Andre Norton

[Connavar]

I saw there wasnt a thread about this classic SFF author so.



After recommendation by fellow chrono members i got and started reading Moon of Three Rings.

Im glad i did, im enjoying it. Its not written like most SF of its kind. Her writing style is so refined.

 

[murphy]

There are followups to this book (it's also one of my favorites of her books).
They are Exiles of the Stars, Flight in Yiktor, Dare to Go A-Hunting, and Brother to Shadows.

 

[j d worthington]

Im glad i did, im enjoying it. Its not written like most SF of its kind. Her writing style is so refined.

I recall coming across a comment from her that she was "a rather staid old teller of tales" or something of the sort, which is quite true -- though not in the (semi)pejorative sense that this line might seem.

I'm not sure how much to modern taste Ms. Norton's work might be; but if they can't enjoy it, I find that rather sad, as they'd be missing some quite wonderful storytelling.....

 

[Connavar]

I think its the modern SF writing style i have read. Staid old teller of tales is a good way of putting it.

After a couple of pages i forgot i was reading a SF and was in the world of the tale. Most older SF writers has a style to get used the first time you read. I expected a transition but didnt see one.

Real good storytelling, it was so smooth getting into the story. I wasnt even planning on reading the book, i was reading another book.


I thought i would read 5-10 pages to see what its like and suddenly i was on page 50 and thought i cant stop reading now its too late

 

[clovis-man]

I'm not sure how much to modern taste Ms. Norton's work might be; but if they can't enjoy it, I find that rather sad, as they'd be missing some quite wonderful storytelling.....

I have a rather large stash of Andre Norton books. I am saving them to give to my grandchildren when they reach the age at which they would have the best chance of appreciating them.

 

[j d worthington]

Frankly, I think they'll be a good deal luckier than many of their contemporaries, then....

 

[yngvi]

I had all seven Witchworld books in the same edition then lost the first one and had to buy it again (so it doen't match). I've read them all five or six times.

I think she 'under writes' (she has a style a little too sparse) and all her novels that I've read could be a little longer and bear a little 'padding out' if you know what I mean. She does immerse me in her worlds though.

 

[j d worthington]

Seven Witch World novels? There have been an awful lot more than that....

Bibliography of Andre Norton - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I'm curious, though... which were the seven you refer to? Were they the original books she wrote prior to leaving the Witch World for a while?

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

The first seven were decidedly better than most of the rest that followed (although I did love The Crystal Gryphon).

And of course a number of the later books in that series weren't even Norton's.

 

[Connavar]

I can see what Yngvi means. But i like that there isnt much padding in the book im just about to finish. Every word tells you something about the story or the characters. I have seldom seeing first person being this interesting in SFF book.

Now i can only hope she doesnt have out of print problems like other SFF classic authors.

I will order Witch World, Beast Master and the second Moon singer book.

Im interested in the native american angle of Beast Master.

 

[j d worthington]

While I don't entirely agree with Teresa about the Witch World books, they do become much more uneven after that point; and the collaborations (or those which were entirely by other writers) didn't begin until the 1980s, as I recall....

But yes, Connavar, I would suggest checking out at least the first several Witch World books, as they are very well done; and she doesn't keep to a particular story, but develops tales from varying parts of her world, involving different characters, as well as following certain families/regions through generations....

 

[yngvi]

The seven witch world books which I have are

Witch World
Web of the Witch World
Three Against the Witch World
Warlock of the Witch World
Sorceress of teh Witch World
Year of the Unicorn
Spell of the Witch World

It turns out I have 'Trey of Swords' as well (number 8), but this was bought much later.

 

[j d worthington]

Thank you, yngvi; certainly a good selection on which to cut one's teeth, as it were....

 

[clovis-man]

An interesting Asociated Press article today having to do with Andre Norton's estate and the possibility of a muddled literary legacy. Too bad things like this happen.

Sci-fi author's estate embroiled in will dispute - CNN.com

 

[Parson]

Sigh! Andre Norton was my favorite SFF author in the early 60's. Her novel Catseye really got me hooked. It was too bad that she drifted over onto the Fantasy side of things later on. I could never get myself to even open a book with a series called {shudder} "Witch World." The comment about not liking technology in the C-man's link helps me understand the degeneration.

 

[j d worthington]

I'd hardly call it a "degeneration" moving from sf to fantasy (or vice versa). Norton had had a longtime interest in traditional stories, legends, and such (and one can't get much more traditional than fantasy, when you get down to it), and did some modern versions of these throughout her career. As for the Witch World stories... at the beginning, at least, they're a blending of the two, and the "magic" is often more along the lines of psi powers (long a standard of sf), for that matter. At the very least, the early books are well worth reading -- good solid storytelling with that special Andre Norton touch....

 

[Connavar]

Well i have read only one SF book from Norton and i knew even then she wasnt about technology.

Calling her moving to fantasy and her most famous series a degeneration is very crude and narrow minded.

 

[j d worthington]

I don't think it merits quite that harsh a response, though, Connavar; it's simply that Parson, from what I gather, has never had a taste for fantasy;p but I agree it's an inaccurate word for the shift....

 

[Connavar]

I don't think it merits quite that harsh a response, though, Connavar; it's simply that Parson, from what I gather, has never had a taste for fantasy;p but I agree it's an inaccurate word for the shift....

Maybe too harsh but calling an author writing fantasy a degeneration is way too much imo.....

Indirect its a name calling on many great people that has worked in Fantasy .
Its no better than seeing someone who haven't read SF reducing the genre to what they see in movies....

There are kinds of fantasy and SF i dont have an interest in reading but there is no need to be name calling.

 

[clovis-man]

Well i have read only one SF book from Norton and i knew even then she wasnt about technology.

Which one Conn? One of the first SF novels I read in my formative years was Star Rangers (aka The Last Planet). Written in 1953 (I've still got my copy), it is a space opera with feelings for the characters. Great for younger readers, which I was at the time. I've read it again in the past decade and I still enjoyed it. It was the story that hooked me, not its inclusion into the SF or the F camp. Sometimes I think we get a little too patriotic about our chosen genres.