What do you think?
Rate this book
The People of the Crater
“Send the Black Throne to dust; conquer the Black Ones, and bring the Daughter from the Caves of Darkness.” These were the tasks Garin must perform to fulfill the prophecy of the Ancient Ones—and establish his own destiny in this hidden land!
81 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1947
35 people are currently reading
183 people want to read
About the author
Andre Norton
699 books1,390 followersAndre Norton, born Alice Mary Norton, was a pioneering American author of science fiction and fantasy, widely regarded as the Grande Dame of those genres. She also wrote historical and contemporary fiction, publishing under the pen names Andre Alice Norton, Andrew North, and Allen Weston. She launched her career in 1934 with The Prince Commands, adopting the name “Andre” to appeal to a male readership. After working for the Cleveland Library System and the Library of Congress, she began publishing science fiction under “Andrew North” and fantasy under her own name. She became a full-time writer in 1958 and was known for her prolific output, including Star Man’s Son, 2250 A.D. and Witch World, the latter spawning a long-running series and shared universe. Norton was a founding member of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America and authored Quag Keep, the first novel based on the Dungeons & Dragons game. She influenced generations of writers, including Lois McMaster Bujold and Mercedes Lackey. Among her many honors were being the first woman named Gandalf Grand Master of Fantasy and SFWA Grand Master. In her later years, she established the High Hallack Library to support research in genre fiction. Her legacy continues with the Andre Norton Award for young adult science fiction and fantasy.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
November 28, 2015
A 1947 short story by Andre Norton, using one of her psuedonyms, Andrew North. The story is entertaining to a point, but very typical of the Lost World type and quite predictable.
Our hero Garin Featherstone is a bit lost after the war of 1965-1970. He was a pilot and does not know what to do with himself in civilian life. Until he happens to meet Gregory Farson, who invites him to fly a plane on an expedition to Antarctica to try to discover the truth about a strange blue haze he had seen in earlier explorations.
Well, who wouldn't jump at such a chance? Off we go to the South Pole, and when the group reaches the blue haze, our man Garin finds that his plane is being controlled by Someone Else. He might have been okay if he had not struggled against the Presence that had taken over, but struggle he did and he crashed the plane down inside a large split in the ice cap, in a canyon full of weird red-trunked trees.
There are nifty creatures: the Ana are white-furred combos of monkey-cats with bat's ears. They choose a person to serve, and one chose Garin after he was treated with a healing blue laser. Then there are morgels, the hunting animals of the bad beings who live in a separate cavern. My favorite creatures were the Gibis: giant bees about the size of a hawk. Imagine the honey!
Well, naturally there is a story of The Ancient Ones who came to this planet back in the days when there was nothing much here except primordial soup. They created everything in this lost world, and some of their descendants are still around, which brings us to why Garin was sky-napped. He is told to rescue a woman, the daughter of one of The Ancient Ones (yes, they live forever unless they choose the Peaceful Death...and why are we not surprised?)
Does he truly understand his assignment? Or what is expected of him if he is successful? Well, as I said, it is a predictable story so you can easily imagine what happens. I think perhaps Ms. Norton was still developing her own voice and style at this point. I have read later works of hers that were much more original. But, as I said, this was entertaining, and the critters were cool.
Our hero Garin Featherstone is a bit lost after the war of 1965-1970. He was a pilot and does not know what to do with himself in civilian life. Until he happens to meet Gregory Farson, who invites him to fly a plane on an expedition to Antarctica to try to discover the truth about a strange blue haze he had seen in earlier explorations.
Well, who wouldn't jump at such a chance? Off we go to the South Pole, and when the group reaches the blue haze, our man Garin finds that his plane is being controlled by Someone Else. He might have been okay if he had not struggled against the Presence that had taken over, but struggle he did and he crashed the plane down inside a large split in the ice cap, in a canyon full of weird red-trunked trees.
There are nifty creatures: the Ana are white-furred combos of monkey-cats with bat's ears. They choose a person to serve, and one chose Garin after he was treated with a healing blue laser. Then there are morgels, the hunting animals of the bad beings who live in a separate cavern. My favorite creatures were the Gibis: giant bees about the size of a hawk. Imagine the honey!
Well, naturally there is a story of The Ancient Ones who came to this planet back in the days when there was nothing much here except primordial soup. They created everything in this lost world, and some of their descendants are still around, which brings us to why Garin was sky-napped. He is told to rescue a woman, the daughter of one of The Ancient Ones (yes, they live forever unless they choose the Peaceful Death...and why are we not surprised?)
Does he truly understand his assignment? Or what is expected of him if he is successful? Well, as I said, it is a predictable story so you can easily imagine what happens. I think perhaps Ms. Norton was still developing her own voice and style at this point. I have read later works of hers that were much more original. But, as I said, this was entertaining, and the critters were cool.
November 23, 2025
Although there is more than a hint of Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness, this is not a great example of pulp science fiction/fantasy and it shows an author finding her way in the genre. However, for any Andre Norton aficionado there is a wealth of hints at the writer to come.
The story is set at the end of a future war on Earth with the former military pilot Garin Featherstone out of work and looking for a job. He is spotted by a well known explorer and signed up to work on an expedition to the Antarctic which will investigate a strange wall of blue mist that has been found there. Being a novella, the action moves very swiftly and it is not long before Garin is flying through the mist and crashing into the Crater of the title.
What follows is a very typical lost civilization scenario with the heroic explorer proving his worth as a warrior, defeating the civilization's enemies and winning the affections of a princess at the end. What gives the story a lift are all those windows into the future Andre Norton, some of which give hints towards specific novels.
The hero, while older than most Norton heroes, is a young man without a family to hold him back and he has the ability to plunge headlong into his adventures, always thinking on the run. Unlike so many lost civilization stories, the creators of the Cavern were not Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans or some unspecified but firmly Aryan people, they originally came from another planet and set about using the local fauna to create a population for their new world. I was reminded of Star Gate in which the Star Lords, who are humans of the future, established themselves on the planet Gorth and eventually split into two warring parties. The Ancient Ones of the Cavern also divided between good and bad and continue to be at war. A small creature called the Ana becomes Garin's friend and helper often perched on his shoulder and seemingly has some degree of what Norton was to call psi-powers. I thought immediately of The Zero Stone in which Murdoc Jern becomes attached to the alien Eet in the same way. As always with Norton there is no shortage of tunnels and creepy passageways with lurking monsters - morgels in this case, and you wouldn't want to mix it with a morgel, though Garin pitches in with barely a second thought.
Vintage Norton science fiction, but sadly only in age. The quality came through a few years later and never stopped.
The story is set at the end of a future war on Earth with the former military pilot Garin Featherstone out of work and looking for a job. He is spotted by a well known explorer and signed up to work on an expedition to the Antarctic which will investigate a strange wall of blue mist that has been found there. Being a novella, the action moves very swiftly and it is not long before Garin is flying through the mist and crashing into the Crater of the title.
What follows is a very typical lost civilization scenario with the heroic explorer proving his worth as a warrior, defeating the civilization's enemies and winning the affections of a princess at the end. What gives the story a lift are all those windows into the future Andre Norton, some of which give hints towards specific novels.
The hero, while older than most Norton heroes, is a young man without a family to hold him back and he has the ability to plunge headlong into his adventures, always thinking on the run. Unlike so many lost civilization stories, the creators of the Cavern were not Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans or some unspecified but firmly Aryan people, they originally came from another planet and set about using the local fauna to create a population for their new world. I was reminded of Star Gate in which the Star Lords, who are humans of the future, established themselves on the planet Gorth and eventually split into two warring parties. The Ancient Ones of the Cavern also divided between good and bad and continue to be at war. A small creature called the Ana becomes Garin's friend and helper often perched on his shoulder and seemingly has some degree of what Norton was to call psi-powers. I thought immediately of The Zero Stone in which Murdoc Jern becomes attached to the alien Eet in the same way. As always with Norton there is no shortage of tunnels and creepy passageways with lurking monsters - morgels in this case, and you wouldn't want to mix it with a morgel, though Garin pitches in with barely a second thought.
Vintage Norton science fiction, but sadly only in age. The quality came through a few years later and never stopped.
December 17, 2015
This was Norton's first published SF, originally appearing under the Andrew North name. It's entertaining and imaginative but weak in the organization and storytelling elements. Many confrontational scenes are cut off so quickly that you turn the page and then look back to see if you missed something. Norton learned a lot over the years and this is certainly not one of her stronger efforts.
If you're new to Norton, start elsewhere, but if you are familiar with her work then this is worth giving a quick read. I got my copy free for the Kindle from Amazon and I think it's available on Project Gutenberg for free as well.
If you're new to Norton, start elsewhere, but if you are familiar with her work then this is worth giving a quick read. I got my copy free for the Kindle from Amazon and I think it's available on Project Gutenberg for free as well.
September 6, 2015
painful.
Will review at www.fantasyliterature.com
Will review at www.fantasyliterature.com
August 19, 2018
You're Andre Norton in late 1946, living in the Midwest with a boring 9 to 5 job writing at night to hopefully some day become a writer. The War has been over for a year. You have puttered around with writing adventure stories for boys, a western. a few historical fiction novels, but nothing has been gaining you any traction. Science fiction sure does seem to be popular. So many pulps are paying for science fiction.
So far you have been resistant to write the stuff. You've read widely in the big, beautiful Cleveland Library you work in, all about cultures, folklore, forgotten peoples, history. Wouldn't writing about adventures in space be a complete waste of all this Earthly background reading you've undergone? Still, what's to be done? The audience you want to write for, teenagers, are all crazy about this science fiction stuff. Even good writers who used to write mysteries and adventure stories are writing science fiction now. Strangely they have managed to keep their favorite plot elements and techniques intact while doing so. Hmm, I wonder if I can too.
I've been working on this Edgar Rice Burroughs type lost world adventure story. What if I just throw in a science fiction element on it so I can get it published? I know, let's have a pilot from some future war discover this world. Future war and technology, that should make my story science fictiony enough. Thus Chapter One gets added on. I'll find a couple spots in the story to refer to my pilot so it doesn't look too attached, and voila instant science fiction story!
In all actuality, Norton's first foray into the world of science fiction isn't bad. The lost world stuff is highly derivative and unremarkable, but the science fiction element of Chapter One is very engaging. It left me wanting to know more of Captain Garin Featherstone's war story and less of Garin the lost world explorer's, but early Norton often leaves me wishing she had focused her story on a different element than she chose to.
There is a strong romance aspect of this story. In fact, it follows a romance formula. Boy meets girl and there is an attraction. They like each other but then some misunderstanding arises to cause them to dislike each other. The misunderstanding must be cleared up. The attraction resurfaces, only stronger, and boy and girl live happily ever after. So goes the age old formula. Admittedly it's worked here to good effect.
Making your science fiction story a flipping romance was a controversial move for the time. For that reason it was almost never attempted. The rare times someone dared include any hint of romance, teenage boys had a long tradition of writing in to magazine editors to complain. Young Isaac Asimov was one of the more famous of this loud letter-writer contingent. The complaints were especially vociferous if a woman writer dared try to include romance elements in her science fiction story. As best I can tell, none therefore ever did. At least not until this story. Thus it's easy to understand now why Andre Norton, who was known to be a woman, would choose to publish this short story under the pseudonym of Andrew North.
So, what about the story itself? It's okay. Nothing special. Highlights for me were chapter one, the hiring of Capt. Featherstone, the trip to Antarctica, and flying the airplanes to go exploring where earlier attempts had turned back. The romance added a suspense element that saved the tedium of the last eighty percent of the story. Still, it wasn't great, and the writing style was stodgy. A solid three stars.
