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Witch World Series 1: The Estcarp Cycle #1
Чаклунський світ
Чи виникало у вас бажання взяти і втекти кудись геть, до інших вимірів або реальностей? Відпочити від інтриг та життєвої плутанини чи позбутися переслідувань… Саме це було конче необхідне полковнику Саймону Трегарту. Несподівано для себе самого він погодився на пропозицію назавжди залишити цей світ і зникнути в іншому, який краще відповідає його духові. Чаклунський світ, куди потрапляє Саймон, — загадкова земля із середньовічними замками, на якій володарюють жінки з надприродними здібностями, а магія є звичною справою. Тут Трегарт стикається з новими викликами і мимоволі опиняється в самому центрі масштабного протистояння могутніх сил. Такі пригоди з ним ще не траплялися…
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1963
272 people are currently reading
4526 people want to read
About the author
Andre Norton
698 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 322 reviews
December 2, 2019
The reason I (and maybe many other people but let me not make any bold claims) return to childhood and adolescence favourite reads is to access that carefree (careless?) fourteen-year-old who would lose herself in the book like the real world didn’t exist and the worlds her imagination created were so powerful and absorbing she could almost touch them. However, re-reading is a futile exercise, not only can I not connect with that inner child, I don’t even know who she was anymore. She is a stranger to me. Still I’m reading those books to see if through them I can at least catch a glimpse of that foreign girl who grew up to be me, so that I assure myself of the continuity of my own self.
The fourteen-year-old me LOVED Andre Norton. The fourteen-year-old me didn’t even realise Andre Norton was a woman but she didn’t much care. She was excited over the trashy covers with half naked women and buff guys, often accompanied by dangerous wild animals. What kind of titillation she was getting out of those books?
I am not and never have been a particularly introspective kind of person. My diaries just talk about what happened, often in a funny way but hardly ever about how I felt about any of that. And I am not any smarter after re-reading Witch World. This was a lot less sexy than I remember but it is entirely possible I had never read this particular instalment of the series. I read them out of order, based on whatever was available at the library at the time. I just remember when I borrowed my first one I was afraid the librarian wouldn’t let me take it home because there was a woman on the cover with very little clothing. (http://www.bookhunter.pl/okladki/9259... I think this might’ve been the one).
Have I ever read the very beginning of the series? Did I even know how it started? Did I know that it started in our world with Simon, a WWII veteran who got himself in a pickle and was looking for a way out and he got maybe a little more than he bargained for when he got teleported into an entire different world of magic and whatnot?
From then on the book takes place mostly in Etscarp – the feminine land ruled by benevolent, wise witches, facing threats from all sides, but mostly from Kolder – the land representing technology gone rogue and masculine ruthlessness. Our hero, Simon, finds himself helping defend Etscarp and discovering his feminine side.
Norton was trying to do some interesting gender things in her series (or at least interesting at the time), she was a proto-Le Guin if you excuse the comparison. It is sad to think that the concepts here were revolutionary mere 50 years ago. There is a lot of female power/magic, which unfortunately goes when they lose virginity (barf, how I hate anything that makes female virginity into a thing), but at least that means the main character couldn’t go round screwing every woman he meets which is what happens in other fantasy books. Of course that means the only way to disarm a witch, conquer her, was to rape her – which is spot-on the main thing about rape, it’s never about sex, but about power. And if a witch decides to marry and give herself to a man, she essentially relinquishes her power.
So that’s why things get interesting when Simon discovers he might have some magic powers of his own. Will they go away if gets laid? Unfortunately I will never find out because I won’t rush to re-read the remainder of the series. There is not enough world building and character development for my liking and the ending is a bit anticlimactic. Therefore I’m leaving those books where they belong – with my 14 year old self.
The fourteen-year-old me LOVED Andre Norton. The fourteen-year-old me didn’t even realise Andre Norton was a woman but she didn’t much care. She was excited over the trashy covers with half naked women and buff guys, often accompanied by dangerous wild animals. What kind of titillation she was getting out of those books?
I am not and never have been a particularly introspective kind of person. My diaries just talk about what happened, often in a funny way but hardly ever about how I felt about any of that. And I am not any smarter after re-reading Witch World. This was a lot less sexy than I remember but it is entirely possible I had never read this particular instalment of the series. I read them out of order, based on whatever was available at the library at the time. I just remember when I borrowed my first one I was afraid the librarian wouldn’t let me take it home because there was a woman on the cover with very little clothing. (http://www.bookhunter.pl/okladki/9259... I think this might’ve been the one).
Have I ever read the very beginning of the series? Did I even know how it started? Did I know that it started in our world with Simon, a WWII veteran who got himself in a pickle and was looking for a way out and he got maybe a little more than he bargained for when he got teleported into an entire different world of magic and whatnot?
From then on the book takes place mostly in Etscarp – the feminine land ruled by benevolent, wise witches, facing threats from all sides, but mostly from Kolder – the land representing technology gone rogue and masculine ruthlessness. Our hero, Simon, finds himself helping defend Etscarp and discovering his feminine side.
Norton was trying to do some interesting gender things in her series (or at least interesting at the time), she was a proto-Le Guin if you excuse the comparison. It is sad to think that the concepts here were revolutionary mere 50 years ago. There is a lot of female power/magic, which unfortunately goes when they lose virginity (barf, how I hate anything that makes female virginity into a thing), but at least that means the main character couldn’t go round screwing every woman he meets which is what happens in other fantasy books. Of course that means the only way to disarm a witch, conquer her, was to rape her – which is spot-on the main thing about rape, it’s never about sex, but about power. And if a witch decides to marry and give herself to a man, she essentially relinquishes her power.
So that’s why things get interesting when Simon discovers he might have some magic powers of his own. Will they go away if gets laid? Unfortunately I will never find out because I won’t rush to re-read the remainder of the series. There is not enough world building and character development for my liking and the ending is a bit anticlimactic. Therefore I’m leaving those books where they belong – with my 14 year old self.
then-again-maybe-not
December 13, 2018This seemingly wondrous book was very kindly and most generously road-tested for me by some of my favorite people Enslaved Puny Barnacles (EPB™). Given the general debacle consensus, I think it might possibly be fairly wise of me to DNF this fascinating tale pre-emptively and stuff. A total wimp sagaciously discerning badass is me.
April 10, 2020
I was quite pleasantly surprised by this richly imagined fantasy world built on some truly intriguing dynamics. The story sets out with what feels like an overused sci-fi trope of the time - a modern day man swept away to a fantastical world of adventure, where he rescues a mysterious woman and discovers new talents, fulfilling his destiny in a fight for justice. Yet this is only the tip of the iceberg, and what I suspect was intended to draw in the largely male pulp sci-fi audience of the time into a sword and sorcery story that runs much deeper.
With wonderfully evocative prose Nortorn infuses a sense of mystery and intrigue into a world fraught with conflict. The male protagonist finds himself a part of a besieged matriarchal society based on a source of magic accessible only to women, i.e. witches, serving to counterbalance the traditional portrayal of the male hero. With ample action and intrigue throughout, as well as tackling some thorny issues like gender tensions and even rape, Norton expertly builds up suspense throughout the story, gradually revealing more about the mysterious nature and origins of a sinister enemy that threatens to subjugate and destroy the witches way of life.
With wonderfully evocative prose Nortorn infuses a sense of mystery and intrigue into a world fraught with conflict. The male protagonist finds himself a part of a besieged matriarchal society based on a source of magic accessible only to women, i.e. witches, serving to counterbalance the traditional portrayal of the male hero. With ample action and intrigue throughout, as well as tackling some thorny issues like gender tensions and even rape, Norton expertly builds up suspense throughout the story, gradually revealing more about the mysterious nature and origins of a sinister enemy that threatens to subjugate and destroy the witches way of life.
December 24, 2010
ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.
Simon Tregarth knows he’s about to die — he’s being hunted down by a professional assassin and he has a “feeling” that it’s going to happen tonight. But then the infamous Doctor Petronius interrupts Simon as he’s savoring his last meal and offers him an escape. Dr. Petronius’s services don’t come cheap, but this expense is a no-brainer (after all, you can’t take it with you). The only downside is that neither Simon nor Dr. Petronius knows where Simon is actually going, for he will sit on King Arthur’s Siege Perilous and be sent to a world where his soul is at home…
Andre Norton (her real name was Alice, but she chose to write SFF under a male pseudonym back in the 60s) is often called the Grande Dame of Science Fiction and Fantasy and was the first woman to receive the Gandalf Grand Master Award from the World Science Fiction Society. I’ve been meaning to read Witch World for years and since Brilliance Audio has just released the first Witch World novel on CD, this was the perfect opportunity.
As expected, I enjoyed Witch World. Andre Norton’s language is pleasant, if not brilliant, and all the characters were instantly engaging. I liked Simon immediately — how can you not like a guy who has already killed two of his potential assassins and is now eating a steak dinner while waiting for the arrival of the last and best one? I also particularly liked Loyse, daughter of the odious Fulk, who doesn’t want to marry the equally odious duke.
Though decades old, the plot was quick, fun, and refreshing and I liked the blend of science fiction and fantasy. However, the book wraps up a bit too quickly and easily at the end; I could have used a bit more tension. But perhaps if you go straight on to the next novel (Web of the Witch World, also being produced on audio) you won’t feel this way since it’s a continuation of the story.
Nick Podehl was the reader for this book and he did an adequate job, though his voice could sometimes be described as plodding and soporific. Consequently, I didn’t find that his reading added anything to the story. It didn’t reduce my enjoyment of the story, but I was disappointed that it didn’t enhance it.
I’m looking forward to Web of the Witch World. I like Simon and his companions and I’m wondering what they’ll do next in Simon’s new world.
Simon Tregarth knows he’s about to die — he’s being hunted down by a professional assassin and he has a “feeling” that it’s going to happen tonight. But then the infamous Doctor Petronius interrupts Simon as he’s savoring his last meal and offers him an escape. Dr. Petronius’s services don’t come cheap, but this expense is a no-brainer (after all, you can’t take it with you). The only downside is that neither Simon nor Dr. Petronius knows where Simon is actually going, for he will sit on King Arthur’s Siege Perilous and be sent to a world where his soul is at home…
Andre Norton (her real name was Alice, but she chose to write SFF under a male pseudonym back in the 60s) is often called the Grande Dame of Science Fiction and Fantasy and was the first woman to receive the Gandalf Grand Master Award from the World Science Fiction Society. I’ve been meaning to read Witch World for years and since Brilliance Audio has just released the first Witch World novel on CD, this was the perfect opportunity.
As expected, I enjoyed Witch World. Andre Norton’s language is pleasant, if not brilliant, and all the characters were instantly engaging. I liked Simon immediately — how can you not like a guy who has already killed two of his potential assassins and is now eating a steak dinner while waiting for the arrival of the last and best one? I also particularly liked Loyse, daughter of the odious Fulk, who doesn’t want to marry the equally odious duke.
