The book that I am reading, No Night Without Stars, takes place in the future, when the earth danced on its axes in turmoil and destruction concieved a new beginning. The main characters in the book are Sander and Fanyi. Sander is a young blacksmith`s apprentice, who is set to inherit his father`s position as Master Blacksmith. At the time of his father`s death, Sander`s uncle, Ibbert, who is also a blacksmith, denies him his rightful position as Master Blacksmith and assumes the role for himself.Sander will not accept his uncle`s decision, and leaves his nomadic tribe that dwells in the plains of the west. Sander set out to the east lands by the sea,in search of forgotten technology. To have knowledge of metal forging from the past would surely give Sander the power to overtake his uncle`s role as Master Blacksmith. On Sander`s way to the east, he teams up with a woman named Fanyi, who is a cross between Zena`s Linda Lawless and the talk show host Lezza. Fanyi not only has beauty and brawn, but also brains and finesse. I enjoyed reading this book, with adventure around every corner and a verity of mutant creatures. The reading is easy, and the author does not insist on technical terms that would have you reaching for your dictionary after each turn of the page. I would recommend this book to young readers or adults who get bored with lengthy, hard-to-read novels. Our characters end up finding more than what they seek. The way they find their sought knowledge is unexpected and exciting.Andre Norton is a exciting science fiction writer, with a down-to-earth technique that does not play on vulgar expressions to entice his reader. The cover page illustration does not do the book justice.I believe my daugther would have done a better drawing with a box of crayons and construction paper. PEACE.

This was the first novel I read. I was in the 3rd grade and my older brother was visiting out house, I picked up No Night Without Stars and couldn't put it down. It opened my eyes to the works of Science Fiction. I then started reading an average of one novel a week. My teacher in school said she'd never seen anyone in the 3rd grade reading regular novels. No Night Without Stars helped me greatly in my schoolwork, because I started reading so much, my reading skills improved so much! I still re-read the book at least once a year.

I loved this book, and after 30 years, I still pull it off the shelf and read it. Ms Norton was one of the first woman writers of Sci-fi/fantasy. Best known for her "witch world" fantasy series, Norton has also given us many fine sci-fi novels.Ordeal In Otherwhere would be considered one of the best of her action sci-fi. Norton has re-occuring themes that involve a youth, estranged and powerless, confronted with seemingly overwhelming odds. Throw in a weave of mind-magic, aliens, great odds and a dash of animal companions, and you have a classic Norton novel. One of the first books I read that had a female hero!

By now it's a well known story that Andre Norton's publisher had been resistant to this story because they did not think her fans would want to read a book with a female as a viewpoint character. The enthusiastic reaction proved them wrong and helped to open the world of science fiction to a legion of women, among them many current science fiction authors.

Charis begins her story on a planet where a group of narrow relgious conservatives have taken over. She was fleeing from the settlement when a space ship planets. However, the way off the planet the ship offers is as contract labor, a hair away from outright slavery. Desperate, Charis agrees. She is taken to the planet of Warlock as part of a trading post, a small experiment to see if Terrans and Wyverns, as the natives of Warlock are called, can peacefully trade.

However, there is more going on than a trading mission. Charis finds herself caught up in a struggle between hijackers and the native rulers. She also meets up with Shan Lantree, the Planet Survey Cadet assigned to the small Embassy Post as well as Shan's nonhuman wolverine companion, and a small lovable native animal called a curl cat.

This is vintage Norton and well worth reading.

Ms. Norton didn't write *any* of the stories in this volume.

Bell, Claire: "The Hunting of Lord Estalian's Daughter" Megarti, a witch-maid raped by a drunken noble, has asked to be shapechanged in her quest for revenge.

Curry, Ginger Simpson: "Sea-Serpents of Domnudale" - The Wise Woman prophesies that twins will be born, one of the Dark to conquer and rule as overlord of many Dales, and one of the light - one evil, the other the true-born son of Lady Zvetta and her lord. But which is which? The 'bad seed' idea may not appeal, and the manner of presentation may distract you at first, but a good story.

Gravel, Geary: "Old Toad" - Ander and Berry, young brother and sister, dwell in Mountain Gate on the Estcarp border - but *he's * the one with Witch power, while she has a talent for asking questions - like why the Council has transferred their resident Witch, and why the Borderers seem to be pulling out of the mountains bordering Karsten...

Lewitt, S.N.: "The Judgment of Neave" - A tale of the Fane of Neave in Arvon and its search for a new guardian.

Lichtenberg, Jaqueline: "Through the Moon Gate" - Remora, a tough youngster fed up with being laughed at for her dreams of the Old Ones, has struck out across the Waste to find Arvon. Instead, she finds a gate - and Dorian St. Just ("Good God, this isn't Denver, is it?") But he's not as out of place as one might think...

Linaweaver, Brad & Cynthia: "Dream Pirates' Jewel" - After the destruction of Sulcarkeep in the Kolder War, leaving radioactive ruins, a small expedition finds a bay in southern High Hallack (separated by mountains from the chaos of the Invaders' War) that seems eminently suitable for a new keep. So the Sulcar have a settlement again, including some flotsam from the war, such as the witch-gifted girlchild Myrna, and her strange dreams of the sea.

Major, A.R.: "La Verdad: The Magic Sword" - Gunnora sends an emissary to Abbey Halstead, furthest north of the convents of those who worship Those Who Set The Flames, asking alliance against the toads at Grimmerdale, to open a gate and bring forth a champion. (See _Lore of the Witch World_ if you're not familiar with Grimmerdale. Its chronology in the Invaders' War and that of the sword's origin don't seem to mesh at first, but the author has it covered.)

Mathews, Patricia Shaw: "Darkness Over Mirhold" - Rovagh of Mirhold became lord by being a berserker fighting man in a hold desperate to have someone take over and start running the place. Derris, the narrator, is his newly-wed lady - one of the many orphans in the care of the Duke of Karsten, in these days after the war, chosen because she seemed the only one strong enough to help rebuild a ruined hold.

Meier, Shirley: "Peacock Eyes" - Shallon, the narrator, was once human - she speaks of the days when the road through the Dales to the Gate, now crossing part of the Waste, was new, not old.

Miesel, Sandra: "The Salt Garden" Orel, last survivor of Estindale after Alizon blasted it into slag with Kolder weapons, and after his father fell to ambush days ago, has fled into the Waste, determined at least to die while exploring new things. (His father's killers have their maps, so there's really nowhere else to go). The lifeless city he comes to reminded me at first of Charn (in Lewis' _The Magician's Nephew_) - a city where only one woman, apparently an Old One, still lives, crafting flowers out of metal and gems where no water flows to give real flowers life. But is she the destroyer of the city, a victim, or neither?

Miller, Ann: "The Stones of Sharnon" - A Mineral and Energy Scout from a high-tech civilization strays into Estcarp on an innocent survey.

Paxson, Diana: "Heroes" Aelvan, only living son of a refugee from Karsten and her Borderer husband, follows the House of Dhulmat when they answer Kyllan Tregarth's call into Escore.

Schwartz, Susan: "Rite of Failure" Aurek, marked as the successor to the Pack's shaman, has undertaken his ordeal early, in these first days of their exile from Arvon. But what will happen to him now that he's failed?

Snodgrass, Melinda: "Futures Yet Unseen" Sytry, the narrator, can't be a conventional warrior, with his malformed hip; he's that rarity in Escore, a student of chemistry, who turns it to practical use.

Swallow, Lisa: "S'Olcarias's Sons" An old grandfather of the Sulcar tells a story of their origins over the evening fire.

Wind, David: "The Sentinel at the Edge of the World" - Set before the Kolder War. Vadim, the narrator, is a blank shield of Estcarp, offered service by a man seeking, not a mere mercenary, but a hero, to accompany him to the end of the world - eastward.

Wolf, Rose: "Tall Dames Go Walking" - A story of Jorge Petronius, the mysterious Guardian who opened Simon Tregarth's Gate into Estcarp, on an archaeological dig between Glastonbury and Tintagel in Britain. The references to how Petronius came into his guardianship don't seem consistent with the little we know from _Witch World_. The narration is somewhat awkward, as the author isn't content to let the reader do some of the work of understanding the story, e.g. "...her interest was at least purely (again, in a literal sense) academic", providing explicit literary allusion wherever possible rather than more subtle references. (Nothing's as dead as a pun treated this way.)

I never tire of Ms. Nortons collections of shorts. All of the authors are very talented and stick to the basic WW theme so well. Again, it is a steping stone for beginning authors as well as beginning readers and fun for both as well as a delight for long time Norton fans!

"Zarsthor's Bane" is set in the Dales and the Waste beyond the Dales. The time frame is roughly the same as "The Crystal Gryphon", but I'd rate this book a bit below "The Crystal Gryphon" if only because the hero and heroine are not as likeable. Brixia, who was once the lady of a Hall in High Hallack now hunts and scavenges the deserted, post-invasion farmland of the Dales. Her only companion is the cat Uta. Brixia and Uta are drawn into Waste where Light and Dark Magic still exist, on a search for Zarsthor's Bane. Brixia discovers a place of Green Magic while under attack by one of the many loathsome packs of creatures that inhabit the Waste. Ultimately, she rescues her companions (a wounded lord and his squire), but not before Brixia survives a vintage Norton combat between the forces of Light and Dark. The banquet scene where Zarsthor confronts his Bane is especially eery, and tingling with Norton's special brand of magical description.

Well worth reading; in fact, a 'must' for WW fans.

I have been a fan of WW from the beginning and, while I have the '83 edition of this book, this was the only place I could find the title. An interesting story of High Hallack and An-Yak and I believe this was the only illustrated WW book. It you are lucky enough to stumble across it, buy it!

As always, this is a great series for cat lovers! The stories are more good than average and there is always some new twist to the theme to keep you interested.

Go forth and read! ^_^

Bailey, Robin Wayne: "The Golden Cats" - The_Judgment Night_ never reached the established colony of Tucker's World, but crashed on Cirrun, stranding the survivors on a world seasonally wracked by the Fever Winds - and which may have a native intelligent race.

Barwood, Lee: "Grow Old Along with Me" - Aging cat is abandoned by the heartless humans he lives with, to be rescued by an elderly neighbor, who cares for his Alzheimer's-stricken wife.

Carr, Jayge: "Puss": 'Puss in Boots', rewritten as OK science-fiction.

Davis, R: "Goliath": A 'cats are aliens' story. See Norton's _Star Ka'at_ for a better example.

Drake, David: "Dragon, the Book" - Foolish magician trusts his familiar, although he killed her mate in an ill-considered attempt to get a powerful magic tome.

Edghill, India: "The Courtesan Who Loved Cats" - A cat asks for an incarnation to avenge her beloved human companion. This one is set in India, complete with Hindu deities in the afterlife.

Edghill, Rosemary: "The Maltese Feline" - A hard-boiled detective story in an Arthurian setting, where magic is used in place of machines. See Simon Hawke's _The Nine Lives of Catseye Gomez_ if you like this one.

Goode, Paul: "A Cat's Tale" - Lt. Mufasa Mubaric (not *my* spelling) of Monroe, Louisiana went to Antonio's to meet the anonymous informant who e-mailed him - who turns out to be Giacomo, the restaurant cat.

Griffin, P.M. "Tenth-Life Cat" - Another Bastet story (see Catfantastic 2, 3). This time the petitioning cat has completed her 9th life, and asks to go back in time and avert a disaster that occurred in her 1st life. No explanation is offered for why she left her 1st-life partner's soul to suffer so long, or why Bastet did not intervene sooner (dea ex machina is a feature of these stories, but only when convenient for the narrative). I recommend instead her Trouble stories from Catfantastic 1 and 4.

