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Beast Master / Hosteen Storm #1 & 2
Beast Master's Planet: Omnibus of Beast Master and Lord of Thunder
In 1959 Andre Norton published The Beast Master , a fast-paced science fiction adventure that introduced to readers a new kind of hero, Hosteen Storm. Storm, a Navajo from the American southwest, served in the Planetary Confederacy forces as a Beast Master teamed with an African eagle, a meercat, and a dune cat.
Telepathically linked to his team animals, Storm served valiantly in the war that eventually defeated the alien Xiks, though victory could not prevent the aliens from destroying Earth. With his homeworld gone, Storm emigrated to the colonized frontier planet Arzor, where he would have to help fight a holdout Xik force that has brought the war to his adopted home.
In Lord of Thunder , Storm's beast master skills and animal partners are needed to unravel the mystery behind a huge gathering of the indigenous Norbies. Only Storm and his half-brother Logan Quade can penetrate the Norbies' clan secrets and discover what is behind the threat of an uprising that could destroy the tenuous peace between the colonists and the aliens who share their planet.
These two novels are science fiction adventure at its best. Here is exciting space opera full of colorful, absorbing SF action on an alien world, as only Andre Norton can write it.
Telepathically linked to his team animals, Storm served valiantly in the war that eventually defeated the alien Xiks, though victory could not prevent the aliens from destroying Earth. With his homeworld gone, Storm emigrated to the colonized frontier planet Arzor, where he would have to help fight a holdout Xik force that has brought the war to his adopted home.
In Lord of Thunder , Storm's beast master skills and animal partners are needed to unravel the mystery behind a huge gathering of the indigenous Norbies. Only Storm and his half-brother Logan Quade can penetrate the Norbies' clan secrets and discover what is behind the threat of an uprising that could destroy the tenuous peace between the colonists and the aliens who share their planet.
These two novels are science fiction adventure at its best. Here is exciting space opera full of colorful, absorbing SF action on an alien world, as only Andre Norton can write it.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2005
149 people are currently reading
237 people want to read
About the author
Andre Norton
699 books1,390 followersAndre Norton, born Alice Mary Norton, was a pioneering American author of science fiction and fantasy, widely regarded as the Grande Dame of those genres. She also wrote historical and contemporary fiction, publishing under the pen names Andre Alice Norton, Andrew North, and Allen Weston. She launched her career in 1934 with The Prince Commands, adopting the name “Andre” to appeal to a male readership. After working for the Cleveland Library System and the Library of Congress, she began publishing science fiction under “Andrew North” and fantasy under her own name. She became a full-time writer in 1958 and was known for her prolific output, including Star Man’s Son, 2250 A.D. and Witch World, the latter spawning a long-running series and shared universe. Norton was a founding member of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America and authored Quag Keep, the first novel based on the Dungeons & Dragons game. She influenced generations of writers, including Lois McMaster Bujold and Mercedes Lackey. Among her many honors were being the first woman named Gandalf Grand Master of Fantasy and SFWA Grand Master. In her later years, she established the High Hallack Library to support research in genre fiction. Her legacy continues with the Andre Norton Award for young adult science fiction and fantasy.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
June 22, 2020
‘Beast Master’s Planet’ contains two novels: ‘Beast Master’ and ‘Lord of Thunder’.
Meerkats! Nowadays these cute little critters are used to sell insurance comparison websites in England and everybody loves them. Back in 1959 when ‘The Beast Master’ was written they were not so well known, I bet.
The meerkats, an African black eagle and a large specially bred cat named Surra are the beast companions of Hosteen Storm, once a Galactic Commando with the Terran military, now a man without a home. Earth, the mother planet of the Confederacy, has been reduced to a radioactive cinder by the Xik in a war just finished and the Terrans who were not there have to be re-homed. At the start of ‘The Beast Master’, Storm is in a Separation Centre set up to restore the mental health of traumatised Terrans before moving them to other worlds. Hosteen Storm has chosen Arzor, a frontier planet where his Navajo skills may prove useful. There, giant beasts called Frawns roam the plains and are hunted for their waterproof skins and delicious meat. Humans co-exist with the native Norbies, brilliant horsemen, primitive and not unlike Amerindians in days of yore. It’s a natural home for Storm.
On landing at Arzor, he gets a job herding horses across country, his Beast Master skills obviously useful in taming the wilder ones. Soon he hears about Brad Quade, a big shot around those parts and the main reason he came to this planet. Hosteen Storm has a blood debt to pay with Quade, a man he has never met, as the result of an old family feud. The plot thickens nicely.
It’s all quite logical. Machines, parts and fuel would have to be expensively imported to frontier worlds so they do better using their own resources. So space westerns make sense and the genre is good fun, from Heinlein’s ‘Dora’ segment in ‘Time Enough For Love’ to the television cult classic series ‘Firefly’ which featured a few episodes of this ilk.
‘Beast Master’ starts off as mostly a western but soon develops into Science Fiction as other elements are added to the story. Westerns tell familiar yarns with familiar themes but the classics of the genre have more interesting characters and a bit more depth. Andre Norton wrote a classic space western in 1959 and it has withstood the test of time.
‘Lord Of Thunder’ is essentially more of the same. The briefest mention of the plot acts as a bit of a spoiler for the first book but sophisticated readers aged over four will realise that the hero probably survived that adventure. In ‘Lord Of Thunder’, there is trouble afoot with the native Norbies. They are having a gathering of the clans and retreating to the mountains to make ‘medicine’. The withdrawal of their labour will make life tough for the ranchers in the dry season. The plot gets complicated when Hosteen Storm is introduced to a very wealthy man called Gentle Homo Lass Widders. Gentle Homo, it seems, is the title given to a civilised chap from the inner worlds. If you called a British bloke ‘Gentle Homo’ thirty years ago you would have got a dirty look at best and possibly a punch in the nose. American slang may have been different. Anyway, the son of Widders was on a spaceship that hit an old mine from the late Xik war and managed to get aboard a lifeboat that crashed into the Blue, an area of Arzor where no man dares go due to bands of wild roaming cannibal Norbies. The Gentle Homo wants Hosteen Storm to go and rescue his son.
‘Lord Of Thunder’ wasn’t quite as enjoyable for me as the first book but it was perfectly good. It’s nice to get two novels in one volume. The double helping comes about because adventure novels were shorter fifty years ago. The late Andre Norton states, in an interview on her website, that back then she would write eighteen chapters of ten pages each and have a book of sixty-five thousand words which was perfectly acceptable to the boys on the business end. Nowadays, for economic reasons, publishers won’t settle for less than a hundred thousand words. We are poorer for this but electronic publishing is changing it slowly. Hurrah! The other good news is that Andre Norton’s estate was settled a while back and disputes over rights cleared up so more of her old classics are up for publication again. Hurrah! For a few of my teenage years, I was mad for Norton’s works and look forward to revisiting more in time to come. Judging by this pair, they are still good reads. The occasional leavening of exclamation marks merely adds to their pulpish charm.
Eamonn Murphy
This review first appeared at https://www.sfcrowsnest.info/
Meerkats! Nowadays these cute little critters are used to sell insurance comparison websites in England and everybody loves them. Back in 1959 when ‘The Beast Master’ was written they were not so well known, I bet.
The meerkats, an African black eagle and a large specially bred cat named Surra are the beast companions of Hosteen Storm, once a Galactic Commando with the Terran military, now a man without a home. Earth, the mother planet of the Confederacy, has been reduced to a radioactive cinder by the Xik in a war just finished and the Terrans who were not there have to be re-homed. At the start of ‘The Beast Master’, Storm is in a Separation Centre set up to restore the mental health of traumatised Terrans before moving them to other worlds. Hosteen Storm has chosen Arzor, a frontier planet where his Navajo skills may prove useful. There, giant beasts called Frawns roam the plains and are hunted for their waterproof skins and delicious meat. Humans co-exist with the native Norbies, brilliant horsemen, primitive and not unlike Amerindians in days of yore. It’s a natural home for Storm.
On landing at Arzor, he gets a job herding horses across country, his Beast Master skills obviously useful in taming the wilder ones. Soon he hears about Brad Quade, a big shot around those parts and the main reason he came to this planet. Hosteen Storm has a blood debt to pay with Quade, a man he has never met, as the result of an old family feud. The plot thickens nicely.
It’s all quite logical. Machines, parts and fuel would have to be expensively imported to frontier worlds so they do better using their own resources. So space westerns make sense and the genre is good fun, from Heinlein’s ‘Dora’ segment in ‘Time Enough For Love’ to the television cult classic series ‘Firefly’ which featured a few episodes of this ilk.
‘Beast Master’ starts off as mostly a western but soon develops into Science Fiction as other elements are added to the story. Westerns tell familiar yarns with familiar themes but the classics of the genre have more interesting characters and a bit more depth. Andre Norton wrote a classic space western in 1959 and it has withstood the test of time.
‘Lord Of Thunder’ is essentially more of the same. The briefest mention of the plot acts as a bit of a spoiler for the first book but sophisticated readers aged over four will realise that the hero probably survived that adventure. In ‘Lord Of Thunder’, there is trouble afoot with the native Norbies. They are having a gathering of the clans and retreating to the mountains to make ‘medicine’. The withdrawal of their labour will make life tough for the ranchers in the dry season. The plot gets complicated when Hosteen Storm is introduced to a very wealthy man called Gentle Homo Lass Widders. Gentle Homo, it seems, is the title given to a civilised chap from the inner worlds. If you called a British bloke ‘Gentle Homo’ thirty years ago you would have got a dirty look at best and possibly a punch in the nose. American slang may have been different. Anyway, the son of Widders was on a spaceship that hit an old mine from the late Xik war and managed to get aboard a lifeboat that crashed into the Blue, an area of Arzor where no man dares go due to bands of wild roaming cannibal Norbies. The Gentle Homo wants Hosteen Storm to go and rescue his son.
‘Lord Of Thunder’ wasn’t quite as enjoyable for me as the first book but it was perfectly good. It’s nice to get two novels in one volume. The double helping comes about because adventure novels were shorter fifty years ago. The late Andre Norton states, in an interview on her website, that back then she would write eighteen chapters of ten pages each and have a book of sixty-five thousand words which was perfectly acceptable to the boys on the business end. Nowadays, for economic reasons, publishers won’t settle for less than a hundred thousand words. We are poorer for this but electronic publishing is changing it slowly. Hurrah! The other good news is that Andre Norton’s estate was settled a while back and disputes over rights cleared up so more of her old classics are up for publication again. Hurrah! For a few of my teenage years, I was mad for Norton’s works and look forward to revisiting more in time to come. Judging by this pair, they are still good reads. The occasional leavening of exclamation marks merely adds to their pulpish charm.
Eamonn Murphy
This review first appeared at https://www.sfcrowsnest.info/
August 7, 2022
Lord of Thunder was tough going for me... this whole book was, probably because what happened in it is too close to what's happening in today's world. Oh, not the technology of "the ones' before" but the evil that men do.
I'm glad I finished it.
I'm glad I finished it.
May 18, 2015
first read as a young teen....decades ago. reread recently. still a good story about finding your way in a strange world.
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.
Lord of Storms
The sequel has some string similarities to the first book (more alien tech under the mountains) but features an arrogant rich offworlder demanding that Storm penetrate dangerous Norbie territory in order to find his lost son. There’s a strong message that messing with the aliens is best left to the experts like Storm and his new family the Quades. The offworlder disregards Storm’s advice, with disastrous consequences all round which Storm has to try and put right, providing more exciting adventure. But I was not really satisfied with the end of the story, which introduced new hither-to unmentioned dangers, and then wrapped everything up rather quickly. I would not recommend it as strongly as the first volume.
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.
Lord of Storms
The sequel has some string similarities to the first book (more alien tech under the mountains) but features an arrogant rich offworlder demanding that Storm penetrate dangerous Norbie territory in order to find his lost son. There’s a strong message that messing with the aliens is best left to the experts like Storm and his new family the Quades. The offworlder disregards Storm’s advice, with disastrous consequences all round which Storm has to try and put right, providing more exciting adventure. But I was not really satisfied with the end of the story, which introduced new hither-to unmentioned dangers, and then wrapped everything up rather quickly. I would not recommend it as strongly as the first volume.
Still, bearing in mind that both are books of their time, they are good reads.
February 2, 2023
I read Beastmaster back in Junior High and loved it, I believe this is the first time I've read Lord of Thunder.
Both books are excellent science fiction adventures. Andre Norton is a master of old school world building, only providing enough information to make the plot work, and no more. Sometimes this can be a bit frustrating, as I want to know more about the universe the stories are set in, but it can also be a bit refreshing compared to the info-dump style of world-building that I've become more accustomed to with modern speculative fiction.
One complaint is the lack of female characters. These books were written as "juvenile" sci fi, which at the time meant tween and teen boys, a genre nearly devoid of female characters, aside from the occasional brief romantic interest, usually in the form of a prize the hero can earn.
These books are, sadly, no different despite being written by a woman. The first book has a minor love interest, and the second has literally no female characters at all. The only mention of women in the second book is a brief reminder that the protagonist is actually married (although we never see his wife, or even hear about what she is up to), and one scene where we are told that there are native alien women present to show the reader that an entire tribe is on the move, and not just the warriors.
Both books are excellent science fiction adventures. Andre Norton is a master of old school world building, only providing enough information to make the plot work, and no more. Sometimes this can be a bit frustrating, as I want to know more about the universe the stories are set in, but it can also be a bit refreshing compared to the info-dump style of world-building that I've become more accustomed to with modern speculative fiction.
One complaint is the lack of female characters. These books were written as "juvenile" sci fi, which at the time meant tween and teen boys, a genre nearly devoid of female characters, aside from the occasional brief romantic interest, usually in the form of a prize the hero can earn.
These books are, sadly, no different despite being written by a woman. The first book has a minor love interest, and the second has literally no female characters at all. The only mention of women in the second book is a brief reminder that the protagonist is actually married (although we never see his wife, or even hear about what she is up to), and one scene where we are told that there are native alien women present to show the reader that an entire tribe is on the move, and not just the warriors.
September 7, 2024
This omnibus contains two wonderful old Andre Norton novels: The Beast Master & Lord of Thunder. Both feature Hosteen Storm, an Amerindian (Navajo) exile whose home planet, our Earth (Terra), was destroyed at the end of a human/alien (Xik) war.
Storm is a beast master - in contact with and part of a team of human, African eagle (Baku), cat (puma/sand cat cross) (Surra) and meerkat (Hing). They were an effective wartime team and now are seeking a new life on a new planet where they can live, recover, and use their talents.
The two stories detail the adventures of Hosteen and his team on the planet Arzor, a frontier planet with similarities to his native heritage but important differences.
All of Andre Norton's appealing imagination is at work here - alien artifacts and traps, other races, ingenuity and teamwork and so much more. Pure adventure and good individuals you care about.
If you haven't read these or haven't read them since you were a kid, they're worth a (re)visit.
Storm is a beast master - in contact with and part of a team of human, African eagle (Baku), cat (puma/sand cat cross) (Surra) and meerkat (Hing). They were an effective wartime team and now are seeking a new life on a new planet where they can live, recover, and use their talents.
The two stories detail the adventures of Hosteen and his team on the planet Arzor, a frontier planet with similarities to his native heritage but important differences.
All of Andre Norton's appealing imagination is at work here - alien artifacts and traps, other races, ingenuity and teamwork and so much more. Pure adventure and good individuals you care about.
If you haven't read these or haven't read them since you were a kid, they're worth a (re)visit.
June 17, 2018
My most favorite Author
My first favorite author was Dr. Suess. i have had many favorite authors. Ray Bradleys early works. Elizabeth Scarbourgh. Mercedes Lackey, Tanya Huff and Patricia Briggs are among myvfavorite Authors. But Andre Nirton is my Ultimate Favorite under both her name as Andrew North and her own name. I grew up reading her stories. I hunted them jn used book stores when I could not find them and now I hunt via internet. I shall miss her as no more new stories to come, I still read her old and newrr stories, plus i believe I have 2 or 3 more I've not read yet. U loved the way she made her characters come to life irregardless of sex or what form they wore.
My first favorite author was Dr. Suess. i have had many favorite authors. Ray Bradleys early works. Elizabeth Scarbourgh. Mercedes Lackey, Tanya Huff and Patricia Briggs are among myvfavorite Authors. But Andre Nirton is my Ultimate Favorite under both her name as Andrew North and her own name. I grew up reading her stories. I hunted them jn used book stores when I could not find them and now I hunt via internet. I shall miss her as no more new stories to come, I still read her old and newrr stories, plus i believe I have 2 or 3 more I've not read yet. U loved the way she made her characters come to life irregardless of sex or what form they wore.
August 11, 2021
Awesome stories about beast master
There are two stories about the beast master of Horteen Storm. Beast Master and Lord of Thunder.
In the story Beast Master Storm arrives at Aztor, a planet much like his native dessert on earth. However, earth is no more, but radioactive rock. He learn about native people, the land, and ranchers living there. He also realized there are enemies Xiks holdout from the war.
In Lord of Thunder they encounter a technical genius trying to start a war between the natives and the ranchers.
Both of these stories are action drama with vivid scenes that leaves the reader engaged and entertained. Highly recommended.
bookwormsuzy
There are two stories about the beast master of Horteen Storm. Beast Master and Lord of Thunder.
In the story Beast Master Storm arrives at Aztor, a planet much like his native dessert on earth. However, earth is no more, but radioactive rock. He learn about native people, the land, and ranchers living there. He also realized there are enemies Xiks holdout from the war.
In Lord of Thunder they encounter a technical genius trying to start a war between the natives and the ranchers.
Both of these stories are action drama with vivid scenes that leaves the reader engaged and entertained. Highly recommended.
bookwormsuzy
March 14, 2021
Omnibus of "The Beast Master" and "Lord or Thunder". Norton's main character is Hosteen Storm, a Navajo who comes to a Azor, new planet, after a war with aliens who destroyed Earth. The natives are hominid and reflect a First People's culture. In the first book, they find a group of Xik, the bad aliens, doing bad things. In the second, they find the Norbies, the natives, heading into an area to do something, who knows what? Both books have to do with an even more alien culture having left toys that mess with folks.
Very standard for the time.
Very standard for the time.
September 2, 2022
I guess I should switch the book I'm reading since I only read Beast Master, and I don't plan to read the sequel. The first one is ... fine. It's a fun idea, one that is apparently much older than I assumed, the blending of scifi & Western. It reads fine, but, as I predicted, the 'beastmaster' portion of it is really goofy to me. And in a lot of ways it's just a lot of filler encounters before the one that actually matters. Again, utterly readable, and I made it through it, but definitely not my thing.
February 3, 2023
I started with some trepidation, as in 1959, Indigenous people were still viewed by many in negative lights. Turned out, I think Norton did an admirable job of presenting us with a Navajo warrior and was very respective of his traditions and background. The adventures here were above satisfying! I read Norton years ago. I'll have to pick up more of her books.
April 9, 2025
This was a solid classic science fiction novel.
I didn't walk away obsessed with Storm and his team, but I do have a hefty respect and admiration for them and will be continuing the series at some point.
I didn't walk away obsessed with Storm and his team, but I do have a hefty respect and admiration for them and will be continuing the series at some point.
October 23, 2017
Sci-fi western. maybe a little dated but a good story line. Not a lot of technical stuff so if you want sci in your sci fi you may not like this.
May 23, 2020
Just as good as I remembered
Without a doubt One of Andre Norton’s Best series. Truly a unique and enjoyable read. I couldn’t put it down.
Without a doubt One of Andre Norton’s Best series. Truly a unique and enjoyable read. I couldn’t put it down.
February 6, 2023
Five star rating
Love Andre Norton's writing always. Keeps my interest all the way to the end of the book. Would encourage all to read it.
Love Andre Norton's writing always. Keeps my interest all the way to the end of the book. Would encourage all to read it.
May 23, 2023
Loved this book! Well written story!
not-finished
March 11, 2024First half read 03/11/2024
September 23, 2024
Another great series by Andre Norton.
October 28, 2024
Beast Masters
Very good read.It keeps you glued to the story. I have read quite a few Norton books. They always keep me entertained.
Very good read.It keeps you glued to the story. I have read quite a few Norton books. They always keep me entertained.
March 4, 2018
The Beast Master is a science fiction/western/adventure novel. I found the plot a little dated, not by the technology, but by the subject matter. I don't think you would find a modern novel with this style. That's not to say its bad, just different and you have to take into account it is 50 years old.
The second story in the book, Lord of Thunder is really more of the same. If I didn't have bok these stories in a single volume I probably would not have bothered with this.
The second story in the book, Lord of Thunder is really more of the same. If I didn't have bok these stories in a single volume I probably would not have bothered with this.
July 10, 2010
A good read for any sci-fi fan. This edition contains two books which take place on the terra colonized planet Aezor which has its own territorial natives and their animals along with ancient ruins. Hosteen Storm is a terran Amerindian and beast master who has a special afinity withcertain animals. He is also a comando trying to live as a native American Indian. Andre Norton wove an excellent book in this short series.
December 13, 2010
3.5 stars. The first story in this Omnibus was great. The second story, Lord of Thunder, I had a few problems with. The man searching for his son was the impetus of the story, but it fizzled in my opinion, and what was the son's name? Was he ever there? Maybe the name was mentioned early and I forgot. And another thing, not once in this entire story was a woman even mentioned. No females on the planet? sheesh. Is that what the scifi writing climate was like back in 1962?
Read
June 8, 2013The Beastmaster, Hosteen Storm, has been relocated to Arzor now that Earth has been destroyed. Storm travels to Arzor to meet a person that his grandfather had told him had murdered Storm’s father. In the course of dealing with a Xik attack/infestation (the Xik are the reason Earth is no more) they meet, the truth becomes known and all seems to end happily. Until the next crisis. It is amazing how well these stories have stood the test of time.
May 16, 2015
I first read Norton's work 45 years ago in high school. (yes I am old). The Beastmaster novels are typical of Norton's style. Theme and content place these books in the YA camp. However I am still fascinated by the use she makes of telepathy between Hosteen and his animal colleagues. I think her treatment of Navajo culture on another planet is worth reading , as well. It still holds up for me.
June 12, 2010
I picked this up on a table at B & N. I remembered the old 'Beast Master' movies on TV years ago and was curious. I seems the only similarities were the main characters. A man (Storm in the novel, Dar in the movie) his large cat, an eagle, and a couple of ferrets (Meerkats in the book).
I had not read any Andre Norton before, and it is good SF reading!
I had not read any Andre Norton before, and it is good SF reading!
May 3, 2015
Beast Master's Planet: Omnibus of Beast Master and Lord of Thunder
Norton, Andre
a master of story telling the beast master explores the universe solving problems and mastering circumstance
Norton, Andre
a master of story telling the beast master explores the universe solving problems and mastering circumstance
May 15, 2015
I forgot how much I enjoyed Andre Norton 30 years ago. She just sucks you into her world.
July 1, 2015
Norton always shines!
Great yarn that pulls us back to a more hopeful age of both science and science fiction. Norton still holds her own.
Great yarn that pulls us back to a more hopeful age of both science and science fiction. Norton still holds her own.
June 25, 2015
Very good stories. Reminded me why I liked her when I was a teen.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews