I'm reviewing the stories in order of publication, rather than their order within this book (a.k.a. _The Many Worlds of Andre Norton_, incidentally). Note - the bibliography at the end of the book is comprehensive up to 1974, which may sound as though it must be short, but Norton's career began in 1934, so it takes 11 pages.

The Gifts of Asti (1948) - Varta, the last priestess of Asti, lives alone with Lur, a telepath of the lizardfolk, in Asti's isolated mountain retreat. Decadent Memphir has long since drifted away from the austere paths of Asti, and now the barbarians of Klem are sacking the city, and the smoke of its burning drifts up to the temple. Asti's followers, however, foresaw that this day would come to Memphir, as Varta has learned from her study of the ancient chronicles...

All Cats Are Gray (1953) - "Steena of the Spaceways - that sounds just like a corny title for one of the Stellar-Vedo spreads." Steena is a computer programmer who spends her life in the background, a woman in plain gray clothing who speaks little - but her knowledge of odd bits of spacer's lore has saved lives and made fortunes...

Mousetrap (1954) - The "sand monsters" of Mars are mysterious statues in the desert, that have withstood time, storm, and extreme heat and cold - but they crumble into dust at a touch. The tourist bureaus (and the Space Marines) now have the surviving statues protected from everyone trying out his personal version of superglue (since the museums and scientists have gigantic standing rewards for anyone who can get one to Earth). Any would-be hero will have to find an undiscovered sand monster to get a chance at the reward...

Long Live Lord Kor! (1970) - Survey discovered the world of Vallek, burned to a cinder by atomic war. Useless? Not at all - enter the Bureau of Time Exploration and Manipulation, with their machines that can send agents' minds back in time to influence critical points in history by taking over the bodies of people in the past...

The Toads of Grimmerdale (1973) - The only Witch World story to appear in this volume; also to be found in _Lore of the Witch World_. In the chronology of the Witch World, the Invaders' War ended during the Year of the Hornet. Hertha, the sister of the lord of Horla's Hold in Trewsdale, had been sent for safety to the abbey in Lethendale in the last months of the war, but never reached it. A band of enemy raiders ambushed her escort on the road, only to be caught in turn by a band of renegade Dalesmen, so that Hertha suffered rape not at the hands of the enemy, but of those who should have rescued her. Three months later, on the last day of the Year of the Hornet, the last straw is that her brother expects her to quietly have an abortion and be grateful in his 'generosity' in continuing to keep her in his household. Hertha is now making her way to Gunnora's shrine to ask two boons - that the child to be born in the Year of the Unicorn take nothing from the one who will not stand as its father, and to call her attacker to account...

In case anyone gets the idea that this story's ending is too pat, please note that it has a sequel, "Changeling", to be found in _Lore of the Witch World_. Also note that in her travels, Hertha meets Trystan, a former Marshal who plans to end up Lord of a Dale, now that High Hallack is in a state of flux. "Legacy from Sorn Fen" in Lore of the Witch World deals with another man with such ambitions, but a very different character.

London Bridge (1973) - This story was expanded in 1974 to create the longer story "Outside". "London Bridge" is told exclusively from the viewpoint of the older brother, where "Outside" concentrates on his younger sister. In this version of the future, the last remnants of humanity sealed themselves into domed cities to protect themselves from the polluted world outside, only to be ravaged by plagues. The only immunes were too young to remember the world before the cities were sealed; the city is now a patchwork of gang territories, reflected in the slangy speech of Lew, the narrator. A strange Rhyming Man has appeared from nowhere, and has been luring the youngest children away from gangs all over the city (overtones of the Pied Piper of Hamlin). The children have not been seen again, so the gang leaders are organizing a massive hunt for the Rhyming Man. Then Marsie, Lew's little sister, disappears... Apart from the revised version "Outside", if you like this story you might like _The Girl Who Owned a City_ by O.T. Nelson, in which a worldwide epidemic has killed everyone except the children.

The Long Night of Waiting (1974) - In 1861, Lizzy and Matt Mendal, aged 11 and 5, began crossing their father's field to take him his lunch - a journey that would not end for 110 years. Before their father's eyes, the children vanished into thin air; their parents never saw them again, and put up a marker on the spot where the children disappeared, to mark their long night of waiting. In 1971, three other children - Rick, Lesley, and Alex - on their way home from school meet two scared, lost strangers their own age...

"On Writing Fantasy" is a 1971 essay by Norton. Last (and least), is a second essay by another writer (Rick Brooks), titled "Andre Norton: Loss of Faith" (also 1971). If you haven't read many of Norton's works yet, skip Brooks' essay for awhile; his opinions are open to question (especially since the information on which the essay is based is now 30 years old.)

"Changeling -- a creature begotten by some supernatural being and then secretly exchanged for the rightful child."

"Dread Companion" begins and ends in a future where humanity had long ago reached the stars and scattered itself across thousands of planets. Terra itself is nothing but a half-remembered legend of origin.

Norton combines a theory of parallel universes with themes from folklore to create her story of a changeling who drags her brother and governess out of the twenty-fifth century AF (After Flight) and into the world of Faerie.

It's an odd amalgamation, but I think it works well because her story is anchored by the governess, Kilda and her brave attempts to rescue her charges. Almost as soon as she meets the children, Kilda realizes that the girl Bartare has some kind of unnatural hold over her younger brother, Oomark. The governess does everything she can to solve the mystery of Bartare's invisible 'Dread Companion'---invisible that is, until Kilda and her charges are yanked into Faerie.

Kilda has to drink the water of Faerie before she can even see properly. The boy Oomark stays with her, but eats freely of alien fruit. When Kilda finally regains her normal vision, Oomark has begun a physical transformation into a creature of hooves and horns---a faun. Kilda must now struggle to stay human, locate a gate back to the sane world of the 25th century, keep Oomark by her side, and find Bartare who has gone to join the Dread Companion she believes to be her true mother.

"Dread Companion" was published in 1970, sandwiched between the Witch World novels, "Sorceress of the Witch World" (1968) and "The Crystal Gryphon" (1972), as well as many other works by this prolific author. Norton fans will discern several common elements between her excellent Witch World fantasy series and this stand-alone SF novel. Examples: there are nurturing trees that are havens from evil hound- and vulture-like creatures; and Bartare's kidnapper turns out to be a Great One of the Light---not that it matters so unhuman is She.

I think if you can find a copy of "Dread Companion," you will read some of the best descriptions of Faerie ever written, even though this book is officially classified as science fiction.

Norton has written of a place that is wondrous, terrible, and truly alien.

Fur Magic is a fantasy novel based on the legends of the North American Indians. In the tales of the Nez Perce, and other tribes, the Changer is a great power who has the ability to shape things. Often called the Trickster, the Changer delights in confounding others with his changes. Long ago, the Old People, sapient oversized animals, ruled the world, but then the Changer made mankind and changed everything.

In this story, Cory Adler is a Floridan boy whose father has been assigned to Viet Nam by the Army and whose mother is taking care of his grandmother in San Francisco. An old Army buddy of his father, Uncle Jasper, has invited Cory to stay on his ranch while his parents are away and Cory looks forward to it with great anticipation. Yet the actual experience is much more frightening than he expects; the horses are big and buck him off, the animals have sharp teeth and claws, and the night is filled with strange noises.

The day after his unsuccessful attempt to ride a horse, Uncle Jasper takes him up to an old line cabin in the high country and leaves him there while the adults ride off to inspect the young horses. Cory agrees to wait for Black Elk, an old indian shaman, to arrive at the cabin and then to phone for a jeep to carry the old man to the main house. Cory is willing, as long as he doesn't have to ride a horse, and soon starts to explore the surrounding area. He accidentally falls into a shallow hole and breaks a basket and a turtleshell rattle within the hollow. He takes a leather bag back to the cabin to get a better look at it, but decides it is a medicine pouch and replaces it within the broken basket.

While exploring some more, he notices brown shapes moving around on a distance hillside and uses his binoculars to resolve the image into three buffalo, two adults and a calf. Moreover, he sees a man wearing an animal skin, possibly coyote, dancing close to the animals while carrying a decorated stick and a turtleshell rattle. He is held motionless by fear, but manages to drop the binoculars, which frees his muscles. Still terrified, he nonetheless runs toward the site where he has seen the buffalo and the man, but only tracks remain of the animals and man.

When he returns to the cabin, he finds an old indian man sitting motionless by the firepit. He asks the old man if he is Black Eagle and is finally answered with a bare acknowledgment. Cory makes a meal in the firepit for the old man, who eats everything given to him and Cory's portion as well. Afterwards, the old man pulls out a leather bag, the same medicine pouch that Cory had returned to the basket, throws some dust on the fire that causes a steady stream of smoke to rise above it, and insists that Cory has done wrong and must purify himself by holding the pouch in the smoke. When Cory complies, he is transported into the mind of an oversized beaver named Yellow Shell.

Cory thinks that he is in an exceptionally vivid dream, but cannot awaken. His mind accompanies Yellow Shell as he fights against marauding minks and clever crows which are minions of the Changer. He even meets the Changer face to face and is able to fight back and find a way to return to his own body. Moreover, he is now able to overcome his fears.

This story may be the earliest of the author's tales involving the legends and people of the tribes. Other works influenced by these traditions include the Beast Master series, The Sioux Spaceman, and The Defiant Agents. These tales of indian ways have been very influential to many young people through the years, possibly including Jane Lindskold, author of Changer and the Firekeeper series, which contain some of these same images.

This novel is intended for young people, but like her other juveniles, is also enjoyable to an old man like me.

Recommended for Norton fans and anyone who enjoys simple tales of exotic folks and heroic quests.

The 5 stories in this volume are discussed below in order of original publication, rather than the order in which they appear in the book. Only one is a Witch World story, but due to the perversity of life in general, it so far appears *only* in this book.

"By a Hair" (1958) - Also appears in _Wizards' Worlds_. This story takes place in a tiny, nameless valley somewhere between Germany and Russia. During World War II, the old Count was shot and his wife was sent to a concentration camp - and Ivor and his men took to the hills to fight.

After the war, Ivor married a woman in the mold of la belle dame sans merci - beautiful, ambitious, and cold-hearted; she married him because in the immediate wake of World War II, he was a hero, with the highest status in the valley. The countess came home - her body so twisted and broken from the Nazis' tortures that few remembered that she was still a young woman. It seemed that life would go on...then the last, crushing blow fell. The Russians came, and this time, the little valley was left to fight alone, without the world's help. The Russians killed any authority figures they could catch that the Nazis hadn't killed already - except Ivor, who took what fighting men were left and headed into the hills again, and the Countess, who also faded into hiding. Among those killed was the priest - and in their despair, the valley folk began to seek help from other sources.

"Wizard's World" (1967) - After Earth's devastating atomic wars, mutations began cropping up - notably the Espers. Once respected, then warily tolerated for their wild talents, all Espers are now either trapped in labor camps, hunted fugitives, or - worst of all - traitors, serving as trackers to hunt down fugitives.

Craike, an Esper now hoping only for a quick death before he can be forced to betray his allies to the hunters only minutes behind him, climbs to the top of a rocky gorge in the desert, flings himself from the brink - and falls into a foaming river where no river could be! His desperation and Esper talent have somehow unlocked a gate between realities, into another world.

This is *not* a Witch World story; to the best of my knowledge, the world Craike finds himself in has not reappeared in any other Norton story to date. Magic does exist in the Wizard's World in which he finds himself, but magic dominated by men, and only those belonging to the order that rules the country - not that they're the *only* practitioners of magic, but only they have official sanction. Craike finds a brother and sister who have been condemned for the crime of having magic that doesn't fit the approved mold - and steps in to try to rescue them. Craike has gone from one Esper's war to another - but this time he has a chance to win.

The story doesn't wrap up with Craike's total victory, nothing so trite. We just have a man who has the makings of a warlord, carving out for himself a promising beginning.

"Toys of Tamisan" (1969) - See my review of Norton's book _Perilous Dreams_ for my review of this story and its sequel, "Ship of Mist", the latter of which appears *only* in _Perilous Dreams_ to date.

"Through the Needle's Eye" (1970) - Also appears in _Moon Mirror_. The narrator, looking back, on her childhood as a little girl crippled by polio, begins with the day she refused to go to a birthday party, since she couldn't join in the games. Exploring the back garden to kill time, she crosses over into the neighboring property - to find a beautiful quilt on a clothesline, a work of art. And then a voice behind her asks her opinion of it...

Thus she meets Anne Ruthevan - an artist in needlework whose life and body were both smashed by the carriage accident that killed her father when she was twenty. The now-elderly Miss Ruthevan takes the girl on as a student in the art of needlework. For hundreds of years, Ruthevan women have had the gift - witness the centuries-old tapestries in Miss Ruthevan's home. But what price have they had to pay for the greatest triumphs of their art?

"Ully the Piper" (1970) - Currently appears only in this collection. It's a variation on a Mexican fairy tale, "Domingo Siete", a version of which appeared in English translation in the Collier's Junior Classic series I had as a kid (called "Tonino and the Fairies", I think).

In the years after the Invader's War, the small village of Coombfrome, which was always isolated at the best of times, seems to have been completely forgotten. Even their overlord, whoever he may be now, fails to collect taxes. When a trader passes through, it's an event. One such trader leaves a pipe behind, to be broken in the hands of the arrogant braggart who dominates the youngsters of the village. But Ully, crippled and confined to a cart, has a talent for mending broken things, and teaches himself to play the now patched-up pipe.

Out of spite, the strutting bully who first broke the pipe one day sends Ully's cart out of control down a steep hill, to fetch up at the standing stones near the village. Where Ully finds that someone else might be interested in his music...

This is more of a supernatural thriller than a si-fi type book...one of the few that I have read by Ms. Norton (&Miller). The story of Susan and Kuydall house is a nifty tale and well worth the read if you can find it. A novel addition to any Norton collection!

This is a rendering of one of the more obscure offshoots of the legends surrounding the mythical King, Charlemagne; not the Charlemagne of history, but a different, more romantic person. The book concerns the son of one of the Companions of Charlemagne, one Huon, who encounters magic, evil foes, chivalric episodes and the King of Fairies, Oberon himself. A great read for pre-teens, teens and a nostalgic plunge for older readers.

Judgement on Janus and Victory on Janus were first published in 1963 and 1966 repsectively. They are here published in one volume for the first time.

Naill Renfro is an inhabitant of the vast refugee camp/slum called the Dipple that developed on the pleasure planet of Kowar after the late war. It has become the source of cheap, desperate labor for the rest of the universe. Renfro was the son of a Free Trader who died with his ship during a fire fight. Ejected with his mother in a lifeboat they came to the Dipple as refugees, but even with the war ended they have no hope of escape.

His mother dying, Naill sells his body as contract labor on an agricultural planet known as Janus to buy her some peace at the end. Naill is shipped in cold sleep to the planet where his contract is purchased by one of the settlers, a member of a dour religious group who are tearing up the great forest of Janus in order to plant their cash crop. Again it seems Naill is in a trap with no means of escape.

Before saving the rain forest became fashionable, Norton wrote about the consequences of losing contact with nature. In this story there are forces on the planet that are trying to reestablish relationships between the Terrans and the planet by changing the Terrans as the Terrans try to change the planet to meet their needs.

This is prime Norton fiction and very entertaining.

This is one of Andre Norton's earlier works. It isn't as good as the books she's written in the last 10 years, but it is still one of the best Sci-Fi books out there. If you can find it. I got my copy at my library. It is about Merlin, half man half alien who is sent on a mission by a mirror in a mountain to send Arthur, also half alien, half man, to the throne. But he has to get past the Lady of the Lake first. All in all a great book!

This anthology is dedicated to Andre Norton; all the stories herein are the type that Ms. Norton herself would like to read. Here I've ordered them alphabetically. Schwartz also provides an introduction, and Joan D. Vinge an open letter to Andre Norton.

Anderson, Poul "The Forest" - Set in the Stone Age (see author's note for details). Thunder Horse's people face an age of change: the Land is changing from steppe to forest as the glaciers retreat; either they must follow the reindeer north, or venture south into the forests. Thunder Horse, no longer in first youth but one of the few who doesn't fear the uncanny forest, ventures south to see what - or who - may be there before the tribe makes a decision.

Bradley, Marion Zimmer "Sea Wrack" - See Bradley's short story collection _Lythande_.

Carr, Jayge "The Price of Lightning" - The backstory of a character from _Hecate's Cauldron_: how Brancel (born a prince) first set his feet on the path to wisdom rather than political power.

Cherryh, C.J. "Of Law and Magic" - Melot never had any luck - she waits tables and worries about her little brother Gatan, the wizard. But she's tough; when two older wizards prepare to duel over him, she calls on Dr. Toth, the "lawyer" consulted by all the wizards of Leincester. But Dr. Toth isn't a solicitor: he practices the law of nature. First-class story; I hope Cherryh returns to this setting.

Clayton, Jo "Team Venture" - Arryn and her companions Horse (whose equine body covers an analytic mind and scientific curiosity), the independent Cat, and free-flying Hawk were bound into their bodies and exiled to wander between realities by the Judges of Savastorn a dozen years ago. But one member of the team isn't so easy to live with: the other half of Arryn's soul, Nys-within. Moonwitch and murderess, bound into one flesh - the answer to a prophecy they know nothing about.

Duane, Diane "Lior and the Sea" - A short story set in the world of _Tale of the Five_, but not concerning any of the characters in _The Door into Fire/Shadow/Sunset_. Orphaned as a child, Lior was found to have Fire and accepted training as a Rodmistress. She had already lost what she loved most, and rather than taking up a prestigious practice, she returned to the little fishing village where she grew up, and came to know the moods of the sea better than those of any human being. When one night she couldn't persuade it not to throw a stormy tantrum, she decided to offer the sea a dare.

Kurtz, Katharine "Catalyst" - First written for this collection as a coming-of-age story containing a few cats; set in Camber MacRorie's household 15 years before _Camber of Culdi_. "Catalyst" was later included in _The Deryni Archives_ (see my review).

Lee, Tanith "The Pale Girl, the Dark Mage, and the Green Sea" - More a poem than a short story. The young witch fell hopelessly in love with the mage living in a tower by the sea. Her attempts at courting him failed until a powerful friend - the sea itself - took a hand.

McCaffrey, Anne "A Flock of Geese" - Story of a very tough survivor. Some experiment far in the future has flung Earth headlong into the well of time, bouncing apparently at random through terrible time-storms between various points in history. The only safe places are those like the cave ruled by the 18th-century refugee Wicca, set deep in basalt and unchanging save over millions of years.

Miesel, Sandra "The Shadow Hart" - King Valdemar of Denmark, after his wife's brutal murder of his lover, prayed in anguish for God to keep heaven, leaving him the earth holding her grave. In this version, however, other men of his court who sinned alike share his eternal punishment: riding every night until Judgement Day across the lands they once knew. But one woman's love strives to reach beyond death...

Paxson, Diana "Sky Sister" - Paxson's recurring character Shanna, Royal Daughter of Sharteyn (just one of the northern princedoms, really), seen here after her experiences in "Sword of Yraine" from _Sword and Sorceress_ #1. This is the tale of her first meeting with her future partner Chai during Shanna's long search for her brother, who set out for the imperial capital and never returned.

Pierce, Meridith Ann "The Woman Who Loved Reindeer" - Caribou's brother will soon return from following the reindeer herds - so her sister-in-law, having borne a child by a mysterious stranger in the meantime - begs Caribou to take the baby in. But how uncanny *is* the other half of the boy's ancestry?

Springer, Nancy "Bright-Eyed Black Pony" - An arrogant highborn young runaway seeks shelter with a solitary sorcerer, who begins trying to straighten him out.

Tarr, Judith "Defender of the Faith" - Published before _The Hound and the Falcon_, let alone the novels featuring Morgiana as a major character. From the days of Hasan-i-Sabbah, Alamut's greatest assassin was the ifritah Morgiana, but by the time of _Alamut_ she had become disenchanted with the Assassins. This is the tale of how she first came to weary of killing for the cause.

Yolen, Jane "The Foxwife" - If you liked Neil Gaiman's graphic novel _The Dream Hunters_, this story also features a shapechanging fox who falls in love with a mortal man, although it plays out differently. Norton's own works featuring foxes in this vein include _The White Jade Fox_ and _Imperial Lady_, both of which draw on a Chinese framework.

If you want a good companion book to "Elements of Style", this is it. Sasha provides sound, straightforward advice about writing, along with good technical expertise. She highlights many pitfalls and stumbling blocks that many new writers might encounter, then tells the reader what to do about them. Recommended!