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Title: Witch world by Andre Norton, Philip Castle, Jack Gaughan ISBN: 0-426-05012-6 Publisher: Tandem Pub. Date: 1970 Format: Paperback |
Average Customer Rating: 4.33 (6 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Magic- Redemption for a Man and a Kingdom
Comment: Lieutenant-Colonel Simon Tregarth was a man at the end of his rope. He had been unjustly cashiered from the service of his country for black market dealings that he had never engaged in. Then he had in reality been forced into that shadowy underground world when no one else would have him. But, he was a cut above the men that he had to deal with- and this inevitably made him enemies. In fact, he had eaten his final meal and resigned himself to meet the assassins that shadowed him. Time spent in combat and in prison had led him to look deeper inside himself than most men ever do - or perhaps should. He was ready to end this travesty of an existence one way or another. It was then that the infamous Dr. Jorge Petronius introduced himself....
The good doctor told Tregarth of the legend of the Siege Perilous- the seat that could judge a man, determine his true worth, and deliver him to his fate. In legend, only Percival and Galahad had ever escaped the judging unscathed. Now it was Simon's term- and he was far from a pure knight.
The world to which he found himself transported was far from a paradise. It was an ancient world truly ruled by sword and sorcery. Simon already knew how to live by the sword. In the service of the Women of Power of ancient Estcarp he came to know of sorcery. For that mysterious extra sense that had kept him alive for so long was the faint stirring of the Power. Here in this world it would thrive. Indeed, it would prove both his personal redemption and that of dieing Estcarp, for before his arrival none but women possessed the Gift.
Rating: 5
Summary: A Knight on the Siege Perilous
Comment: Witch World is the first novel in the Witch World series. Once Simon Tregarth had been a Colonel in the US Army in Occupied Europe, but had been unknowingly caught up in a black market deal and, on the basis of perjuried testimony, courtmartialed, stripped of rank, and imprisoned. When released, he had become that of which he was falsely accused, a dealer in illegal merchandise. Then his path crossed that of Hansen and now the Organization is after him. He has been on the run for some time and has left a few dead pursuers on his back trail, but is tired and sleepy. Now he faces Sammy, who is more dangerous than the others.
Tregarth stops in a restaurant to eat a pleasant last meal and is accosted therein by Doctor Jorge Petronius, who is well know in some circles as the man who can make you disappear. Petronius offers his services in exchange for whatever remains of the $20,000 brought from San Pedro.
Tregarth accompanies Petronius to an ancient little house and is told the legend of the Siege Perilous. "One takes his seat upon the Siege and before him opens that existence in which his spirit, his mind -- his soul uf you wish to call it that -- is at home." At dawn, Tregarth sits on the stone and disappears from this world.
Tregarth is spilled out to sprawl face down of the thick wiry turf of a gray-green moor. Behind him are two rough pillars of reddish rock. He walks directly away from them across the soggy turf. As the sun rises, he hears a horn calling and cautiously moves in that direction. He sees a woman pursued by thin, white hounds and then the masters riding on horses. The animals and men corner the woman and one of the men takes a weapon from a holster on his belt and raises it toward the woman. Tregarth shoots him out of the saddle.
Thus Simon Tregarth meets the Lady Jaelithe, although he was not to learn her name for some time yet, and is introduced to the Witches of Estcarp. He soon meets Koris, Captain of Estcarp's fighting men and Prince of lost Gorm. Together, these three battle an invasion of evil from another worldline: the Kolder.
Although the Witch World series is now considered fantasy, this first novel does not differ significantly from much of the author's science fiction. The "magic" powers of the Estcarp witches may just as well be psionic talents such as in the Warlock, Janus, and Forerunner series. Moreover, the "magic" exists side-by-side with technology, both native to Estcarp and imported from Earth and wherever the Kolder come from. It is difficult to find anything in this first novel that isn't just as much SF as the Pern series.
Later, the series begin to acquire characteristics of fantasy, such as shapechangers and Words of Power. Maybe the fantasy ambiance was just more exceptable than the author's soft SF environment, for this series became wildly popular within the SF/Fantasy community and then with other readers. The author had been popular with younger readers, including myself, for some time, but now started attracting wider attention among college students and older adults. She had never really published much in the magazines and thus didn't garner Hugo and Nebula nominations, but now her novels began to impress the readership enough that a special Hugo was awarded for her lifetime achievement as a Master of SF and Fantasy.
This story was first published in 1963. As such, it was written to a different standard than contemporary authors such as Robert Jordan and Terry Goodkind. It is very linear, without the stylistic gimmicks of flashbacks and multiple storyline. However, it tells a story that can still enthrall a reader who is willing to put aside all expectations and just go with the flow.
This novel started Andre Norton's rise to fame. It is a must read for any Norton fan and recommended to anyone else who might enjoy a well-crafted tale of courage, special talents, and romance.
Rating: 3
Summary: Original story, cardboard characters
Comment: The beginning of the story is pretty well-worn by now, but keep it in historical context. A man is transported to another world which is more suited to him than this one. Of course, the world is a magical one. Mix that character in with another classic character concept: the unwilling bride-to-be, donning men's clothes and miraculously being able to pass as a young man, while travelling under the guise of a fighter.
This would all be bad enough, but the characters themselves are so lackluster as to make the entire thing boring. I was interested in the unwilling bride, up to the point where she escaped the castle, and then she faded right back into the background.
Norton's work is characteristically this way, and one die-hard fan said she read the books for the story, not the characters.
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Title: Web of the Witch World by Andre Norton ISBN: 0441878792 Publisher: Ace Books Pub. Date: 01 February, 1986 List Price(USD): $3.50 |
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Title: Sorceress of the Witch World by Andre Norton ISBN: 0441775586 Publisher: Ace Books Pub. Date: 01 April, 1987 List Price(USD): $3.50 |
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Title: Witch Wld 04/3 Agn WW by Andre Norton ISBN: 0441808077 Publisher: Ace Books Pub. Date: March, 1983 List Price(USD): $2.50 |
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Title: Warlock of the Witch World by Andre Norton ISBN: 0441873162 Publisher: Ace Books Pub. Date: 01 October, 1988 List Price(USD): $3.50 |
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Title: Year of the Unicorn by Andre Norton ISBN: 0839823568 Publisher: Thorndike Pr Pub. Date: 01 June, 1978 List Price(USD): $10.50 |
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