Though decades old, the plot was quick, fun, and refreshing and I liked the blend of science fiction and fantasy. However, the book wraps up a bit too quickly and easily at the end; I could have used a bit more tension. But perhaps if you go straight on to the next novel (Web of the Witch World, also being produced on audio) you won’t feel this way since it’s a continuation of the story.
Nick Podehl was the reader for this book and he did an adequate job, though his voice could sometimes be described as plodding and soporific. Consequently, I didn’t find that his reading added anything to the story. It didn’t reduce my enjoyment of the story, but I was disappointed that it didn’t enhance it.
I’m looking forward to Web of the Witch World. I like Simon and his companions and I’m wondering what they’ll do next in Simon’s new world.
October 19, 2016
Read for the Women of Genre Fiction Reading Challenge and the Second Best Reading Challenge (for sci-fi/fantasy books that were nominated for awards but did not win).
Anne McCaffrey, C.J. Cherryh, and Andre Norton - the forgotten triumvirate of women who moulded the science fiction and fantasy we know today. Well, also Ursula LeGuin, but for some reason people remember her. I think perhaps the difference is that LeGuin is considered a "literary writer"; not that this is something she asked for or sought out.
Anne McCaffrey, C.J. Cherryh, and Andre Norton (who took said pen name because when she was writing sword and sorcery, publishers believed it was necessary to market to adolescent boys because girls didn't read that sort of thing) are legends in the field, if you ask other science fiction and fantasy writers. And if you take the time to read their work, and consider their publication dates, you will be astounded at how influential they were (or are, in the case of Cherryh, who alone among the three is still with us). But considering their amazing volume of influential work they have all collected so few awards that it kind of boggles the mind. And as a result, you have to be a true aficionado of the genre to have even heard of them.
Although she was later acknowledged as the first woman Gandolph Grand Master of Fantasy, the first woman SFWA Grand Master (1984; the next woman accomplish this was LeGuin in 2003; McCaffrey didn't receive this honour until 2005; Connie Willis got it in 2012; and Cherryh had to wait until this year;) and the first woman to be inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame, not once did she receive a major science fiction or fantasy award otherwise. Twice she was nominated for a Hugo; Witch World was one of those nominees. It makes you wonder what happened there. It makes you wonder if those who say the deck in the field is stacked against women were right. Nowadays she has given her name to one of the major sci-fi/fantasy awards, which is awarded for young adult fiction in the genre.
I see by reading other reviews here at Goodreads that this novel is one you either love or hate. I get that. The style is one that sounds strange to the modern ear. In the alternate universe that Simon Tregarth, a WWII veteran on the lam, suddenly finds himself immersed in, what we would call "magic" has direct real-world effects; although it remains to be seen whether this is fantastical or scientific, and I'm sure we'll get some clues as this long-running series progresses. He is forced to adapt to a culture which is exceptionally strange to him, where people use what seems to be mostly early medieval technology (with some notable exceptions that might be interlopers from yet another parallel dimension, one with higher technology than our own), where he doesn't even speak the language. It's the ultimate "stranger in a strange land" story. Once he does pick up the language, people speak in a formal sort of way that sounds stilted to our ear; one that has become a sword and sorcery trope. Of course, it wasn't a trope when Norton was writing it, and her writing is one of the reasons that it has become a trope. And she's just getting started.
I got the distinct impression that Norton was writing an homage to the classic pulp series of fantasy and science fiction that she would have read in her youth (remember, this book was published in 1963). I was distinctly reminded of Edgar Rice Burroughs' classic John Carter of Mars series (also known as his Martian Chronicles, and, originally, the Barsoom Chronicles). Even that formal fantasy style of speech reminded me of Barsoom. Tregarth is clearly a foil for a John Carter in a later era; a man of action and adventure, and a war vet, who tends to get himself into trouble when he's not fighting wars due to his restless spirit. Just like John Carter, when Simon Tregarth suddenly finds himself mystically whisked away to another world, he lands in a situation in which he acts as his heart dictates, and ends up rescuing a maiden in distress.
Except that Norton's maiden was only temporarily in distress. While I feel that people grossly underestimate and misinterpret Burroughs' Martian Princess, who is a great leader, stateswoman, diplomat, and even a skilled combatant (just not with Carter's Earth-gravity induced superpowers) Norton's maiden is one of the formidable Witches of Estcarp, who rule their land through a combination of diplomacy, skill-at-arms, statescraft, and magic. The witch (whose name is not given until the end of the book because names have power and witches do not share them, and yet somehow Norton manages to fill her out as a fully developed, unique and sympathetic character despite this) was spying on her nation's enemies and fleeing across the border back to her homeland. Tregarth eventually takes service under the command of the witches, working closely with Guardian (General) Koris, who is probably the first ever major dwarf character who is not a mythical Tolkien dwarf with a significant role in fantasy literature, long before Willow Ufgood or Tyrion Lannister.
The essence of the plot is that the neighbouring nation has been taken over by a force of darkness that is accomplishing the impossible (even for the witches) and animating the coolest, creepiest zombies I've ever read about in fantasy. Estcarp is asked to help defend a neighbouring city-state that is a traditional ally, and fails. Now they must learn about their foes and unite as many friendly (and neutral) nations as they can to stop this overwhelming threat that they are ill-equipped to fight. Fortunately they have acquired Simon Tregarth who, while he does not understand all that the mysterious enemy is doing or how they are doing it, at least understands that this is being accomplished through some kind of technology, and not magic, and thus can help the people of Estcarp figure out how to deal with their foe. I will say that because Tregarth doesn't understand it, this can seem very confusing in places, and not all of what transpires is explained. I think this essence of mystery is intended and I am sure more will be explained in later books.
On a side note, the magic of Witch World is more of a "low magic" than a "high magic" sort of deal (likely borrowed in part from Robert E. Howard's classic Conan books), being composed more of illusion and mind control than the blasting of lightning bolts and fire. I am sure that Mercedes Lackey had one particular scene of this book, which involves five witches seated at a table doing an act of magic with poppets as their focus, in the back of her mind somewhere when the last Herald-Mages of Valdemar were setting the Web with their focus-stones. It feels more "real" than typical fantasy magic, clearly being based in real-world magical traditions (such as the principle of sympathetic magic and the principle of contagion magic,) and I like it. Her system of magic established two more tropes in the genre; the trope of it being a mostly-women's talent (though of course we know there will be at least one man who is the exception) and it being something women only keep if they remain virginal (which prevents our 1960s action hero from seducing every woman mentioned in the plotline, unlike the heroes created by Norton's contemporaries). I even see echoes of her Witches in the Priestesses of Avalon and the Bene Gesserit of Dune.
Let's get back to the fact that this was written in 1963, and only boys read science fiction and fantasy (or so it was commonly believed.) Star Trek wouldn't come out for three years yet. But in in addition to introducing us to the powerful Witches of Estcarp, Norton takes an interlude in the middle of the action to tell us the story of Loyse of Verlaine. Loyse is a pale, angularly-built girl who is the daughter of the tyrant lord Fulk, not beautiful and not considered especially desirable for marriage. This, of course, is yet another tired old trope; but not when it was written, it wasn't.
Despite seeming a little awkward in places to a modern reader, this adventure picked me up right away and held me on the end of my seat right to the very end. An excellent book that I would call a must-read for anyone interested in sword and sorcery or science fantasy.
This was my first acquaintance with Andre Norton's work, aside from the fact that I'm sure that I must have read her short stories somewhere, because she was so prolific, and she edited as well as wrote (and her Catfantastic! collections are probably the reason that cats are now a staple in sci-fi/fantasy.) I have been itching to read about the Witch World for many years, because many people talk about it (and have written filk music about it), but sadly, these books are hard to find because I don't think they are in print any longer. This is a loss to the world in my opinion, and I hope that I can encourage others to rediscover them.
Anne McCaffrey, C.J. Cherryh, and Andre Norton - the forgotten triumvirate of women who moulded the science fiction and fantasy we know today. Well, also Ursula LeGuin, but for some reason people remember her. I think perhaps the difference is that LeGuin is considered a "literary writer"; not that this is something she asked for or sought out.
Anne McCaffrey, C.J. Cherryh, and Andre Norton (who took said pen name because when she was writing sword and sorcery, publishers believed it was necessary to market to adolescent boys because girls didn't read that sort of thing) are legends in the field, if you ask other science fiction and fantasy writers. And if you take the time to read their work, and consider their publication dates, you will be astounded at how influential they were (or are, in the case of Cherryh, who alone among the three is still with us). But considering their amazing volume of influential work they have all collected so few awards that it kind of boggles the mind. And as a result, you have to be a true aficionado of the genre to have even heard of them.
Although she was later acknowledged as the first woman Gandolph Grand Master of Fantasy, the first woman SFWA Grand Master (1984; the next woman accomplish this was LeGuin in 2003; McCaffrey didn't receive this honour until 2005; Connie Willis got it in 2012; and Cherryh had to wait until this year;) and the first woman to be inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame, not once did she receive a major science fiction or fantasy award otherwise. Twice she was nominated for a Hugo; Witch World was one of those nominees. It makes you wonder what happened there. It makes you wonder if those who say the deck in the field is stacked against women were right. Nowadays she has given her name to one of the major sci-fi/fantasy awards, which is awarded for young adult fiction in the genre.
I see by reading other reviews here at Goodreads that this novel is one you either love or hate. I get that. The style is one that sounds strange to the modern ear. In the alternate universe that Simon Tregarth, a WWII veteran on the lam, suddenly finds himself immersed in, what we would call "magic" has direct real-world effects; although it remains to be seen whether this is fantastical or scientific, and I'm sure we'll get some clues as this long-running series progresses. He is forced to adapt to a culture which is exceptionally strange to him, where people use what seems to be mostly early medieval technology (with some notable exceptions that might be interlopers from yet another parallel dimension, one with higher technology than our own), where he doesn't even speak the language. It's the ultimate "stranger in a strange land" story. Once he does pick up the language, people speak in a formal sort of way that sounds stilted to our ear; one that has become a sword and sorcery trope. Of course, it wasn't a trope when Norton was writing it, and her writing is one of the reasons that it has become a trope. And she's just getting started.
I got the distinct impression that Norton was writing an homage to the classic pulp series of fantasy and science fiction that she would have read in her youth (remember, this book was published in 1963). I was distinctly reminded of Edgar Rice Burroughs' classic John Carter of Mars series (also known as his Martian Chronicles, and, originally, the Barsoom Chronicles). Even that formal fantasy style of speech reminded me of Barsoom. Tregarth is clearly a foil for a John Carter in a later era; a man of action and adventure, and a war vet, who tends to get himself into trouble when he's not fighting wars due to his restless spirit. Just like John Carter, when Simon Tregarth suddenly finds himself mystically whisked away to another world, he lands in a situation in which he acts as his heart dictates, and ends up rescuing a maiden in distress.
Except that Norton's maiden was only temporarily in distress. While I feel that people grossly underestimate and misinterpret Burroughs' Martian Princess, who is a great leader, stateswoman, diplomat, and even a skilled combatant (just not with Carter's Earth-gravity induced superpowers) Norton's maiden is one of the formidable Witches of Estcarp, who rule their land through a combination of diplomacy, skill-at-arms, statescraft, and magic. The witch (whose name is not given until the end of the book because names have power and witches do not share them, and yet somehow Norton manages to fill her out as a fully developed, unique and sympathetic character despite this) was spying on her nation's enemies and fleeing across the border back to her homeland. Tregarth eventually takes service under the command of the witches, working closely with Guardian (General) Koris, who is probably the first ever major dwarf character who is not a mythical Tolkien dwarf with a significant role in fantasy literature, long before Willow Ufgood or Tyrion Lannister.
The essence of the plot is that the neighbouring nation has been taken over by a force of darkness that is accomplishing the impossible (even for the witches) and animating the coolest, creepiest zombies I've ever read about in fantasy. Estcarp is asked to help defend a neighbouring city-state that is a traditional ally, and fails. Now they must learn about their foes and unite as many friendly (and neutral) nations as they can to stop this overwhelming threat that they are ill-equipped to fight. Fortunately they have acquired Simon Tregarth who, while he does not understand all that the mysterious enemy is doing or how they are doing it, at least understands that this is being accomplished through some kind of technology, and not magic, and thus can help the people of Estcarp figure out how to deal with their foe. I will say that because Tregarth doesn't understand it, this can seem very confusing in places, and not all of what transpires is explained. I think this essence of mystery is intended and I am sure more will be explained in later books.
On a side note, the magic of Witch World is more of a "low magic" than a "high magic" sort of deal (likely borrowed in part from Robert E. Howard's classic Conan books), being composed more of illusion and mind control than the blasting of lightning bolts and fire. I am sure that Mercedes Lackey had one particular scene of this book, which involves five witches seated at a table doing an act of magic with poppets as their focus, in the back of her mind somewhere when the last Herald-Mages of Valdemar were setting the Web with their focus-stones. It feels more "real" than typical fantasy magic, clearly being based in real-world magical traditions (such as the principle of sympathetic magic and the principle of contagion magic,) and I like it. Her system of magic established two more tropes in the genre; the trope of it being a mostly-women's talent (though of course we know there will be at least one man who is the exception) and it being something women only keep if they remain virginal (which prevents our 1960s action hero from seducing every woman mentioned in the plotline, unlike the heroes created by Norton's contemporaries). I even see echoes of her Witches in the Priestesses of Avalon and the Bene Gesserit of Dune.
Let's get back to the fact that this was written in 1963, and only boys read science fiction and fantasy (or so it was commonly believed.) Star Trek wouldn't come out for three years yet. But in in addition to introducing us to the powerful Witches of Estcarp, Norton takes an interlude in the middle of the action to tell us the story of Loyse of Verlaine. Loyse is a pale, angularly-built girl who is the daughter of the tyrant lord Fulk, not beautiful and not considered especially desirable for marriage. This, of course, is yet another tired old trope; but not when it was written, it wasn't.
Despite seeming a little awkward in places to a modern reader, this adventure picked me up right away and held me on the end of my seat right to the very end. An excellent book that I would call a must-read for anyone interested in sword and sorcery or science fantasy.
This was my first acquaintance with Andre Norton's work, aside from the fact that I'm sure that I must have read her short stories somewhere, because she was so prolific, and she edited as well as wrote (and her Catfantastic! collections are probably the reason that cats are now a staple in sci-fi/fantasy.) I have been itching to read about the Witch World for many years, because many people talk about it (and have written filk music about it), but sadly, these books are hard to find because I don't think they are in print any longer. This is a loss to the world in my opinion, and I hope that I can encourage others to rediscover them.
May 21, 2024
I first read this about 40 years ago, and wasn't too impressed. Today, I can see why, but I can also see glimpses of what might have made one of my best friends fall in love with Norton's books when she was in junior high. I'll get into it in a full review later on. (Below!)
***
Witch World starts off as a portal fantasy or isekai, as Simon, a mercenary, is approached by a mysterious man who offers to send him to a place where he best fits in. Some hand-waved mad science later, Simon's arrived in our titular setting and has rescued a young sorceress (always called "witches" in the book) from some pursuers.
After a time jump of a few years, he's learned the language of Estcarp, the matriarchal land of the witches, and has become a leader within the Guard. He's involved in a number of war maneuvers against the Kolder, a land led by mad scientists who are zombifying the world's inhabitants in a bid to conquer the world.
As mentioned above, one of my best friends was a big fan of Witch World and introduced me to the series when I was a freshman in high school. After trying two or three of them, I decided the series wasn't for me. Aside from the Prydain Chronicles and Narnia, I hadn't read a lot of fantasy (or even any), but I don't think my inexperience with the genre was a problem, since this is a very straightforward book. At this point, I'm not sure why it didn't land very well, but I kept the books that I owned with a sincere intention to try them again. A series-centered reading project brought Witch World back to my attention... 40 years later. :D
This time around, I appreciated Witch World more, particularly its world building. This book was written long before it was commonplace to explain magic systems with a science fiction- or war game-like level of detail. Magic is powerful, but not omnipotent. Much of it works on the mind, like illusions and disguise, or affecting someone's decisions from afar. Aside from that, its abilities and limitations are rather nebulous.
The descriptions of the landscapes and settings are quite good, to the point that when I looked at a map of Witch World online (there isn't one in the book), it was near-identical to how I'd imagined it. There are a number of cultures sketched out lightly during Simon's (and Loyse's) adventures, hinting at a long history that this story is a small corner of. It isn't as elaborate or all-encompassing as the world building in, say, The Fellowship of the Ring, but Norton does quite well within a much more limited page count.
Unfortunately, Simon, our protagonist through most of the story, is boring. He's a typical isekai guy who is a stand-in for the reader as he learns about this world, whose actions are major drivers of the plot, and who falls in love as a kind of afterthought in the last chapter. He has very little personality aside from being able to think on his feet, and has left behind not a single connection on Earth, whether familial, fraternal or romantic. On top of that, I've gotten really bored with "war" as the default setting for fantasy, and Simon's part of the story near-entirely has to do with war plans, battles, or war-adjacent actions like infiltration. His having abilities that are unique to the world he's transported to--in this case, being a man with magical power--is very isekai-like, too.
Much more interesting than boring ol' Simon are the young witch he rescues at the beginning of the book (unnamed until the last couple of pages, for reasons), and Loyse, whose adventures are central in part II. The witch is part of the mysterious sorcerous matriarchy of Estcarp. That society is, like some other aspects of the story involving the witches, lightly-sketched. She ran afoul of some guys during a spying mission, and her trying to escape from them is how she met Simon. She is involved in a number of sorties as magical support, armed with a sword and chain mail just like the male warriors are. Her magic is just as crucial to the endgame as Simon's mercenary skills are.
Loyse represents a more typical woman's role in a medieval-esque society, being given away in marriage as part of a peace negotiation. On the day of her "axe wedding"--taking her wedding vow with an axe as a ceremonial proxy for her groom--she disguises herself as a young soldier and escapes her father's castle. She eventually meets the witch, and on the journey back to Estcarp, the two of them meet Simon's party. Norton gives us a number of hints about that throughout the battle sections of the book, and I was able to figure it out well before the other characters did.
I can feel Norton's own attraction to these characters, and wish they had had a larger role in the story. One reason I want to continue with the Witch World series is to see if she manages to shrug off the "mandate" for a central masculine pov as things go along. A more directly romantic angle would be fine, too.
I'm intrigued enough to read more of this series, despite a decent percentage of this first volume not being to my taste. Between my partner and I, we own twelve of the Witch World books, though I will probably continue in ebook because most or all of those twelve are paperbacks that are brittle with age.
***
Witch World starts off as a portal fantasy or isekai, as Simon, a mercenary, is approached by a mysterious man who offers to send him to a place where he best fits in. Some hand-waved mad science later, Simon's arrived in our titular setting and has rescued a young sorceress (always called "witches" in the book) from some pursuers.
After a time jump of a few years, he's learned the language of Estcarp, the matriarchal land of the witches, and has become a leader within the Guard. He's involved in a number of war maneuvers against the Kolder, a land led by mad scientists who are zombifying the world's inhabitants in a bid to conquer the world.
As mentioned above, one of my best friends was a big fan of Witch World and introduced me to the series when I was a freshman in high school. After trying two or three of them, I decided the series wasn't for me. Aside from the Prydain Chronicles and Narnia, I hadn't read a lot of fantasy (or even any), but I don't think my inexperience with the genre was a problem, since this is a very straightforward book. At this point, I'm not sure why it didn't land very well, but I kept the books that I owned with a sincere intention to try them again. A series-centered reading project brought Witch World back to my attention... 40 years later. :D
This time around, I appreciated Witch World more, particularly its world building. This book was written long before it was commonplace to explain magic systems with a science fiction- or war game-like level of detail. Magic is powerful, but not omnipotent. Much of it works on the mind, like illusions and disguise, or affecting someone's decisions from afar. Aside from that, its abilities and limitations are rather nebulous.
The descriptions of the landscapes and settings are quite good, to the point that when I looked at a map of Witch World online (there isn't one in the book), it was near-identical to how I'd imagined it. There are a number of cultures sketched out lightly during Simon's (and Loyse's) adventures, hinting at a long history that this story is a small corner of. It isn't as elaborate or all-encompassing as the world building in, say, The Fellowship of the Ring, but Norton does quite well within a much more limited page count.
Unfortunately, Simon, our protagonist through most of the story, is boring. He's a typical isekai guy who is a stand-in for the reader as he learns about this world, whose actions are major drivers of the plot, and who falls in love as a kind of afterthought in the last chapter. He has very little personality aside from being able to think on his feet, and has left behind not a single connection on Earth, whether familial, fraternal or romantic. On top of that, I've gotten really bored with "war" as the default setting for fantasy, and Simon's part of the story near-entirely has to do with war plans, battles, or war-adjacent actions like infiltration. His having abilities that are unique to the world he's transported to--in this case, being a man with magical power--is very isekai-like, too.
Much more interesting than boring ol' Simon are the young witch he rescues at the beginning of the book (unnamed until the last couple of pages, for reasons), and Loyse, whose adventures are central in part II. The witch is part of the mysterious sorcerous matriarchy of Estcarp. That society is, like some other aspects of the story involving the witches, lightly-sketched. She ran afoul of some guys during a spying mission, and her trying to escape from them is how she met Simon. She is involved in a number of sorties as magical support, armed with a sword and chain mail just like the male warriors are. Her magic is just as crucial to the endgame as Simon's mercenary skills are.
Loyse represents a more typical woman's role in a medieval-esque society, being given away in marriage as part of a peace negotiation. On the day of her "axe wedding"--taking her wedding vow with an axe as a ceremonial proxy for her groom--she disguises herself as a young soldier and escapes her father's castle. She eventually meets the witch, and on the journey back to Estcarp, the two of them meet Simon's party. Norton gives us a number of hints about that throughout the battle sections of the book, and I was able to figure it out well before the other characters did.
I can feel Norton's own attraction to these characters, and wish they had had a larger role in the story. One reason I want to continue with the Witch World series is to see if she manages to shrug off the "mandate" for a central masculine pov as things go along. A more directly romantic angle would be fine, too.
I'm intrigued enough to read more of this series, despite a decent percentage of this first volume not being to my taste. Between my partner and I, we own twelve of the Witch World books, though I will probably continue in ebook because most or all of those twelve are paperbacks that are brittle with age.
October 2, 2012
Reread: Sept 2012
There's nothing better than a dose of Norton when in need of a comfort read.
When I was a lad growing up in St. Charles, MO, the library we frequented (a converted shop near the freeway exit, long since sacrificed to the country's love affair with shopping malls [sigh]) had two floors. The top floor catered to "adult" literature and I didn't often go there. The basement contained the YA and SF stuff, and it was there that I received my first exposure to the genre that I love to this day. Andre Norton was one of the earliest authors I read. The library had two five-book collections of her work. The first were SF titles - the first two or three "Solar Queen" novels and a few more set in her future history. The second collection were the first five "Witch World" novels - the setting for much of Norton's most inspired and best work.
What makes Norton such a wonderful author - something I only recognize in hindsight but that I'd like to think my adolescent subconscious picked up on - is that she never allows her fantastical settings to obscure what really matters: the people who live in her stories. The story of Simon Tregarth's adventures in the service of Estcarp made a powerful impression on me, and Jaelithe was probably my first literary crush. For a long time, it was Norton and Tolkien by which I measured other authors.
My recommendation below still stands. For decent stories with interesting and admirable characters, you can do far worse.
___________________________________________________________
Andre Norton is probably one of the best authors to introduce young readers to both SF and fantasy. You can't go far wrong with either the Solar Queen or the Witch World.
* For my birthday, I picked up the first seven "Witch World" novels from my local used-book store, which prompted this particular round of rereading.
There's nothing better than a dose of Norton when in need of a comfort read.
When I was a lad growing up in St. Charles, MO, the library we frequented (a converted shop near the freeway exit, long since sacrificed to the country's love affair with shopping malls [sigh]) had two floors. The top floor catered to "adult" literature and I didn't often go there. The basement contained the YA and SF stuff, and it was there that I received my first exposure to the genre that I love to this day. Andre Norton was one of the earliest authors I read. The library had two five-book collections of her work. The first were SF titles - the first two or three "Solar Queen" novels and a few more set in her future history. The second collection were the first five "Witch World" novels - the setting for much of Norton's most inspired and best work.
What makes Norton such a wonderful author - something I only recognize in hindsight but that I'd like to think my adolescent subconscious picked up on - is that she never allows her fantastical settings to obscure what really matters: the people who live in her stories. The story of Simon Tregarth's adventures in the service of Estcarp made a powerful impression on me, and Jaelithe was probably my first literary crush. For a long time, it was Norton and Tolkien by which I measured other authors.
My recommendation below still stands. For decent stories with interesting and admirable characters, you can do far worse.
___________________________________________________________
Andre Norton is probably one of the best authors to introduce young readers to both SF and fantasy. You can't go far wrong with either the Solar Queen or the Witch World.
* For my birthday, I picked up the first seven "Witch World" novels from my local used-book store, which prompted this particular round of rereading.
December 28, 2018
Hmmmmm, yeah ok. Was expecting a bit more and I am a little disappointed; not in the story or its potential, but the actual writing. I was expecting a lot more from Norton, so was very surprised that I found the writing style difficult at times. My initial thoughts are that this was a much larger book and the publisher said "you need to cull that down to a third of the original story, otherwise we aren't going to print".
There was just huge gaps that just made the whole experience disjointed. An example of that is when our hero arrives in the new world, he has his first experience and meets some people and the chapter ends. You expect to then read about his integration into society and the difficulties associated with being an off worlder, but no, next chapter is 7 years later and he is 'one of the boys'.
This kind of writing made it difficult to stay with the story, especially when reading other books at the same time, as I often wondered if I had somehow skipped a few chapters on my reading device.
I'd like to try a couple more books to see how the story pans out, but reality dictates that many many other 'want to read' books will take precedent.
There was just huge gaps that just made the whole experience disjointed. An example of that is when our hero arrives in the new world, he has his first experience and meets some people and the chapter ends. You expect to then read about his integration into society and the difficulties associated with being an off worlder, but no, next chapter is 7 years later and he is 'one of the boys'.
This kind of writing made it difficult to stay with the story, especially when reading other books at the same time, as I often wondered if I had somehow skipped a few chapters on my reading device.
I'd like to try a couple more books to see how the story pans out, but reality dictates that many many other 'want to read' books will take precedent.
October 31, 2011
I don't know why the sight insists on a "1" after the title of this book as it was originally just "Witch World".... oh well.
I read this long ago and enjoyed it. It seems that for a while Andre Norton sort carried the banner for everyone who enjoyed popular (and it also might be called "teen") fantasy. She wrote many solo novels and then turned her hand to collaborations.
This is a "fun" read what I call brain candy and it's a start to one of fantasy's longest running series. Read it for fun.
Another person from "our reality" finds himself in an alternate world or universe, the Witch World. Let the adventures begin.
I read this long ago and enjoyed it. It seems that for a while Andre Norton sort carried the banner for everyone who enjoyed popular (and it also might be called "teen") fantasy. She wrote many solo novels and then turned her hand to collaborations.
This is a "fun" read what I call brain candy and it's a start to one of fantasy's longest running series. Read it for fun.
Another person from "our reality" finds himself in an alternate world or universe, the Witch World. Let the adventures begin.
August 18, 2017
I had forgotten how comprehensive and detailed this story is, and how the base premise blossoms out into an array of consequences, implications, derivations, and plot hooks. You consider the idea of "matriarchy, magic powers require virginity" and see how this plays off a nearby machismo-based society, or how it affects political relations with neighbors either jealous or fearful of their power, or even showing how the idea of "women with power will probably not have children" will affect population growth.
Even relative subplots like the inheritance of Verlaine and the Duke's ambitions for a trading port are developed into something that in other hands would consume an entire novel.
This is not simple sword-and-sorcery: the Witch World is a strange mix of the magical/psychic, the medieval, and the supertechnological, all carefully thought out, and, at least in the early novels of the series, more similar to Barsoom than anything else.
It's easy to see how this one book sprung into the sprawling series and offshoot series. The conclusion is deliberately open-ended, with further problems for Estcarp to wrestle. Not just the Kolder war or the fractious neighbor states, but there are challenges to redefine its own culture and its relations to, say, the Falconers. And, as Simon points out, the weird Kolder artifacts remain on Gorm and must be managed.
Even relative subplots like the inheritance of Verlaine and the Duke's ambitions for a trading port are developed into something that in other hands would consume an entire novel.
This is not simple sword-and-sorcery: the Witch World is a strange mix of the magical/psychic, the medieval, and the supertechnological, all carefully thought out, and, at least in the early novels of the series, more similar to Barsoom than anything else.
It's easy to see how this one book sprung into the sprawling series and offshoot series. The conclusion is deliberately open-ended, with further problems for Estcarp to wrestle. Not just the Kolder war or the fractious neighbor states, but there are challenges to redefine its own culture and its relations to, say, the Falconers. And, as Simon points out, the weird Kolder artifacts remain on Gorm and must be managed.
June 7, 2023
07/2018
From 1963. Starts in one world, then (right away) dimension shifts to a different one. A world of Fantasy, as in the genre. With kingdoms and politics and a semi medieval culture.
From 1963. Starts in one world, then (right away) dimension shifts to a different one. A world of Fantasy, as in the genre. With kingdoms and politics and a semi medieval culture.
April 1, 2019
Solid start to a classic series. This has been in my paperback collection since the late 1960s. I figured it was about time I read it.
August 7, 2019
Здається, я вже занадто стара для аж такої класики. У тому сенсі, що на свіжу малечу голову воно б, може, і зайшло (я щось таки читала з "Чаклунського світу" у sweet thirteen, але це точно не була перша книжка). Але тепер нерви та смак зіпсовані сучасними sf&f. А зараз, якщо хтось так і пише, то якось боги милували таке читати.
Отже "Чаклунський світ" - це такий безпонтовий дідусь попаданського фентезі. Є герой, котрий не пасує до нашого світу, є загадковий дядечко, готовий організувати йому перехід до іншого - такого, що ідеально припасований під нашого героя. А що герой - полковник розвідки, то світ йому дістався войовничий, політично складний, а ще з магією. Взагалі то вона там діло - суто жіноче, але світобудова добра і зробить для Саймона виключення.
Фух. На двісті п'ятдесят сторінок тут дуже багато пригод, багацько цікавих деталей цілковито незнаного й незрозумілого світу, трохи політики, забагато війни і категорично мало характерів. Власне, хоч щось віддалено схоже на особистість, а не на кліше, мають лише троє з героїв, але двоє з них - ПОВи, тож якось неспортивно виходить. Теоретично можна припустити, що характери проріжуться пізніше - розвиток світу, розвиток глобального сюжету, всі діла... Але до всього все це щастя ще й нуднувато й сухувато написане, тому не впевнена, що мені дійсно цікаво знати, куди там воно розів'ється.
PS: але ж жіноче авторство не проп'єш! Уся така маскулінна-маскулінна книжечка зненацька проходить тест Бехдель, хоча й навпочіпки. А з тогочасним фентезі це вкрай нечасто трапляється.
Отже "Чаклунський світ" - це такий безпонтовий дідусь попаданського фентезі. Є герой, котрий не пасує до нашого світу, є загадковий дядечко, готовий організувати йому перехід до іншого - такого, що ідеально припасований під нашого героя. А що герой - полковник розвідки, то світ йому дістався войовничий, політично складний, а ще з магією. Взагалі то вона там діло - суто жіноче, але світобудова добра і зробить для Саймона виключення.
Фух. На двісті п'ятдесят сторінок тут дуже багато пригод, багацько цікавих деталей цілковито незнаного й незрозумілого світу, трохи політики, забагато війни і категорично мало характерів. Власне, хоч щось віддалено схоже на особистість, а не на кліше, мають лише троє з героїв, але двоє з них - ПОВи, тож якось неспортивно виходить. Теоретично можна припустити, що характери проріжуться пізніше - розвиток світу, розвиток глобального сюжету, всі діла... Але до всього все це щастя ще й нуднувато й сухувато написане, тому не впевнена, що мені дійсно цікаво знати, куди там воно розів'ється.
PS: але ж жіноче авторство не проп'єш! Уся така маскулінна-маскулінна книжечка зненацька проходить тест Бехдель, хоча й навпочіпки. А з тогочасним фентезі це вкрай нечасто трапляється.
June 29, 2017
This is the first of the Witch World books and a classic. To be honest, most of the spec-fic classics I've read lately have been fairly disappointing. I thought this one bucked the trend and held up fairly well. Overall I'd give it a 3.5, rounding up for it being a classic.
We open with Simon Tregarth, our protagonist, on the run in a distinctly noir setting. It has a 1940s feel to it which probably felt like the nearly recent past when the book was released in 1963. Anyhow, we don't spend too much time in the 40s, as Simon escapes the people pursuing him by striking a deal with a shady character who promises him a portal to the world where he truly belongs. And off we go with our traditional portal fantasy!
Simon finds himself in a new world and immediately sees a person on the run from pursuers. Jumping in without knowing what's going on he helps the woman hide from her pursuers. This ends up working out for him as this in turn allows him a time and place to learn the language of his new land and find a place there. The book pretty much skips over those details!
The rest of the book primarily features Simon, the lady he rescued whose name we don't find out til the end, Koris (a dwarf who ends up a Captain in the guards), and Loyse, the heir to another kingdom who is desperate to escape her father's (stepfather's?) plans for her. There's quite a few small kingdoms with roughly described politics and stances and a lot of battle scenes. There's a bit of dipping into sci-fantasy with some interesting technology cropping up unexpectedly. There are psuedo-zombies and talking birds.
The book covers an awful lot of ground, some of it well, some if not so well. Mostly it's a fun ride. It definitely has a lot of the feel of the pulp adventures that preceded it. For a book of its era, I appreciate the balance of male and female characters and that the women had some agency. It's also nice to read one of the grand doyennes of fantasy!
We open with Simon Tregarth, our protagonist, on the run in a distinctly noir setting. It has a 1940s feel to it which probably felt like the nearly recent past when the book was released in 1963. Anyhow, we don't spend too much time in the 40s, as Simon escapes the people pursuing him by striking a deal with a shady character who promises him a portal to the world where he truly belongs. And off we go with our traditional portal fantasy!
Simon finds himself in a new world and immediately sees a person on the run from pursuers. Jumping in without knowing what's going on he helps the woman hide from her pursuers. This ends up working out for him as this in turn allows him a time and place to learn the language of his new land and find a place there. The book pretty much skips over those details!
The rest of the book primarily features Simon, the lady he rescued whose name we don't find out til the end, Koris (a dwarf who ends up a Captain in the guards), and Loyse, the heir to another kingdom who is desperate to escape her father's (stepfather's?) plans for her. There's quite a few small kingdoms with roughly described politics and stances and a lot of battle scenes. There's a bit of dipping into sci-fantasy with some interesting technology cropping up unexpectedly. There are psuedo-zombies and talking birds.
The book covers an awful lot of ground, some of it well, some if not so well. Mostly it's a fun ride. It definitely has a lot of the feel of the pulp adventures that preceded it. For a book of its era, I appreciate the balance of male and female characters and that the women had some agency. It's also nice to read one of the grand doyennes of fantasy!
July 11, 2022
Czytałam wydanie z 1992 roku z Ambera i muszę wam powiedzieć, że to jest doświadczenie samo w sobie: kiepskie tłumaczenie, zdania poza sensem i logiką, o gramatyce nawet nie wspomnę, korekty na oczy nie widziało, pełno literówek. A narzekają na współczesne wydania fantastyki, że są robione na odwal. Nie znają historii wydawania fantastyki w Polsce :D
W każdym razie, pierwszy raz czytam Estcarp we właściwej kolejności, dzięki uprzejmości @Joanna Olbryś, która poderwała mi niemal kompletne wydanie z Ambera książek Andre Norton. Kilka książek było dostępnych w lokalnej bibliotece w mojej rodzinnej miejscowości, ale nie całość, więc uzupełniam luki.
Mam sentyment do starej fantastyki. Żadnych skomplikowanych osobowości, rozbudowanych dygresji czy retrospekcji. Tylko kluczowe informacje i czysta akcja. Tym właśnie jest Świat Czarownic. Simon ucieka z Anglii z okresu zaraz po II WŚ, bo chociaż jest z gruntu porządnym facetem, wplątał się w przemyt, który kwitł w Europie po wojnie i naraził się wielu potężnym i bezwzględnym ludziom. Ucieczka prowadzi go do Estcarpu, krainy, którą rządzą czarownice, potomkinie Starej Rasy. Simon przyjmuje u nich służbę i zostaje strażnikiem granicy. Bo Estcarp jest zagrożony - sąsiednie kraje dążą do jego zguby, motywowane strachem przed magią. A to wszystko podszyte jest nieznanymi siłami Kolderu, krainy zza morza, której mieszkańcy i magia nie przypominają nic, co znają ludzie Estcarpu. Jak na książki z lat 60. Świat Czarownic jest mocno feministyczny. Główny bohater nie kwestionuje matriarchatu Estcarpu, który jest przedstawiony jako pozytywna forma rządów, czarownice to kompetentne kobiety, które pełnią wszystkie możliwe funkcje - od miecza po szpiegostwo, strategię i politykę. Straż Estcarpu składa się z mężczyzn, których obce narody nazywają "synami czarownic" i mają racje. Owszem jest sporo problematycznych elementów - głównie to, że czarownice tracą moc wraz z pierwszych stosunkiem penetracyjnym i - cytat - "stają się w pełni kobietami". Meh. Lata 60. Oczywiście w związku z tym wrogowie Estcarpu uważają gwałt za formę pozbawienia czarownic mocy, więc tw dla wielu sytuacji zagrożenia przemocą na tle seksualnym.
Poza Simonem i czarownicami pojawiają się też dzielni wojownicy wszelkich płci, akcja jest szybka i bezlitosna, stawka wysoka, czyta się szybko i kibicuje się głównym bohaterom. Nie wspominając o tym, że Norton dała podwaliny dwóm nurtom fantasy: portal fantasty i później romantic fantasy, inspirując takich autorów jak Mercedes Lackey. Warto znać klasykę.
W każdym razie, pierwszy raz czytam Estcarp we właściwej kolejności, dzięki uprzejmości @Joanna Olbryś, która poderwała mi niemal kompletne wydanie z Ambera książek Andre Norton. Kilka książek było dostępnych w lokalnej bibliotece w mojej rodzinnej miejscowości, ale nie całość, więc uzupełniam luki.
Mam sentyment do starej fantastyki. Żadnych skomplikowanych osobowości, rozbudowanych dygresji czy retrospekcji. Tylko kluczowe informacje i czysta akcja. Tym właśnie jest Świat Czarownic. Simon ucieka z Anglii z okresu zaraz po II WŚ, bo chociaż jest z gruntu porządnym facetem, wplątał się w przemyt, który kwitł w Europie po wojnie i naraził się wielu potężnym i bezwzględnym ludziom. Ucieczka prowadzi go do Estcarpu, krainy, którą rządzą czarownice, potomkinie Starej Rasy. Simon przyjmuje u nich służbę i zostaje strażnikiem granicy. Bo Estcarp jest zagrożony - sąsiednie kraje dążą do jego zguby, motywowane strachem przed magią. A to wszystko podszyte jest nieznanymi siłami Kolderu, krainy zza morza, której mieszkańcy i magia nie przypominają nic, co znają ludzie Estcarpu. Jak na książki z lat 60. Świat Czarownic jest mocno feministyczny. Główny bohater nie kwestionuje matriarchatu Estcarpu, który jest przedstawiony jako pozytywna forma rządów, czarownice to kompetentne kobiety, które pełnią wszystkie możliwe funkcje - od miecza po szpiegostwo, strategię i politykę. Straż Estcarpu składa się z mężczyzn, których obce narody nazywają "synami czarownic" i mają racje. Owszem jest sporo problematycznych elementów - głównie to, że czarownice tracą moc wraz z pierwszych stosunkiem penetracyjnym i - cytat - "stają się w pełni kobietami". Meh. Lata 60. Oczywiście w związku z tym wrogowie Estcarpu uważają gwałt za formę pozbawienia czarownic mocy, więc tw dla wielu sytuacji zagrożenia przemocą na tle seksualnym.
Poza Simonem i czarownicami pojawiają się też dzielni wojownicy wszelkich płci, akcja jest szybka i bezlitosna, stawka wysoka, czyta się szybko i kibicuje się głównym bohaterom. Nie wspominając o tym, że Norton dała podwaliny dwóm nurtom fantasy: portal fantasty i później romantic fantasy, inspirując takich autorów jak Mercedes Lackey. Warto znać klasykę.
March 8, 2020
A swords & planet-type adventure that didn't quite grab me, partially because of poor character building. With its alternate worlds, battles, and mix of technology and fantasy, it kind of reminded me of The Chronicles of Amber a bit, except that I would much rather read the The Chronicles of Amber than this any day.
February 18, 2013
My full review: http://coffeecookiesandchilipeppers.b...
This is one of those series that I have always meant to read but has somehow never reached the top of my TBR pile. With the incentive of various challenges to encourage me, I finally decided to see if it lived up to its Hugo Award nomination. I am pleased to say that, unlike A Wizard of Earthsea, it seems to deserve its place on all those ‘Top Fantasy Series’ lists out there. It does feel a little dated now, but it is fifty years old, so that is hardly surprising.
The Witch World itself is lavishly detailed and totally developed. We experience a series of very different cultures and societies, but they are not presented via a mass of exposition. If anything, I would have liked some more detail and perhaps a little longer to immerse myself in each one before we moved on to the next. This was definitely a book that would have benefitted from a good glossary or appendix explaining some of the terms and concepts as it was a little too light on explanations for my taste.
This brings us to one aspect of the world that I really did enjoy: the magic. For some reason it is confined to women, thus making them a powerful force in society, which was a very nice change for a society that was basically your typical Medieval European fantasy setting. I also liked the way that the magic was mind-based and more to do with mental discipline and good luck than anything else. This fallibility was also a nice deviation from the usual whizz, bang, point and shoot type of magic that we see so often. It also meant that the Witches had to work together with their male army in order to really accomplish anything, showing a fairly equal society in many aspects. This equality was even highlighted by the disapproval that they felt for the Falconers’ society, which was male-dominated and used their women as breeding machines.
This is one of those series that I have always meant to read but has somehow never reached the top of my TBR pile. With the incentive of various challenges to encourage me, I finally decided to see if it lived up to its Hugo Award nomination. I am pleased to say that, unlike A Wizard of Earthsea, it seems to deserve its place on all those ‘Top Fantasy Series’ lists out there. It does feel a little dated now, but it is fifty years old, so that is hardly surprising.
The Witch World itself is lavishly detailed and totally developed. We experience a series of very different cultures and societies, but they are not presented via a mass of exposition. If anything, I would have liked some more detail and perhaps a little longer to immerse myself in each one before we moved on to the next. This was definitely a book that would have benefitted from a good glossary or appendix explaining some of the terms and concepts as it was a little too light on explanations for my taste.
This brings us to one aspect of the world that I really did enjoy: the magic. For some reason it is confined to women, thus making them a powerful force in society, which was a very nice change for a society that was basically your typical Medieval European fantasy setting. I also liked the way that the magic was mind-based and more to do with mental discipline and good luck than anything else. This fallibility was also a nice deviation from the usual whizz, bang, point and shoot type of magic that we see so often. It also meant that the Witches had to work together with their male army in order to really accomplish anything, showing a fairly equal society in many aspects. This equality was even highlighted by the disapproval that they felt for the Falconers’ society, which was male-dominated and used their women as breeding machines.
April 24, 2017
This is part of my reading challenge for 2017, to expand my woeful knowledge of women in speculative fiction by reading at least 24 books by women that were and are instrumental in our genre.
This starts as a master of intrigue. A marked man, Simon, who is or once was very capable, and once honest and a Corporal, is on the run. He expects death at every turn, and yet is still darkly witty when prompted. Having been tricked into falling on the wrong side of the law he has had to leave his old life behind him, and has so far managed to beat off those who come after him... but he finds himself following someone expensively dangerous who says he can be of some assistance - and that assistance has to do with Simon's Cornish heritage.
This reminds me hugely of Outlander by Diana Gabaldon for various reasons (though Estcarp Cycle came first, of course) as well as the many many other 'MC gets transported to a magical land by various means and has to struggle on' books out there. The general interactions at the start of the book, the light worldbuilding, and leaving the reader to make their own inferring makes this a strong book as it keeps you paying attention. The fact women are those who have magic is always a favourite of mine - turning often weaker characters who just gather herbs or sit and worry a force to be reckoned with.
Overall though, the intrigue from the start kind of set me off to expect an entirely different book, and this was a mainly plot driven piece rather than by character or worldbuilding as is my preference. This is an interesting book to read for its time, and to enjoy the genre as it once was, but overall it wasn't as for me as I'd previously hoped.
This starts as a master of intrigue. A marked man, Simon, who is or once was very capable, and once honest and a Corporal, is on the run. He expects death at every turn, and yet is still darkly witty when prompted. Having been tricked into falling on the wrong side of the law he has had to leave his old life behind him, and has so far managed to beat off those who come after him... but he finds himself following someone expensively dangerous who says he can be of some assistance - and that assistance has to do with Simon's Cornish heritage.
This reminds me hugely of Outlander by Diana Gabaldon for various reasons (though Estcarp Cycle came first, of course) as well as the many many other 'MC gets transported to a magical land by various means and has to struggle on' books out there. The general interactions at the start of the book, the light worldbuilding, and leaving the reader to make their own inferring makes this a strong book as it keeps you paying attention. The fact women are those who have magic is always a favourite of mine - turning often weaker characters who just gather herbs or sit and worry a force to be reckoned with.
Overall though, the intrigue from the start kind of set me off to expect an entirely different book, and this was a mainly plot driven piece rather than by character or worldbuilding as is my preference. This is an interesting book to read for its time, and to enjoy the genre as it once was, but overall it wasn't as for me as I'd previously hoped.
January 3, 2022
My uncle had this book on his shelf, and gave it to me in no small part because of the cover. Turns out it’s actually the first edition, and rather hard to find as a standalone in any edition - most of the Witch World stuff you can find is in omnibus editions.
The story is good Silver Age science fiction. A fugitive World War II vet is sent to another world. He doesn’t know anything about where he’s going, but he knows the people pursuing him won’t be able to follow, he won’t be able to come back, and that the world will be the one he’s most perfectly fit for. So he takes the chance.
The protagonist finds himself in a matriarchal nation, ruled by witches wielding magic, besieged by multiple foes. What follows is a series of adventures that reminds me a lot of the Dying Earth books by Jack Vance (though, thankfully, with no Cugel-like character that I really want to punch in the face).
What most sets this apart from most Silver Age sci fi, I feel, comes from the fact that the author is a woman. Andre Norton was the pen name of Alice Mary Norton, the first woman to be named a Damon Knight SWFA Grand Master and the first woman to be inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. Anyone who’s read the old masters of sci fi (Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein, et al) has probably noticed that they’re a *teensy* bit sexist. Norton has none of that here. No male gaze, women assumed to be every bit as capable as men, women pushing against traditional gender roles. It made for a refreshing read, and overall I recommend it pretty strongly.
The story is good Silver Age science fiction. A fugitive World War II vet is sent to another world. He doesn’t know anything about where he’s going, but he knows the people pursuing him won’t be able to follow, he won’t be able to come back, and that the world will be the one he’s most perfectly fit for. So he takes the chance.
The protagonist finds himself in a matriarchal nation, ruled by witches wielding magic, besieged by multiple foes. What follows is a series of adventures that reminds me a lot of the Dying Earth books by Jack Vance (though, thankfully, with no Cugel-like character that I really want to punch in the face).
What most sets this apart from most Silver Age sci fi, I feel, comes from the fact that the author is a woman. Andre Norton was the pen name of Alice Mary Norton, the first woman to be named a Damon Knight SWFA Grand Master and the first woman to be inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. Anyone who’s read the old masters of sci fi (Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein, et al) has probably noticed that they’re a *teensy* bit sexist. Norton has none of that here. No male gaze, women assumed to be every bit as capable as men, women pushing against traditional gender roles. It made for a refreshing read, and overall I recommend it pretty strongly.
September 30, 2017
OK - I'm a sucker for Andre Norton books and the Witch World series in particular. I discovered the author and Witch World about the same time as a teenager. Now normally I don't like genre-mixing novels - science fiction with fantasy. It just grates. Yet Witch World relies on the premise that there are "Gates" between worlds and the first major foe encountered are the Kolder, a race of technological beings bent on conquest. Science versus magic.
Our protagonist is Simon Tregarth, an American ex-soldier of Cornish descent, after circumstances found him on the wrong side of the law and the wrong side of a crime syndicate he is on the run and his time is running out. He is offered a strange escape. is mysterious benefactor possesses the Siege Perilous, a Cornish artefact of power, mysteriously located in the USA. The Siege Perilous was know to the Knights of Camelot. It is a "Gate". To escape Tregarth steps through the "Gate" and finds himself on the Witch World.
All that rich detail is encapsulated in the first chapter. The rest of the book, and the main series, are like that. A different
Late he finds himself in service to the Witches of Estcarp and the Lady he finds there. A witch.
Our protagonist is Simon Tregarth, an American ex-soldier of Cornish descent, after circumstances found him on the wrong side of the law and the wrong side of a crime syndicate he is on the run and his time is running out. He is offered a strange escape. is mysterious benefactor possesses the Siege Perilous, a Cornish artefact of power, mysteriously located in the USA. The Siege Perilous was know to the Knights of Camelot. It is a "Gate". To escape Tregarth steps through the "Gate" and finds himself on the Witch World.
All that rich detail is encapsulated in the first chapter. The rest of the book, and the main series, are like that. A different
Late he finds himself in service to the Witches of Estcarp and the Lady he finds there. A witch.
February 13, 2017
Outstanding, original science fantasy, July 25, 2016
This review is from: Witch World (Witch World Saga Book 1) (Kindle Edition)
I had not read WITCH WORLD in so many years that it was very nearly a new read for me. It is all that one would expect from a master of science fiction and fantasy. Some complain about a tired plot. No it isn't. This 1963 novel is one of the original science fantasy stories of its type. More recent works using the idea are the copies.
This review is from: Witch World (Witch World Saga Book 1) (Kindle Edition)
I had not read WITCH WORLD in so many years that it was very nearly a new read for me. It is all that one would expect from a master of science fiction and fantasy. Some complain about a tired plot. No it isn't. This 1963 novel is one of the original science fantasy stories of its type. More recent works using the idea are the copies.
March 29, 2020
Storyline: 4/5
Characters: 3/5
Writing Style: 4/5
World: 4/5
Do not let the uninspired title, action comic cover art, or the “One man against a wonder planet” blurb mislead you, this is not simply another science fiction action-adventure. The first clues that this is something more comes in the first sentence of the first paragraph:
Though the thoughtful sentence structure and descriptions would not last far into the book, Norton continued to give more by keeping it full of mystery, slowly parceling out explanations and new puzzles. This is a model of how to build intrigue in a book, of knowing when to give out information and when to withhold. We get to follow along with a character with limited information, Norton usually giving revelations as the protagonist unearths them. It might be unsatisfying to some that our lead character never learns everything, never puts all the pieces together. And sometimes this haziness with the pieces and explanations seemed like it might be a cover for an author who had not herself figured out the answers or how explain what the pieces meant. If so, then it was a good cover, an author playing to her strengths and hiding her weaknesses.
As the book neared its end, it was obvious that there were not enough pages to present the story in the fullness it deserved. Though originally published as a novel, the pacing was too often marked by the hurriedness so common to science fiction and fantasy magazines from a decade earlier. This needed to have been written as an epic. I can imagine the acclaim and grandeur had this been several hundred pages instead of 222. And in some way, perhaps Norton did write her epic. The series apparently went on for more than thirty volumes, the second book coming out just a year later and the third a year after that. The ending here provided enough of a conclusion to fulfill the implied contractual agreement between authors and readers that a story come to an end. One could stop here. One could also decide to read on and on and on and on… I am not in a place right now where I want to take on a thirty-plus volume series, but I found Witchworld to be a treasure, and the temptation to read others in the series is going to lurk persistently in my head for some time I fear.
Characters: 3/5
Writing Style: 4/5
World: 4/5
Do not let the uninspired title, action comic cover art, or the “One man against a wonder planet” blurb mislead you, this is not simply another science fiction action-adventure. The first clues that this is something more comes in the first sentence of the first paragraph:
“The rain was a slantwise curtain across the dingy street, washing soot from city walls, the taste of it metallic on the lips of the tall, thin man who walked with a loping stride close to the buildings, watching the mouths of doorways, the gaps of alleys with a narrow-eyed intentness.”That right there puts this a level above a lot of 1960s science fiction and fantasy. The vivid picture, the shifts in attention in the sentence, the slipped-in anticipation. The first chapter gives notice to the reader that Andre Norton knows how to tell a story. And that story, while still of the sword and sorcery variety, had little else generic about it.
Though the thoughtful sentence structure and descriptions would not last far into the book, Norton continued to give more by keeping it full of mystery, slowly parceling out explanations and new puzzles. This is a model of how to build intrigue in a book, of knowing when to give out information and when to withhold. We get to follow along with a character with limited information, Norton usually giving revelations as the protagonist unearths them. It might be unsatisfying to some that our lead character never learns everything, never puts all the pieces together. And sometimes this haziness with the pieces and explanations seemed like it might be a cover for an author who had not herself figured out the answers or how explain what the pieces meant. If so, then it was a good cover, an author playing to her strengths and hiding her weaknesses.
As the book neared its end, it was obvious that there were not enough pages to present the story in the fullness it deserved. Though originally published as a novel, the pacing was too often marked by the hurriedness so common to science fiction and fantasy magazines from a decade earlier. This needed to have been written as an epic. I can imagine the acclaim and grandeur had this been several hundred pages instead of 222. And in some way, perhaps Norton did write her epic. The series apparently went on for more than thirty volumes, the second book coming out just a year later and the third a year after that. The ending here provided enough of a conclusion to fulfill the implied contractual agreement between authors and readers that a story come to an end. One could stop here. One could also decide to read on and on and on and on… I am not in a place right now where I want to take on a thirty-plus volume series, but I found Witchworld to be a treasure, and the temptation to read others in the series is going to lurk persistently in my head for some time I fear.
April 9, 2018
Another author, new to me. I decided to try her out after learning she is considered part of an almost forgotten triumvirate of women who were instrumental in developing science fiction and fantasy as it is today: Anne McCaffrey, C J Cherryh, and Andre Norton. I have read almost everything by Anne McCaffrey but until now nothing by the other two.
Another notable aspect of the three groundbreaking women is they felt no compunction about combining science fiction and fantasy in the same novels, something that had been a purist taboo. N K Jemisin, Charlie Jane Anders, Neal Stephenson and other current authors also combine magic and science. I like that.
Witch World begins with Simon Tregarth, a disgraced former Colonel in the World War II US Army, who is on the run. He meets a benefactor who escorts him through a portal into Witch World. Simon finds himself in this world of witches, decayed and super advanced science, and political intrigue. He knows none of the languages spoken there but aligns himself with one of the factions in its long running conflicts. As he fights with them he has to prove himself at every turn since he is from another world and they don't completely trust him at first.
The reader shares his confusion for most of the book as he learns about his new world as he goes. Having recently read both The Fifth Season and The Obelisk Gate by N K Jemisin, I was fairly accustomed to a good deal of confusion, so I proceeded, if slowly. By the end of the book I was hooked as well as oriented and amazed.
I could say more about the plot but I will just be dastardly and let you suffer through as I did. Simon Tregarth is a fabulous character. So are the witches.
I do love and admire Anne McCaffrey (whom I met twice) but Andre Norton is a much more sophisticated world builder, perhaps a bridge between McCaffrey and the sadly, recently departed Ursula LeGuin. In any case, I will be following Andre Norton's books in My Big Fat Reading Project and checking out C J Cherryh soon.
Another notable aspect of the three groundbreaking women is they felt no compunction about combining science fiction and fantasy in the same novels, something that had been a purist taboo. N K Jemisin, Charlie Jane Anders, Neal Stephenson and other current authors also combine magic and science. I like that.
Witch World begins with Simon Tregarth, a disgraced former Colonel in the World War II US Army, who is on the run. He meets a benefactor who escorts him through a portal into Witch World. Simon finds himself in this world of witches, decayed and super advanced science, and political intrigue. He knows none of the languages spoken there but aligns himself with one of the factions in its long running conflicts. As he fights with them he has to prove himself at every turn since he is from another world and they don't completely trust him at first.
The reader shares his confusion for most of the book as he learns about his new world as he goes. Having recently read both The Fifth Season and The Obelisk Gate by N K Jemisin, I was fairly accustomed to a good deal of confusion, so I proceeded, if slowly. By the end of the book I was hooked as well as oriented and amazed.
I could say more about the plot but I will just be dastardly and let you suffer through as I did. Simon Tregarth is a fabulous character. So are the witches.
I do love and admire Anne McCaffrey (whom I met twice) but Andre Norton is a much more sophisticated world builder, perhaps a bridge between McCaffrey and the sadly, recently departed Ursula LeGuin. In any case, I will be following Andre Norton's books in My Big Fat Reading Project and checking out C J Cherryh soon.
August 7, 2020
This was my first Andre Norton read and I think I lucked out. Like most Appendix N literature it moves fast, which helps paper over some coincidences and handwaves a more ponderous pace might have made stand out like a sore thumb. What I enjoyed most about this story was a portrayal of gender, world-building that hinted at greater depths while still being satisfying in what it showed, and how this was an author clearly setting the stage for a series while remembering not to cheat the reader of a compelling story by doing so.
Honestly, I'm pretty jazzed to read the next one.
Honestly, I'm pretty jazzed to read the next one.
February 5, 2019
160917: continuing my reading of woman-authored pulp/golden age sff: just recalled reading this many years ago (decades...) and found i had not put this on here. i remember this was one of the first 'portal fantasies' i read, though not new at the time. and this world of witches is feminist in early sff way. i did enjoy it though i do not know if i was 17 or more, but obviously not enough to follow sequels...
August 8, 2008
I loved this when I first read it. Brings back memories. I have a hardback version from the SF Book Club that includes two other Witch World adventures.
Read
May 1, 2015This is the edition I own. I don't know how I came to review another edition.
With Norton's books, what matters about editions is mostly the cover picture. The one on this edition (the 1966 edition) is puzzling. It depicts a helmeted man (?A Falconer?) with a distorted face--not scarred, I think, but perhaps affected by a stroke?
No such character occurs in this volume, and it's not clear where the (uncredited, as far as I can discern) artist got the idea from. On the back cover is another picture, of a woman (? a witch? or maybe the Lady Aldis of Karsten?) with long flowing hair.
This is the seminal work of the Witch World series. Norton commented in at least one collection that it was intended as a one-off, and just caught people's imagination to a much greater extent than other series of Norton's.
As with other books from 1966 (cf James White's The Watch Below), this book is still in the penumbra of WWII. Simon Tregarth (whose history is somewhat elided in later books) begins as a spy on the run--a man who, encountering corruption, refused to look the other way, and fell afoul of the allies of the corrupt parties.
The book begins with his introduction to Jorge Petronius, who offers Simon a chance to sit in the Siege Perilous, which activates a gate to take the sitter to a world attuned to his (? or her?) spirit.
The book is a tetrad, with continuing characters moved to new scenes, new characters introduced, etc. Each chapter also has its own title. Summaries follow:
PART I VENTURE OUT OF SULCARKEEP:
Chapter I: Siege Perilous: Set in an unnamed city (the implication is that it's in Britain). Simon Tregarth is not sure he can trust Jorge Petronius. But has he any choice?
Chapter II: Moor Hunt: Norton later realized that the witches can't just be nameless. I mean, what if you're dealing with dozens of witches? How do you indicate which one you want to ask a question of?
The vulnerable part is the formal name, anyway. So at a later time, witches are given nicknames. In this case, Simon meets, near the gate, a witch who was on a spying mission into Alizon. It's never really made clear why she thought she could be undetected, or what she was trying to achieve. Nor, for that matter, is it clear why the people of Tormarsh tried to keep aloof from the affairs of their neighbors. This chapter also introduces Koris of Gorm, whose mother was of Tormarsh herself.
Chapter III: Simon Takes Service: The men who served at the pleasure of the Witches' Council in Estcarp are mostly the offspring of Untalented Estcarpian women. But there seems to be a sort of Foreign Legion, comprising men of other ethnicities. Or else the outlanders are incorporated into the regular troops. It's not clear, because by the time Simon has a grasp of the language, circumstances have changed significantly.
Chapter IV: The Call Out of Sulcarkeep: The Sulcars, allies of Estcarp, are a sort of cross between Norton's Free Traders and of Earth Vikings. They predominantly live on their ships, but they have a landborne settlement, containing warehouses, safe harbor etc. Later volumes have maps showing the location of Sulcarkeep, relative to places like Yle and Gorm, and make it plainer why Sulcarkeep was vulnerable.
Chapter V: Demon Battle: The 'living dead' armies of the Kolder are apparently modeled after zombies. But they're not (apparently) quite as literal-minded as zombies--apparently because they're centrally controlled.
Chapter VI: Fog Doom: Thinking about it, it's a bit odd that Simon Tregarth didn't think of aerial attack right away. The whole of the Witch World is full of unaccountable technology. The Kolder have submarines. So why wouldn't they have aircraft? Come to that, the power source at Sulcarkeep is pretty advanced technology, as well.
PART II: VENTURE OF VERLAINE
I Ax Marriage: Fulk of Verlaine (in Karsten) became Lord of Verlaine by marriage (?by rape? It's implied, anyway) to the heiress of the previous Lord. Now he has greater ambitions--he plans to marry his daughter Loyse to Duke Yvian, in hopes that the riches Verlaine acquires from storm wrack (and luring ships to their doom with false beacons), combined with family ties in high places, will translate into power. Yvian hopes that marriage with legitimate Karstenian nobility will secure his own position, since he also is a former mercenary. Nobody seems to care about what Loyse wants--except a deflowered (and thus powerless) witch--and another witch, cast ashore among the other escapees from the ruin of Sulcarkeep...
II Sea Wrack: You remember the illusory ships the witch created to deceive the Kolder? The people of Verlaine never heard of them--so they're confused when the ships just vanish...
III Captive Witch: It's just getting too cumbersome to keep trying to identify the central witch in this book by awkward phrases ('the witch who...'. So (borrowing from later books), I'm going to call her the Lady Jaelithe. After Loyse's ax marriage (which, be advised, remains questionably legal, even if unconsummated), the plan is to rob Jaelithe of her powers by the same method used on the household (former) witch. But Loyse knows the secret passages in Verlaine...
IV The Inner Ways: Loyse's escape plan hits a few hitches: and gets the odd assist...
PART III VENTURE OF KARSTEN
I The Hole of Volt: Simon and Koris, along with a few other escapees, land in a small cove, and have trouble finding their way out. The 'hole of Volt' in this case, is a tomb. Koris demands a boon of Volt, and is granted it.
II Falcon's Eyrie: The Witches of Estcarp don't approve of the Falconers--for good reason. The Falconers' misogyny is always awkwardly explained, and doesn't really compute. But the gynocratic witches don't necessarily control who the Borderers make common cause with.
III A Witch in Kars: It having become clear that the dynastic ambitions in Karsten have become a target of the Kolder (as potentially ruinously as in Gorm), the Lady Jaelithe establishes herself as an undercover sorceress in Kars--with a blank shield named Briant (that pale face seem familiar?) as her leg(wo)man.
IV: Love Potion: If the Lady Aldis is not threatened by Yvian's ax marriage with Loyse, why is she in the market for a love potion?
V: Three Times Horned: The people of Karsten had apparently never questioned the concept of outlawing people by 'thrice-horning'. In later books, Karstenian people express doubt about the wholesale application of such a process by fiat, without due process. But I've heard no discussions of the process PER SE--only of this particular genocidal application. And there seems to have been little resistance to Yvian's order, except by some people in the outer provinces.
VI: False Hawk: The Estcarpians escaping from Kars encounter a robotic hawk, presumably created by the Kolder as accessories for false Falconers.
PART IV: THE VENTURE OF GORM
Chapter I: The Riving of The Border: Most of the newly-outlawed 'Old Race' from Karsten try to escape into Estcarp. So the Borderers concentrate on keeping the border open for refugees--and closed to Karstenian pursuers. This involves recruiting from the refugees, because the Estcarpian forces aren't numerous enough.
Chapter II: Tribute to Gorm: Simon Tregarth, trying to trace the Kolder moving into Karsten, runs into an ambush.
Chapter III: The Grey Fane: The Kolder don't take prisoners from the 'Old Race', because they're not pliable when subjected to the Kolder mind control techniques. Probably they shouldn't have taken Simon, either...
Chapter IV: City of Dead Men: And women, and children... Apparently, the Kolder just killed anybody they had no use for.
Chapter V: Game of Power: The Witches' Council, with some aid from outsiders, launch a psychic attack against known targets. But this presumes that injuring or destroying these targets will have any large-scale change.
Chapter VI: The Cleansing of Gorm: The forces of Estcarp clear out the Kolder headquarters at Gorm. Then they begin to consider what to do with the Kolder technology.
Chapter VII: A Venture of New Beginnings: When there was no plan to continue the series, this was intended to be the summing up. But in the next book in the series (Web of The Witch World) it's revealed that the 'New Beginnings' in the title of this chapter are in FACT new beginnings. Also, there are quite a few unresolved issues in this first volume, which leaves room open for a sequel, at the very least. So it's possible that Norton ALREADY had plans for another volume by the time she ended this one.
With Norton's books, what matters about editions is mostly the cover picture. The one on this edition (the 1966 edition) is puzzling. It depicts a helmeted man (?A Falconer?) with a distorted face--not scarred, I think, but perhaps affected by a stroke?
No such character occurs in this volume, and it's not clear where the (uncredited, as far as I can discern) artist got the idea from. On the back cover is another picture, of a woman (? a witch? or maybe the Lady Aldis of Karsten?) with long flowing hair.
This is the seminal work of the Witch World series. Norton commented in at least one collection that it was intended as a one-off, and just caught people's imagination to a much greater extent than other series of Norton's.
As with other books from 1966 (cf James White's The Watch Below), this book is still in the penumbra of WWII. Simon Tregarth (whose history is somewhat elided in later books) begins as a spy on the run--a man who, encountering corruption, refused to look the other way, and fell afoul of the allies of the corrupt parties.
The book begins with his introduction to Jorge Petronius, who offers Simon a chance to sit in the Siege Perilous, which activates a gate to take the sitter to a world attuned to his (? or her?) spirit.
The book is a tetrad, with continuing characters moved to new scenes, new characters introduced, etc. Each chapter also has its own title. Summaries follow:
PART I VENTURE OUT OF SULCARKEEP:
Chapter I: Siege Perilous: Set in an unnamed city (the implication is that it's in Britain). Simon Tregarth is not sure he can trust Jorge Petronius. But has he any choice?
Chapter II: Moor Hunt: Norton later realized that the witches can't just be nameless. I mean, what if you're dealing with dozens of witches? How do you indicate which one you want to ask a question of?
The vulnerable part is the formal name, anyway. So at a later time, witches are given nicknames. In this case, Simon meets, near the gate, a witch who was on a spying mission into Alizon. It's never really made clear why she thought she could be undetected, or what she was trying to achieve. Nor, for that matter, is it clear why the people of Tormarsh tried to keep aloof from the affairs of their neighbors. This chapter also introduces Koris of Gorm, whose mother was of Tormarsh herself.
Chapter III: Simon Takes Service: The men who served at the pleasure of the Witches' Council in Estcarp are mostly the offspring of Untalented Estcarpian women. But there seems to be a sort of Foreign Legion, comprising men of other ethnicities. Or else the outlanders are incorporated into the regular troops. It's not clear, because by the time Simon has a grasp of the language, circumstances have changed significantly.
Chapter IV: The Call Out of Sulcarkeep: The Sulcars, allies of Estcarp, are a sort of cross between Norton's Free Traders and of Earth Vikings. They predominantly live on their ships, but they have a landborne settlement, containing warehouses, safe harbor etc. Later volumes have maps showing the location of Sulcarkeep, relative to places like Yle and Gorm, and make it plainer why Sulcarkeep was vulnerable.
Chapter V: Demon Battle: The 'living dead' armies of the Kolder are apparently modeled after zombies. But they're not (apparently) quite as literal-minded as zombies--apparently because they're centrally controlled.
Chapter VI: Fog Doom: Thinking about it, it's a bit odd that Simon Tregarth didn't think of aerial attack right away. The whole of the Witch World is full of unaccountable technology. The Kolder have submarines. So why wouldn't they have aircraft? Come to that, the power source at Sulcarkeep is pretty advanced technology, as well.
PART II: VENTURE OF VERLAINE
I Ax Marriage: Fulk of Verlaine (in Karsten) became Lord of Verlaine by marriage (?by rape? It's implied, anyway) to the heiress of the previous Lord. Now he has greater ambitions--he plans to marry his daughter Loyse to Duke Yvian, in hopes that the riches Verlaine acquires from storm wrack (and luring ships to their doom with false beacons), combined with family ties in high places, will translate into power. Yvian hopes that marriage with legitimate Karstenian nobility will secure his own position, since he also is a former mercenary. Nobody seems to care about what Loyse wants--except a deflowered (and thus powerless) witch--and another witch, cast ashore among the other escapees from the ruin of Sulcarkeep...
II Sea Wrack: You remember the illusory ships the witch created to deceive the Kolder? The people of Verlaine never heard of them--so they're confused when the ships just vanish...
III Captive Witch: It's just getting too cumbersome to keep trying to identify the central witch in this book by awkward phrases ('the witch who...'. So (borrowing from later books), I'm going to call her the Lady Jaelithe. After Loyse's ax marriage (which, be advised, remains questionably legal, even if unconsummated), the plan is to rob Jaelithe of her powers by the same method used on the household (former) witch. But Loyse knows the secret passages in Verlaine...
IV The Inner Ways: Loyse's escape plan hits a few hitches: and gets the odd assist...
PART III VENTURE OF KARSTEN
I The Hole of Volt: Simon and Koris, along with a few other escapees, land in a small cove, and have trouble finding their way out. The 'hole of Volt' in this case, is a tomb. Koris demands a boon of Volt, and is granted it.
II Falcon's Eyrie: The Witches of Estcarp don't approve of the Falconers--for good reason. The Falconers' misogyny is always awkwardly explained, and doesn't really compute. But the gynocratic witches don't necessarily control who the Borderers make common cause with.
III A Witch in Kars: It having become clear that the dynastic ambitions in Karsten have become a target of the Kolder (as potentially ruinously as in Gorm), the Lady Jaelithe establishes herself as an undercover sorceress in Kars--with a blank shield named Briant (that pale face seem familiar?) as her leg(wo)man.
IV: Love Potion: If the Lady Aldis is not threatened by Yvian's ax marriage with Loyse, why is she in the market for a love potion?
V: Three Times Horned: The people of Karsten had apparently never questioned the concept of outlawing people by 'thrice-horning'. In later books, Karstenian people express doubt about the wholesale application of such a process by fiat, without due process. But I've heard no discussions of the process PER SE--only of this particular genocidal application. And there seems to have been little resistance to Yvian's order, except by some people in the outer provinces.
VI: False Hawk: The Estcarpians escaping from Kars encounter a robotic hawk, presumably created by the Kolder as accessories for false Falconers.
PART IV: THE VENTURE OF GORM
Chapter I: The Riving of The Border: Most of the newly-outlawed 'Old Race' from Karsten try to escape into Estcarp. So the Borderers concentrate on keeping the border open for refugees--and closed to Karstenian pursuers. This involves recruiting from the refugees, because the Estcarpian forces aren't numerous enough.
Chapter II: Tribute to Gorm: Simon Tregarth, trying to trace the Kolder moving into Karsten, runs into an ambush.
Chapter III: The Grey Fane: The Kolder don't take prisoners from the 'Old Race', because they're not pliable when subjected to the Kolder mind control techniques. Probably they shouldn't have taken Simon, either...
Chapter IV: City of Dead Men: And women, and children... Apparently, the Kolder just killed anybody they had no use for.
Chapter V: Game of Power: The Witches' Council, with some aid from outsiders, launch a psychic attack against known targets. But this presumes that injuring or destroying these targets will have any large-scale change.
Chapter VI: The Cleansing of Gorm: The forces of Estcarp clear out the Kolder headquarters at Gorm. Then they begin to consider what to do with the Kolder technology.
Chapter VII: A Venture of New Beginnings: When there was no plan to continue the series, this was intended to be the summing up. But in the next book in the series (Web of The Witch World) it's revealed that the 'New Beginnings' in the title of this chapter are in FACT new beginnings. Also, there are quite a few unresolved issues in this first volume, which leaves room open for a sequel, at the very least. So it's possible that Norton ALREADY had plans for another volume by the time she ended this one.
August 8, 2018
I loved the first part of the book where Simon Tregarth escaped Earth and came to a new world. The writing there lead the way to future fantasy and scifi books. After that I hit parts that moved to slow then parts that kept up a very fast pace. This is the book for my Science Fiction Book Club this month. We are reading some of the Grand Masters of Science Fiction and Andre Norton was one of the early authors chosen. I read the book years ago and it was interesting remembering how I reacted to the story then and how I reacted to it now. Then I was looking only at the story and today I was looking at how the bones of the story as impacted writing today. Norton was a trail blazer and Witch World was part of that trail.
February 3, 2023
Leuk maar het taalgebruik doet ouderwets aan.
Kan wel kloppen want het boek is uit 1963.
Kan wel kloppen want het boek is uit 1963.
June 21, 2019
I found this pedestrian, and not very well-written either. Which other book by Norton shall I try?
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