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Moon Called
High Priestess Thora armed with the power of the moon joins with the brave warrior, Makil, to fight against the evil of the Dark Lord
304 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1982
31 people are currently reading
250 people want to read
About the author
Andre Norton
695 books1,386 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.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
October 11, 2008
This book, while the storyline escapes me due to its unimportance, put some of the greatest life changing thoughts in my 6th grade mind. I identified with the main character's religion (obviously Wicca) so deeply, the cover was taped on about a 1000 times. Later I realized it was because I was a Witch at age 11, looking for a teacher. The vivid descriptions totally caught me. Her aloneness, her only friend being her dog, registered with me at an awkward age where I felt nothing in common with my peers, just alive racing with my own dog. I wanted to be a survivor like her, and became one, an adventurer like her, and became one, and a Priestess, which I became with the fragments still around, as she had become. The story meant nothing to me, but the first few chapters captured my young mind and created a form, a heroine, I could hope to become.
March 2, 2012
I'm putting this aside to read something else, ok anything else. I was really looking forward to reading and finding another writer to love, in Andre Norton, but based on the first 125 pages, that was not to be.
Nothing happened in the first 125 pages. Thora and her dog Kort travel from place to place, until they meet Malkin 'the furred one.' They are traveling in a post- apocalyptic world that's barely described. Thora is a white witch. It helps (or doesn't, more like) that only one of those characters has speech.
Nothing happened in the first 125 pages. Thora and her dog Kort travel from place to place, until they meet Malkin 'the furred one.' They are traveling in a post- apocalyptic world that's barely described. Thora is a white witch. It helps (or doesn't, more like) that only one of those characters has speech.
July 5, 2025
Florid to an extreme that is intolerable unless you’re in just the right niche or mindset, which may be “nostalgic for being a preteen weird kid obsessed with magic.” If you are ready for the definition of dramatic prose with minimal plot and descriptions, this does that. Honestly you could say it’s analogous a psychedelic trip, an exploration of locations and reflections by the main character, or maybe just a warm up exercise by this prolific author—a fantasy/sci-fi etude. Girl, dog, magic, hot guy, fight against evil at the end, lonely hero walks off in search of a sequel that never comes. However, I read this over the course of two days at a cabin in the rain and it was so perfect for that moment that I wish I could read it again for the first time again. So, read at your own risk but if you crave that cozy overwritten world building, then I hope you enjoy!
October 30, 2024
I tried-I really tried to get through this book, but the writing was just so unapproachable. I hate not finishing books, and the synopsis of the overall story sounded interesting, but I have gotten to a point where I just dread picking up the book because of how difficult it is to follow along with the story. The wording itself is so taxing that I can't read more than 3 pages in a session before developing a headache. I think I have to admit defeat and accept that it's ok to not finish a book when I am not enjoying it.
May 7, 2022
Noia mortale. Non succede nulla per il 95% del romanzo, con la continua ripetizione dei pensieri infantili e stolidi della protagonista, un'apprendista del solito culto lunare femminista pseudomistico che non fa altro che masticare amaro per ogni cosa, e ripetere che è la prescelta e bla bla bla pure ai sassi. I vaghi spunti postapocalittici sono uccisi dalla mancanza di descrizioni. Terribile.
February 18, 2024
Vintage Norton!
Vintage Norton. Not the space opera but more closely akin to Star man's Son. An apocalyptic world after a long ago worldwide disaster with the survivors struggling to defeat evil.
Vintage Norton. Not the space opera but more closely akin to Star man's Son. An apocalyptic world after a long ago worldwide disaster with the survivors struggling to defeat evil.
January 31, 2017
I was not impressed with this book probably more of a 2.5. It just seemed like something that was churned out or an exercise or from very early in Norton's career and not up to her normal quality.
February 26, 2019
Many, many good ideas not quite held together by a more forgettable narrative.
April 22, 2022
An engaging and entertaining read.
January 1, 2025
An excellent book with an engaging storyline. This is my first Andrea Norton book and I will be reading more.
Read
October 23, 2025In order to preserve the Holy Force, Thora, the Chosen one, and warrior Makil, the Man of Pure Light, descend into an underground world to battle the evil force of the Dark Lord.
August 17, 2021
Vintage Andre Norton. I enjoyed this book.
March 19, 2012
It had been so many years since I read an Andre Norton book that I decided to read one I had somehow missed. I thought it would be a Witch World book but it was more a mix of SF and fantasy.
After raiders invade her home in the Craigs, Thora, the Chosen One, wanders west through strange territory and finds a wounded child size bipedal creature covered in fur. As they search for the furred one's human partner, they travel through ruins from the Before Time and find evidence of the Dark moving across the land.
My book may be an earlier edition than the one I'm reviewing, but mine isn't on Goodreads. The girl on the cover of my book doesn't look capable of traveling through rough territory like Thora does, but the illustrations inside the book depict her much better. Besides, my book is oversize, not trade, and it still has quite a few errors. I had to laugh then the travelers sulked instead of skulked through enemy territory. The book actually fell apart as I was reading, maybe a sign that some other important things fell apart in the story telling.
Andre Norton was one of my favorite writers, but whether by design or not, she failed to present Thora as a sympathetic main character. While admitting she never finished her Chosen training, Thora is arrogant and judgmental of other cultures. She keeps her distance in another way too: Norton made an unfortunate choice to call Thora "the girl" too much of the time. It's hard to identify with a character it seems even the author doesn't care about.
For someone who lives in a post-apocalyptic world, too many of Thora's decisions don't make sense in terms of survival and don't hold up to close scrutiny of the mythology either. Although Thora doesn't call herself a witch, she's been called to serve The Lady (in the form of the moon), and she comes from a small village where others must have had children to keep the Lady supplied with servants. Rejecting a possible mate to serve the Lady might make sense for a nun in a large city where the lack of offspring won't affect the group's survival, but would not be considered acceptable for a white witch in a post apocalyptic world with so few people remaining to fight the Dark.
I don't know if I didn't see Norton's weaknesses before because I hadn't started writing the last time I read one of her books or if this one wasn't up to her usual standards. I can say this book took me weeks to read because it started slow. I didn't have trouble putting it down until once in the middle and not again until near the end.
Mild Spoiler alert!
And then, smack, I ran into one of those stupid plot devices where the author chose to ignore the logical solution to the problem. Norton made the characters ignore their huge technological advantage and go against the Dark man to man when they literally could have rolled over the competition.
Was there character growth in a book meant for a YA audience? Well,let's see. Given the choice of sticking around with a guy who serves essentially the same role she does for The Lady, Thora decides to skulk away. Or maybe sulk away. Yeah, let's spurn the possibility of love so we never have to share with or answer to anybody. It makes me wonder if this book was written during the height of women's lib.
Given the otherwise interesting mix of SF/fantasy, technology fighting alongside magic, I might consider a higher rating if not for the unlikable main character not showing any character growth by the end. That factor is too important in my book, YA or not.
After raiders invade her home in the Craigs, Thora, the Chosen One, wanders west through strange territory and finds a wounded child size bipedal creature covered in fur. As they search for the furred one's human partner, they travel through ruins from the Before Time and find evidence of the Dark moving across the land.
My book may be an earlier edition than the one I'm reviewing, but mine isn't on Goodreads. The girl on the cover of my book doesn't look capable of traveling through rough territory like Thora does, but the illustrations inside the book depict her much better. Besides, my book is oversize, not trade, and it still has quite a few errors. I had to laugh then the travelers sulked instead of skulked through enemy territory. The book actually fell apart as I was reading, maybe a sign that some other important things fell apart in the story telling.
Andre Norton was one of my favorite writers, but whether by design or not, she failed to present Thora as a sympathetic main character. While admitting she never finished her Chosen training, Thora is arrogant and judgmental of other cultures. She keeps her distance in another way too: Norton made an unfortunate choice to call Thora "the girl" too much of the time. It's hard to identify with a character it seems even the author doesn't care about.
For someone who lives in a post-apocalyptic world, too many of Thora's decisions don't make sense in terms of survival and don't hold up to close scrutiny of the mythology either. Although Thora doesn't call herself a witch, she's been called to serve The Lady (in the form of the moon), and she comes from a small village where others must have had children to keep the Lady supplied with servants. Rejecting a possible mate to serve the Lady might make sense for a nun in a large city where the lack of offspring won't affect the group's survival, but would not be considered acceptable for a white witch in a post apocalyptic world with so few people remaining to fight the Dark.
I don't know if I didn't see Norton's weaknesses before because I hadn't started writing the last time I read one of her books or if this one wasn't up to her usual standards. I can say this book took me weeks to read because it started slow. I didn't have trouble putting it down until once in the middle and not again until near the end.
Mild Spoiler alert!
And then, smack, I ran into one of those stupid plot devices where the author chose to ignore the logical solution to the problem. Norton made the characters ignore their huge technological advantage and go against the Dark man to man when they literally could have rolled over the competition.
Was there character growth in a book meant for a YA audience? Well,let's see. Given the choice of sticking around with a guy who serves essentially the same role she does for The Lady, Thora decides to skulk away. Or maybe sulk away. Yeah, let's spurn the possibility of love so we never have to share with or answer to anybody. It makes me wonder if this book was written during the height of women's lib.
Given the otherwise interesting mix of SF/fantasy, technology fighting alongside magic, I might consider a higher rating if not for the unlikable main character not showing any character growth by the end. That factor is too important in my book, YA or not.
Read
May 1, 2010An odd cross between a post-apocalyptic story and a Witch World book.
It's clear that the almost leech-like relationship between the flyers and their 'blood' familars was not originally intended, and is not quite satisfactory to any of the parties.
Even more strongly than in other Norton books, this book argues for a divine mandate for ruthlessness and genocide. The 'Light' followers are not only forbidden to feel any compassion for those of 'the Dark' (and their familiars), they are required to seek them out and murder them, even when the 'red robes' are just biding at home.
As for the (?mutant) rats, I can report from personal experience (I did dissect freshly-killed rats in school, until one began to revive after being partially eviscerated) that rat blood smells no different from any other mammalian blood (it's a sort of metallic, warm, salty smell, not in any way
'sickly-sweet' or odiferous), and that dogs don't scruple to eat rats, having killed them.
MAYBE if the rat were infected with some dread disease, dogs and other scavengers might not eat them--but in that case, what are they doing out and about and attacking other living things?
It's clear that the almost leech-like relationship between the flyers and their 'blood' familars was not originally intended, and is not quite satisfactory to any of the parties.
Even more strongly than in other Norton books, this book argues for a divine mandate for ruthlessness and genocide. The 'Light' followers are not only forbidden to feel any compassion for those of 'the Dark' (and their familiars), they are required to seek them out and murder them, even when the 'red robes' are just biding at home.
As for the (?mutant) rats, I can report from personal experience (I did dissect freshly-killed rats in school, until one began to revive after being partially eviscerated) that rat blood smells no different from any other mammalian blood (it's a sort of metallic, warm, salty smell, not in any way
'sickly-sweet' or odiferous), and that dogs don't scruple to eat rats, having killed them.
MAYBE if the rat were infected with some dread disease, dogs and other scavengers might not eat them--but in that case, what are they doing out and about and attacking other living things?
July 6, 2020
Spotted this while looking for used Witch World books at the used book store, thought it looked neat. And it was.
I had some issues with this book. It was very meandering and didn't have much in the way of plot to grasp on to. It was also clearly intended to be a children's novel, the dog in particular was goofy as hell.
But if you want a fantasy novel where a witch in training, her dog, and an ewok discover ancient astronauts, partake in creepy blood rituals, astral project, are attacked D&D style by giant rats, discuss the impact of culture on gender roles, and dance naked in moonlight I think you will find something to enjoy.*
*That summary makes this book sound really adult but I swear this is clearly a children's fantasy novel... I guess we can call it YA?
I had some issues with this book. It was very meandering and didn't have much in the way of plot to grasp on to. It was also clearly intended to be a children's novel, the dog in particular was goofy as hell.
But if you want a fantasy novel where a witch in training, her dog, and an ewok discover ancient astronauts, partake in creepy blood rituals, astral project, are attacked D&D style by giant rats, discuss the impact of culture on gender roles, and dance naked in moonlight I think you will find something to enjoy.*
*That summary makes this book sound really adult but I swear this is clearly a children's fantasy novel... I guess we can call it YA?
April 8, 2020
Thora is a misfit in her world, surrounded but alone, as she struggles to find herself and her calling.
Not the most memorable of texts, but apparently I loved it when reading it, based on the star rating.
Not the most memorable of texts, but apparently I loved it when reading it, based on the star rating.
January 7, 2009
I found the story a bit too mystical and wishy washy - not the best one of her stories. Fine for young readers.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews