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Forerunner #3
The Forerunner Factor: Library Edition
Two Andre Norton Forerunner novels, Forerunner and The Second Venture , featuring young Forerunner/human hybrid Simsa, collected for the first time in one volume. Forerunner : On ancient port world planet Kuxortal, young Simsa grows up among garbage pickers who live upon the ancient ruins of a fallen galactic civilization--the Forerunners. But Simsa has always been different. When Simsa's mentor dies, she must scrape a poor existence from an unyielding planet. But then Thom, a star ranger, arrives from the heavens, and he leads Simsa on a path to the discovery of her origins that takes both through danger to the ultimate revelation. The Second Venture : Simsa has escaped the criminal guilds of Kuxortal only to find herself held prisoner by starfaring humans intent on discovering the secrets of the Forerunners contained within her. With the aid of her pet zorsal, Simsa escapes her captors and crash lands on a sandy world full of danger and mystery--another world touched by ancient Forerunner civilization. Now Simsa must escape death at alien hands while battling the spirit within her that seeks to possess her very being and transform her into something utterly inhuman.
Audio CD
First published March 1, 2012
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About the author
Andre Norton
698 books1,390 followersAndre Norton, born Alice Mary Norton, was a pioneering American author of science fiction and fantasy, widely regarded as the Grande Dame of those genres. She also wrote historical and contemporary fiction, publishing under the pen names Andre Alice Norton, Andrew North, and Allen Weston. She launched her career in 1934 with The Prince Commands, adopting the name “Andre” to appeal to a male readership. After working for the Cleveland Library System and the Library of Congress, she began publishing science fiction under “Andrew North” and fantasy under her own name. She became a full-time writer in 1958 and was known for her prolific output, including Star Man’s Son, 2250 A.D. and Witch World, the latter spawning a long-running series and shared universe. Norton was a founding member of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America and authored Quag Keep, the first novel based on the Dungeons & Dragons game. She influenced generations of writers, including Lois McMaster Bujold and Mercedes Lackey. Among her many honors were being the first woman named Gandalf Grand Master of Fantasy and SFWA Grand Master. In her later years, she established the High Hallack Library to support research in genre fiction. Her legacy continues with the Andre Norton Award for young adult science fiction and fantasy.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 29, 2022
Would have loved it when I was a kid.
I'm probably too old and jaded to properly enjoy this coming of age story. It deals with a lost space-faring people, and the appearance of one of them thousands of years after their extinction. What follows is an account of the struggles of this person to come to grips with her heritage, a she rises from her humble station in a primitive planet, to become an accepted member of a more advanced civilization.
The themes of overcoming fear of new things, even if they improve your life, accepting and improving yourself, and found family are explored in an interesting manner. All with a healthy dose of xeno-archeology, treasure hunting, monsters, and exotic aliens with psychic powers. I really loved that the protagonist was female.
A younger me would have really eaten it up, instead of older me getting hung up on some pacing issues, a somewhat peculiar prose, and some adolescent inner turmoil.
Having said that, it was a good read.
I'm probably too old and jaded to properly enjoy this coming of age story. It deals with a lost space-faring people, and the appearance of one of them thousands of years after their extinction. What follows is an account of the struggles of this person to come to grips with her heritage, a she rises from her humble station in a primitive planet, to become an accepted member of a more advanced civilization.
The themes of overcoming fear of new things, even if they improve your life, accepting and improving yourself, and found family are explored in an interesting manner. All with a healthy dose of xeno-archeology, treasure hunting, monsters, and exotic aliens with psychic powers. I really loved that the protagonist was female.
A younger me would have really eaten it up, instead of older me getting hung up on some pacing issues, a somewhat peculiar prose, and some adolescent inner turmoil.
Having said that, it was a good read.
September 28, 2019
Author's intent good story, but conversion of scanned book to text needs edit
I'm all for getting these classic old authors into ebooks and accessible by text to voice, but the process needs some editing to make sure the character recognition software didn't gum up the works. An example of this is the phrase used repeatedly, "gentle fem" which the CR software converted to "gentle fern". Now the former is a title of respect by which to address a woman, but the latter is a puzzle. I mean who would think of addressing a woman by calling her a plant? It's a simple enough fix, to sit down and scan the original document and the scanned converted text and fix the discrepancies between the two. This has happened to too many old classic books that get converted to text and thus to ebooks, even some to audiobooks. Until this process is corrected, I won't be handing out five stars to any ebook with this kind of error in it.
I'm all for getting these classic old authors into ebooks and accessible by text to voice, but the process needs some editing to make sure the character recognition software didn't gum up the works. An example of this is the phrase used repeatedly, "gentle fem" which the CR software converted to "gentle fern". Now the former is a title of respect by which to address a woman, but the latter is a puzzle. I mean who would think of addressing a woman by calling her a plant? It's a simple enough fix, to sit down and scan the original document and the scanned converted text and fix the discrepancies between the two. This has happened to too many old classic books that get converted to text and thus to ebooks, even some to audiobooks. Until this process is corrected, I won't be handing out five stars to any ebook with this kind of error in it.
June 25, 2019
One of Andre Norton's recurring themes was humanity moving out into space to discover that we were not the first, that the galaxy is strewn with the enigmatic ruins of many ancient peoples, some of whom used technology with a very different basis than that of humanity. These mysterious artifacts soon became valuable, both for scientific study and to be collected by the wealthy.
This volume contains both Forerunner and Forerunner: The Second Venture, and I think they work best this way, telling the complete story of Simsa and her coming to self-realization. I would suggest this book for any young person who's read and enjoyed Robert A Heinlein's Citizen of the Galaxy and wanted more like it. Both Thorby and Simsa start as despised outcasts and work their way up to significant positions, if by different paths.
This volume contains both Forerunner and Forerunner: The Second Venture, and I think they work best this way, telling the complete story of Simsa and her coming to self-realization. I would suggest this book for any young person who's read and enjoyed Robert A Heinlein's Citizen of the Galaxy and wanted more like it. Both Thorby and Simsa start as despised outcasts and work their way up to significant positions, if by different paths.
December 31, 2016
Great!
Great adventure.
Wonderful imagination, great characters, very vivid writing. Good book for sci Fi or fantasy lovers.
Love Andre Norton!
Great adventure.
Wonderful imagination, great characters, very vivid writing. Good book for sci Fi or fantasy lovers.
Love Andre Norton!
June 11, 2019
Good long story
This is a rambling adventure seen through the eyes of a young woman as she explores both herself and the scifi world imagined by an excellent writer.
This is a rambling adventure seen through the eyes of a young woman as she explores both herself and the scifi world imagined by an excellent writer.
January 30, 2020
Slow read
Moves very slowly with repeat scenes and situations. First Simsa book superior. Simsa is a great character and deserves better.
Moves very slowly with repeat scenes and situations. First Simsa book superior. Simsa is a great character and deserves better.
October 14, 2021
Bit wordy, but leaves you with a few things to think about.
August 31, 2023
I like AN but this just didn't engage!
April 28, 2014
This review was originally published through Invincible Love of Reading under Kurt's Frontier.
Forerunner Factor is an omnibus of the novels Forerunner and Forerunner: The Second Venture. The heroine of this story is a Forerunner/human hybrid girl named Simsa.
Forerunner: Simsa is an exotic girl who grows up among the ancient ruins of a now extinct civilization that is known by scholars as the Forerunners. Simsa is different from the people of Kuxortal in that she has blue black skin, silver hair. Moreover, she has formed a strange telepathic bond with a bat-like creature called a zorsal. After the woman who had raised her dies, she thinks to sell some old artifacts to the off-worlders who come to Kuxortal’s spaceport. Then she meets Thom, a star ranger on a quest for his missing brother. Unwillingly, Simsa is drawn into a quest that will change her life forever.
Forerunner: The Second Venture: After her adventures on Kuxortal, Simsa finds herself on a space ship but almost immediately finds enemies waiting for her. However, she is not the naïve, helpless girl they think she is. She is a burrow-wise--as stealthy as any thief and capable of looking after herself. She is also the heir to the ancient power of the Forerunners. A power she can’t yet control. However, her body now holds another identity that at times wrestles her for control. She escapes the ship and crash-lands on a ruined planet that her ancient people once controlled. Dodging hostile desert dwellers and those who hunt her, with only her loyal pet zorsal and this presence that she has an uneasy truce with, Simsa must discover who she is before this entity swallows her up completely.
The Review:
Andre Norton was an old school science fiction writer. When most starships used shuttle craft or drop ships, her ships land “fins down.” While her old school style of story telling may not appeal to everyone, Andre Norton had a talent for weaving interesting stories while keeping her plots focused on a single point of view. This is the case with the books of Forerunner Factor. In these novels, we follow the adventure of Simsa. While enemies are about her in the first novel, Forerunner, we never clearly see them. However, this doesn’t detract from the story because the enemies do make their presence felt. Through it all, Andre Norton wove a rich tapestry of strange, exotic creatures and intense relationships.
In Forerunner: Second Venture, Andre Norton changes gears. While Simsa has external enemies, her true antagonist is within her. A presence she discovered on Kuxortal now dwells within her. From it, she can learn how to wield her newfound powers. However, she fears that this other seeks a way to overthrow her and take control of her body. As in the Forerunner, there are strange creatures, both dangerous and friendly.
In addition to adventures on strange worlds, there is a good dose of xenoarchaeology and xeonoanthropology. Ever present are the remains of ancient, space faring civilizations as well as new cultures with new customs to explore.
While these stories may prove too cerebral for some readers, the stories are interesting for their internal conflicts. Simsa proves to be a character that is both exotic and easy to identify with at the same time.
Forerunner Factor is an omnibus of the novels Forerunner and Forerunner: The Second Venture. The heroine of this story is a Forerunner/human hybrid girl named Simsa.
Forerunner: Simsa is an exotic girl who grows up among the ancient ruins of a now extinct civilization that is known by scholars as the Forerunners. Simsa is different from the people of Kuxortal in that she has blue black skin, silver hair. Moreover, she has formed a strange telepathic bond with a bat-like creature called a zorsal. After the woman who had raised her dies, she thinks to sell some old artifacts to the off-worlders who come to Kuxortal’s spaceport. Then she meets Thom, a star ranger on a quest for his missing brother. Unwillingly, Simsa is drawn into a quest that will change her life forever.
Forerunner: The Second Venture: After her adventures on Kuxortal, Simsa finds herself on a space ship but almost immediately finds enemies waiting for her. However, she is not the naïve, helpless girl they think she is. She is a burrow-wise--as stealthy as any thief and capable of looking after herself. She is also the heir to the ancient power of the Forerunners. A power she can’t yet control. However, her body now holds another identity that at times wrestles her for control. She escapes the ship and crash-lands on a ruined planet that her ancient people once controlled. Dodging hostile desert dwellers and those who hunt her, with only her loyal pet zorsal and this presence that she has an uneasy truce with, Simsa must discover who she is before this entity swallows her up completely.
The Review:
Andre Norton was an old school science fiction writer. When most starships used shuttle craft or drop ships, her ships land “fins down.” While her old school style of story telling may not appeal to everyone, Andre Norton had a talent for weaving interesting stories while keeping her plots focused on a single point of view. This is the case with the books of Forerunner Factor. In these novels, we follow the adventure of Simsa. While enemies are about her in the first novel, Forerunner, we never clearly see them. However, this doesn’t detract from the story because the enemies do make their presence felt. Through it all, Andre Norton wove a rich tapestry of strange, exotic creatures and intense relationships.
In Forerunner: Second Venture, Andre Norton changes gears. While Simsa has external enemies, her true antagonist is within her. A presence she discovered on Kuxortal now dwells within her. From it, she can learn how to wield her newfound powers. However, she fears that this other seeks a way to overthrow her and take control of her body. As in the Forerunner, there are strange creatures, both dangerous and friendly.
In addition to adventures on strange worlds, there is a good dose of xenoarchaeology and xeonoanthropology. Ever present are the remains of ancient, space faring civilizations as well as new cultures with new customs to explore.
While these stories may prove too cerebral for some readers, the stories are interesting for their internal conflicts. Simsa proves to be a character that is both exotic and easy to identify with at the same time.
February 7, 2014
A nifty little peek at "Appendix N" literature, this time from Andre Norton, herself an interesting character, and one who apparently collaborated with Gary Gygax at one point. Many observers have noted the similarities - if not identical natures - of the descriptions of the people to whom Simsa belongs in Andre Norton's books (the "Forerunners"), and Gary Gygax's physical description of the drow (dark elves). Some interesting ideas and themes, though the narrative sometimes meanders a bit. Still, quite enjoyable reading.
June 21, 2014
The Forerunner Factor consists of two novels (Forerunner & Forerunner: The Second Venture).
November 16, 2015
I'm a great fan of Andre Norton, and this has many elements of her storytelling, but I found it hard to really get into.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews