Firehand

Time Traders/Ross Murdock #5

by Andre Norton, P.M. Griffin

The Time Agents must lead an embattled population of the planet Dominion’s far past in a desperate guerrilla war upon whose outcome the future fate of the entire world depends. Only a hero of mythic proportions can hope to lead them against their powerful enemy. They need FIREHAND, but can Ross Murdock live up to the legend he has created?

Genres: Science Fiction, Time Travel, Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Ebooks, Speculative Fiction

180 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 1994

About the author

Andre 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.

Reviews

[Tony P · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not really an Andre Norton book. Despite the ascription to Norton, part way through I was sure I was reading a collaboration. Written 30 years after the last of the original Time Traders series, when Norton was in her 80s, it can be safely assumed that most of the writing was done by her co-author, P. M. Griffin. Stylistically, it is more like Poul Anderson on a really bad day. Too many battles and not enough sense of wonder. No telepathic animals. And not once does someone say "There is this—".

[Isabella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3 stars

Firehand “written” by Andre Norton was very clearly not written by her at all. I wonder just how much input she actually had despite her name being given an equal, if not more prominent, placement on the cover alongside the “co-author”, P.M. Griffin.

Basically, the fifth Time Traders novel starts with Ross and Gordon relaxing on the Hawaii planet after having saved it in the previous book. Then Eveleen, a weapons expert from Earth, shows up to tell them the evil alien Baldies are trying to destroy this other planet called Dominion of the Virgin (don’t ask). Fearing Earth will be next, our team leaves with Eveleen to go undercover and thwart the Baldies’ plans.

Dominion is a generic patriarchal society where regular mediaeval combat takes place. Think swords, shields, bows-and-arrows, good old-fashioned slicing and dicing. The only difference is that people ride deer instead of horses (again, don’t ask). With Eveleen serving as his lieutenant, Murdock quickly gains quite the reputation as a local warlord, even garnering the nickname “Firehand”, and finds himself in a much more successful position than he had ever been in on Earth. In fact, he starts to see no use in returning home at all...

That’s pretty much the entire plot of Firehand. The rest of the pages are filled up with battles. And I mean FILLED: politicking about battles, preparing for battles, fighting in battles, recovering from battles, training for battles, planning the next battle... LOTS of stabby action in this book. Quite a bit of political intrigue too, which I am not mad about, just a rather large divergence from the previous books.

Ashe kind of faded into the background of this book because the story had more important things to focus on - romance. Yes my friends, Ross Murdock, former petty criminal and all around social reject gets a wife. And it happens so quickly, if you blink you will miss it. I kid you not, they have their first kiss on one page, and by the very next one the wedding ceremony has been fast-tracked and they are already calling each other husband and wife. Good for them, I guess, but keep in mind I’m the definitive last person you should be talking to about romance.

I know I still have two books to go, but I am already ranking the series in my head. Book one, The Time Traders, is still my favourite; then Key Out of Time, book four; then either Galactic Derelict or this book (Firehand) in third; and (without a doubt) The Defiant Agents in last.

[Kris Sellgren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This science fiction novel, a sequel to the Time Trader series by Andre Norton, is clearly written by the co-author and not Andre Norton herself. The writing tells instead of shows; the emotions aren’t as strong; there is romance (not present in any Norton novel that I can recall); there’s no telepathic animals (one of Andre Norton’s favorite themes, although they are not in all of her novels). But despite all this, I enjoyed the novel. Ross Murdock, sociopathic criminal, falls in love! He develops attachments to local people and to the time and place he and two other Time Agents are trying to rescue from an evil intergalactic plot. I forgive the co-author for straying so far from Murdock’s character because it is plausible that he has simply grown up. He certainly takes on more responsibility, leading the mission to the endangered planet. Like in The Time Traders and Key Out of Time, two previous novels in this series, Ross has been embedded in a pre-industrial society where his talents at physical combat and his determined individualism are assets, making the story more about adventure than science fiction. I also liked giving Murdock a way off Hawaiika, where he was permanently stranded in the past amidst humanoid but non-human people at the ending of Key Out of Time. I am encouraged by my liking this to try the next in the co-written part of the series.

[Colton Flick · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's very evident that this was co-written with another author. It's a massive downgrade from the rest of the series. The first four books very much show their age, particularly in the way the third book leans hard on exoticism, but they also have some ideas that are remarkably progressive for a largely-forgotten pulpy sixties sci-fi series. I think they hold up largely due to a strong emphasis on careful, deep characterization. Norton knows all these characters really well, and it's amazing how much is clear about them without ever being said. The plots of these books are pretty standard sci-fi adventure stories, but Norton's approach really sets them apart. Her writing is always genuine and character-focused, with a strange sense of melancholy throughout, particularly in the end of book three and four.

Unfortunately, this book throws all that in the trash and very quickly establishes that it will now be rewriting the series in the mold of the very worst late-eighties & early-nineties sci-fi. In the first few pages a new character is retconned in, immediately and inexplicably established as the love interest of the protagonist, then described physically, at length, in that skin-crawly, leering way familiar from many bad genre books.

Ross Murdoch ends the last book at a weird crossroads, where he's become very close to Ashe but finds that closeness unsatisfying. Norton does this really amazing thing setting up the psychic connection in parallel to normal human connections -- in both instances, Ross is proud to be totally independent of anyone else, but also struggles with feeling isolated and lonely even among the people he's closest to. The climax of the last book is driven by that loneliness, and shows Ross pulling away from Ashe as a result. This is what he's been dealing with for three straight books.

This book just undoes that entire character arc by saying that in the time since the end of the last book Ross realized "he was being an ass about that." Cool.

Norton is a great writer. P.M. Griffin was a REALLY bad choice to help with the continuation. Read the first four and stop there.

[Jason Bleckly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the 5th Time Traders book. It was written 31 years after the last book and is co-authored with another person. I was skeptical going into this book given how the last book ended, but it literally begins 3 months after the last book ended. It uses the first 3 chapters to provide the back story of the previous 4 books and bridge the gap from the end of the last book and the start of the new adventure. And the solution to the problem ending of the last book is clever and not waving a magic wand, but logical. And this all occurs in the first 20 pages.

The way time travel and how changing history works is explained, but the paradoxical consequences don’t make a lot of sense. In the end I decided to gloss over it rather than try to understand it as the time travel is simply a frame story mechanise to get to the location of the adventure.

And this is the biggest problem with the book. The first 40 pages and the last 40 pages are SF in the Time Traders series with Ross Murdock battling the Baldies. The 200 pages in between these 2 sections are medieval low fantasy where they ride deers instead of horses. An entire war spread over several years is fought. There’s skirmishes with lots of action, and character development, and even a wedding. It’s not a badly written book. At no point did I get to the end of a chapter and think, I’ve had enough of this. But it is very inconsistent with all the preceding Time Trader books which had a significant SF element throughout the entire plot. The whole Time Trader aspect seems a tacked on after thought just se it can be added to the series.

There are 2 more books in the Time Traders series co-authored with a different person, but given how unlike this book was to Andre sole authored books I don’t think I’ll bother.

[Jillian Cori lippert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Andre Norton Books. She introduced me to SF and Fantasy. I can't say this is one of my favorite books/series though. Firehand is really more of an adventure story. Other than them traveling through time to get to the time/world being portrayed and again to get back, as well as a couple brief scenes with the bad guy aliens, there is really no SF. It's great as an adventure story, but I prefer more SF.

[Adena Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

When two grandmasters of science fiction and fantasy collaborate to write a historical fantasy/science fiction novel, the result has to be good - and so it is. This is my favourite tale of this enthralling series, combining as it does Andre Norton's excellent world-making and PM Griffin's somewhat formal wordsmithing to create a tale with the feel of Mary Stewart's Arthurian retelling in a world that Robert Heinlein's colonizing characters would have recognized.

[James Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

At last romance

I have read this series as a kid plus numerous other books of hers . All great. With one exception. No romance. As a kid noticing the sweet girls out and about I looked for that. I always put myself as the hero and I always wanted to get the girl. That was lacking til now...now that I am old and have had the girl for over 45 years. Still...great though to see an Andre Norton hero get the girl!

[Jerry Irish · Rating 5 out of 5]

AN SF CLASSIC

Andre Norton has been a five star writer in my life for over 60 years. I plundered my library for her books all through high school. Her talent never dimmed. P.M.Griffin has taken the torch and raced ahead. Well done! Well done indeed. I look forward to more of the same.

[Rick Taubold · Rating 3 out of 5]

Andre Norton is probably my favorite author, but this novel isn't her best. I felt as though some of Norton's voice was lost, probably as a result of having a co-author. There was too much head-hopping in the novel, which is totally not Andre's Norton's style, at least not in her earlier novels.

Even so, this is a good novel in the series and needs to be read before moving on to the next one.

[Theodore Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love of her work.

I have been reading Andre Norton since I was 8, over 50 years. I love her work today as much as the first time. I have bought 6 copies of Year of the Unicorn, my favorite, I keep wearing them out with rereading and time.😊

[Linda Truelove · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good old Style Science Fiction

An excellent read, written in the old traditions of sci-fi. An excellent sequel of one of Andre Norton's classic series. It points out what can happen when you mess with the timeline.

[John Cottingham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Firehand

Another great Time Traders book. Andre Norton's great characters with the influence of P.M. Griffen. I expect a lot of the writing was Griffin's because it lacked a lot of the elliptical styling characteristic of Norton, making the reading of it move much faster.

[James E. Moores · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story

This is definitely set in Andre Norton's Time World but it doesn't have her magic touch in the actual writing. I'm glad I read it but I won't be rereading like I do for most of Andre Norton's other works.

[Paul Berner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Firehand

All five books were good reads. The author ended the last book in good form . It left the possibility to add another book to the series. The ending is the only way he could have left it.

[Bruce Ferrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was good to finally fibnd out how the saga of the time traders vs the baldies finished

[Pilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have loved Andre Norton tales since I was a girl. This one did not disappoint, the main character is one of her caring and selfless but strong folks.

[Mark Rabideau · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this quite entertaining.... there is nothing quite like a good middle-earth type fantasy on a future timeline.

[Robert Wick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Firehand

A very good story from excellent authors. The land and characters are believable and the story is hard to put down.

[Sim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy Andre Norton's writing although this book was alittle more plodding in its writing. I wonder if its the co-author's influence. Overall I'm glad I read this book.

[Michael Laflamme · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always 5 gold stars for Andre Norton!!

Another great Andre Norton adventure! Now, I will re-read all the books from the start: Daybreak, 2250 AD. What a read!

[Nora Rudolph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still the old magic

Written in the full throttle from the start as all the time trader series. It's still as good as it gets.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Could not get into this book.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

When we left Time Trader Agent Ross Murdock, he was stranded with his friends on the water world of Hawaika (Key Out of Time). As this novella begins, he and his partner, Gordon Ashe, are rescued and returned to the present. However, the present is changed. The world known as the Dominion of Virgin under went a drastic change, even while trade talks with Earth representatives were ongoing. It went from a vibrant world to a burned cinder. Was it the result of time-travel by the Baldies, as the evil aliens are known? Ross, Gordon, and arms expert Eveleen Riordan are sent back in time to discover the cause and correct it. The key development, the evolution of mental powers that would have saved the planet, was delayed because of a warlord's conquests 700 years previously. Soon, Ross finds himself teaching guerrilla warfare to a feudal society to prevent the warlord's conquest, and he has to do this without revealing the existence of Earth or drawing the attention of the Baldies. If he succeeds, what will be the result in the present? A great addition to the series.

[Linda Kenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

My $1 purchase at half price books for a long plane ride. I didn't read the earlier book in the series so the beginning was confusing but the plot in their next time travel was full of fighting. I thought one of the goals was to develop telepathic abilities of the people but missed that entirely. Probably won't read another in the series.

[Sandra Munger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another in the Time Traders series. The time travelers go back in history to prevent the destruction of human life on a planet. Ross and his 2 partners join in the fight. They defeat a group of baldies but Ross is torn because he grows to love the people and the planet. Staying is not an option. Enjoyed it.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Time Traders series

[Michael Perry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a smooth read done in typical Norton fashion. Near the end the book seemed to drag, feel like too much of the same thing over again.

[Robin Lynne Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

awesome as usual! can't wait for the next one!