Inks, Caralyn: "Kindred Hearts" - 'Kitty Kitty' is used as 'furry love therapy' for seriously ill patients - but he can mindspeak, and has real healing ability, unknown to the families of his clients.

Lackey, Mercedes: "A Better Mousetrap" - see my review of her collection _Werehunter_.

Lee, Sharon: "The Big Ice" - Not a Liaden story, but the human protagonist reminds me of Zhena Trelu in _Carpe Diem_.

Longyear, Barry: "Preliminary Report" - Cats have the task of trying to shape up their human companions; the cat delivering this report (in a hard-boiled style) has a few choice words to be passed up the line to whoever dishes out these assignments, as well as for his fellow cats who are getting tangled in bureaucratic nonsense and touchy-feely meetings. (They've been watching too many talk shows.)

McConchie, Lyn: "Lullaby" - A dravencat story (see Catfantastic 4), dealing with the descendants of Many-Kills and her human sister.

Mayhar, Ardath: "The Very Early Hermione" - See also Catfantastic 1, 3, 4. Hermoine, in her later years (now with a new human charge, a witch) has been asked for a story of her youth with her parents and their wizard. This Hermoine story's contents reveal that the 19th century England in which she lives is not on our own timeline, since magic is accepted there.

Miesel, Sandra: "Miss Lotte" - Miss Lotte isn't an ordinary 1955 New Orleans voodoo.

Miller, Sasha: "Kitten Claws" - See Catfantastic 2, 3 for the preceding stories, or you won't follow this very well. Ede (now a human woman and Ferdon's wife) is expecting her first child - but will it be a normal human infant?

Norton, Andre: "Noble Warrior and the 'Gentleman'" - See also Catfantastic 1 - 4; Thargun was reunited with Emmy after the events in 4. Her father has unexpectedly inherited a title and estate, so the family is relocating.

Schaub, Mary: "The Cat, the Sorceress, the Buttons, and WHY" - NOT a Flax & Drop story. The feline protagonist remains anonymous for most of the story; as it happens, when he's caught spying on the sorceress who's just taken over the castle, she takes a liking to him, and exempts him from the warding spells around the fortress. Bad move...

Schwartz, Susan: "Hobson's Choice" - Hobson's humans foolishly named their vineyard 'Pindar', and their wine 'Mythology.' They're unaware that by night, they've attracted the visits of satyrs, Dionysius and his Maenads, and other creatures of wild magic.

Traylor, Estelle: "Rosemary for Remembrance" - The injured stray, swept through a gate into our world, is named 'Kaththea' when adopted, after the Witch World character Kaththea Tregarth (see Norton's _Sorceress of the Witch World_).

Underwood, Laura: "Patches' Pride" - Shona, the local mageborn in this Scottish-like fantasy setting, acts as a kind of exterminator, keeping local crofts bogie-free. But she foolishly falls for a bogie's request to help its young, despite her cat's better judgment.

Watt-Evans, Lawrence: "Trixie" - Unlike the Noble Warrior stories, the brownies here are cute and harmless, and Trixie the cat isn't written with human-level intelligence. Pleasant, but not gripping.

Wolf, Rose: "Pick, Cry, and Grin (Ag'in)" - Pick and Dolly live with a country-music composer. A couple of whackos in a pickup truck run over Pick (a Manx) in mistake for a rabbit soon after he learns of his impending fatherhood. Pick wakes up in Noah's lap (St. Francis gets all cats except the Manx breed, due to the legend of how they got their tails).

Catfantastic V is a pleasant addition to theis series. I waited a long time with baited breath for this book to be published and it was well worth it. Old stories continue with Skitty, Scat and Ferdon The Magician as well as delightful stories that introduce new authors and characters. Many of the stories are sad to read but force you to think, reflect, remember and IMAGINE. Can't wait for the next edition to publish!

I am a professional woman and much too cool to carry a book with this cover in my briefcase. However, I was interested in the further adventures of the Solar Queen so found myself carrying it with me everywhere - cover be danged.

Better than Redline the Stars, the alien habitat is well conceived, truly different, and yet a place I would love to visit. The aliens themselves are 3-dimensional. That is not to say they could not have been more complex, but I never got the feeling we were simply on another Earth.

The story was also more complex, unfolding over the course of several weeks. This allows time for the development of a few more of the many crewmembers and the a better sense of what it means to be a free trader.

I liked this book. Another fun read but not too challenging. What I did not like were the inconsistencies from the previous book to this one. What happened to their wealth? The promise of their cargo? Their good reputation? That was not credibly explained. And the romance...such potential that was wrapped up in a few pages at the end like an afterthought. Better to tease it into the next book.

Since very childhood I enjoyed Andre Norton's books. Her have always been my favourites. Now I've read her lalest 2 novels - written together with other authors. And was disappointed when I saw that there has appeared a woman in the list of characters. There were no female characters in the previous novels of the Solar Queen series, and that was the reason it was so popular. She was really ahead of her time shaking the stereotype of these female cuties in every sf novel. A. Norton should have kept to this line when writing her new novels. Thanks God there are no bed scenes in them! And thanks God again that this god-knows-what Rael marries yhe old captain at last, and not one of the young characters.

I was surprised to have enjoyed this book so much, even though it was a science fiction with a cheesy cover. Sherwood Smith is great, he needs to send his material to publishers right NOW!

The beginning of the story is pretty well-worn by now, but keep it in historical context. A man is transported to another world which is more suited to him than this one. Of course, the world is a magical one. Mix that character in with another classic character concept: the unwilling bride-to-be, donning men's clothes and miraculously being able to pass as a young man, while travelling under the guise of a fighter.
This would all be bad enough, but the characters themselves are so lackluster as to make the entire thing boring. I was interested in the unwilling bride, up to the point where she escaped the castle, and then she faded right back into the background.
Norton's work is characteristically this way, and one die-hard fan said she read the books for the story, not the characters.

Yup, that sums it up. The idea for this novel was okay, the execution quite poor. Maybe Andre Norton should team up with someone who can write and just give them some ideas for their books. This particuar novel offers a nice travel-through-worlds plot but reading it is tedious. The characters are barely developed and their emotional distress is described in too much detail. More story, less romance novel writing is my advice. I recommend this novel for the hopeless romantics and people with low expectations of their fantasy novels.

Witch World is the first novel in the Witch World series. Once Simon Tregarth had been a Colonel in the US Army in Occupied Europe, but had been unknowingly caught up in a black market deal and, on the basis of perjuried testimony, courtmartialed, stripped of rank, and imprisoned. When released, he had become that of which he was falsely accused, a dealer in illegal merchandise. Then his path crossed that of Hansen and now the Organization is after him. He has been on the run for some time and has left a few dead pursuers on his back trail, but is tired and sleepy. Now he faces Sammy, who is more dangerous than the others.

Tregarth stops in a restaurant to eat a pleasant last meal and is accosted therein by Doctor Jorge Petronius, who is well know in some circles as the man who can make you disappear. Petronius offers his services in exchange for whatever remains of the $20,000 brought from San Pedro.

Tregarth accompanies Petronius to an ancient little house and is told the legend of the Siege Perilous. "One takes his seat upon the Siege and before him opens that existence in which his spirit, his mind -- his soul uf you wish to call it that -- is at home." At dawn, Tregarth sits on the stone and disappears from this world.

Tregarth is spilled out to sprawl face down of the thick wiry turf of a gray-green moor. Behind him are two rough pillars of reddish rock. He walks directly away from them across the soggy turf. As the sun rises, he hears a horn calling and cautiously moves in that direction. He sees a woman pursued by thin, white hounds and then the masters riding on horses. The animals and men corner the woman and one of the men takes a weapon from a holster on his belt and raises it toward the woman. Tregarth shoots him out of the saddle.

Thus Simon Tregarth meets the Lady Jaelithe, although he was not to learn her name for some time yet, and is introduced to the Witches of Estcarp. He soon meets Koris, Captain of Estcarp's fighting men and Prince of lost Gorm. Together, these three battle an invasion of evil from another worldline: the Kolder.

Although the Witch World series is now considered fantasy, this first novel does not differ significantly from much of the author's science fiction. The "magic" powers of the Estcarp witches may just as well be psionic talents such as in the Warlock, Janus, and Forerunner series. Moreover, the "magic" exists side-by-side with technology, both native to Estcarp and imported from Earth and wherever the Kolder come from. It is difficult to find anything in this first novel that isn't just as much SF as the Pern series.

Later, the series begin to acquire characteristics of fantasy, such as shapechangers and Words of Power. Maybe the fantasy ambiance was just more exceptable than the author's soft SF environment, for this series became wildly popular within the SF/Fantasy community and then with other readers. The author had been popular with younger readers, including myself, for some time, but now started attracting wider attention among college students and older adults. She had never really published much in the magazines and thus didn't garner Hugo and Nebula nominations, but now her novels began to impress the readership enough that a special Hugo was awarded for her lifetime achievement as a Master of SF and Fantasy.

This story was first published in 1963. As such, it was written to a different standard than contemporary authors such as Robert Jordan and Terry Goodkind. It is very linear, without the stylistic gimmicks of flashbacks and multiple storyline. However, it tells a story that can still enthrall a reader who is willing to put aside all expectations and just go with the flow.

This novel started Andre Norton's rise to fame. It is a must read for any Norton fan and recommended to anyone else who might enjoy a well-crafted tale of courage, special talents, and romance.

I've read other Andre Norton books such as "Star Man's Son" and i thought that that book was excellent, but "Breed to Come" was terrible. If there's one thing i've learned after reading books where the main characters are animals, is that i don't care about them- they seem so fake. While reading this book i had to keep reminding myself that these "people" were mutated cats, but they were basically just human-- the author just made them cats because she has some sick fetish with cats!

I would have to disagree with the last reviewer. True, the cats and other mutated animals are pretty much like people, but that makes them easy to identify with... and since when was fantasy/scifi real anyhow? The storyline is very tight, and Norton does a wonderful job of painting the picture of an original and unique future earth - one unlike anything I've read anywhere else. Not a deep book, but that's not her style. One of her better works in my opinion.

This is such a good book.I'm almost done,but I was just aching to write a review on it.Norton uses things that I've never seen before in Sci Fi.Cats,rats,dogs,and others have evolved.The Demons (as the cats call humans)have died out ,for they destroyed eachother .We do not like to think it,but that is one of the possibilities of mankind's fate.Synopsis:The Demons have died out,but races are still at war ,not serious war ,but still war.The cave of Gammage is discraced,for Gammage uses the materials of the Demons.Furtig ,Gammage's great great grandson goes to learn from him.As he is learning of the tools of the Demons ,there comes a day when Furtig sees a Demon spaceship landing .They must fight them.

This book was wonderful. It took me about 3 or 4 months to find a paperback though. I had already read Elvenblood and was hooked. Somewhere along the line after I found it, I heard talk of a third book in the series.. Is this true? If you know, E-mail me at Lizard174@aol.com.. Back on the subject, I loved this book, and all Ms. Norton's books that I own. She and Mercedes Lackey are two of the most talented writers whose work I have read over and over again.

Usually serial books do not interest me; I feel like the second and thereafter books are exactly like the first. However, this did not happen when I read the Elvenbane and Elvenblood. The two were wonderful, and I would recommend them to all that I know

Elvenbane was the first book i read by Andre Norton and Mercedes Lackey. My mother has collected Andre Norton books for years and one day I decided to read Elvenbane. It was during the summer and Elvenbane is the very first book that has had me striving for more. Each time I had to put the book down i would rush through everything else just so I could get back to the book. When the book ended I wanted more and was very glad ^_^ to find out that there was a second book ElvenBlood and I got started on it right away. Now im waiting for the third book to come out. When I was told there was a third book I jumped out demanding to know when! "Elvenborn" I don't think i can wait until April. There is even a book after Elvenborn. Elvenbred. The Characters and events made me laugh, become frustrated, and made every other emotion come through. Just what a good piece of literature is supposed to do and show how great the authors are. So I strongly recommend this book to those wondering if they should read it.

This regency/alternate earth collaboration by Norton and Edghill, which looks to be the first of a series, is a winner! Is it perfect? No. The last half of the book is a bit rushed and the use of magic is uneven. Even so, I believed in the characters; their dilemmas are real and not easily resolved. The dialogue is appropriate to the setting and I loved Sarah taking over the rifle and shooting down the French troops, to the amazement of her so-reluctant husband - right before they fly away in a hot-air balloon! This is a merry-go-round of a book with pretensions to be a carousel.

Playing in an alternate earth is always fun: lots of name dropping occurs as real historical figures turn up in new walks of life. Beau Brummell finally finds his proper niche as a valet, while John Adams still loves his wife! This book deserves a sequel - there's lots of room for more intrigue, romance and magic in this world - or in an alternate Carolinian earth! I'm looking forward to our English Prince meeting his Danish bride; Wessex and Sarah consummating their marriage (I don't believe they got that far at the end of this book) and Wessex getting over the "honor" and spying question...Let's enjoy all the benefits of a Regency/Scarlett Pimpernel romance and alternate history scifi whirlygig next time.

The regency romance is in a state of decline except for some huge talents who are managing to breathe new life into it. This literary form was begun by Jane Austen with "Pride & Prejudice." Carla Kelly is one of the huge talents making this genre worth pursing and the second can be found on the sci-fi-fantasy book aisle with authors Andre Norton (a woman) and Rosemary Edghill. Edghill was formerly known as a romance writer whereas Norton has always been in sci-fi-fantasy. This duo creates an alternate regency world that is absolutely fascinating. In this world, there is never a Revolutionary War, the Indians are not abused in America, slavery is abolished because of England's opposition to it and England remains in power and control. This all came about because the English throne never passes to the German line but remains with the Stuarts in this alternate regency world. This world also allows sorcerers and magicians and makes that a big part of accepted life. Two love stories are played out against this new world. One is between colonial Sarah with the English Duke of Wessex and the other is between Louis, the lost King of France (dauphin) and Mariel. Some readers felt that "Leopard in Exile," the sequel to this book, was not as good. I think the story only got better as we moved into the second book. If you need rejuvenation in the wide world of the regency romance, you will find it here.

And now, as the Monty Python intro says, for something completely different.

I have just finished 'The Shadow of Albion' by Andre Norton and Rosemary Edghill (TOR) and I am absolutely enchanted. I hope there is going to be a sequel. It's an alternative world fantasy set in a world where the Stuarts retained the throne of England, there was no American Revolt and where there are still vestiges of the Arts Magickal. The year is 1805 and Bonaparte threatens to engulf the world. England stands against him.

The young Lady Sarah Roxbury is dying due to her own folly and with a important task unfinished. She summons from our mundane world her double, Sarah Cunningham, to take her place and finish what needs to be done, including marriage to the Duke of Wessex, a secret agent in the service of the Stuart throne.

The authors obviously had a lovely time with this book. Beau Brummell in this world is a valet to the young, impetuous Prince James Stuart, heir to the throne of England. There's a nod to "The Scarlet Pimpernel" in the pseudonym of Citizen Orczy used by the Duke in one of his trips across France-- "The Scarlet Pimpernel" was written by Baroness Orczy, and one of the members of a dinner party given by Madame de Stael in the prison town of Verdun is 'a Belgian Devine named Poirot'. Let us know forget another dinner guest, Sir John Adams from the northern colonies of America who misses his wife Abby very much!

Add the missing Dauphin, the wonderfully villainous Marquis de Sade, a missing Danish Princess, a dungeon and loads of hair raising escapes.

No sex, but some strong emotion. Unfortunately it's not in paperback yet but if you like alternative world fantasy with a nice ironic touch I cannot recommend this book too highly