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Summary
Summary
Grandmaster of Science Fiction ANDRE NORTON explores the serpentine twists of fortune, the perils of duty, and the wonders of a dark and fantastic universe.
Author Notes
Born Alice Mary Norton on February 17, 1912 in Cleveland, Ohio, she legally changed her name to Andre Alice Norton in 1934. She attended the Flora Stone Mather College of Western Reserve University (now Case Western Reserve) for a year then took evening courses in journalism and writing that were offered by Cleveland College, the adult division of the same university. Norton was a librarian for the Cleveland Library System then a reader at Gnome Press. After that position, she became a full-time writer.
She is most noted for writing fantasy, in particular the Witch World series. Her first book The Prince of Commands was published in 1934. Other titles include Ralestone Luck, Magic in Ithkar, Voorloper, Uncharted Stars, The Gifts of Asti and All Cats are Gray. She also wrote under the pen names Andre Norton, Andrew North and Allen Weston
She was the first woman to receive the Gandalf Grand Master of Fantasy and the Nebula Grand Master Award. She has also received a Phoenix Award for overall writing achievement, a Jules Verne Award, and a Science Fiction Book Club Book of the Year Award for her title The Elvenbane. In 1997 she was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. She died on March 17, 2005.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
The well-known author of the Witch World series sets her disappointingly thin mix of fantasy and space opera in the far future on the recently settled planet of Asborgan. After being expelled from the brotherhood of assassins by a corrupt priest, Jofre makes his way to a rundown Asborgan city. There he rescues from street thieves a reptilian alien named Zurzal, who hires the young man to be his bodyguard on a quest for valuable ruins left behind billions of years ago in the first wave of galactic colonization. They are dogged during their travels by others who want to reach the ruins first and by the cohorts of the priest who exiled Jofre. After a desperate battle of half-magical, half-scientific forces, Jofre and Zurzal triumph; the former even acquires an assassin girlfriend. Although possessed of a certain old-fashioned charm, the novel is static and expository, the characters more archetypes than real people and the plot extremely predictable. A forgettable effort from a writer who has done much better. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
Far-future science-fiction outing, with a peripheral role for Norton's well-known alien Forerunners, from the Grand Dame of the field. Much of planet Asborgan's resources are directed toward producing all but irresistible, Ninja-style warrior isshas; once they have given their oath, issha remain utterly loyal to their employers. But when off-world-born Jofre's Lair Master dies, Jofre is cast out by the Lair's jealous and obsessed Shagga priest. At the spaceport, Jofre gives his oath to the alien Zacathan--Zurzal, who has built a time-scanner and proposes to search nearby planets for Forerunner artifacts. For reasons Jofre cannot fathom, Shagga agents follow Jofre and Zurzal off-planet and attempt to have them neutralized. But also aboard the spaceship is Taynad, a female issha on an associated mission; Jofre's instinct is to trust her, but he's not sure where her employers' loyalties lie. Gradually, aided by a stone of power that Jofre recovered from an abandoned Lair before he left Asborgan, Jofre grows in understanding and assurance, and eventually realizes why the Shagga and his allies are hounding him: the xenophobic Asborgans cannot permit an off- worlder to acquire the powers of a Lair Master. Finally: Will Taynad help Jofre or destroy him? Pleasingly peopled, and with a satisfyingly convoluted plot: Norton's most persuasive solo outing in quite some time.
Booklist Review
In classic Norton style, a young warrior exiled from his own people takes service with a Zacathan (reptilian alien) in search of Forerunner remains. This is the universe of Solar Queen, alive and well in its creator's hands, with the ship Free Trader herself mentioned and numerous elements from other yarns set in the same universe thrown in. This tale, however, stands very well on its own. It has everything one could reasonably expect and is an almost textbook example of how to use grungy, realistic detail without letting it dominate the story or ruin its tone. ~--Roland Green
Library Journal Review
Cast out of his monastery because of his off-world birth, the young issha-monk Jofre seeks his fortune in the employ of an alien scholar whose inventions have gained him deadly enemies throughout the galaxy. Set in her Forerunner universe, Norton's latest sf adventure features a youthful protagonist and a supporting cast of believable aliens as well as a plot that combines both intrigue and space adventure. Despite a less than successful overlay of Asian culture, this is still classic Norton. Suitable for both YA and adult sf collections. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.