The Sorceress of Qar

Qanar/The Quest of the Wolf #2

by Ted White

TWO PATHS TO ARMAGEDDONTwo valiant swashbuckling Elron and the Sorceress Shannara...two implacably evil "Others"...two kinds of weapons with which to fight...and many kinds of doom awaiting an entire world if the battle is lost!Again Ted White takes us to the strange, paradoxical world of Qanar, where a weird age-old magic exists as everyday reality, side by side with the remnants of an equally ancient but less understood science. The alien "Others" are making a new bid to take over the planet...and only the noble Elron stands against them. But not entirely alone after he meets the beautiful Shannara, and she adds her limited psionic powers to his great strength to vanquish the enemy. Together they share an outstanding Odyssey - through unpredictable matter transmitters and over treacherous terrain - to reach a hair-raising climax...IN THIS GREAT SEQUEL TO PHOENIX PRIME!

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

Theodore Edwin ("Ted") White is a Hugo Award-winning American writer, known as a science fiction author and editor as well as a music critic. In addition to books and stories written under his own name, he has also co-authored novels with Dave van Arnam as Ron Archer, and with Terry Carr as Norman Edwards.

Reviews

[Derek · Rating 3 out of 5]

There might be a way for this kind of light entertainment to engage with the subject of explicit sexual violence and all its devastating effects. This one tries and does not really succeed, and then there's no way to walk that back.

The implication of this story was evident in its prequel _Phoenix Prime_: here is a ruined world with the wreckage of some super-civilization, and the now-primitive inhabitants lurk amongst various technological artifacts and the remnants of psychic abilities. Which is to say, my jam. And White revisits the setting by following incidental characters who intersected the protagonists of the original. With the same villains, now much reduced by the final battle.

While it leads with exactly the right material to engage attention, the middle third is a solid lump of Desert Survival Adventure as these heroes scrabble through and bond over a shared harrowing journey. At which point the original story can resume.

Meanwhile, the Sorceress of Qar herself, Shannara, is the underutilized most interesting character, being a technician of the original super-civilization, now flung into the future and sheltering in a decadent remnant of that society.

I'm still left with the sense that White took this in the wrong direction

[Noah Rosser · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a gem that I found at my local bookstore for $3. There is a cool amount of adventure for a straight forward plot. The story really pulls at the heartstrings as two heroes attempt to overthrow two warlocks that are haunting their world. A good amount of illusions and dreams are woven into the story to make the reader question what is real and fiction. I enjoyed the writing a good bit and found that the sentences were well placed.

[Jared Estes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most fantastic Science Fiction books I ever read. This is the second book in a three part series preceded by Phoenix Prime, and followed by Star Wolf! This is easily the best in the series, though the other two are wonderful Sci-Fi books! Originally published in the 1960's you know you can expect high quality Science Fiction in this tale of the Middle Ages and Time Travel! The stories intertwine between a different cast of characters and can be read out of order.. Solid old school SCIFI.

[Amy Miller-Bowen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rape alert- This is my third Ted White Book and wonder if all of his books include rape of women. I do like the journey the two main charcters take across the planet. The end of the book seems to be too quick to wrap up and not smooth.