Incidentally, I read "The People of the Crater" in republished form in a 1972 paperback titled Garan the Eternal. Word for word, the story is exactly the same as the 1947 magazine version. Only the places where the chapters are broken differ slightly. Also, if you really liked this story, it might interest you that it has a sequel where one can read the further adventures of Garan. That story, titled "Garan of Yu-Lac," was twice as long as "The People of the Crater," published in a magazine called Spaceway Science Fiction in 1969 (part 1) and 1970 (part 2), but reprinted in Garan the Eternal as a whole in 1972.
So far you have been resistant to write the stuff. You've read widely in the big, beautiful Cleveland Library you work in, all about cultures, folklore, forgotten peoples, history. Wouldn't writing about adventures in space be a complete waste of all this Earthly background reading you've undergone? Still, what's to be done? The audience you want to write for, teenagers, are all crazy about this science fiction stuff. Even good writers who used to write mysteries and adventure stories are writing science fiction now. Strangely they have managed to keep their favorite plot elements and techniques intact while doing so. Hmm, I wonder if I can too.
I've been working on this Edgar Rice Burroughs type lost world adventure story. What if I just throw in a science fiction element on it so I can get it published? I know, let's have a pilot from some future war discover this world. Future war and technology, that should make my story science fictiony enough. Thus Chapter One gets added on. I'll find a couple spots in the story to refer to my pilot so it doesn't look too attached, and voila instant science fiction story!
In all actuality, Norton's first foray into the world of science fiction isn't bad. The lost world stuff is highly derivative and unremarkable, but the science fiction element of Chapter One is very engaging. It left me wanting to know more of Captain Garin Featherstone's war story and less of Garin the lost world explorer's, but early Norton often leaves me wishing she had focused her story on a different element than she chose to.
There is a strong romance aspect of this story. In fact, it follows a romance formula. Boy meets girl and there is an attraction. They like each other but then some misunderstanding arises to cause them to dislike each other. The misunderstanding must be cleared up. The attraction resurfaces, only stronger, and boy and girl live happily ever after. So goes the age old formula. Admittedly it's worked here to good effect.
Making your science fiction story a flipping romance was a controversial move for the time. For that reason it was almost never attempted. The rare times someone dared include any hint of romance, teenage boys had a long tradition of writing in to magazine editors to complain. Young Isaac Asimov was one of the more famous of this loud letter-writer contingent. The complaints were especially vociferous if a woman writer dared try to include romance elements in her science fiction story. As best I can tell, none therefore ever did. At least not until this story. Thus it's easy to understand now why Andre Norton, who was known to be a woman, would choose to publish this short story under the pseudonym of Andrew North.
So, what about the story itself? It's okay. Nothing special. Highlights for me were chapter one, the hiring of Capt. Featherstone, the trip to Antarctica, and flying the airplanes to go exploring where earlier attempts had turned back. The romance added a suspense element that saved the tedium of the last eighty percent of the story. Still, it wasn't great, and the writing style was stodgy. A solid three stars.
Incidentally, I read "The People of the Crater" in republished form in a 1972 paperback titled Garan the Eternal. Word for word, the story is exactly the same as the 1947 magazine version. Only the places where the chapters are broken differ slightly. Also, if you really liked this story, it might interest you that it has a sequel where one can read the further adventures of Garan. That story, titled "Garan of Yu-Lac," was twice as long as "The People of the Crater," published in a magazine called Spaceway Science Fiction in 1969 (part 1) and 1970 (part 2), but reprinted in Garan the Eternal as a whole in 1972.
October 24, 2018
If you like "The Lost World" readalikes, this is the same vein. The story is pretty predictable, and the dialogue is cringy at times. I had a hard time getting through the audiobook, but I really liked the author's descriptions of the settings and atmosphere. Overall, it's not really worth remembering or recommending.
January 24, 2011
This was Andre Norton's first published work, originally published in 1947. All Norton fans would enjoy reading this. It is available free on Project Gutenberg (http://www.gutenberg.org/3/0/9/6/30960/). The Project Gutenberg edition has 3 illustrations, unlike the paperback edition pictured here (Wildside ed., 2009; dated on end page: 30 December 2010), which only has the cover illustration. Cover illustration is a wrap-around, which is marred by the placement of the author name. The name obscures Garin, the downed pilot.
Some Nortonisms are already present. Example: the reply "Just so."
The story features a man who was a pilot in the war (the great War of 1969-1970) and who now has no place in civilian life. The theme of persons displaced by war would later be a familiar one in Norton's works.
Another recurring theme: 3 of these characters had "met before," they had been together in a previous life. The characters Garin, Thrala, and Kepta. Kepta says to Garin: "We have met and hated, fought and died before - you and I." This story (retitled Garin of Tav) appeared in the book Garan the Eternal, which is a collection of Garan stories. Another theme: friendships with non-humans, notably the lizard-like "Folk" and the Anas. Another theme: "forerunners" though this word was not used in People of the Crater. The Ancient Ones, now vanished, who created the land and peoples of Tav.
Garin is such a good guy, he almost missed his chance at love; and violates a cultural expectation and nearly gets himself killed. It's nice to read stories about good guys. Most of Norton's stories have a good guy, including female guys.
An interesting feature of the culture of the Folk: they do not do menial work. Most work was done by machines. Exquisite jewel work was the work of women. The Folk pursued knowledge.
The story contains many elements that remind you of other works, a little Edgar Rice Burroughs, etc., but it is not wholly derivative. And the glimpses of the writer to come are fascinating.
Some Nortonisms are already present. Example: the reply "Just so."
The story features a man who was a pilot in the war (the great War of 1969-1970) and who now has no place in civilian life. The theme of persons displaced by war would later be a familiar one in Norton's works.
Another recurring theme: 3 of these characters had "met before," they had been together in a previous life. The characters Garin, Thrala, and Kepta. Kepta says to Garin: "We have met and hated, fought and died before - you and I." This story (retitled Garin of Tav) appeared in the book Garan the Eternal, which is a collection of Garan stories. Another theme: friendships with non-humans, notably the lizard-like "Folk" and the Anas. Another theme: "forerunners" though this word was not used in People of the Crater. The Ancient Ones, now vanished, who created the land and peoples of Tav.
Garin is such a good guy, he almost missed his chance at love; and violates a cultural expectation and nearly gets himself killed. It's nice to read stories about good guys. Most of Norton's stories have a good guy, including female guys.
An interesting feature of the culture of the Folk: they do not do menial work. Most work was done by machines. Exquisite jewel work was the work of women. The Folk pursued knowledge.
The story contains many elements that remind you of other works, a little Edgar Rice Burroughs, etc., but it is not wholly derivative. And the glimpses of the writer to come are fascinating.
December 17, 2017
A pilot on a mysterious mission to Antarctica flies into a crater and lands in a hidden world populated by ancient extraterrestrials, lizard people, giant friendly bees, and half-cat-half-monkey pets which sound cute but sure look ugly as imagined by the illustrator.
I've come to enjoy most of what I have read by Andre (Alice Mary) Norton but this, her first published story to be fair, would embarrass a teenager looking back at one of their English exercise books from two years previous and finding this childish turd of an effort lurking there to remind them of past follies.
When one of the main characters is called Urg you can't possibly be onto a good thing.
Well, we all have to start somewhere.
I've come to enjoy most of what I have read by Andre (Alice Mary) Norton but this, her first published story to be fair, would embarrass a teenager looking back at one of their English exercise books from two years previous and finding this childish turd of an effort lurking there to remind them of past follies.
When one of the main characters is called Urg you can't possibly be onto a good thing.
Well, we all have to start somewhere.
May 9, 2014
This was evidently Andre Norton's first science-fiction Novella. And it shows. One would hardly suspect from this pulp adventure with its stereotypical characters, plot holes, and a landscape which soon becomes boring that this is the author of the Witch World Series! What lifts it a bit is the ending which avoids the expected clinch of hero and heroine and leaves room for later developments.
"The People of the Crater" is also interesting as it makes one conscious of how much Norton improved in her later books.
"The People of the Crater" is also interesting as it makes one conscious of how much Norton improved in her later books.
March 16, 2015
(LibriVox audiobook edition) This first novella reflects much of the Burrough's family of science fiction - lost civilizations in non-accessible places. While the story is not earth-shatering, it does give glimpses into the technologies and race interactions of Andre Norton's later stories.
October 7, 2025
So this is Andre Norton's first published work....and to be frank and honest...it sucks.
It's mainly a collection of ideas and tropes stolen, I mean borrowed from other fantasy writers. Some of the stuff where they tell the history of The People of The Van is kind of interesting, which is why it gets 2 stars. But the second half a the story where Garon goes into the Caves of Darkness and rescues the princess are just simply dull and bland. I can see a lot of Edgar Rice Burroughs in this part.
The biggest problem is that all the bad guys are whimpy and impotent. None of them project any malice or fierceness. Nothing scary about them at all.
And the climax of the story, chapter 10, "Battle and Victory ", is simply empty of any sense of battle at all. No descriptions of swords and slaughter, noise of battle or screams of the dying....nothing! It's outright BORING!
I listened to this as an audio book and here is a breakdown of the experience:
Total running time 2 hours and 13 minutes.
0:00 - 11:24: chapter 1 - getting to the Antarctic and Garon crashing his plane in the Valley of The Van. It's the best part of the book.
11:25 - 52:49: Carters 2 -5.33. Info dump after info dump after info dump. Yes, you read that right. 40 minutes of info dumping before the story even starts.
52:50 - 141:14. Chapter 5.34 - Chapter 10. The boring rescue of the princess. The bad guy literally let's her go free without putting up a fight. YAWN!
Break time: I was so bored I turned the thing off and went to bed.
141:15 - 200:13: Chapters 10 and 11. The incredibly boring battle and some other dumb stuff of no interest as the story just peters out.
Not recommended unless you're just bored and curious.
It's mainly a collection of ideas and tropes stolen, I mean borrowed from other fantasy writers. Some of the stuff where they tell the history of The People of The Van is kind of interesting, which is why it gets 2 stars. But the second half a the story where Garon goes into the Caves of Darkness and rescues the princess are just simply dull and bland. I can see a lot of Edgar Rice Burroughs in this part.
The biggest problem is that all the bad guys are whimpy and impotent. None of them project any malice or fierceness. Nothing scary about them at all.
And the climax of the story, chapter 10, "Battle and Victory ", is simply empty of any sense of battle at all. No descriptions of swords and slaughter, noise of battle or screams of the dying....nothing! It's outright BORING!
I listened to this as an audio book and here is a breakdown of the experience:
Total running time 2 hours and 13 minutes.
0:00 - 11:24: chapter 1 - getting to the Antarctic and Garon crashing his plane in the Valley of The Van. It's the best part of the book.
11:25 - 52:49: Carters 2 -5.33. Info dump after info dump after info dump. Yes, you read that right. 40 minutes of info dumping before the story even starts.
52:50 - 141:14. Chapter 5.34 - Chapter 10. The boring rescue of the princess. The bad guy literally let's her go free without putting up a fight. YAWN!
Break time: I was so bored I turned the thing off and went to bed.
141:15 - 200:13: Chapters 10 and 11. The incredibly boring battle and some other dumb stuff of no interest as the story just peters out.
Not recommended unless you're just bored and curious.
February 11, 2023
Military pilot Garin Featherstone is hired by a famous explorer to fly one of his planes to Antarctica to discover the source of a mysterious blue haze that might be generated by a cache of valuable minerals. As he approaches the crater from which the mist is rising, Garin senses an alien presence that takes over the plane, causing it to crash in the crater.
By the time Garin awakens, he is taken into the care of a race of humanoid lizards known as the Tav. After restoring him to health, their leader, Trar, charges Garin with a quest to venture into the lands of the Black Ones and rescue the Thrala, the Daughter of Light, who has been taken captive by Kepta and will be killed in his sinister laboratory experiments.
The People of the Crater is a standard fantasy adventure of the "fish out of water" variety so prevalent in a decade that produced similar yarns from the likes of Jack Vance, Philip Jose Farmer, and others. Andrew North's (aka Andre Norton, aka Alice Mary Norton) world building is impressive even if her villains are not.
By the time Garin awakens, he is taken into the care of a race of humanoid lizards known as the Tav. After restoring him to health, their leader, Trar, charges Garin with a quest to venture into the lands of the Black Ones and rescue the Thrala, the Daughter of Light, who has been taken captive by Kepta and will be killed in his sinister laboratory experiments.
The People of the Crater is a standard fantasy adventure of the "fish out of water" variety so prevalent in a decade that produced similar yarns from the likes of Jack Vance, Philip Jose Farmer, and others. Andrew North's (aka Andre Norton, aka Alice Mary Norton) world building is impressive even if her villains are not.
November 4, 2021
This is a short but fun piece. The names in this story are full of old familiar names and themes.
As with many of Andre Norton (Andrew North)'s shorter pieces this moves fast. It is one that I truly wish had been reworked and expanded on because there are so many hints of a vaster, wider world behind it. Anyone who likes modern alien conspiracy tales, old hero tales, the original grim fairy tales and the many symbolic coming of age stories would enjoy this.
Garon is a recently retired war pilot who lost his career due to the end of a global war. He takes a dangerous and mysterious job with a famous explorer. Due to an accident he crashes in an unexplored, uncharted, and hidden land where he is a prophesied hero - one who is destined to rescue the stolen lady of light, Thralla, and save the Folk. He is not the perfect warrior. She is not a swooning princess. They work together to escape the dark caves of Thralla's captors.
It is well worth the read.
As with many of Andre Norton (Andrew North)'s shorter pieces this moves fast. It is one that I truly wish had been reworked and expanded on because there are so many hints of a vaster, wider world behind it. Anyone who likes modern alien conspiracy tales, old hero tales, the original grim fairy tales and the many symbolic coming of age stories would enjoy this.
Garon is a recently retired war pilot who lost his career due to the end of a global war. He takes a dangerous and mysterious job with a famous explorer. Due to an accident he crashes in an unexplored, uncharted, and hidden land where he is a prophesied hero - one who is destined to rescue the stolen lady of light, Thralla, and save the Folk. He is not the perfect warrior. She is not a swooning princess. They work together to escape the dark caves of Thralla's captors.
It is well worth the read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 25, 2019
I grew up reading Andre Norton's fantasy and SF and loved her stuff. (Andre North is a pseudonym she used to sell her work in the 1940's when women "didn't write"--or at least didn't sell--SF.) My favorites were the Witch World and Time Traveler series. I jumped at the chance to pick up a cheap eBook "megapack" of her early works. I believe this was one of (if not the) first of her works published and squarely falls in the pulp fiction genre with a brave hunky hero and beautiful alien princess in need of rescue. I enjoyed it for what it was: an early work by a beloved author. It's not great literature, but is representative of it's time.
November 15, 2020
Andre...
Andre...
What the eff. This book is just. . .
I actually didn't believe that I could dislike an Andre Norton book, but this one has proved me wrong. Clearly, her talent improved with practice over time. If you're a misguided die-hard fan like me, just skip this one.
I know how good completion-ism feels, but that's how not great this hot mess of a story feels.
Andre...
What the eff. This book is just. . .
I actually didn't believe that I could dislike an Andre Norton book, but this one has proved me wrong. Clearly, her talent improved with practice over time. If you're a misguided die-hard fan like me, just skip this one.
I know how good completion-ism feels, but that's how not great this hot mess of a story feels.
January 29, 2021
This is Andre Norton's first published work, from 1947. It seems much older than that. It's a short work with a modern man going to an isolated crater in a jungle where old races live. He has to fight a foe and win the kind of princess.
Interesting to read for people interested in the history of science fiction. It is a quick read.
Interesting to read for people interested in the history of science fiction. It is a quick read.
March 15, 2022
An excellent Book
This is a fascinating tale of human meeting an alien culture and the confusion that can occur without good communication between both parties. It is a well developed story, as are all Andre Norton's books. I really enjoyed it.
This is a fascinating tale of human meeting an alien culture and the confusion that can occur without good communication between both parties. It is a well developed story, as are all Andre Norton's books. I really enjoyed it.
June 23, 2025
I've never been a big fan of the whole lost world scenario, so it's no surprise that I didn't love this story. The romance aspect of the story is probably the strangest part. The plot is there but it's just a skeleton. It doesn't draw you in. It's not engaging and it just feels dull.
January 16, 2018
I liked that it was more fleshed out than the normal short stories. However I found that sometimes events played to fast and without any logical reasoning.
May 6, 2018
I wouldn't call this her best work, but it's still better than many of the books being published today.
November 1, 2019
Out of this World Love Story
Tried and true plot wherein the hero gets the heroine. Interesting set up and story line. For true romantic and fantasy lovers.
Tried and true plot wherein the hero gets the heroine. Interesting set up and story line. For true romantic and fantasy lovers.
November 22, 2025
Normally a good author, but this was a lackluster DNF for me.
January 13, 2026
Dramatics ok, but plot flaws right from the beginning... Various military types have troubles after Service; Pilots are not among them!
March 19, 2017
I loved this story, I must confess to being a fan of Andrew North pseudonmyn of Andre Norton, I have read quite a few of her story's not found one yet I did not like.
January 23, 2025
I think I have read a similar story before. For this one I find the language stilted and a little hard to read and follow.
March 30, 2011
Very poor offering from a normally excellent author. The story focuses on an ancient undescovered civilisation, stumbled upon by a human explorer after a plane crash, that at some point in the distant past has undergone a split. We enter into this at the tail end of a long, storied conflict between the two sides. And herein lies the problem. This is a short story (only a few chapters, which I finished in the course of about 90 mins), trying to tell a grand tale. The end result is a hurried, confused affair, where the protagonist stumbles through hasty exposition to be sent on a dangerous quest to rescue an important girl (who is the daughter of some kind of god? Or is she more like a princess? I wasn't really too sure on that). Despite having had all of 15 minutes contact with this new society, our hero blindly accepts that he is the chosen one, and romps off to bad-guy central where predictable hijinks ensue. Following the inevitably successfull princess/godess rescue, we have a bit of a war preparation montage, a final climactic scrap, and the hero gets the girl. The end.
So overall, a story concept too big for the format by far leads to a generic plot underpinned by a confused backstory driven by an unquestioning simpleton of a leading man.
So overall, a story concept too big for the format by far leads to a generic plot underpinned by a confused backstory driven by an unquestioning simpleton of a leading man.
October 20, 2014
I was expecting better from Norton, honestly. According to Wikipedia, this was her first published sci-fi... But it's not really sci-fi, to my mind. It plays out like fantasy, regardless of the initial sci-fi setup. That aside, the story itself is a weak attempt at a descent-to-the-underworld tale with little attention paid to the characters' motivations or development, and the love interest is handled in appalling fashion. (A product of the time it was written, perhaps? But the language about "claiming" her and her utter passivity interferes with my ability to appreciate her role in the story nonetheless. Especially since the author seems to be trying to give her some backbone, but fails to do so in any meaningful sense.) Not one I'd recommend to... anyone, really.
January 5, 2013
VERY pulpy, to the point of sometimes being hard to follow. If Andre Norton hadn't been my favorite SF author when I was a tween, I may not have bothered to finish this. So glad to know her writing improved greatly as she gained experience.
March 4, 2015
One Of Her Early Works
This is the author at the beginning of her career. If you're willing to overlook the less sophisticated writing than in her later works than you have an enjoyable adventure.
This is the author at the beginning of her career. If you're willing to overlook the less sophisticated writing than in her later works than you have an enjoyable adventure.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews