had lost consciousness.When he regained his senses, his enemies were torturing his companion, who told almost all except the correct countersign.

Aisling interrogates the two enemy agents and learns that they are working for Kirion.Since they know too much, Rann slits their throats and digs a grave.Placing them into the grave, Aisling and Rann cover them in bedding and pile rocks and soil over them.While Wind Dancer had detected a "here I am" spell on one of them, Kirion will see only darkness through his eyes.

Aisling and Rann travel cautiously to Aiskeep, disguising their horses and themselves.Even Wind Dancer looks like a common cat.As they approach the keep from the backside, Aisling is seized by a man and held fiercely.Rann prepares for battle as he moves toward them, but is dissuaded by Aisling's declaration that this is her brother Keelan.

This novel tells of Aisling's efforts to undermine the influence of her brother Kirion and his puppet Duke.Disguised as Hadrann's cousin Murna, Aisling moves into the Duke's palace and becomes a member of his court.Although plain looking and a better rider that the Duke, he comes to like her for the common sense manner that she displays in thought and speech.

Meanwhile, Kirion is having troubles of various sorts.For one thing, he is running out of people with magical talents to drain for his own use.Another problem is the activities of the coastal clans;they are upset with the magical conversion of their women into Duke Shastro's ardent lovers as well as the deadly coincidences that are killing off their leaders.

Highly recommended for Norton fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of magic, intrigue and loyalty.

-Arthur W. Jordin

Very weakly written
I picked up this book before Irealized that it was part of a series.Although the books stands okay alone, I feel that others rated it highly because they were already attached to the characters.I was not, and while reading, did not become attached to any of the characters.The romantic (if you could call it that) relationships were contrived and without a spark of passion.Aisling could have been a great character, but she was underdeveloped.Kirion was also too flat, and his actions were unbelievable.To think that he did not get suspicious of "Murna" and Rann hanging around Keelan all the time?Or their influence upon the duke? or his missing sister?if he was a great and powerful sorcerer couldn't he also feel the geas?This book felt like it was written in a rush.There were places in the story that i believe were only inserted into the story to make it full length (the ratsi scene, the particulars about the cottage that was rented).Perhaps what was most irritating were the blatant errors that occured through the book.In one seen, "Keelan" was referred to as "Kirion" - a pretty dramatic mess up since one character is good and the other evil."Wind Dancer" was also referred to as "Mind Dancer."Regardless, the cat was not a compelling character either in my eyes.All in all this "epic" fantasy was only epic in proportions of boredom and confusion.There was real potential, however, this attempt fell quite short of a good read.

Andre Norton?
This was a good book, not great but worth the money.It has gotten obvious over the last few books that Ms. Norton is not the primary writer,This is unfortunate, but at least it keeps the books coming.

a disappointment
The writing was not what I expect of Andre Norton. Too many gaps and information that is disjointed. Whether this is a consequence of collaboration I don't know. I felt this should have had a strong editor to point out where things should be tightened. For example - at the start we know Kirion has sent people to capture his sister. The book covers over 2 years, but you hardly hear of this again. I cannot imagine the sorcerer would just have let it drop.
I am a long-time fan and retired children's librarian. Sic Fi & fantasy is my favorite genre, but this one I had to push to finish. Unsatisfying.
... Read more

Product Description
"The 'Outer Regions' were created by the artist Karen Kuykendall, whose book of paintings, The Cat People, and her justly famous Tarot cards immortalized these fantastic lands and peoples. There exists among Ms. Kuykendall's records a complete "Travelers' Report" upon which this book is based."-Andre Norton, from her introduction to Mark of the Cat/Year of the RatIn Mark of the Cat multiple award-winning Andre Norton presents a novel of magic and adventure-the unforgettable story of a boy's journey of discovery, from trial to triumph.Hynkkel, commanded by his father to travel into the unknown in a test of survival, starts out with almost nothing, but the red-gold sandcat pendent worn around his neck as a reminder of his killed cat. His trek will bring him to a cave where he will enter the secret world of the cat... to a trial that will mark his destiny.In Year of the Rat, Andre's never before published sequel to Mark of the Cat, we find the natural water sources of the five queendoms of the Outer Region drying up. Hynkkel, not fully recovered from his previous trials, must now find a way to stop this loss and recover the missing water. For in a desert climate, water is the key of life. To do so he must first find out who, or what, is causing the water loss and where it is going. When he and Murri, his sandcat, set out on their journey they make another, even more startling, discovery. A being of ancient evil has returned and along with it has brought the desert rats, hoards and hoards of deadly desert rats, bent on one thing-to destroy the queendoms one by one.Can Hynkkel both find the missing water and stop the rats before all succumb to The Year of the Rat? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The Despised Emperor
Mark of the Cat/Year of the Rat (2002) is an omnibus edition of the Outer Regions novels, including Mark of the Cat and Year of the Rat.The second novel has never been published prior to this volume.

The Five Queendoms of the Outer Regions are each associated with a particular gemstone: Vapala with the Diamond,Kahulawe with the Sapphire, Thnossis with the Ruby, Azhengir with the Topaz, and Twahilic with the Emerald.Each queendom varies in its terrain, customs and products, but all are ruled by a Queen and owe allegiance to the Emperor.Vapala is the richest queendom in water -- thus having much more vegetation -- and considers itself to be the only civilized queendom in the Outer Regions.

The Emperor has grown frail and his death seems imminent.Haban-ji has ruled long and peacefully, but his passing will lead to dissension among the Queendoms.His son, Shank-ji, has openly expressed his intention to undertake the trials to be the next Emperor, thus keeping the office within the queendom of Vapala.This break with customs has irritated many traditionalists, especially in the other four queendoms.

The people of the Outer Regions have a religion similar to Druidism, but they do not have gods and goddesses per se.Rather they have aware and intelligent Essences that guide each queendom and have aspects peculiar to that specific queendom.A greater Essence guides the Five Queendoms as a whole.Each child is taught how to communicate with the Essences, but some persons have greater abilities to contact and receive information from them.

In Mark of the Cat (1992), Klaverel-va-Hynkkel is a native of the Queendom of Kahulawe.He is the second son of the last full commander of the queendom's forces.Hynkkel is not a warrior, showing little talent with traditional weapons.He is skillful with sling and staff, but these are considered to be merely tools of the common folk.He excels in the maintenance of the algae ponds, is talented with animals, and surpasses all others in trading with merchants, so he has been allowed to work as a servant to the House of Klaverel.Yet his father Meguiel treats him with disdain and his brother Kalikku openly calls him a weakling and tries to bully him.

Hynkkel goes to market one day and is summoned to a sick animal belonging to Ravinga, the doll maker.He calms the animal and searches the mane for the salsuckers that frequently torment yaksen.Instead, he finds an evil amulet -- a desert rat tooth with strange markings -- that Ravinga knocks from his hands and ritually destroys.She then gives him a round pendant fashioned with the head of a Sand Cat by a master craftsman.

When Hynkkel comes home from the market, he is met by his brother and sister.Kalikku immediately notices the pendant and tries to take it, but Melora-Kura, his sister, blocks this effort and asks to make a drawing of it for her files.Hynkkel learns that they have come to fetch him for the choosing feast of Siggura, his other sister, who has just come into heat.Since she is envious of Kura, Siggura is sure to make a big production of the ceremony;Melora-Kura has never come into heat and doesn't want to, but Siggura really doesn't believe anyone would not desire to be the center of attention at such a feast.

Hynkkel immediately dumps his burdens in his hut and goes to prepare for the ceremony.Mieu, the kotti who has adopted him, refuses to follow, but rather stays behind to guard the pendant.Hynkkel spends many hours preparing for the feast;finally returning to his hut, he finds Kalikku standing over an injured Mieu.The kotti has stoutly defended the pendant, for blood is dripping from Kalikku's right hand.When he checks his kotti, Hynkkel finds her near death.Kalikku immediately accuses Hynkkel of killing the kotti and taunts him with the truth that their father would believe him over the despised Hynkkel.

The pendant is under Mieu's body, protected from the thieving brother.Hynkkel sadly wraps her body in a colorful scarf and buries it under a rock cairn.He is still grieving for his friend when a herdsman comes to tell him that his father wants to talk to him at once.Within his father's house, Hynkkel learns that his father has decided that he will solo, performing the journey alone through the desert that is required to claim adulthood.Of course, his father foregoes the usual feasting and other aspects of ceremony, but rather takes him out blindfolded into the desert and then completes the abbreviated ritual by knocking him out and leaving him with his few weapons and other goods.

In Year of the Rat (2002), Hynkkel is the new Emperor, but he has many enemies, including Shank-ji, who blames him for his lost hand.Shank-ji has raised the banner of revolt and is gathering young men from the various queendoms.He patrols the trade roads and comes upon a caravan under attack by desert rats.Two Sand Cats have assisted in the defense of the caravan, but Shank-ji deliberately kills both cats, ignoring admonitions from the caravan leader and orders issued by the Emperor.

Ravinga learns of this defiant act almost immediately and sends Allitta to tell Hynkkel.Murri hears about it at the same time and stalks out of the palace in a rage.Hynkkel declares Shank-ji to be an outlaw and the news is promulgated throughout the Outer Regions.

Queen Yuikala of Vapala has plans of her own, one of which involves having her granddaughter Berneen become the Emperor's Companion.Yuikala obtains a foul drink that induces heat and forces Berneen to drink it.Of course, it might cause her death and Yuikala would dislike losing such a convenient tool, but some things must be risked.

Luckily for Hynkkel, he already has plans for presenting Allitta as his Companion.With a necklace and stone from Ravinga, Allitta emits the special smell indicating that she is in heat and every male in the palace notices her condition.Although Yuikala breaks tradition to present her granddaughter ahead of Allitta, Hynkkel ignores her gauche maneuver and approaches Allitta instead.He immediately shows his pleasure and takes Allitta back to the throne with him.Yuikala is incensed by his humiliating actions and Berneen flees from the hall.

Hynkkel and Allitta independently discover the presence of water ways under the Outer Regions and separately explore the tunnels.Allitta finds Hynkkel, Akeea the Blue Leopard and Murri fighting a water monster within a tunnel.She gives a timely pull to disengage Hynkkel from the monster and he uses her spear to kill the beast.After a brief discussion, Hynkkel leaves the tunnel to sneak into the room of Mohambra, the Imperial Cat Keeper, where he is provided with a powder that soothes and heals the wounds inflicted by the monster on Akeea, Murri and himself.

These wounds take some time to heal, so Hynkkel puts his Progress on hold.When the Progress finally leaves to pass through each queendom, Allitta and Ravinga are included.So is Yuikala, but she stays at the tail of the huge caravan.The first stop is Kahulawe, Hynkkel's home queendom.

In these stories, Hynkkel has been enlisted against the evil Dark Lord who is using the desert rats as a weapon against the Five Queendoms.He is creating larger, smarter rats and even rat-men to lead the common rats into attacks that will result in certain death to many people, although many more rats will die than people.What does Quinzell care about a few rats?There are always more being born.

The Dark Lord also has tools among the people of the Outer Regions.Shank-ji is uncertain about the wisdom of following Quinzell, but he is always willing to use the advantages that such attacks give him.Yuikala also plots to her own advantage, even using forbidden tools.She also calls upon the Essences as appropriate to her position, but the Essences are not fooled!

Highly recommended for Norton fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of exotic cultures, political intrigue and magic.

-Arthur W. Jordin

Mark of the Cat & its long-awaited sequel
Ms. Norton's tales in this instance (two full length novels bound into 1 volume) are set in Karen Kuykendall's Outer Regions, which previously appeared only in artwork, without actual books to provide a backstory (to the best of my knowledge). Yes, we finally have here not only a reprint of _Mark of the Cat_, but its long-awaited sequel. I'd provide separate reviews of both, but the sequel has so far appeared only in this volume, and a detailed discussion of the sequel presupposes knowledge _Mark of the Cat_.

Overview: The Outer Regions are desert country, mostly lacking open water, where life depends on occasional algae pools, where in a famine year (mercifully, rather rare) the Ministers of Balance may be called out to decide which animals live, and which die - and even which people. The great sandcats of the desert are greatly feared, and are hunted despite their intelligence. Paradoxically, the great leopards forming the Emperor's guard are much revered, and as for ordinary cats, killing a 'kotti' is a capital crime.

The people depend on trade between the 5 queendoms: Kahulawe, Thnossis, Azhengir, and Vapala, which have roughly similar governments (all ultimately answering to the Emperor) but somewhat different cultures. These aren't purely hereditary offices; an Emperor competes in various deadly trials to win the office, designed not only to ensure fitness but an acquaintance with the lives of his people. Even to be recognized as an adult, a youngster must pass his or her 'Solo': the youngster is knocked out and stranded in the desert, and must find his or her way back to civilization alone.

Both books alternate between 2 narrators: Hynkkel of Kahulawe, and Allitta, last survivor of a fallen noble house of Vapala. Allita provides us with a close-up view of the capital in the last days of the dying emperor Shank-ji, whose son (against tradition) intends to try to win his father's office. Allitta is also apprentice to the doll-maker Ravinga, whose enchanting miniatures aren't the most magical thing about her. Primarily, though, this is Hynkkel's story.

As a herder and the least-respected member of a warrior clan in Kahulawe, Hynkkel comes to his Solo late since his father doesn't think he amounts to much. The lonely rock 'island' where he awakens isn't entirely deserted, however: a swarm of the vicious rats of the desert occupy it in such numbers that they've killed one sandcat, and would have pulled down another if Hynkkel hadn't intervened with his slingshot. So it is that Hynkkel not only sees the sandcats' dance and song, but gains a blood-brother: Murri, the half-grown cub of the sandcat he rescued. So it is that Hynkkel doesn't return to his clan after his trial, but seeks a new life, leading him eventually to the capital and the dollmaker's shop.

_Year of the Cat_ picks up shortly after the first book, during the preparations for the coronation of the new emperor - when a fallen house such as Allitta's can request reinstatement, if she comes out of hiding. The emperor's first official progress through the Outer Regions will be marked by trouble: the water table is dwindling, and the desert rats are endangering the trade routes that tie the queendoms together. Soon the sandcats and humans must decide to end their enmity, or both peoples will fall to the evil coming out of the Plain of Desolation...

One distracting misprint: the name "Vapala", that of the Diamond queendom where the Emperor holds court, is misspelt all the way through this 1st hardcover printing of _Year of the Rat_, and I mean *every* occurrence, even though it's spelled correctly throughout _Mark of the Cat_ (1st half of the volume). Of the 5 queendoms, this is the worst name to get wrong, since it's named most often. It distracted me to the point where I had to go look it up, wondering if I were imagining things. I got over it, but one wishes it hadn't happened. ... Read more

Product Description
Voodoo Planet by Andre Alice Norton (Andrew North)

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Product Description
Having revitalized the classic Solar Queen series to critical acclaim, Andre Norton and Sherwood Smith now turn their storytelling talents to Norton's popular Time Traders series.

Time agents Ross Murdock and Eveleen Riorden are recalled from their honeymoon to take part in a dangerous assignment: find a team of Russian scientists who have vanished without a trace from a research mission in the past of a far-off planet. Along with a team of Russian time Agents with their own mysterious agenda and Saba, a new agent teamed with Gordon Ashe, they leap into the alien world's distant history.

There they encounter several alien races, whose appearance, language, and customs are almost incomprehensibly strange. Something changed this world, and music seems the only tool that might prove a key to unlocking the planet's secrets.

But as they try to decipher a digital alien Rosetta stone, time is running out for their mission. Ross now knows what happened to the missing scientists--but can he save his team before they too vanish forever?

This thrilling adventure of a desperate race against treacherous time itself is a tale filled with excitement and wonder in the grand Time Traders tradition.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

What A Let-Dowh....
I'm a big Norton fan but this fell way short of her other novels in the Time Trader series.There was almost no action and it came toward the end of the book in one paragraph.The suspense wasn't very good either as the storyline seemed to be mired down in mindless prattle.The various creatures mentioned were not described enough for the reader to form a mental image of what they might look like.The storyline was also very sketchy and I just never seemed to grasp it's depth--if there was any.I was very surprised at how disappointing this book was.I read it on my Kindle 2 complete with a number of formatting errors.

Language is the Key
Echoes in Time (1999) is the sixth SF novel in the Time Trader series, following Firehand.In the previous volume, Gordon, Ross and Eveleen traveled back in time to cancel the Baldie changes on Dominion.During their stay in the past, Ross and Eveleen grew to love each other.When they returned to the present and then to Earth, they were married and went on their honeymoon.

In this novel, Ross Murdock is a time agent in Project Star.He had been a thief before he was forced into the project.Now he is a dedicated and willing member of the team.

Eveleen Riordan Murdock is now Ross's wife.She is a martial arts expert, who had taught Ross much of his skill in unarmed combat.Now she is on her honeymoon at the house lent to them by Gordon Ashe.

Gordon Ashe is a former archaeologist and now is a time agent.He has been partnered with Ross since the beginning of their relationship.He is not certain whether he will join Ross and Eveleen in a threesome or get a new partner.

Case Renfry is a technician in Project Star.He had been on the Baldie ship that took off into space in Galactic Derelict.

Saba Mariam is a professor of musicology and a time agent.She is also Ethiopian, the daughter of a medical doctor and a Dorze wisewoman.

Mikhail Petrovich Nikulin is a Russian time agent.Now he and his fellows are part of Project Star.Misha is the equivalent of Ross in the Russian organization, an impulsive and intuitive agent who is used to violence.

Colonel Zinaida Vasilyeva commands the Russian team within Project Star.Misha works for the colonel, although he sometimes does his own thing.Since his actions are generally correct, Zina is usually lenient about his impulsive actions.

In this story, the Russians have lost a team in the past.They had been allocated the trip tape to the planet where Gordon, Ross and Case were taken by a suddenly activated starship.When the Russians landed on the planet and sent a team back in time, the team disappeared.They did find the remains of the biologist, but the others were just gone.

The Russians ask for help from the Americans in recovering their lost teammates.Ross and Eveleen get called back from their honeymoon to assist the Russian agents.They meet Colonel Vasilyeva and learn about the lost time team.Then they meet Saba, Gordon's new partner.

Since the Russians had lost dearly in the Baldie raids on their time stations, the Americans provide much of the equipment for the foray.It is transported to Russia for loading on their starship.Meanwhile, everyone studies the language tapes made by the missing linguist.

When all the equipment is collected, the expedition leaves for Russia.There they board the starship and then take off to the planet where the Russian time team had disappeared.On the way, the Americans and Russians get further acquainted while studying the new language.

On the alien planet, they setup the time transfer device and eight of the expedition travel back to a time about a century after the First Team disappeared.The rest of the expedition guard the starship and continue searching for additional remains.

Back in the past, the away team joins the various aliens inhabiting the city near the spaceport.The locals seem unsurprised by a new group of outlanders and quickly give them jobs.Some get apartments in a building reserved for outlanders.

Misha and Viktor remain in the jungle outside the city to scout the area.Saba goes to the House of Knowledge -- the library previously explored by Gordon and Ross -- where she is inexplicitly welcomed.In front of that building is a pole with a representation of her head upon it.Someone has known that she would be coming.

This tale confronts the time team with several problems.They all must learn more of the language, but Saba is tutored in the more mysterious aspects.And they are all sick, including those left behind with the starship.

The time team meets several different kinds of aliens in the city.They all seem to be natives of other worlds.Naturally this story also involves Baldies.For the first time, the characters wonder about the motivations of these hairless humanoids.

The story contains many conundrums that the time team must solve.And Ross and Eveleen need to talk about their emotional hangups.Read and enjoy!

Recommended for Norton fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of time travel, alien societies, and married agents.For those who have not previously read this series, the initial volume is The Time Traders.

-Arthur W. Jordin

Back in the saddle
This is the 6th book in the Time Traders series, and the 2nd to be written by a "guest author". The 5th, Firehand, was an incompetent mess, with another author's poor effort hastily and poorly adapted to this series.

In "Echoes in Time", Sherwood Smith has recaptured a spark in the series not really evident since the 2nd book, as Norton herself failed to really make much of the 3rd and 4th books.

"Echoes" returns to the planet found in book 2, and delves into its history in an attempt to connect some dots to explain what might have happened between the ancient space faring empire and the ruins and degenerate species of the present.

I believe Smith adapted a idea of hers to this story that wasn't originally intended as a Time Traders story, but here she competently worked her idea into Norton's original framework. (In Firehand, the "guest author" adapted an already written, and very poor, book by globally replacing some character names and inserting poorly conceived first and last chapters to 'make' a Time Traders book).

The story and setting are interesting, nothing is ineptly forced into the characterizations, and a healthy sense of mystery is maintained regarding multiple plot elements.

The plotting does break down a bit towards the end. Plotting elements in the portion of the book set in the past are inconsistent with the circumstances in the character's 'home' time period.

Also, Smith goes for the 'big concept' ending and falls quite a bit shy of the mark. Some of these authors have a bit of a hard time understanding potential time travel situations, or at least explaining their concept of those situations to the reader. Smith had that problem, either missing the point on a late time travel episode in the book, or adequately explaining why her plotting made sense in the face of what anyone but the characters involved in the story would have done to act more sensibly.

If you were a fan of the early books in the series, you will likely find this the best of the series, even tho I doubt that Norton did more than contribute her name for the marketing splash. Unfortunately, Smith's follow up in Book Seven ("Atlantis Endgame") really isn't worth reading unless you are just a rabid fan of the series and can obtain it for free.

Sad echo of the great Norton
This is the only truly dull book with Andre Norton's name on it that I have ever read. In so far as I was able to grasp the plot, the time travelers (only one of whom is partially described) have gone to a planet where a Russian team vanished. This is supposed to be an urgent, emergency mission although that makes no sense if they are time travellers. For some reason, not explained, they go to a time a hundred years AFTER the disappearance. They visit a city that is not described at all, a city inhabited by strange races that are not described, they meet people there who are not described, they conveniently get jobs with no questions although they must resemble none of the people there. One of their party is incarcerated in a House of Knowledge or something like that which is not explained though the characters seem to know something about it. In fact the characters and the author, no doubt, seem to know what this whole story is about although they do not communicate their vision to the reader. This is too silly even for science fiction. I fell asleep on page 173 so I cannot say how it ended, nor do I care. It is that bad. I gave it one star because the program wouldn't let me give it anything less.

Not Sci-Fi but Witch World Fantasy
The characters are out of Time Traders, but the story is pure Witch World.I read Norton from the time I was a small child but stopped when she went heavily into fantasy starting with Witch World.If you are a fantasy fan - read the book; if you are a si-fi fan - pass and keep looking. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

interesting things not known about Andre Norton
I really enjoy reading this book again and again. Really shows insight into her writing. Of course this book was written many years ago, so does not have things about her in her later years. But it is still interesting to read about her earlier books and the thoughts about them. Interesting reading

A Must Have For Norton Fans
The Book Of Andre Norton (aka The Many worlds of Andre Norton)

First I want to thank Arthur W. Jordin for telling me about this book.I consider him the most knowledgeable person on all things Norton that I know.This book contains:

An Introduction by Donald A. Wolheim, and the following short stories written by Andre Norton:

The Toads of Grimmerdale
London Bridge
On Writing Fantasy
Mousetrap
All Cats Are Gray
The Long Night Waiting
The Gifts of Asti
Long Live Lord Kor!
Andre Norton: Loss of Faith

And a Norton Bibliography by Helen-Jo Jakusz Hewitt (prepared as of 1974), there are more current bibliographies available on the official Norton website, listed in chronological order [...]


If you love Andre Norton as much as I do you need this book.Highly recommended for fans Andre Norton.

Gunner June, 2008

Smorgasbord of good stuff, give or take the final essay.
I'm reviewing the stories in order of publication, rather than their order within this book (a.k.a. _The Many Worlds of Andre Norton_, incidentally). Note - the bibliography at the end of the book is comprehensive up to 1974, which may sound as though it must be short, but Norton's career began in 1934, so it takes 11 pages.

The Gifts of Asti (1948) - Varta, the last priestess of Asti, lives alone with Lur, a telepath of the lizardfolk, in Asti's isolated mountain retreat. Decadent Memphir has long since drifted away from the austere paths of Asti, and now the barbarians of Klem are sacking the city, and the smoke of its burning drifts up to the temple. Asti's followers, however, foresaw that this day would come to Memphir, as Varta has learned from her study of the ancient chronicles...

All Cats Are Gray (1953) - "Steena of the Spaceways - that sounds just like a corny title for one of the Stellar-Vedo spreads." Steena is a computer programmer who spends her life in the background, a woman in plain gray clothing who speaks little - but her knowledge of odd bits of spacer's lore has saved lives and made fortunes...

Mousetrap (1954) - The "sand monsters" of Mars are mysterious statues in the desert, that have withstood time, storm, and extreme heat and cold - but they crumble into dust at a touch. The tourist bureaus (and the Space Marines) now have the surviving statues protected from everyone trying out his personal version of superglue (since the museums and scientists have gigantic standing rewards for anyone who can get one to Earth). Any would-be hero will have to find an undiscovered sand monster to get a chance at the reward...

Long Live Lord Kor! (1970) - Survey discovered the world of Vallek, burned to a cinder by atomic war. Useless? Not at all - enter the Bureau of Time Exploration and Manipulation, with their machines that can send agents' minds back in time to influence critical points in history by taking over the bodies of people in the past...

The Toads of Grimmerdale (1973) - The only Witch World story to appear in this volume;also to be found in _Lore of the Witch World_. In the chronology of the Witch World, the Invaders' War ended during the Year of the Hornet. Hertha, the sister of the lord of Horla's Hold in Trewsdale, had been sent for safety to the abbey in Lethendale in the last months of the war, but never reached it. A band of enemy raiders ambushed her escort on the road, only to be caught in turn by a band of renegade Dalesmen, so that Hertha suffered rape not at the hands of the enemy, but of those who should have rescued her. Three months later, on the last day of the Year of the Hornet, the last straw is that her brother expects her to quietly have an abortion and be grateful in his 'generosity' in continuing to keep her in his household. Hertha is now making her way to Gunnora's shrine to ask two boons - that the child to be born in the Year of the Unicorn take nothing from the one who will not stand as its father, and to call her attacker to account...

In case anyone gets the idea that this story's ending is too pat, please note that it has a sequel, "Changeling", to be found in _Lore of the Witch World_. Also note that in her travels, Hertha meets Trystan, a former Marshal who plans to end up Lord of a Dale, now that High Hallack is in a state of flux. "Legacy from Sorn Fen" in Lore of the Witch World deals with another man with such ambitions, but a very different character.

London Bridge (1973) - This story was expanded in 1974 to create the longer story "Outside". "London Bridge" is told exclusively from the viewpoint of the older brother, where "Outside" concentrates on his younger sister. In this version of the future, the last remnants of humanity sealed themselves into domed cities to protect themselves from the polluted world outside, only to be ravaged by plagues. The only immunes were too young to remember the world before the cities were sealed; the city is now a patchwork of gang territories, reflected in the slangy speech of Lew, the narrator. A strange Rhyming Man has appeared from nowhere, and has been luring the youngest children away from gangs all over the city (overtones of the Pied Piper of Hamlin). The children have not been seen again, so the gang leaders are organizing a massive hunt for the Rhyming Man. Then Marsie, Lew's little sister, disappears... Apart from the revised version "Outside", if you like this story you might like _The Girl Who Owned a City_ by O.T. Nelson, in which a worldwide epidemic has killed everyone except the children.

The Long Night of Waiting (1974) - In 1861, Lizzy and Matt Mendal, aged 11 and 5, began crossing their father's field to take him his lunch - a journey that would not end for 110 years. Before their father's eyes, the children vanished into thin air; their parents never saw them again, and put up a marker on the spot where the children disappeared, to mark their long night of waiting. In 1971, three other children - Rick, Lesley, and Alex - on their way home from school meet two scared, lost strangers their own age...

"On Writing Fantasy"is a 1971 essay by Norton. Last (and least), is a second essay by another writer (Rick Brooks), titled "Andre Norton: Loss of Faith" (also 1971). If you haven't read many of Norton's works yet, skip Brooks' essay for awhile; his opinions are open to question (especially since the information on which the essay is based is now 30 years old.) ... Read more