What do you think?
Rate this book
Witch World Series 3: The Turning #3
On Wings of Magic
Struggling with the decimation of their witch guardians when an invasion by Pagar of Karsten threatens their home world, the people of Estcarp find their only hope for survival in a young scribe who challenges the evil Hounds of Alizon. Reprint.
416 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 1, 1993
32 people are currently reading
346 people want to read
About the author
Andre Norton
690 books1,391 followersAndre Norton, born Alice Mary Norton, was a pioneering American author of science fiction and fantasy, widely regarded as the Grande Dame of those genres. She also wrote historical and contemporary fiction, publishing under the pen names Andre Alice Norton, Andrew North, and Allen Weston. She launched her career in 1934 with The Prince Commands, adopting the name “Andre” to appeal to a male readership. After working for the Cleveland Library System and the Library of Congress, she began publishing science fiction under “Andrew North” and fantasy under her own name. She became a full-time writer in 1958 and was known for her prolific output, including Star Man’s Son, 2250 A.D. and Witch World, the latter spawning a long-running series and shared universe. Norton was a founding member of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America and authored Quag Keep, the first novel based on the Dungeons & Dragons game. She influenced generations of writers, including Lois McMaster Bujold and Mercedes Lackey. Among her many honors were being the first woman named Gandalf Grand Master of Fantasy and SFWA Grand Master. In her later years, she established the High Hallack Library to support research in genre fiction. Her legacy continues with the Andre Norton Award for young adult science fiction and fantasy.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 5, 2013
The first novella, We, the Women, is just incredibly, incredibly, bad. I know Norton wasn't really involved in the Witch World, The Turning series, but I cannot imagine how she could permit her name to be attached to this.
We have a village of Falconer women, at the time of the Turning, caring for a group of exiles (presumably from Karsten, except that that appears to be geographically impossible) and finding themselves completely incapable of understanding the gender dynamics of a patriarchal society. Nevermind that the women of the Falconer race live apart from the men, filling all the roles — except as warriors — that men in the surrounding societies would take: Falconer women must, of necessity, understand that men are not just "he-women" because they know (if only from their worst excesses) Falconer men. It's simply not at all believable.
As well, apparently the Falconer women have had secret villages as long as the Falconers have lived on the Estcarp border, so that the Falconer men only ever see the women in Potemkin villages. Does a herder not know when 90% of his herd is missing? Everything we've been told of Falconers, in previous Witch World stories, suggests that however despicable some (possibly even most) Falconers may be, they're not stupid — they treat their women as chattel, even routinely referring to them as "mares", and it is inconceivable that they're only seeing a small number of the women.
Then a group of Estcarp Borderers finds the Potemkin village after the Turning, offering to help rebuild it. One of the Borderer troop wonders what has happened to destroy the village so thoroughly, and only belatedly realizes "Oh. The Turning." Duh? [He was, in fact, wrong, but in a cataclysm that could raise new mountain ranges, how did he expect buildings to survive?]
The one glimmer of light in the story is the clear depiction of the Goddess Jonkara as the protector of women — where the Falconer men believe she was the Dark One who almost destroyed their race. Unfortunately, at no time is this resolved. Even in the Afterword (which I think was written by Norton), we're given just one more tiny clue, and left hanging.
Awful, awful, offal!
The second story, Falcon Magic, is much better, but still suffers from a great many errors of continuity and lack of attention (e.g., at one point somebody escaping back to Alizon, when they're actually escaping from Alizon, trying to reach Estcarp; in another case a child is riding in front of one adult - and a paragraph later in front of another, without any suggestion that they'd stopped and exchanged; in both stories, the author's would seem to have benefited from ready access to maps of Estcarp and/or Alizon).
Two stars for Falcon Magic for at least being readable, <1 star for We, The Women.
December 31, 2021
I have started reading Andre Nortons books as I recently discovered I hadn't read many previously.
Easy to read and to follow story. I was rapidly drawn into the story and eager for more with each book I finished.
I don't know how I missed this incredible author before but am making up for it now as fast as I can read!♡
Easy to read and to follow story. I was rapidly drawn into the story and eager for more with each book I finished.
I don't know how I missed this incredible author before but am making up for it now as fast as I can read!♡
September 2, 2017
Witch world worthwhile additions to the series
Love the witch world series. These are co-written with another author. The stories are well written and add depth to the time after the turning in and around Escarp. Really worth reading.
Love the witch world series. These are co-written with another author. The stories are well written and add depth to the time after the turning in and around Escarp. Really worth reading.
December 5, 2020
Another entertaining read.
October 6, 2021
Always a new adventure
Even new people writing in the Witch World have caught the magic and turned it into story gold. Lovely characters. Great adventure.
Even new people writing in the Witch World have caught the magic and turned it into story gold. Lovely characters. Great adventure.
January 7, 2021
Not up to the standard of the rest of the series
Firstly, the publishing &/or lack of editing was aggravating and made reading challenging in the wrong way.
Neither story in this book was written by Norton. Neither story is worth re-reading. I forced myself to finish, in case there was any world-building that might be referenced in further stories.
The first story is just plain awkward & vaguely irritating. The premise could have been promising, but was badly executed.
The second held more promise, if only I could be allowed to forget the short story that leads to it (which I wasn't). The idea of a young woman, who is working hard to be independent, falling irrevocably in love with a misogynist within days of him kidnapping her, with the intention of using her as breeding stock...
I never ended up liking ANY character in this book. I never felt invested in the plots. I found myself scoffing at the writing, characterization, and much else, throughout the ordeal of trudging through this installment in an otherwise interesting series.
Firstly, the publishing &/or lack of editing was aggravating and made reading challenging in the wrong way.
Neither story in this book was written by Norton. Neither story is worth re-reading. I forced myself to finish, in case there was any world-building that might be referenced in further stories.
The first story is just plain awkward & vaguely irritating. The premise could have been promising, but was badly executed.
The second held more promise, if only I could be allowed to forget the short story that leads to it (which I wasn't). The idea of a young woman, who is working hard to be independent, falling irrevocably in love with a misogynist within days of him kidnapping her, with the intention of using her as breeding stock...
I never ended up liking ANY character in this book. I never felt invested in the plots. I found myself scoffing at the writing, characterization, and much else, throughout the ordeal of trudging through this installment in an otherwise interesting series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
July 7, 2015I'm still debating whether to file this under 'O' (for 'On'), or 'W' (for 'Wings'). This isn't technically part of the trilogy it's shoehorned into, because it's actually chronologically previous to The Magestone. Also, there seems to be some arbitrariness in the matter of where to place books in 'trilogies'.
This actually consists of two (mostly independent) stories, with bits of other stories interlarded. The 1st half is a story of how a village of Falconer women deal with refugees. The second half is the story of the kidnapping of five child trainee witches, and the rescue expedition.
Both include Falconers, male and female. I enjoyed the description of the archives of the women's villages of the Falconers. I didn't much care for the abusive attitudes of the refugees--and even the scholars at Lormt weren't very responsive to the fleeing archivist's complaints.
The trainee witch whose parents try to rescue her, first from the witches' council, and later from the Alizondern, appears in at least one later book. By this time, the witches had realized that witches couldn't be entirely nameless, so they began to be given individualized nicknames.
Historical query--how did they manage before?
Locational note--this is the story in which the Toads of Grimmerdale are revealed to be an atypical offshoot of a more traditional scientific expedition--who probably came in through a gate.
This actually consists of two (mostly independent) stories, with bits of other stories interlarded. The 1st half is a story of how a village of Falconer women deal with refugees. The second half is the story of the kidnapping of five child trainee witches, and the rescue expedition.
Both include Falconers, male and female. I enjoyed the description of the archives of the women's villages of the Falconers. I didn't much care for the abusive attitudes of the refugees--and even the scholars at Lormt weren't very responsive to the fleeing archivist's complaints.
The trainee witch whose parents try to rescue her, first from the witches' council, and later from the Alizondern, appears in at least one later book. By this time, the witches had realized that witches couldn't be entirely nameless, so they began to be given individualized nicknames.
Historical query--how did they manage before?
Locational note--this is the story in which the Toads of Grimmerdale are revealed to be an atypical offshoot of a more traditional scientific expedition--who probably came in through a gate.
June 30, 2020
Beware of Andre Norton's later works. Her"collaborations" are apparently wholesale permission for someone else to use her created world and characters to write drivel. The early work, all Ms. Norton's work, is marvelous, even life-changing. The Year of the Unicorn deserves much more accolades than it gets. But this later stuff is worthless--not even "not up to her usual standards" but simple blathering.
May 22, 2015
this tale is good background for some of the peoples that inhabit Witch World.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews