The Zero Stone, Andre Norton

The Zero Stone, Andre Norton (1968)
Review by Redhead

Can someone please tell me why it took me so long to read this book? Nearly every Andre Norton I’ve picked up has been excellent, and The Zero Stone is no different. Skillfully written and wonderfully imaginative, I think this is my favorite Norton so far.

The story gets rolling right away when Murdoc Jern’s patron is assassinated. Raised by a gem dealer with shady connections and then apprenticed out to the legitimate gem merchant Vondar Ustle, Murdoc knows everything there is to know about gems and stones, but he’s woefully naive about everything else. When Ustle is murdered Murdoc finds sanctuary and then takes the first available ship off planet.

All this time, Murdoc has been in possession of a singularly strange ring. Too large for any human finger, the ring holds a weird lusterless stone. It was found on a corpse in space, and it seems to offer guidance to specific people. What does the ring point to? Is this why Ustle was killed? Is Murdoc in danger?

Befriended by the ship’s cat, Murdoc accidentally allows the cat to eat a strange pebble. The pebble impregnates the cat, and a weird little mutant cat is born. The mutant cat, who calls itself Eet, is telepathic, intelligent, and refuses to tell Murdoc anything about its origin. Eet helps Murdoc escape from those who would do him harm, and a partnership is formed between the two. Not quite trusting friends, they do need each other. Eet is stuck in a tiny feline body and needs a strong person to help, and Murdoc could certainly use some help avoiding certain death and learning more about the powers and origin of the ring.

Murdoc isn’t your typical space adventurer (he doesn’t even want to have an adventure!), and Eet most certainly isn’t your typical telepathic cat. The ring guides them to a planet, and at first it is believed this is the home planet of the ring and other powerful stones. At first all Murdoc and Eet find are cannibalistic natives. Eet doesn’t so much offer suggestions of how to survive as made demands of what Murdoc should do to do and when. If Murdoc wants to survive, he better listen to the mysterious little mutant.

Like Murdoc, at first I was a little creeped out by Eet, but I quickly came to care about that bossy little alien freak. The Zero Stone is pure adventure, and fun on every page. If you’re new to Norton, this is an excellent place to start. The story continues in Uncharted Stars, and both can be found in the Omnibus Search for the Star Stones from Baen Books.

The only thing I can complain about with The Zero Stone is that even though the entire thing is perfectly paced, for the first half of the book or so you have no idea where the plot is going. This really isn’t a big deal, as that first half of the book is filled with Murdoc’s fascinating and funny thoughts about what’s going on around him, background information about his family, and of course, the oh-so-alien Eet. So even though I had no idea where the story was headed, I was having so much fun I barely noticed.

Something that surprised me was the complete nonchalance of a lot of the minor characters. When the cat is pregnant with an alien kitten, no one seems to care much. They lock her in sickbay, and don’t seem to mind when she escapes to give birth elsewhere. Things like that, that these days (thanks to decades of sci-fi horror movies) are big deals, back then it was fine to gloss right over them. I found things like that very funny.

I’ve already mentioned it, but if you are new to Andre Norton, The Zero Stone is a perfect place to start. The story will pull you in right away (even if you’re not sure where it’s going) and as soon as you meet Eet, you’ll be asking yourself the same question with which I opened this review.

This review originally appeared on The Little Red Reviewer.

Star Born, Andre Norton

Star Born, Andre Norton (1957)
Review by Carl Vincent

Star Born packs quite a lot of storytelling punch in its brief 187 pages. Andre Norton’s 1957 story examines such issues as slavery, racial prejudice, apocalyptic warfare and governmental oppression and wraps it all up in the kind of adventure-filled story that was a pleasure to read as and adult and would have had me gazing heavenward as a child. Star Born is an example of fine world-building and classic space adventure that remains accessible and surprisingly relevant 55 years after its release.

At the beginning of Norton’s novel we are introduced to Dalgard, the progeny of members of a generation ship who escaped an oppressive government on Earth (Terra) and fled to the planet Astra in hopes to make a new start. Dalgard is traveling with Sssuri, a member of a sea-born race affectionately referred to as mermen, and merwomen. Dalgard and Sssuri are traveling together, examining the ruins of a race of beings who at one time brought destructive warfare to Astra and who are rumored to be returning to reclaim the advanced technology that would once again make them a formidable enemy. Through the buddy story of Dalgard and Sssuri the reader learns much of the history of both Terra and Astra as well as learning about the culture of the people indigenous to Astra and that of the colonists who long ago landed there.

Alternately the reader is treated to the story of Raf, a Terran pilot who is a member of a larger party of explorers sent out to explore the stars to see if they could discover any remnants of those long-ago missions now that the oppressive Pax government was dead. Through Raf’s eyes the reader is able to experience Astra as if we too were landing on a strange planet for the first time. The excitement and fear of the unknown is an interesting contrast to the journey that Dalgard and Sssuri are undertaking and Norton’s story alternates back and forth between these two viewpoints. In so doing the reader gets a picture of the mysterious Others who are the alleged warmongers of Astra.

While reading Star Born I really appreciated the cleverness of Andre Norton. In reading classic science fiction stories like this there is always a chance that the story will not only feel dated but that the storytelling choices that were perhaps brilliant at the time will have a ‘been there, done that’ feel because of the decades of stories they have inspired since their release. Certainly some of the outcomes of Star Born were a foregone conclusion, but the manner in which Norton gets the story there and the surprising amount of social and political relevance for today allows Star Born to feel fresh despite the now well-worn tropes. In particular the examination of the Terran government’s views on racial prejudice and how that informs the actions of the space travelers as their adventure unfolds gave me pause as I thought about what goes on in our world today coupled with the imminent election of our President here in the United States.

But lest you think political and social commentary make for a boring work of fiction, let me assure you that Andre Norton keeps the story moving with the kind of action, suspense and sense of wonder that makes science fiction such a pleasure to read. Star Born ratchets up the tension right to the very end. Despite being well past my bed time I could not stop turning the pages as I was alternately curious about how the story would end and also how it could be possible for Norton to come to a satisfying end given the rapid disappearance of pages left to read. Without spoiling anything I will say that this reader was particularly satisfied with her execution and the choices she made as an author. She truly knew her audience and she delivered.

Star Born contains a nice mixture of Lost World fantasy and space-faring science fiction and Andre Norton manages to compare and contrast the two worlds without passing judgment on either. Critics could point out that the science is beyond iffy in Norton’s book. Unlike some of the Heinlein juveniles to which Star Born could and should be favourably compared, there is little attempt at explaining anything from the telepathic ability of the mermen and colonists to the advanced technology of the Others. The emphasis is firmly placed on the examination of the way in which mankind, or various intelligent species in this case, treats one another and given the time period in which this was written could and would have applicability across a wide range of historical events.

In the end I enjoyed Star Born because it was fun. Some of my favorite classic science fiction reading experiences have been thanks to the efforts of authors aiming science fiction at young people, providing them exciting adventures of space exploration while not talking down to them with his writing. Andre Norton too refuses to talk down to her readers, examining with maturity subject matter that is important to get a handle on early in life while at the same time providing the kid of page-turning adventure that recalls the novels that hooked me as a young adult. I am glad that I chose this as my first experience with Andre Norton. It will be the first of many, I assure you.

This review originally appeared on Stainless Steel Droppings.

Star Hunter, Andre Norton

Star Hunter, Andre Norton (1961)
Review by Martin Wisse

For a lot of American science fiction fans my age or older, Andre Norton was the first “real” sf writer they ever read, largely because she was hugely prolific and specialised in what we’d now call young adult novels. For some reason however she was never all that popular in the Netherlands so I’ve read little of her work so far. But that’s changing, thanks to Project Gutenberg, who have a fair few of her books available, those on which the original US copyrights had not been renewed. Star Hunter is one of them, originally published as an Ace Double. I read it during a couple of lunch breaks at work.

Ras Hume is a pilot for the Out-Hunters Guild who on a trip to the newly discovered planet of Jumala has made a discovery that could make him incredibly rich, but to exploit it he needs to make a deal with Wass, the biggest crime boss on Nahuatl. What he found was the lifeboat from the Largo Drift, a space ship which disappeared six years ago, taking with it the heir to the Kogan estate. He also has a plausible candidate to play the part of Rynch Brodie, the teenage heir. What he needs Wazz for is to condition this boy to actually believe he is this heir, then he will be let lose on Jumala for Hume to discover him when he brings over the safari party he’s scheduled to pilot there. It’s an almost foolproof plan, surely nothing can go wrong.

But there wouldn’t have been a story if something didn’t go wrong. The patsy Hume has chosen, Vye Lansor, an orphan plucked from the foulest bar in Nahuatl’s spaceport, was conditioned and dropped on Jumala, but the condition wasn’t good enough and he remembers flashes from his true life. Worse, while Jumala was deemed fit for human visiting and free of intelligent alien life, something has been woken up by the safari party and Hume and Lansor/Brodie find themselves as grudging allies against this alien menace as this attempts to herd them towards imprisonment in the hills of Jumala.

Since Andre Norton has only ninety-six pages in which to tell her story, it obviously has to be tight. Which means that while we do get a resolution to the central plot line, the mystery of the aliens and why they attacked the safari party is never followed through. Hume and Lansor bond, fight their way out of the alien traps and survive and that’s it. A bit unsatisfactory, but not the end of the world.

In the same way, there’s little room to develop the settings, Nahuatl and Jumala, very much. Both are solid pulp sf settings, feel more like small towns than whole planets, but are deftly sketched in by Norton with a few neatly chosen details, especially Jumala. There are the watercats for example, dangerous aquatic ambush predators lurking in creeks and rivers, and the scavengers that come out of the water to finish off their kills – or the watercat, if it’s unlucky. Clearly some thought has gone into setting up the planet, even if it’s only a stage for a pulp adventure.

As science fiction Star Hunter is of course incredibly dated, of the rockets and blasters school of adventure sf. The scheme that drives its plot, to substitute some lookalike for the heir of a vast estate, has long ago been made impossible by the development of cheap DNA testing, while most of the technology on display that isn’t part of the standard sf furniture doesn’t really look all that advanced either. But these are just quibbles. Taken on its own terms, this is a tight, fun, enjoyable little story. Ideal for reading in some stolen moments at work…

This review originally appeared on Martin’s Booklog.

Sargasso of Space, Andre Norton

Sargasso of Space, Andre Norton (1955)
Review by Joachim Boaz

Andre Norton’s Sargasso of Space, the first installment of her Solar Queen sequence of novels, delivers everything a 1950s juvenile science fiction adventure should. Sargasso of Space is not only blessed with genuine tension, intriguing situations, heroic young adults, but also a multi-racial cast (an African-American apprentice engineer and two crew members of Asian descent). This is my first of Andre Norton’s massive body of work I’ve read and I will be looking to add more to my collection. There’s something so appealing in the classic archetypal trope of the young hero – with the help of loyal friends – solving an intriguing (and dangerous) puzzle.

Our young/intrepid hero Dane Thornson is an apprentice Cargo-Master recently graduated from the Training Pool that divvies out spacemen for the various large space companies and independent spaceships. There are multiple gradations of service: the big companies which have prestige and guaranteed profit, interstellar transports which offer little in the way of prestige or wealth, and the Free Traders – small ships which go where the companies will not go, ie the dangerous planets with big risk (and potentially great profit). The computer assigns our hero to a Free Trader named the Solar Queen.

The Solar Queen seeks to purchase trading rights to the Planet Limbo – charted by surveys, but, for mysterious reasons, deemed not worthwhile or too dangerous for one of the big companies. An auction is held and the Solar Queen wins the bid but the crew has to contribute their entire salaries for the voyage to table enough money. If the mission isn’t a success they’ll be unable to buy fuel yet alone restock for another trade mission. We also learn how infrequent it is for Free Traders to win trade rights to any planet – the crew is risking everything on this chance in a lifetime expedition. When the crew opens the sealed packet with the planet information, they learn that the planet, named Limbo due to its unknown status, appears completely worthless. The world is mostly burnt and wrecked due to a war waged by the Forerunners, a group of spacefaring people whose presence stretched across the galaxy before wars destroyed them. The crew feels dejected until a man named Dr Slazar Rich, who claims to be an archaeologist, asks for passage to the world. Also, they believe that there has to be something on the planet if the survey would have put it up for auction. Any Forerunner technology amongst the ruins would be a great boon.

Norton uses the time before the crew’s arrival on Limbo to discuss Dane Thornson’s job on board. He’s the apprentice to the Cargo Master who is in charge of stocking the vessel for long voyages, bringing all the trinkets and objects to initiate first contact (and trade) with potential alien beings. Dane’s interaction with the crew is not discussed at length. As with many juveniles, the main character is the only one who is developed to any degree. Dane does resent the spacemen of the more heroic movie-like mode, I assume due to his own more blue-collar position as an apprentice Cargo-Master.

Norton includes other interesting tidbits of societal information. For example, Free Traders of any mold are reluctant to wear weapons when they embark on a new planet. Only when they are confronted with danger do they break out the blasters. Norton clearly wants to present the Traders, although they bring trinkets and other worthless gifts for natives, as not engaging in trade at gunpoint as European explorers did with Native Americans, Africans, Indians, and other people they encountered.

When they land on Limbo, Rich and his assistants (who are all very suspicious) quickly depart for their camp. In exploring the planet, the crew discovers unknown vehicle tracks and a group of injured translucent globe-like aliens who have clearly been attacked. Adding to the mystery are the remains of many crashed spaceships, including the recent Federation survey ship! And Dr. Rich is nowhere to be found!

I read this in one sitting – while it rained, in a tent, after a long hike – and I couldn’t put it down. Not only does the final mystery resemble one of my favorite (conceptually) episodes of Star Trek Voyager (I won’t give away which one but it involves spaceships crashing on planets) but I found Norton’s inclusion of a multi-racial crew admirable. Remember, this is before Star Trek: the Original Series with Uhura and famous African American scientists… At first Dane does dislike the black crew member Ali Kamil (the apprentice engineer), but it’s because he is the “video idea of a spaceman” (p 13). The fact that Norton has a society where a black man is the ideal spaceman seems very progressive for the 1950s! In addition to Ali there is Frank Mura, the cook, who is of Japanese descent. Despite being a cook, Mura, like all the members of the Solar Queen’s crew, has a vast variety of skills and becomes one of the main characters in the second half of the novel. In addition, there’s the Com-tech Tang Ya, another of the more important members of the crew, who is of Asian descent. Clearly, Norton’s vision of the future includes men of all different races.

That said, there are no female characters. Unfortunately, juveniles from the 1950s rarely include women. If they do, they are the love interest of the youthful hero or an intrepid young news reporter-type figure.

If you are a fan of naive, but delightfully fun, 1950s science fiction adventures then Sargasso of Space is one of the best I’ve come across lately. Recommended.

This review originally appeared on Science Fiction and Other Suspect Ruminations.

Sea Siege, Andre Norton

Sea Siege, Andre Norton (1957)
Review by Admiral Ironbombs

You could debate back and forth whether CL Moore or Leigh Brackett was the true queen of the pulps, but the undisputed queen of the paperback age was Alice Mary Norton, under her Andre Norton nom-de-plume. Norton was one of the most prolific authors under the Ace banner; she has to her credit a large number of doubles—the fifth most-doubled author, with fifteen halves spread over twelve books, plus a reissue including two of those halves—and an even larger number of singles.

Norton spent most of the 1940s as a librarian and then bookseller, before turning writer in 1951: the historical fantasy Huon of the Horn, and the science fiction tale Star Man’s Son (better known under its Ace title of Daybreak – 2250 AD). Her output exploded through the ’60s and ’70s, and included a dozen or more linked series. The most famous is Witch World and its spin-offs, notable for its blend of John Carter-style sword-and-sorcery with early romantic fantasy, playing off both ends of the spectrum (boys and girls).

Most of Norton’s output is “juvenile” fare; that is, aimed at younger readers (what we’d label Young Adult today). To be honest, whenever I pick up an Ace Double or pulp, I expect it to lean closer to young adult—or at least, be somewhat more campy or action-packed—than the average Campbellian Hard SF or philosophical introspection of the New Wave. That’s part of the charm: the sometimes campy, often action-heavy little stories bound back to back. What they lack in complexity they often make up for with entertainment.

Sea Siege is divided into two halves, which makes the book somewhat disjointed. The first deals with Griff Gunston, son of a scientist who’s relocated to San Isadore in the West Indies to study aquatic wildlife. Griff wants to be a jet pilot; his dad refuses to let him leave the island because he’s immature (or something). There’s a strange plague of radioactive red algae that’s killing lots of fish, and Dr Dad is busy working on that. Set 20-25 years after World War II, there’s a Red Menace subplot about a mysterious Soviet submarine, boat disappearances and missing crews, and footnotes about the sorry state of world affairs.

Most of this half involves Griff wandering around, introducing us to the island’s inhabitants (with more than a little casual racism thrown in, thank you 1950s). He also goes exploring, and finds a group of nearby octopuses, and bumps into a group of Navy Seabees who showed up to start construction of a naval base. Not a whole lot happens but setup, and the most “science fiction” is when the Seabees use robots in their construction duties. (We all know how pervasive Combat Construction Robots were in the ’70s.) I know there was a big boom in scuba diving, nautical research and the Caribbean at the time—Jacques Cousteau, Doctor No, Sea Hunt, um, Flipper, … all those episodes of Johnny Quest where they go scuba diving—but I’m not sure the novel uses this to its full potential.

The second half picks up the pace: the world is blown up in a fiery apocalypse, causing great upheaval, volcanoes and earthquakes and changing landmasses. It’s also when the sea monsters show up, but we never get a good look at one: it’s always “resembling the sea serpents of yore” or “it was like an octopus, but smarter”. Herein lies the rub: by dividing the book in half, there’s a distinct difference between the halves. Most of the characters we met in the first half are gone, which eliminates some of the plots we’d been following. Instead, things focus on survival: collecting refugees and fighting back the strange new sea creatures which emerge.

Of her writing style, I have good things to say. Andre Norton was no small fry when it came to writing, and it is very readable, if on the simplistic side. (It does have a distinct juvenile flair.) Her writing is strong but smooth; she’s capable of some quality writing, which this book shows. However, it rings shallow: it never incites emotion, the characters too bland to identify with or root for, the monsters too understated for them to be… well, monstrous. Most of the criticism I have is about the ratio of description (too little) to exposition (too much). You could chalk this up to its juvenile nature, I guess. I knew this one wasn’t her best book going in, but I’d hoped it would be fun.

The pieces of this book are great: Cold War paranoia and the Red Menace, lurking tentacle-creatures and sea serpents, tropical island paradise, the apocalypse. And a “kid with overbearing parent won’t let them follow their dreams” plot. (What, those were obligatory in Young Adult books even then?) Yet somehow these amazing but disparate concepts aren’t pulled to the surface, even when they are connected. None of the plot threads are developed far before they’re cast aside, unfinished, for something else. The worst part was at the end: it’s as if Norton ran out of page space and ended it as it was, abruptly and without resolving anything. Since it was a Harcourt Books hardcover before it was an Ace Double, there’s no “length constraints” excuse, so I’m kind of curious.

Sea Siege is a book suffering from severe balance issues. It has a lot of interesting plot threads, which are undeveloped. At one point I had the realization that since the book was almost over, the plots weren’t going to work themselves out. Norton doesn’t do anything to make the book stick out… a shame, because any novel about post-apocalyptic Cold War sea monsters should stick out damn well. While it’s not a bad adventure tale, Sea Siege isn’t something to go out of your way for. It’s fun for its unique scuba diving sea monster Cold War apocalypse blend, but it isn’t overly impressive. The writing is good, the ideas are slick, but the end result isn’t tied together very well.

In hindsight, it makes me think of it as the first book in a series, constructing a setting and cast of characters for future novels. Which it isn’t. Another shame, because the world has such potential—volcanoes jutting out of the ocean, new landmasses rising while others sink, human refugees fighting back the onslaught of the octo-men and their sea serpent hordes.

This review originally appeared on Battered, Tattered, Yellowed, & Creased.

Star Gate, Andre Norton

Star Gate, Andre Norton (1958)
Review by Admiral Ironbombs

From almost fifty years, not a year went by where Andre Norton didn’t publish a book (or four). Her prodigious output made her one of the most-published Ace Double authors, and one of the most-published female SF writers to boot. Most of her early work has spent a long time out of print, though Baen Books has re-released a sizable chunk of her Ace works, two per trade paperback. Star Gate was combined with Sea Siege to form From The Sea To The Stars (why Baen doesn’t use the old titles, or mention they’re Ace Doubles, is beyond me), and I think Star Gate was the stronger half.

While it has only the barest similarities to the 1994 movie and subsequent TV series, Star Gate does indeed have a star gate. Instead of the film franchise’s military SF, Norton’s is a variant on the time-tested sword-and-planet yarn.

Centuries ago, a group of Earthmen fled from a dying Earth to set up on the habitable planet Gorth. Going by the title “Star Lords”, these humans raise the native Gorthians from primitive savagery, but the developments from this interference has triggered a schism in the Star Lord camp. One group wishes to profit off the Gorthians, setting themselves up as the gods of Gorth. Another group wishes to leave, having meddled too much already on Gorth, and find some other habitable planet to reside upon. A third group has found themselves connected with the Gorthians, and wishes to pay the planet back for their interference… somehow.

The book starts with protagonist Kincar s’Rud gaining his inheritance from the dying hold-lord: first, he finds out he is actually the son of one of the Star Lords. (Never mind that his surname, s’Rud, implies he’s a descendant of earthling Lord Rud.) Next, he has to flee before he can be killed by his fellow Gorthians, but hears of a meeting place for other half-breeds. Lastly, he finds a magical Tie, which is actually a pebble on a necklace and not an article of clothing, which foretells danger and great adventure for its bearer (or something; it’s a kind of analogue to the One Ring). Kincar sets off with his pet Mord – a small flying critter that’s mostly claws and teeth and eyes – and finds the other half-breeds and the Star Lords are planning on using an ancient gate to transport themselves to an alternate Gorth.

You can see where this is going; they’re chased through by the Gorthians and Star-Lords-gone-bad who are pursuing Kincar; they end up on an alternate Gorth where the Star Lords came as conquerors, not protectors, and have set themselves up as the vain gods of the planet. This won’t fly with the original Star Lords, who now have a way to pay Gorth back for their meddling. So it’s a battle between good and evil, although there is scant combat between the Star Lords and their foul doppelgängers. What fight scenes the book has aren’t bad, but are a tad contrived; the climactic showdown and ending are pretty slick, though not what I was expecting.

Andre Norton’s work largely fell under the “juvenile” label, which would later turn into “teen” and now “young adult”. That said, she never writes down to her readers or acts condescending, making it very accessible for older readers. Her prose is very strong, and she has a good grasp of writing. I’ve noticed she has a few quirks. As juveniles, her protagonists are young men who fall into a subaltern role to older characters, resulting in them having a diminished impact: they don’t so much act or move things along as stand around while things happen nearby. The juvenile format is also restraining: there’s not much in the realm of character development, and don’t expect a romantic interest or Conan levels of bloody combat… but the fight scenes Norton writes are far from bloodless.

Norton has a bad habit of avoiding description at all costs – about five chapters in, she sprinkles in details like the dirt is blue and the plants aren’t green – which wasn’t helped by her decision to use as much Gorthian terminology as possible. Granted, it wasn’t hard to piece together that a larng was a domesticated riding animal (which we’re told has six legs), but when, for example, the word Styr is used both as a location (a holdfast) and a title (ruler of said holdfast) things become problematic. And like a lot of ’50s speculative fiction, there’s the frequent exposition overload, either in an information dump or to speed over a few months to get to the plot. Neither of these flaws make Norton’s work less readable, but they are irritating.

Sword-and-planet is one of the most rigidly formulaic sub-genres in speculative fiction, though Star Gate has a couple of changes/omissions. Being a juvenile, there’s no girl for Kincar to “get” – so, scratch the obligatory love interest. The fight scenes are front-loaded, quick and somewhat contrived. And while he does find the alternate world’s version of himself, it’s not a double, and there’s no climactic showdown between them. I’m on the fence about this; I think the trope is too cliché and glad Norton didn’t use it, but on the other hand, the book could have used another climactic showdown or two. I do think the setting elements – ancient spacefaring humans, the primitives they gifted civilization to, alternate worlds, and all that – makes Star Gate unique for the genre.

I’m hoping Star Gate is a good example of Norton’s science fantasy work, because if it’s any indication at all, the Witch World books should be entertaining. Star Gate has some flaws, yes, but was a wild and fun adventure romp. A simple two-fisted adventure tale in the mold of other, better two-fisted adventure tales, but one with an interesting setting and twists. It wasn’t bad by any means, but didn’t rise very high, either, remaining an entertaining if simplistic read. It reminds me of cotton candy: fun, tasty, but ultimately insubstantial.

This review originally appeared on Battered, Tattered, Yellowed, & Creased.

The Beast Master, Andre Norton

The Beast Master (1959) and Lord of Thunder (1962), Andre Norton
Review by Jenni Scott

You might not be inclined to add Andre Norton’s name into a roll-call of science fiction names if you were asked to come up with one; partly because you might associate her with her more fantasy-based Witch World novels, and partly because you’ve probably forgotten coming across her books in the kids’ and teen section of your library. There were a lot of them, but they now come across as old-fashioned in tone – pulpy, chaste, science adventure stories that without the space trappings could be transferred almost whole into an American frontier milieu. Nevertheless, it’s not just as nostalgia reading that some of them, at least, are worth digging out.

There are various classic Norton titles that could be focused on further, but The Beast Master and sequel Lord of Thunder make good examples of the best of her work. (There are further Beast Master sequels that were written rather later – I assume they are less classic but haven’t happened to come across them to test that supposition.) First published in 1959, you may have seen the 1968 Puffin edition of The Beast Master in second hand shops – produced under the Peacock imprint, it is specifically branded as Science Fiction for young teens. Lord of Thunder was originally published a couple of years later in 1962, while the Puffin edition making a matched pair with the first book also came out in 1968.

The young reader picking these up was in for an exciting, atmospheric read. Heavily influenced by the American West, they are strongly plot-driven cowboys-and-indians style tales that nevertheless include something other than simple derring-do by way of interest. Genuinely gripping and atmospheric, the two Beast Master books show a very strong sense of place and geography, as the opening of Lord of Thunder shows:

“Red ridges of mountains, rusted even more by the first sere breath of the Big Dry, cut across the lavender sky of Arzor north and east. At an hour past dawn, dehydrating puffs of breeze warned of the new day’s scorching heat. There would be two hours – maybe three, yet – during which a man could ride, though in growing discomfort. Then he must lie up through the blistering heat of midday.”

They also include a strong sense of the importance of spiritual matters, of good and evil – though the characters both alien and human can make good or bad choices there is also actual evil afoot in Norton’s world, and of good that is ranged against it. Hosteen Storm, the eponymous Beast Master, is a Native American (specifically, a Navajo), and Norton projects extra sensitivities and abilities onto him by virtue of this status; whether wisely or not you can be the judge.

These two are very much “boy books” with a twist – the horned natives of the colonised world are the Indians, the Cowboys are not by any means clearly in the right, and greater forces than either are trying to manipulate them (although in some cases by means of pretty human villains). The character list is almost entirely male and the story is completely chaste without even a hint of romance; however, there is energy given to the development of comradeship between Hosteen and two or three of the other characters. Between that and the fact that there is plenty of the main character’s emotion and inner life depicted, a young female reader would also be likely to be enthralled (and the addition of various animals including a horse would certainly help).

A reader coming fresh to these books nowadays will find some aspects a little snigger-worthy, particularly Norton’s invented term of respect – “Gentle Homo”, indeed. (The feminine version, “Gentle Fem”, is only very little better.) The archaic language affected may also strike some readers as unnecessary, though I find it gives a strong stylistic effect that I appreciate. However, the plot zips along, the characters are interesting and involving, and overall it’s a very more-ish milieu that will keep you coming back for more.