Sci-Fi Romance discussion

I finally received 2 huge boxes of Andre Norton books that I bought off of ebay. I have no idea which books are in those boxes, but I'm pretty certain I now have a copy of Witch World, so I'll start with that based on Jacqueline's rec.

It'll be my first Andre Norton novel.

I am so excited for you! Pretty soon you too will be unable to conceive of 'east'. I think I'll drag out my extremely battered copy of Witch World and read with you.

Definitely start with Witch World! I'm with Jacqueline, such a great time awaits you. :)
As you devour them, keep an eye out for the Crystal Griffon trilogy (which is tucked into the series and a part of it) Those books are some of my all time favorites, but her Year of the Unicorn (also Witchworld) keeps the top slot. sigh.
I may have to go back and start all over with you.
I miss them!

Frances

As far as I can remember, was the first Andre Norton that I ever read. It was probably around 1973 or 74. It's a great love story and holds a special place in my heart. Butter yellow eyes and cloven hooves. What a tormented hero. I also credit with my love of all things shapeshifter. That's a sequel of sorts to . You're right Francis, it's a great book with a lovely romance.

Oh now I'm really excited!!!! I'm starting Witch World sometime today.

I have a silly question. I have both and . I'm confused because they're both listed as the first book in the Witch World series.

Witch World is definitely the first of the all the WW series. Gate of the Cat came much later.

There are 2 basic WW series. The first series shown here on GR as the Estcarp cycle, and the High Hallack cycle. They all take place on the Witch World but High Hallack is on another continent and the events of the first series sometimes spill over onto the continent containing the Dales of High Hallack.

This link shows them in order and defines the cycles within the series as well. :)

http://www.andre-norton.org/wworld/ww...

Now I have to check and make sure I caught them all.
:D

Frances

Thanks ladies! I started Witch World this afternoon. So far, I'm enjoying it. I'm looking forward to really getting further into the story tonight.

Ok. So far, I'm finding Witch World very interesting. It's reminding me of one those 80's sci-fi fantasy movies that I just love. The only problem is that my copy is pretty old, and I had to dig out the reading classes that I hardly ever wear to see the print. That, and I had to put it aside to do some school work.

The only question I have so far is this- does the Witch World series follow the same characters throughout?

The only book of hers I own is Plague Ship, though I see now it's book 2 in a series. Is it still okay to read as a standalone or do I really need to look for the first book?

Thanks!

AnnaM wrote: "The only book of hers I own is Plague Ship, though I see now it's book 2 in a series. Is it still okay to read as a standalone or do I really need to look for the first book?

Thanks!"

I don't know about Andre Norton's series. I wish I did though. In the group of books that I got from ebay, there's quite a few that are a part of a series, but they're the 2nd and 3rd books etc. I want to hold off on buying anymore books for right now if I can.

I've read a lot of AN over the years and I just read any that came my way especially when I was younger and didn't care at all about series and I never remember being at a loss for what was going on. I would just suggest reading the first few Witch World books in order:
Witch World (1963)
Web of the Witch World (1964)
Three Against the Witch World (1965)
Warlock of the Witch World (1967)
Sorceress of the Witch World (1968)
IIRC those are the ones that follow Simon Tregarth and his 3 children.
After you understand the basics of Witch World you can read around in the series without missing anything.

I'd read the Crystal Griffin trilogy and the Elvenbane series in order.

As for her other series, I read them all out of order. She usually doesn't have even sequels follow to closely one after another and she is typically good at providing enough background that most of her stuff can be read as stand alone.

@Michelle only the first part of the Witch World follows the same characters. After the stories of Simon and his triplets they follow different characters.

Only because I had to keep putting off reading, Witch World lost some of its momentum for me. I think its probably best read in one sitting or two. That said, I need to get the second book in this series. Overall, Witch World was excellent, and I gave it four stars. Why isn't this a movie yet?!

I would totally go to a Witch World movie. However, if Hollywood effed it up I might have to go on some sort of rampage. So they should just beware. Andre Norton passed away a couple of years ago so they would have to deal with her heirs. Cool that she asked to be buried with a copy of her first book and a copy of her last book.

I read quite a lot in my youth, and Andre Norton was a favourite author, but I can hardly remember them all now, or even which ones I read.

One story I remember was where first the woman and then the man in the love interest (or was it the other way round) ended up as an animal rather than a human. They still had some sort of intelligent link though.

Another was about a Nanny looking after children who were messing with something nasty and they all got transferred to a weird planet full of geometric shapes that only became something more real once you consumed something from the planet.

Terrible memory, haven't I? Any clues?

David wrote: "I read quite a lot in my youth, and Andre Norton was a favourite author, but I can hardly remember them all now, or even which ones I read.

One story I remember was where first the woman and th..."

Wow, I've read a lot of AN but neither of those rind a bell sorry.

Maybe I have the author wrong?

One of the weird geometric shapes in the story keeps chasing her and eventually catches her and eats the snacks she has been keeping for her and the children. The shape then turns slowly into a man/astronaught.