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Beast Master / Hosteen Storm #1
The Beast Master
Left homeless by the war that reduced Terra to a radioactive cinder, Hosteen Storm – Navaho commando and master of beasts – is drawn to the planet Arzor, to kill a man he has never met. On that dangerous frontier world, aliens and human colonists share the land in an uneasy truce. But something is upsetting the balance, and Storm is caught in the middle. He had thought the war was over – but was it? “Miss Norton endows this story of a homeless, revenge-driven man with her own inimitable touch. The result is a compelling and compassionate tale.” – The New York Times Book Review
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published January 1, 1984
17 people are currently reading
1073 people want to read
About the author
Andre Norton
695 books1,384 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 111 reviews
July 31, 2018
Originally reviewed in 2011. Updated in 2018.
Before I start this review I know something I'm going to say will offend some. Please read what I said and not what you "think" I said. Okay?
Andre Norton was a good writer and a lot of her work is what I think of as "youth" reads or (in it's day) "teen reads". I ran across her when I was in Jr high school. I realize "Jr high school is a term that isn't used anymore but it referred to 7th and 8th grades.
This book tells a pretty good story opens just after an interstellar war has ended in which humanity or possibly humans have won but the human home world (i.e. Earth) has been destroyed. Consequently most earth humans in the "armed forces" can't go home as there is no home to go to and most are apparently having "nervous breakdowns". The protagonist hasn't and this concerns the doctor in charge of allowing him to relocate to a colony planet. But with no reason to deny him he must allow our hero (a beast master) to be discharged and relocate, even though his home, Earth is gone.
The protagonist (Hosteen Storm) has from the first his own agenda and sets out to accomplish it. With his (apparently genetically bred) animals with whom he has a sort of telepathic bond he lands and "they" set out on their adventure.
This book pushed some of my annoyance buttons early on. First the inability of Ms. Norton to overcome her own Utopian view of pioneer life and "the way it ought to be" as opposed to the way it would be. These pioneers are "forbidden" to carry nasty, mean, lethal weapons. Nooo, they carry...stun wand beamers...right. In spite of facing a hostile wilderness type environment populated with among other things giant reptilian carnivores (big huge lizards with long teeth that eat animals including people).
I just sighed.
The protagonist is an "Amerindian", another word that has fallen from use and for all I know may be completely "politically incorrect". Ms. Norton uses this to set up the "noble savage" story line. He almost immediately meets and bonds with the "local noble savages" (who cant communicate verbally in human language...but use, are you ready, sign language with the humans). Personally it seems to me that native Americans might be getting tired of the "noble savage" role...oh well.
We also must deal with the "animals will be nice to you if you're just nice to them" motif. This is the attitude that leads people to think they can make pets of big cats, great apes, and poison snakes, or go swimming with polar bears.
Look, I love animals. Dogs, cats, horses...these are domesticated animals and have come to depend on their relationship with humans. When that is betrayed, I find it offensive. But wild animals are wild animals...a Black, Brown, or Grizzly Bear, is not a teddy Bear, they will eat you or at least rip you up if you don't leave them alone. Yeah, I know it's a story and to some this will probably be their favorite part. Storm meets the local warrior and he also has a "bird totem" of sorts, a live wild animal. But Plains Native Americans (by the way "Native Americans" still tend to call themselves "Indians") usually kept 2 kinds of animals dogs and horses. You didn't generally run on a warrior with an eagle on his shoulder or a lion at his heels. If you enjoy it...fine that's good. It just kept annoying me. I didn't have a problem with genetically altered animals and/or telepathy but the rest was just annoying(I've used that word a lot in this review haven't I?) to me. I mean I loved White Fang, but then I was 12 and White fang was half wolf half dog...
Many will I'm sure love this book, some for the very things that got on my nerves and that is of course great. For me it brought the book from a 4 to a 3 and at times made it a trial to use up my limited reading time on it. Just me, I won't be going back to this one, but it's okay.
Before I start this review I know something I'm going to say will offend some. Please read what I said and not what you "think" I said. Okay?
Andre Norton was a good writer and a lot of her work is what I think of as "youth" reads or (in it's day) "teen reads". I ran across her when I was in Jr high school. I realize "Jr high school is a term that isn't used anymore but it referred to 7th and 8th grades.
This book tells a pretty good story opens just after an interstellar war has ended in which humanity or possibly humans have won but the human home world (i.e. Earth) has been destroyed. Consequently most earth humans in the "armed forces" can't go home as there is no home to go to and most are apparently having "nervous breakdowns". The protagonist hasn't and this concerns the doctor in charge of allowing him to relocate to a colony planet. But with no reason to deny him he must allow our hero (a beast master) to be discharged and relocate, even though his home, Earth is gone.
The protagonist (Hosteen Storm) has from the first his own agenda and sets out to accomplish it. With his (apparently genetically bred) animals with whom he has a sort of telepathic bond he lands and "they" set out on their adventure.
This book pushed some of my annoyance buttons early on. First the inability of Ms. Norton to overcome her own Utopian view of pioneer life and "the way it ought to be" as opposed to the way it would be. These pioneers are "forbidden" to carry nasty, mean, lethal weapons. Nooo, they carry...stun wand beamers...right. In spite of facing a hostile wilderness type environment populated with among other things giant reptilian carnivores (big huge lizards with long teeth that eat animals including people).
I just sighed.
The protagonist is an "Amerindian", another word that has fallen from use and for all I know may be completely "politically incorrect". Ms. Norton uses this to set up the "noble savage" story line. He almost immediately meets and bonds with the "local noble savages" (who cant communicate verbally in human language...but use, are you ready, sign language with the humans). Personally it seems to me that native Americans might be getting tired of the "noble savage" role...oh well.
We also must deal with the "animals will be nice to you if you're just nice to them" motif. This is the attitude that leads people to think they can make pets of big cats, great apes, and poison snakes, or go swimming with polar bears.
Look, I love animals. Dogs, cats, horses...these are domesticated animals and have come to depend on their relationship with humans. When that is betrayed, I find it offensive. But wild animals are wild animals...a Black, Brown, or Grizzly Bear, is not a teddy Bear, they will eat you or at least rip you up if you don't leave them alone. Yeah, I know it's a story and to some this will probably be their favorite part. Storm meets the local warrior and he also has a "bird totem" of sorts, a live wild animal. But Plains Native Americans (by the way "Native Americans" still tend to call themselves "Indians") usually kept 2 kinds of animals dogs and horses. You didn't generally run on a warrior with an eagle on his shoulder or a lion at his heels. If you enjoy it...fine that's good. It just kept annoying me. I didn't have a problem with genetically altered animals and/or telepathy but the rest was just annoying(I've used that word a lot in this review haven't I?) to me. I mean I loved White Fang, but then I was 12 and White fang was half wolf half dog...
Many will I'm sure love this book, some for the very things that got on my nerves and that is of course great. For me it brought the book from a 4 to a 3 and at times made it a trial to use up my limited reading time on it. Just me, I won't be going back to this one, but it's okay.
March 9, 2013
As a kid, this was my favourite book. I borrowed it and re-borrowed it and re-re-borrowed it from the town library.
Then one day a new librarian came to town. She took one look at the title and one look at me and said sternly, 'You shouldn't be taking out books like this. It's for adults.'
'No, it isn't,' I told her. 'I've read it at least a dozen times. I'll show you exactly where it comes from in the children's section.' My plea was to no avail. I asked her to check the catalogue. She did but my triumph was short-lived. She re-classified the book into the adult section out of my reach.
Interestingly, though I love the book overall, I loathe the ending. Maybe that's one of the reasons why I wait so long to achieve what I sense is the right finale in my own writing.
Then one day a new librarian came to town. She took one look at the title and one look at me and said sternly, 'You shouldn't be taking out books like this. It's for adults.'
'No, it isn't,' I told her. 'I've read it at least a dozen times. I'll show you exactly where it comes from in the children's section.' My plea was to no avail. I asked her to check the catalogue. She did but my triumph was short-lived. She re-classified the book into the adult section out of my reach.
Interestingly, though I love the book overall, I loathe the ending. Maybe that's one of the reasons why I wait so long to achieve what I sense is the right finale in my own writing.
March 5, 2014
The only book of hers ever made into a movie, but they changed EVERYTHING but the title and the fact there were animals. She even had her name taken off the movie, and never again sold movie rights. If you've seen the movie, forget it. The protagonist in this book is a space-traveling Native American, rather thoughtful and cerebral. I enjoyed it thoroughly.
June 15, 2011
Andre Norton is a name that has been around in Science Fiction for many years. For some reason I have never picked up a copy of one of Norton's books, but when I saw this title at a recent library sale, I picked it up. I was pleasantly surprised.
First I was shocked that this novel was so completely different from the movie title by the same name that was obviously a rip off of this concept, if not a license that strayed far from the actual story. This was NOT a fantasy world, but really a hard-core Science Fiction world, full of aliens, colonists, etc.
What was shocking was how the author was able to create a "western-like" novel (very analgous to cowboys and Indian literature) with enough Science Fiction to be interesting and enough "Western" parallels to force the plot forward.
In this world, Terra has been destroyed in a terrible battle with the Xik. The hero, a Navajo Amerindian, is a former commando seeking a place to survive and the new planet has enough similarities to the old lands of his people that he believes he can apply his talent, along with those of his meerkats, puma, and Eagle, in order to make a new life. Okay, then a silly plot line develops as he seeks revenge for an unspecified wrong from one of the characters. His ability to communicate with his animal commando team is quickly put to the test once more as he encounters an outlaw band who seem intent on stirring up trouble with the natives (who are saddled with the racial epithet of "goats" because of the horns on their heads).
This was pulpy Science Fiction that was a fun read and one I enjoyed. The Western cliches were fun to see in a new setting with a new application. The strange and long gone alien race mystery helped keep it from being simply a western set on a faraway planet with a different colored sky.
Lord of Thunder is the next in this series and I expect to read it in the next few months. I hope it is at least as much fun as this one.
First I was shocked that this novel was so completely different from the movie title by the same name that was obviously a rip off of this concept, if not a license that strayed far from the actual story. This was NOT a fantasy world, but really a hard-core Science Fiction world, full of aliens, colonists, etc.
What was shocking was how the author was able to create a "western-like" novel (very analgous to cowboys and Indian literature) with enough Science Fiction to be interesting and enough "Western" parallels to force the plot forward.
In this world, Terra has been destroyed in a terrible battle with the Xik. The hero, a Navajo Amerindian, is a former commando seeking a place to survive and the new planet has enough similarities to the old lands of his people that he believes he can apply his talent, along with those of his meerkats, puma, and Eagle, in order to make a new life. Okay, then a silly plot line develops as he seeks revenge for an unspecified wrong from one of the characters. His ability to communicate with his animal commando team is quickly put to the test once more as he encounters an outlaw band who seem intent on stirring up trouble with the natives (who are saddled with the racial epithet of "goats" because of the horns on their heads).
This was pulpy Science Fiction that was a fun read and one I enjoyed. The Western cliches were fun to see in a new setting with a new application. The strange and long gone alien race mystery helped keep it from being simply a western set on a faraway planet with a different colored sky.
Lord of Thunder is the next in this series and I expect to read it in the next few months. I hope it is at least as much fun as this one.
January 12, 2020
I was reading Andre Norton about 45 years ago, so I may have read this one before, but nothing was very familiar. The one somewhat familiar aspect was alien ruins and some alien technology which is still functioning after being abandoned for centuries. My memory of this idea may be from some of her other novels and not this one.
This book reads somewhat like a western, but I enjoyed it anyway.
This book reads somewhat like a western, but I enjoyed it anyway.
January 12, 2018
I had a heckuva time finding this book. Like any kid from the tail end of Generation X, I had seen the Beastmaster movie countless times on cable as a kid. And I picked up at some point that the movie was (loosely) based on a book by Andre Norton. Andre Norton being one of the writers I wanted to highlight with Throwback SF Thursday, I knew I had to cover The Beast Master. There was just one problem. Every used bookstore I set foot into had roughly a shelfful of Norton. The sequel, Lord of Thunder, was the first Norton I picked up, and one of the first vintage SF I picked up. But it took trips to close to a dozen used bookstores before I finally found a copy of The Beast Master.
It was well worth the hunt.
To call the movie loosely based on the book is generous, so set aside any preconceived notions you may have based on the movie. The protagonist has an animal team and the similarities end there. Where the movie was pure sword and sorcery, The Beast Master is half-Western and half-planetary romance. If you have any doubts about that combination, Norton fulfills its potential to the fullest. I don’t talk much about gameability, but I think it is very likely that Gary Gygax was thinking of this book specifically when he listed Andre Norton in Appendix N.
The Beast Master is the story of Hosteen Storm. Storm is a veteran of a galaxy-spanning war (the Beast Service serving as a kind of Special Forces) released from service after a final victory is won. But a victory that came at a terrible price—the enemy Xik struck the human homeland, leaving Earth “a deadly blue, radioactive cinder.” An earthman (Terran), Storm has no home to go back to. Given his choice of planets, he chooses Arzor, a bit of a colonial backwater, explaining he chose it because of a climate similar to his home and the employment prospects in ranching given his abilities as a Beast Master.
He left the war and leaves for Arzor team intact. A team similar to that from the movie. He has an eagle, Baku. Two meerkats, Ho and Hing, and Surra. Surra deserves a lengthy quote:
“Generations before, her breed had been small, yellow-furred sprites in the sandy wastes of the big deserts. Shy cats, with hairy paws, which kept them from sinking into the soft sand of their hunting grounds, with pricked fox ears and fox-sharp faces, possessing the abnormal hearing that was their greatest gift, almost unknown to mankind, they had lived their hidden lives.
“But when the Beast Service had been created—first to provide exploration teams for newly discovered worlds, where the instincts of once wild creatures were a greater aid to mankind than any machine of his own devising—Surra’s ancestors had been studied, crossbred with other types, developed into something far different than their desert roving kin. Surra’s color was still sand-yellow, her muzzle and ears foxlike, her paws fur sand-shoes. But she was four times the size of her remote forefathers, as large as a puma, and her intelligence was higher even than those who had bred her guessed.”
On arrival in Arzor, Storm’s ability to break a stallion get him a job riding herd. The Arzor economy revolves around raising Frawns, a creature somewhere between a cow and a deer that produces the galaxy’s best meat and hide. The difficulties of operating on an underdeveloped planet mean that importing, raising, and breeding horses is the second biggest sector of the Arzorian economy. But it isn’t ranching that Storm has on his mind, it’s vengeance.
Storm is not just Terran, but Navajo. Lots of science fiction draws parallels with the frontier West, but Norton pulls off the neat trick of making it explicit, with each adding thematic weight to the other. The Terrans, like the Navajo, had their home taken from them. Terrans are now viewed as dangerous oddities. Beast Masters are ascribed by rumor powers beyond their ability (there is also likely a conscious parallel with the Navajo code talkers from WWII). The economy of Arzor is much like that of the frontier West. The native alien “Norbies” have the same tense but mutually beneficial relationship with the settlers as Amerindians had with American settlers in the West. Storm’s personal vengeance is paralleled by the species-level tragedy of Terra. Norton leaves all of this in the background, telling her story and just letting it seep in, but the final effect on the climax and denouement is remarkably powerful and turned what would have been a 4-star book into a 5-star one.
Storm is quickly pulled into a scouting/survey mission to explore ruins that suggest an earlier, much more technologically advanced race than the Norbies. Things go wrong, and things start to get very complicated. What follows is straight pulp adventure (one thing I noticed is that, unlike Burroughs, Norton doesn’t even attempt to explain the science behind anything).
If you are wondering how to run a planetary romance campaign, or how animal followers should work, The Beast Master is a wonderful resource. Pretty much any tech you can think of exists in-universe (much more of it shows up in the sequel), but you won’t see much of it. There is only a single spaceport and the cost of transporting and maintaining heavy machinery make it uneconomical. High-tech weapons are tightly controlled, with only stunners allowed. So most pieces of tech effectively become magical items. Rare, valuable, and probably irreplaceable. The tense colonial relationship means Norbies can be allies or enemies, and a very small “known” area leaves endless possibilities of what you might find in the unexplored corners of the planet.
I also really like the way Norton handles the team. The AD&D 2d Edition Complete Ranger’s Handbook names a kit “Beastmaster” and gives them to ability to see through the eyes of animal followers. Storm’s abilities are more limited. He can communicate with his team, but only in limited fashion, and only for limited distances. He can command them, but he must continually prove his leadership. At one point he thinks to himself that if he asked his team to attack a nemesis that they would lose respect for him, and he would lose his hold over them. He has to face his enemy one on one. And the bond isn’t easily created. He can break a stallion in seconds, but his control over the horse never rises above a roughly normal level through the first book.
The real value of his team isn’t in battle but in reconnaissance and sabotage. Between Surra and Baku, it is impossible to sneak up on Storm. In battle, Storm mainly uses Surra and Baku to distract and demoralize. Ho and Hing are equally valuable members of the team. Incorrigible thieves and diggers, they are masters at retrieval and sabotage.
It was well worth the hunt.
To call the movie loosely based on the book is generous, so set aside any preconceived notions you may have based on the movie. The protagonist has an animal team and the similarities end there. Where the movie was pure sword and sorcery, The Beast Master is half-Western and half-planetary romance. If you have any doubts about that combination, Norton fulfills its potential to the fullest. I don’t talk much about gameability, but I think it is very likely that Gary Gygax was thinking of this book specifically when he listed Andre Norton in Appendix N.
The Beast Master is the story of Hosteen Storm. Storm is a veteran of a galaxy-spanning war (the Beast Service serving as a kind of Special Forces) released from service after a final victory is won. But a victory that came at a terrible price—the enemy Xik struck the human homeland, leaving Earth “a deadly blue, radioactive cinder.” An earthman (Terran), Storm has no home to go back to. Given his choice of planets, he chooses Arzor, a bit of a colonial backwater, explaining he chose it because of a climate similar to his home and the employment prospects in ranching given his abilities as a Beast Master.
He left the war and leaves for Arzor team intact. A team similar to that from the movie. He has an eagle, Baku. Two meerkats, Ho and Hing, and Surra. Surra deserves a lengthy quote:
“Generations before, her breed had been small, yellow-furred sprites in the sandy wastes of the big deserts. Shy cats, with hairy paws, which kept them from sinking into the soft sand of their hunting grounds, with pricked fox ears and fox-sharp faces, possessing the abnormal hearing that was their greatest gift, almost unknown to mankind, they had lived their hidden lives.
“But when the Beast Service had been created—first to provide exploration teams for newly discovered worlds, where the instincts of once wild creatures were a greater aid to mankind than any machine of his own devising—Surra’s ancestors had been studied, crossbred with other types, developed into something far different than their desert roving kin. Surra’s color was still sand-yellow, her muzzle and ears foxlike, her paws fur sand-shoes. But she was four times the size of her remote forefathers, as large as a puma, and her intelligence was higher even than those who had bred her guessed.”
On arrival in Arzor, Storm’s ability to break a stallion get him a job riding herd. The Arzor economy revolves around raising Frawns, a creature somewhere between a cow and a deer that produces the galaxy’s best meat and hide. The difficulties of operating on an underdeveloped planet mean that importing, raising, and breeding horses is the second biggest sector of the Arzorian economy. But it isn’t ranching that Storm has on his mind, it’s vengeance.
Storm is not just Terran, but Navajo. Lots of science fiction draws parallels with the frontier West, but Norton pulls off the neat trick of making it explicit, with each adding thematic weight to the other. The Terrans, like the Navajo, had their home taken from them. Terrans are now viewed as dangerous oddities. Beast Masters are ascribed by rumor powers beyond their ability (there is also likely a conscious parallel with the Navajo code talkers from WWII). The economy of Arzor is much like that of the frontier West. The native alien “Norbies” have the same tense but mutually beneficial relationship with the settlers as Amerindians had with American settlers in the West. Storm’s personal vengeance is paralleled by the species-level tragedy of Terra. Norton leaves all of this in the background, telling her story and just letting it seep in, but the final effect on the climax and denouement is remarkably powerful and turned what would have been a 4-star book into a 5-star one.
Storm is quickly pulled into a scouting/survey mission to explore ruins that suggest an earlier, much more technologically advanced race than the Norbies. Things go wrong, and things start to get very complicated. What follows is straight pulp adventure (one thing I noticed is that, unlike Burroughs, Norton doesn’t even attempt to explain the science behind anything).
If you are wondering how to run a planetary romance campaign, or how animal followers should work, The Beast Master is a wonderful resource. Pretty much any tech you can think of exists in-universe (much more of it shows up in the sequel), but you won’t see much of it. There is only a single spaceport and the cost of transporting and maintaining heavy machinery make it uneconomical. High-tech weapons are tightly controlled, with only stunners allowed. So most pieces of tech effectively become magical items. Rare, valuable, and probably irreplaceable. The tense colonial relationship means Norbies can be allies or enemies, and a very small “known” area leaves endless possibilities of what you might find in the unexplored corners of the planet.
I also really like the way Norton handles the team. The AD&D 2d Edition Complete Ranger’s Handbook names a kit “Beastmaster” and gives them to ability to see through the eyes of animal followers. Storm’s abilities are more limited. He can communicate with his team, but only in limited fashion, and only for limited distances. He can command them, but he must continually prove his leadership. At one point he thinks to himself that if he asked his team to attack a nemesis that they would lose respect for him, and he would lose his hold over them. He has to face his enemy one on one. And the bond isn’t easily created. He can break a stallion in seconds, but his control over the horse never rises above a roughly normal level through the first book.
The real value of his team isn’t in battle but in reconnaissance and sabotage. Between Surra and Baku, it is impossible to sneak up on Storm. In battle, Storm mainly uses Surra and Baku to distract and demoralize. Ho and Hing are equally valuable members of the team. Incorrigible thieves and diggers, they are masters at retrieval and sabotage.
May 1, 2015
Andre Norton's The Beast Master was a bit of an inspiration to the movie of the same name, but please, do not think these are the same thing. The idea of communicating with animals is where the similarities start and end. Or rather, the idea of a man running around communicating with animals is where it ends. The book is hard sci-fi, there is not a scrap of the fantasy-ish world of the movie.
This book is a hard, pulpy sci-fi novel with other planets, futuristic weapons, aliens and all of the good stuff you expect from older works, and it feels very, very dated.
I'm not saying I hated it, I just really didn't like it.
Hosteen Storm is our savage noble (no, seriously, he's Navajo - she uses "Amerindian" as well, which adds to the dated feel), who is a veteran commando with several animal team members. He's got a couple of meerkats, a puma, and an eagle, and he has settled on another planet not so different from his native Terra, where he can put his talents to use. Oh, and hunt down and kill another man, for vengeance. You don't find out the story until the end (the why of the hunting down and/or what really happened).
In the meantime, he wanders as a colonist, working as a cowboy (no, really!), and runs amok of aliens, including the Xik, who are super bad aliens.
There's a whole lot of stereotype (beyond the whole Noble Savage) with regards to how people act, and how colonizing (and the old west?) should be. It was just really, really tedious to get through for me.
In the end, we're all good (minus one meerkat, which I knocked half a star off for), so the series can continue, but it just felt very forced. And dated (did I mention the dated?). I just didn't enjoy it. I've read a few other of Norton's works and she's always been hit and miss for me, so I'm not terribly disappointed.
This book is a hard, pulpy sci-fi novel with other planets, futuristic weapons, aliens and all of the good stuff you expect from older works, and it feels very, very dated.
I'm not saying I hated it, I just really didn't like it.
Hosteen Storm is our savage noble (no, seriously, he's Navajo - she uses "Amerindian" as well, which adds to the dated feel), who is a veteran commando with several animal team members. He's got a couple of meerkats, a puma, and an eagle, and he has settled on another planet not so different from his native Terra, where he can put his talents to use. Oh, and hunt down and kill another man, for vengeance. You don't find out the story until the end (the why of the hunting down and/or what really happened).
In the meantime, he wanders as a colonist, working as a cowboy (no, really!), and runs amok of aliens, including the Xik, who are super bad aliens.
There's a whole lot of stereotype (beyond the whole Noble Savage) with regards to how people act, and how colonizing (and the old west?) should be. It was just really, really tedious to get through for me.
In the end, we're all good (minus one meerkat, which I knocked half a star off for), so the series can continue, but it just felt very forced. And dated (did I mention the dated?). I just didn't enjoy it. I've read a few other of Norton's works and she's always been hit and miss for me, so I'm not terribly disappointed.
April 7, 2010
classic Norton science fiction with Hosteen Storm, an American Indian veteran of Terran special forces, where he used his special talents of telepathy to communicate with animals to infiltrate enemy installations, emigrates to Arzor after a galactic war with the Xik ends with the destruction of Terra (Earth).
On Arzor, Storm is on the hunt again. First against Quade, a rancher that Storm's grandfather was against. Storm however discovers a kinship with the alien Norbies who live on Arzor and begins to suspect that certain ranchers are not who they seem.
The action is fierce and Storm is a cool customer and a good character.
One of those books that you read as a teen and just influences you into reading sf.
On Arzor, Storm is on the hunt again. First against Quade, a rancher that Storm's grandfather was against. Storm however discovers a kinship with the alien Norbies who live on Arzor and begins to suspect that certain ranchers are not who they seem.
The action is fierce and Storm is a cool customer and a good character.
One of those books that you read as a teen and just influences you into reading sf.
February 8, 2010
What an EXCELLENT BOOK! The person who took this novel and turned it into a movie should be drawn and quartered. This is science fiction space travel story of the intersect of cultures, in the aftermath of an Earth shattering war (literally) compared to the movie which was about the palest, thinnest, white-bread barbarian you've ever seen set in a sword and sorcery age. The movie was not about a Navajo descendant veteran leaving behind a devastated Earth to travel on a personal mission to another planet. (That is not a spoiler at all, btw, just opening of the novel info.) This book exemplifies the best of 50's sci-fi writing and Andre agrees that the movie butchered her novel.
February 8, 2008
This is one of my favorite books by Andre Norton. it is the far future, there was an interglatic war, we won but the enemy distroyed earth. one on the survivores is a Beast master, a commando that lead a team of animals by training and telpathic mind touch,
Hosteen Storm, a Navaho his team, Surra a dune cat mutated to the size of a puma, Baku the african Black eagle and Ho and Hing, meercats, diggers and saboteurs. The war is over but Storm hunts a man he belives resonsible for his fathers death, a hunt interuppend by the war....
Hosteen Storm, a Navaho his team, Surra a dune cat mutated to the size of a puma, Baku the african Black eagle and Ho and Hing, meercats, diggers and saboteurs. The war is over but Storm hunts a man he belives resonsible for his fathers death, a hunt interuppend by the war....
March 27, 2009
This has been one of my all time favorite books. The combination of space and Indian culture is fascinating. The mental bonds between men and animals also holds a certain appeal. Andre Norton was my first "read everything you can find by her" authors. I was sad when she died. Now I find books by her that I didn't know about. ( I love Amazon.) I'm now reading the 3 last Beast Master books ahe wrote with a helper. A giant BOO HISS to the movie and TV versions. No relation to the books AT ALL! Do not judge the books by them.
August 20, 2014
Really enjoyable. It's a pretty quick read, and once the action gets started, it really sucked me in.
August 6, 2024
Soooooo different and so much better than the movie of the 80s. Don’t get me wrong. I’m a child of the 80s. I loved the movie as a kid. Had no idea how different the movie was from the book until I read it. A great sci-fi western all around. Kind of wish they’d do a remake of the movie (and I HATE remakes) and would base it more on the book.
By the way, the book pictured here is the ‘abridged’ version. I read the original, but I couldn’t find the edition I read on Goodreads, so I opted for this one since I had a copy of this edition as well as the original 1959 version.
But back on point, loved it and look forward to reading the entire Beast Master series!
By the way, the book pictured here is the ‘abridged’ version. I read the original, but I couldn’t find the edition I read on Goodreads, so I opted for this one since I had a copy of this edition as well as the original 1959 version.
But back on point, loved it and look forward to reading the entire Beast Master series!
February 2, 2021
Read this for bookclub. It was fine, had some interesting elements like the animal sidekicks and I liked the alien races. Just felt like it took me a little while to get into the story.
August 12, 2018
I came to this via a recommendation after I had read some more contemporary Native American science fiction. It is a hard one to judge, because of the need for the appropriate context. It was written in 1959. Science fiction back then was a teenage boy thing, so having no female characters (despite the author being a woman who took a man's name as her pen name and hid her gender in order to succeed in the business) and being written as part of an intergalactic war, complete with cool weapons--par for the course. Not revolutionary, but to be expected. In an era where Westerns were popular, making this very explicitly a Western, with horses, pioneers, etc., except set in space--not unusual for the time. She did do a credible job of copying most of the tropes from Westerns. The plot--the enemy still lurks--get them before they get you--very 1950s teenage boy.
The unique aspect of this book for the time is casting the protagonist as Dineh (Navajo). He is the colonist settling in the land of the primitives (called Norbies). And, of course, there are other primitives at war with these primitives, so you can't say they weren't all violent, just like the standard American line about Native Americans at the time went. And the protagonist, Storm, has a special bond with the natives because his culture too is native-like. And he has a sort of telepathy with the animals he employs. Give me a break.
On the other hand, for 1959, this was somewhat progressive. Any representation at all for Native Americans where they were represented as positive characters was novel for the day. And the genocide of Native Americans was briefly mentioned and condemned--very progressive for the day. And the main Norbie character was presented as a man of both goodness and intelligence--another plus. And the hatred of natives was presented in a negative light.
As much as superficial aspects of Dineh culture that could be derived from a trip out to New Mexico and reading a book or two were incorporated into Storm's culture, the character thinks and talks like a white American. That far in the future, even today, Native Americans who live in the "white" ways would be common, but that's not how Storm was represented--magical ties with animals and all. But again, this critique is not fair, given the time, as getting "the other" right only became accepted as important to most of the science fiction community as of the 1990s, and that acceptance still isn't universal. At least this was an attempt to portray "the other" with at least some aspects done correctly.
On balance, however, I can't recommend this to the average reader, especially a young reader (the original market was teenagers). There is no criticism of colonialism whatsoever. It is presented as completely natural that foreigners would come to a backwater, be given grants of land, employ the locals as labor, and go to war with locals if "necessary." The irony of casting a Dineh as a conquistador was never explored.
So, if you are reading this like I was because you were curious about the history of Native American characters in science fiction, it's reasonably well written and historically important. If you are reading this because you are a historian of feminism and want to read what a woman-in-hiding wrote in 1959, and an important such woman at that, go for it.
But, in my eyes, it doesn't stand up to the passage of time. To be fair, almost nothing in pre-New Wave science fiction does, in my biased opinion that I would not impose upon anyone else.
The unique aspect of this book for the time is casting the protagonist as Dineh (Navajo). He is the colonist settling in the land of the primitives (called Norbies). And, of course, there are other primitives at war with these primitives, so you can't say they weren't all violent, just like the standard American line about Native Americans at the time went. And the protagonist, Storm, has a special bond with the natives because his culture too is native-like. And he has a sort of telepathy with the animals he employs. Give me a break.
On the other hand, for 1959, this was somewhat progressive. Any representation at all for Native Americans where they were represented as positive characters was novel for the day. And the genocide of Native Americans was briefly mentioned and condemned--very progressive for the day. And the main Norbie character was presented as a man of both goodness and intelligence--another plus. And the hatred of natives was presented in a negative light.
As much as superficial aspects of Dineh culture that could be derived from a trip out to New Mexico and reading a book or two were incorporated into Storm's culture, the character thinks and talks like a white American. That far in the future, even today, Native Americans who live in the "white" ways would be common, but that's not how Storm was represented--magical ties with animals and all. But again, this critique is not fair, given the time, as getting "the other" right only became accepted as important to most of the science fiction community as of the 1990s, and that acceptance still isn't universal. At least this was an attempt to portray "the other" with at least some aspects done correctly.
On balance, however, I can't recommend this to the average reader, especially a young reader (the original market was teenagers). There is no criticism of colonialism whatsoever. It is presented as completely natural that foreigners would come to a backwater, be given grants of land, employ the locals as labor, and go to war with locals if "necessary." The irony of casting a Dineh as a conquistador was never explored.
So, if you are reading this like I was because you were curious about the history of Native American characters in science fiction, it's reasonably well written and historically important. If you are reading this because you are a historian of feminism and want to read what a woman-in-hiding wrote in 1959, and an important such woman at that, go for it.
But, in my eyes, it doesn't stand up to the passage of time. To be fair, almost nothing in pre-New Wave science fiction does, in my biased opinion that I would not impose upon anyone else.
April 21, 2018
The last book I finished before starting Andre Norton's The Beast Master was a collection of Louis L'Amour short stories, and when I started Norton's novel, I expected a science fiction Western. After all, the protagonist was a full-blood Navajo, and the setting was a frontier world sparsely populated by pioneer human ranchers and a native race with a culture very much like native Americans from the Southwest. The story did indeed have all those features, but I was surprised by the number of plot turns in a story barely over 200 pages. I've read a fair amount of Andre Norton novels, but I somehow I'd missed reading about Hosteen Storm. Now that I've read the first book, I'll have to read Lord of Thunder as well.
Unrelated P.S.: When I first started reading this story and discovered that Storm's animal team consisted of an African black eagle, two meerkats, and a "dune cat" (a futuristic genetically-engineered development of an African sand cat), I was immediately reminded of the 1982 sword and sorcery movie The Beastmaster, in which Marc Sanger's character controls and is aided by an eagle, a black tiger, and two ferrets. Even though there are no similarities at all between the plot of the book and the movie, the similarity in animals seemed to me to be too close to be coincidence. So I looked online and discovered the movie was indeed "based" on Andre Norton's novel, but the plot was so dissimilar, Norton asked that her name be removed from the credits. This demonstrates why, despite the sometimes huge amounts of money thrown at them, some authors are loath to option their works for development as a movie.
Unrelated P.S.: When I first started reading this story and discovered that Storm's animal team consisted of an African black eagle, two meerkats, and a "dune cat" (a futuristic genetically-engineered development of an African sand cat), I was immediately reminded of the 1982 sword and sorcery movie The Beastmaster, in which Marc Sanger's character controls and is aided by an eagle, a black tiger, and two ferrets. Even though there are no similarities at all between the plot of the book and the movie, the similarity in animals seemed to me to be too close to be coincidence. So I looked online and discovered the movie was indeed "based" on Andre Norton's novel, but the plot was so dissimilar, Norton asked that her name be removed from the credits. This demonstrates why, despite the sometimes huge amounts of money thrown at them, some authors are loath to option their works for development as a movie.
February 26, 2012
I was originally drawn to this book by the title. The Beast Master movie was one of my favorite movie as a child and I was eager to find out what kind of book inspired such a unique movie. However, the title is where the similarities end. The film makers apparently took the title, the concept of a man using animals as his personal army, and ran in a totally opposite direction that what Andre Norton went.
This book has almost nothing to do with the movie. Where the movie was a sword and sorcery romp through a reality that would fit better in the writings of Robert E. Howard, the book is a tale more closely resembling something by Louis L'Amour,George Lucas, or Joss Whedon. It definitely reminds me of Mos Eisly space port or any episode of Firefly.
Hosteen Storm is a former commando, of Navajo descent, recently retired from war. Haunted by his memories and accompanied by his "brothers in arms", a band of animals he has a special connection with, Storm has come to the sparsely settled planet of Arzor, that is technologically similar to the American old west.
Horseback is the primary mode of travel, the native Norbie tribes are a danger/ally with their bows, and rustlers threaten to steal away the prized Frawn herd, the primary export of Arzor. The shadows of the past interplanetary war are still stretching long across the storyline as well.
If a psuedo western with elements of sci-fi fantasy suits you, I strongly suggest you give this book a try.
This would also make a great movie itself. ;)
This book has almost nothing to do with the movie. Where the movie was a sword and sorcery romp through a reality that would fit better in the writings of Robert E. Howard, the book is a tale more closely resembling something by Louis L'Amour,George Lucas, or Joss Whedon. It definitely reminds me of Mos Eisly space port or any episode of Firefly.
Hosteen Storm is a former commando, of Navajo descent, recently retired from war. Haunted by his memories and accompanied by his "brothers in arms", a band of animals he has a special connection with, Storm has come to the sparsely settled planet of Arzor, that is technologically similar to the American old west.
Horseback is the primary mode of travel, the native Norbie tribes are a danger/ally with their bows, and rustlers threaten to steal away the prized Frawn herd, the primary export of Arzor. The shadows of the past interplanetary war are still stretching long across the storyline as well.
If a psuedo western with elements of sci-fi fantasy suits you, I strongly suggest you give this book a try.
This would also make a great movie itself. ;)
January 24, 2015
The Beast Master (Beast Master / Hosteen Storm, #1)
Norton, Andre
the beginning of the story explaining the role of beast master in a post war universe, a good book to read, especially when going to the grand canyon area, because of the main characters heritage... Has great detail and two great stories.
how he was connecting to the world of his future a good story about finding home is not what you thought, or feared, and that love does not always have to come from those who are like you.
xiks are beaten and back, the war is over so they thought. now a new mystery had come to light Death-that-kills-at-night has come out of the big blue and attacked the natives and settlers and herds. but another beast master has come, with the ark which is attempting to preserve the species of the beast masters. Tami is haunted in her dreams, she feels a great hunger and joy in causing pain. THe Death-that-kills-at-night broad casts their hunger and the joy in pain.... How will Storm and his people save the world they love, will the natives cause problems as they run from the death-that-kills-at-night. Will storm finally have his dream, a home, land, and a love. Will the orphaned tami find a family, a clan, a people. can the land survive the terrible devistation.
September 10, 2013
3.5 stars
I first found Andre Norton on the shelves of my elementary school library in fourth grade. I have no idea which of her novels was the first one I read. I just know whichever one it was, it was far from the last. One after the other, bound only by whatever limit our library put on me, I read all I could find on the shelves. And then I read them again. And then again. By the time I left that school in sixth grade, if you picked up one of her books and looked at the sign-out card (yes kids, once upon a time, library books had cards in the front where you’d print and sign your name and then the library would keep the card until you returned the book) you’d see my name running its length — four, five, six times per card, sometimes with no other names intervening — just my name, then my name again dated a few months later, then my name again after yet another few months. Card after card, book after book: ... Read More:
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
I first found Andre Norton on the shelves of my elementary school library in fourth grade. I have no idea which of her novels was the first one I read. I just know whichever one it was, it was far from the last. One after the other, bound only by whatever limit our library put on me, I read all I could find on the shelves. And then I read them again. And then again. By the time I left that school in sixth grade, if you picked up one of her books and looked at the sign-out card (yes kids, once upon a time, library books had cards in the front where you’d print and sign your name and then the library would keep the card until you returned the book) you’d see my name running its length — four, five, six times per card, sometimes with no other names intervening — just my name, then my name again dated a few months later, then my name again after yet another few months. Card after card, book after book: ... Read More:
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
June 8, 2015
This is one of those books I search for in every used books store I wander into. EVERY used books store. I picked up the copy I have 20+ years ago in a teen "ohah" moment after having seen the cult classic movie version. Wasn't I surprised that the movie was only loosely based on the book...like almost only the title. And what a book! Wonderful. A human story on SO many levels. NOTHING like the movie or the TV series that was on a few years ago. I highly recommend the original to anyone who comes across a copy!
September 20, 2011
I loved this book from the time I first read it in high school. The pathos of the plot, with a character attempting to adjust to the loss of his entire planet, made me stop and appreciate even more how much I love the one I stand on. As always, Andre Norton handles the tale of the outsider finding acceptance very very well. This is her most common theme, and somehow she makes it work every single time.
I for one cannot believe what a hash Hollywood made of the movie supposedly based on this book. The only thing that survived is the mix of animals. Sheesh.
I for one cannot believe what a hash Hollywood made of the movie supposedly based on this book. The only thing that survived is the mix of animals. Sheesh.
June 13, 2015
3.5 stars
I very much enjoyed this, my first Andre Norton. In fact I'm not sure that I can pinpoint why I didn't round up to four stars. I think there were a few grating points - I can't figure out how the sign language between Norbie and settler developed for instance. Also, as much as the fact that Storm is Navajo attracted me to the book in the first instance, perhaps the "noble savage" tone irritated me a bit at times. There are some happy coincidences as well and fight scenes are not the author's strong point. Still it was an easy read and I'm going on to book 2
I very much enjoyed this, my first Andre Norton. In fact I'm not sure that I can pinpoint why I didn't round up to four stars. I think there were a few grating points - I can't figure out how the sign language between Norbie and settler developed for instance. Also, as much as the fact that Storm is Navajo attracted me to the book in the first instance, perhaps the "noble savage" tone irritated me a bit at times. There are some happy coincidences as well and fight scenes are not the author's strong point. Still it was an easy read and I'm going on to book 2
Read
August 11, 2014I was reminded of this book this evening, and how much I enjoyed it. It has no relation to the 80s movie of the same name, not even the animals are the same. The movie should be avoided, but the book is a gem.
February 19, 2015
This book is old, but really good. So many things happen at the end, like woah.
December 17, 2015
Very nice older SiFi story. The Book is nothing like the movie. Recommended
July 15, 2021
SYNOPSIS
Left homeless by the war that reduced Terra to a radioactive cinder, Hosteen Storm Navaho commando and master of beasts is drawn to the planet Arzor, to kill a man he has never met.
On that dangerous frontier world, aliens and human colonists share the land in an uneasy truce. But something is upsetting the balance, and Storm is caught in the middle. He had thought the war was over but was it?
REVIEW
CONS:
1. The story was very focused on plot and the movement of characters or factions through space as opposed to the motivations of characters or character's actual thoughts. I realize that this is an older book and in this time this was a lot of how books were read or written, but it was a little bit of a bland let down. It would have been cool to get Storm's emotions and maybe the emotions of the animals that he's connected to.
2. The first half of the book is pretty easy to follow, but the last half introduces a bunch of new factions all at once and it can be a little confusing to follow what's happening. I wish there was a little bit more explination of each faction and perhaps their motivations (relating to con #1). Clearly following each faction is important for a reveal at the end that could be lost on you if you're confused, like I was. I knew a reveal was happening, but it wasn't "epic" because I got twisted with all these new tribes and alien people that I'd just been introduced to.
3. Most of Storm's animals are African in nature, which is very cool, but he's meant to be descended from Native Americans. It would have been cooler if his animal companions were more native to the Americas.
4. I would have like to dive more into the rituals and customs of the various people that we met on Arzor. All we really get is what they look like, how they look different from the main character and their general stance on the main conflict. I'm sure each of these peoples have a culture of their own.
PROS:
1. This is the book that inspired The BeastMaster movies and then later the TV show. With that, it also inspired a young me because who didn't want the ability to speak to animals!? I have modeled so many characters after Dar/Storm in my own stories. Speaking to animals is a common theme across a lot of my written work.
2. I loved the mix of sci fi and Native American lore and something mystical like speaking to animals. We always think of Native Americans being one with the land and preserving the "old ways." It was cool to see how that could potentially translate into a story with space travel and aliens and ray guns. It's also interesting to point out that no matter what technological advances we have, we will still need a world to live upon. This is a concept that I am working on with my series of novels that will be released some day. We will always be natural beings as people and we will need to always connect to the natural world, to a planet, to other earths. We could never live upon a ship of metal and synthetic materials, even if it were possible.
3. Storm has the ability to communicate with animals! Though, in the book it seems he really has a strong connection with his animal team and can sort of "calm" other animals. It doesn't dive deep into how much the animals can understand him. It seems that they understand commands that he's taught them, but it doesn't seem that they truly commicate like Dar seems to in the BeastMaster movies and show. Anyway, this is one of the best abilities that anyone can have, in my opinion.
4. The concluding reveal about Storm's family is cool enough to have read the book, even if it didn't go exactly how I had imagined. I don't want to give anything away, but hopefully you don't get too confused with all the new factions and characters that seem to creep up at the last part of the book so that you can understand the reveal or perhaps pick it out before it happens. Someday, I'll do a reread to see if I can catch hints of the reveal before it happens.
FINAL SCORE: 3/5
Left homeless by the war that reduced Terra to a radioactive cinder, Hosteen Storm Navaho commando and master of beasts is drawn to the planet Arzor, to kill a man he has never met.
On that dangerous frontier world, aliens and human colonists share the land in an uneasy truce. But something is upsetting the balance, and Storm is caught in the middle. He had thought the war was over but was it?
REVIEW
CONS:
1. The story was very focused on plot and the movement of characters or factions through space as opposed to the motivations of characters or character's actual thoughts. I realize that this is an older book and in this time this was a lot of how books were read or written, but it was a little bit of a bland let down. It would have been cool to get Storm's emotions and maybe the emotions of the animals that he's connected to.
2. The first half of the book is pretty easy to follow, but the last half introduces a bunch of new factions all at once and it can be a little confusing to follow what's happening. I wish there was a little bit more explination of each faction and perhaps their motivations (relating to con #1). Clearly following each faction is important for a reveal at the end that could be lost on you if you're confused, like I was. I knew a reveal was happening, but it wasn't "epic" because I got twisted with all these new tribes and alien people that I'd just been introduced to.
3. Most of Storm's animals are African in nature, which is very cool, but he's meant to be descended from Native Americans. It would have been cooler if his animal companions were more native to the Americas.
4. I would have like to dive more into the rituals and customs of the various people that we met on Arzor. All we really get is what they look like, how they look different from the main character and their general stance on the main conflict. I'm sure each of these peoples have a culture of their own.
PROS:
1. This is the book that inspired The BeastMaster movies and then later the TV show. With that, it also inspired a young me because who didn't want the ability to speak to animals!? I have modeled so many characters after Dar/Storm in my own stories. Speaking to animals is a common theme across a lot of my written work.
2. I loved the mix of sci fi and Native American lore and something mystical like speaking to animals. We always think of Native Americans being one with the land and preserving the "old ways." It was cool to see how that could potentially translate into a story with space travel and aliens and ray guns. It's also interesting to point out that no matter what technological advances we have, we will still need a world to live upon. This is a concept that I am working on with my series of novels that will be released some day. We will always be natural beings as people and we will need to always connect to the natural world, to a planet, to other earths. We could never live upon a ship of metal and synthetic materials, even if it were possible.
3. Storm has the ability to communicate with animals! Though, in the book it seems he really has a strong connection with his animal team and can sort of "calm" other animals. It doesn't dive deep into how much the animals can understand him. It seems that they understand commands that he's taught them, but it doesn't seem that they truly commicate like Dar seems to in the BeastMaster movies and show. Anyway, this is one of the best abilities that anyone can have, in my opinion.
4. The concluding reveal about Storm's family is cool enough to have read the book, even if it didn't go exactly how I had imagined. I don't want to give anything away, but hopefully you don't get too confused with all the new factions and characters that seem to creep up at the last part of the book so that you can understand the reveal or perhaps pick it out before it happens. Someday, I'll do a reread to see if I can catch hints of the reveal before it happens.
FINAL SCORE: 3/5
February 3, 2025
Indians and cowboys in space.
This was probably a dime store pulp novel aimed at preteens who watched to many western and scifi shows as kids in the 40's and 50's. It's a basic western plot only transported to a new planet in the future.
The main character, Hosteen Storm, is literally the noble savage archetype (he's Navajo) who fought in a war against alien invaders (real aliens here but a basic stand in for the white settlers of old) of earth (his land) along side his animal friends (a golden eagle, 2 meerkats, and a "cat" which is a mix of small wild cat and desert fox) who have been genetically altered and lab grown so he can slightly "communicate" with them telepathically.
Earth has been destroyed by an alien race that the Earth humans had been fighting for decades and Storm and his companions have come to a new planet (which almost exactly resembles the deserts south west America of Earth such as Arizona and New Mexico where the current reservations are) to both live and to carry out murder. We learn that Storm is looking to murder someone right away but we don't know who until about a third of the way into the story and we don't know why until the very end (the resolution is very anti-climatic, tied up very quickly, and is all around unsatisfactory. However, considering the murder plot is very minor to the story and only brought up once in a while it's not surprising.)
He immediately joins up with a herding outfit so he can explore the land, earn some money, and look for his target. Along the way he picks up a new animal companion, a horse, and meets the native aliens of the planet.
The situation on the new planet is much like the old west with new settlers from Earth pushing the "savage" native aliens off their land and into the unhospitable places. Some discord and fighting has been going on recently and despite treaties in place tensions and fights are mounting. Storm makes enemies within the herding group and makes friends with a young (teenage) alien and they split from the herding settlers after Storm is attacked.
They soon run into another group of settlers who are looking for mysterious treasure and trying to gather information on the archeology of the planet. After a storm and some fighting with rogue natives leave all the team dead except Storm and his sidekick they soon discover a deadly plot. A lot of the recent discord between the Earth settlers and the native aliens is due to the aliens who destroyed Earth who have been in disguise as natives for the purpose of stirring up trouble so they can pilfer the resources of the planet while no one is paying attention. Storm and his sidekick save a teenager from the bad aliens and attempt to go get help. More fighting ensues and treasure is found by accident. Storm runs into his enemies from within the old herding group he left behind and meets the man he came to kill but can't actually kill him and ends up saving him instead.
The bad aliens get a dose of karma, the enemy herders are taken care of, and we find out why Storm wants to kill someone and why he ultimately decides not to.
The abrupt end of the story.
It's a good enough book to get lost in for a few hours and you can picture it in your mind as exactly a western made in the 50's/60's but in space with laser guns instead of pistols (blue buffalo included). The descriptions of the scenery are good, the dialogue is fair, there isn't really any character growth, there is no romance or humor, not a lot of future tech or jargon, and the 'adventure' factor is low. Not terrible but not great and very very dated and follows a basic checklist for characters and plot so you can guess a lot of what's happening/coming.
This was probably a dime store pulp novel aimed at preteens who watched to many western and scifi shows as kids in the 40's and 50's. It's a basic western plot only transported to a new planet in the future.
The main character, Hosteen Storm, is literally the noble savage archetype (he's Navajo) who fought in a war against alien invaders (real aliens here but a basic stand in for the white settlers of old) of earth (his land) along side his animal friends (a golden eagle, 2 meerkats, and a "cat" which is a mix of small wild cat and desert fox) who have been genetically altered and lab grown so he can slightly "communicate" with them telepathically.
Earth has been destroyed by an alien race that the Earth humans had been fighting for decades and Storm and his companions have come to a new planet (which almost exactly resembles the deserts south west America of Earth such as Arizona and New Mexico where the current reservations are) to both live and to carry out murder. We learn that Storm is looking to murder someone right away but we don't know who until about a third of the way into the story and we don't know why until the very end (the resolution is very anti-climatic, tied up very quickly, and is all around unsatisfactory. However, considering the murder plot is very minor to the story and only brought up once in a while it's not surprising.)
He immediately joins up with a herding outfit so he can explore the land, earn some money, and look for his target. Along the way he picks up a new animal companion, a horse, and meets the native aliens of the planet.
The situation on the new planet is much like the old west with new settlers from Earth pushing the "savage" native aliens off their land and into the unhospitable places. Some discord and fighting has been going on recently and despite treaties in place tensions and fights are mounting. Storm makes enemies within the herding group and makes friends with a young (teenage) alien and they split from the herding settlers after Storm is attacked.
They soon run into another group of settlers who are looking for mysterious treasure and trying to gather information on the archeology of the planet. After a storm and some fighting with rogue natives leave all the team dead except Storm and his sidekick they soon discover a deadly plot. A lot of the recent discord between the Earth settlers and the native aliens is due to the aliens who destroyed Earth who have been in disguise as natives for the purpose of stirring up trouble so they can pilfer the resources of the planet while no one is paying attention. Storm and his sidekick save a teenager from the bad aliens and attempt to go get help. More fighting ensues and treasure is found by accident. Storm runs into his enemies from within the old herding group he left behind and meets the man he came to kill but can't actually kill him and ends up saving him instead.
The bad aliens get a dose of karma, the enemy herders are taken care of, and we find out why Storm wants to kill someone and why he ultimately decides not to.
The abrupt end of the story.
It's a good enough book to get lost in for a few hours and you can picture it in your mind as exactly a western made in the 50's/60's but in space with laser guns instead of pistols (blue buffalo included). The descriptions of the scenery are good, the dialogue is fair, there isn't really any character growth, there is no romance or humor, not a lot of future tech or jargon, and the 'adventure' factor is low. Not terrible but not great and very very dated and follows a basic checklist for characters and plot so you can guess a lot of what's happening/coming.
June 28, 2018
I don't know why it took me this long to finally read a novel by Andre Norton, one of the most notable names among fantasy and sci-fi writers. Perhaps I was simply intimidated by the size of her bibliography (yes, Andre was female despite the traditionally-masculine pen name), or perhaps I was simply too into my favorite authors to give another name a chance. Thanks in part to a reading challenge I ended up picking up "The Beast Master" at my library, a very old and well-worn paperback copy... and I loved it so much I finished it within two days. Norton is a wonderful writer, and she's given us a vivid and intriguing story about one man's quest for vengeance and where it takes him.
The titular Beast Master is Hosteen Storm, a Navajo who serves in the interplanetary military as a commander of animals -- his companions of an eagle, a giant hunting cat, and two meerkats fight and serve alongside him and obey his mental commands. But when humanity's homeworld of Earth is destroyed in the aftermath of a great war with the alien Xik, Storm is discharged from the military, and he goes to the frontier world of Arzor to seek his fortune... and hunt down a man who owes him a debt that cannot be paid in money. But Arzor is not a peaceful world, and tensions are rapidly rising between the human settlers and the native Norbies, an alien race that Storm forms an instant rapport with. When Storm and a Norbie ally discover the truth behind the conflict -- and a hidden colony of the Xik waiting to strike again -- can Storm let go of old hatreds and save a planet... and stop the war from flaring back to life?
The best way to describe this book is as a "space western," one that rolled around long before "Star Wars" was even a gleam in George Lucas' eye. Despite the futuristic setting Arzor is very much a slice of the Wild West, complete with horses, herds of cow-like "frawns" that the settlers depend on to earn their living, and a race of natives who live much like Native Americans and have similar (if overall less antagonistic) relations with the human settlers that the American Indians had with the white settlers. It may seem a laughable setting nowadays, when science fiction is much more sleek and stylized, but it makes this book a lot of fun to read and helps ground the reader in the familiar even as they explore an all-new world along with Storm and his companions.
Storm himself is a fascinating character, one struggling to cope with the psychological scars of losing his homeworld as well as striving to complete his mission and seek revenge. His rapport with his animal companions is interesting as well, and the book goes out of its way to show that each animal has a different relationship and means of interacting with Storm. Storm is not perfect -- he makes mistakes, lets his pride and temper get in the way occasionally, etc. -- but he grows and develops believably over the course of the novel, and I enjoyed seeing his journey progress. His Navajo heritage isn't merely a throwaway fact either -- it ties well into the story, helping Storm connect to the native Norbies and adding to Storm's backstory in a believable way.
"The Beast Master" is an excellent novel, and a fascinating look at the long-lost art of the "space western" and at classic sci-fi in general. And while it stands well on its own, it also serves as the first novel in a series, one I'm curious to check out...
The titular Beast Master is Hosteen Storm, a Navajo who serves in the interplanetary military as a commander of animals -- his companions of an eagle, a giant hunting cat, and two meerkats fight and serve alongside him and obey his mental commands. But when humanity's homeworld of Earth is destroyed in the aftermath of a great war with the alien Xik, Storm is discharged from the military, and he goes to the frontier world of Arzor to seek his fortune... and hunt down a man who owes him a debt that cannot be paid in money. But Arzor is not a peaceful world, and tensions are rapidly rising between the human settlers and the native Norbies, an alien race that Storm forms an instant rapport with. When Storm and a Norbie ally discover the truth behind the conflict -- and a hidden colony of the Xik waiting to strike again -- can Storm let go of old hatreds and save a planet... and stop the war from flaring back to life?
The best way to describe this book is as a "space western," one that rolled around long before "Star Wars" was even a gleam in George Lucas' eye. Despite the futuristic setting Arzor is very much a slice of the Wild West, complete with horses, herds of cow-like "frawns" that the settlers depend on to earn their living, and a race of natives who live much like Native Americans and have similar (if overall less antagonistic) relations with the human settlers that the American Indians had with the white settlers. It may seem a laughable setting nowadays, when science fiction is much more sleek and stylized, but it makes this book a lot of fun to read and helps ground the reader in the familiar even as they explore an all-new world along with Storm and his companions.
Storm himself is a fascinating character, one struggling to cope with the psychological scars of losing his homeworld as well as striving to complete his mission and seek revenge. His rapport with his animal companions is interesting as well, and the book goes out of its way to show that each animal has a different relationship and means of interacting with Storm. Storm is not perfect -- he makes mistakes, lets his pride and temper get in the way occasionally, etc. -- but he grows and develops believably over the course of the novel, and I enjoyed seeing his journey progress. His Navajo heritage isn't merely a throwaway fact either -- it ties well into the story, helping Storm connect to the native Norbies and adding to Storm's backstory in a believable way.
"The Beast Master" is an excellent novel, and a fascinating look at the long-lost art of the "space western" and at classic sci-fi in general. And while it stands well on its own, it also serves as the first novel in a series, one I'm curious to check out...
November 25, 2018
https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3095510.html
Long long ago, I think even when I was in primary school (so, more than forty years ago), I read The Beast Master, and it stuck with me. Not quite so long ago, I got it and its sequel, Lord of Thunder, in a single volume, Beast Master’s Planet. Both concern a future galaxy where Earth has been destroyed in the final act of a war with the alien Xik, and our protagonist, Hosteen Storm, is (as far as he knows) the only survivor of the Navajo. He is an ex-soldier, trained to have a psychic link with his animal conpanions - two meerkats, an eagle and a big tiger-like cat, and he is sent to the planet of Arzor to earn his living as a civilian.
Arzor turns out to be a sparsely settled planet whose main industry appears to be the ranching of the cattle-like frawns, carried out by human settlers in negotiation with the indigenous Norbies, who have a complex tribal structure and totem-based religion. Hosteen Storm becomes a horse wrangler. It’s basically the Old West in space, although nobody ever says that, with Storm set up as uniquely placed to bridge the communication gap between humans and natives. Basically he is a Magical Indian.
It’s also worth noting that there isn’t a single female speaking character in either book. Storm’s mother is mentioned in passing, but she is dead. The Norbies seem to be all male. Storm’s animals are female, which is interesting.
The Beast Master
Still, the first book reminded me of the magic it exerted on my mind in a Belfast classroom long ago. (I think I may have even written a book report on it.) I appreciated then the tragic burden carried by Storm as the last of his tribe, charged by his grandfather with maintaining a family vendetta (which drives a lot of the narrative) but then also caught up in both a Xik plot against the humans and the discovery of lost ancient alien tech under the mountains. The tone of the book is detached, measured and firm. The flaws are still there, but the fact is that this was an sf book featuring a Navajo protagonist at a time (1959) when the future was mainly seen as white.
Still, bearing in mind that both are books of their time, they are good reads.
Long long ago, I think even when I was in primary school (so, more than forty years ago), I read The Beast Master, and it stuck with me. Not quite so long ago, I got it and its sequel, Lord of Thunder, in a single volume, Beast Master’s Planet. Both concern a future galaxy where Earth has been destroyed in the final act of a war with the alien Xik, and our protagonist, Hosteen Storm, is (as far as he knows) the only survivor of the Navajo. He is an ex-soldier, trained to have a psychic link with his animal conpanions - two meerkats, an eagle and a big tiger-like cat, and he is sent to the planet of Arzor to earn his living as a civilian.
Arzor turns out to be a sparsely settled planet whose main industry appears to be the ranching of the cattle-like frawns, carried out by human settlers in negotiation with the indigenous Norbies, who have a complex tribal structure and totem-based religion. Hosteen Storm becomes a horse wrangler. It’s basically the Old West in space, although nobody ever says that, with Storm set up as uniquely placed to bridge the communication gap between humans and natives. Basically he is a Magical Indian.
It’s also worth noting that there isn’t a single female speaking character in either book. Storm’s mother is mentioned in passing, but she is dead. The Norbies seem to be all male. Storm’s animals are female, which is interesting.
The Beast Master
Still, the first book reminded me of the magic it exerted on my mind in a Belfast classroom long ago. (I think I may have even written a book report on it.) I appreciated then the tragic burden carried by Storm as the last of his tribe, charged by his grandfather with maintaining a family vendetta (which drives a lot of the narrative) but then also caught up in both a Xik plot against the humans and the discovery of lost ancient alien tech under the mountains. The tone of the book is detached, measured and firm. The flaws are still there, but the fact is that this was an sf book featuring a Navajo protagonist at a time (1959) when the future was mainly seen as white.
Still, bearing in mind that both are books of their time, they are good reads.
June 5, 2024
This was a very enjoyable work of sci-fi from a very notable author in the genera. When this book first came out it was not known by many reviewers that the author was a woman. She wrote an exceptional main character in Hosteen Storm, of first nations decent who served in the military forces against an alien force, the Xiks.
Storm served as a special commando, and his specialty was as a 'Beast Master' who can control a team of animals - eagle, large can and meercats, in this case - and has served honourably in many battles. At the end of the war, as a final act before losing, the Xiks destroy planet Earth. Storm seeks to settle, with his demobbed team, on a frontier style planted, though he has an ulterior motive as we find out.
On this planet we have an excellent Western style adventure there are settler vs native issues. Ranchers vs cattle rustler type issues as well as an exploration team trying to find evidence of aliens that have visited the planet in the past. Excellent, well written, fun to read little sci-fi adventure.
Also on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YqAk...
Storm served as a special commando, and his specialty was as a 'Beast Master' who can control a team of animals - eagle, large can and meercats, in this case - and has served honourably in many battles. At the end of the war, as a final act before losing, the Xiks destroy planet Earth. Storm seeks to settle, with his demobbed team, on a frontier style planted, though he has an ulterior motive as we find out.
On this planet we have an excellent Western style adventure there are settler vs native issues. Ranchers vs cattle rustler type issues as well as an exploration team trying to find evidence of aliens that have visited the planet in the past. Excellent, well written, fun to read little sci-fi adventure.
Also on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YqAk...
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