I was disappointed in the book. If I were Andre Norton, I would not want my name associated with it. I had high hopes when I purchased it -- I love stories about horses and I loved the early Witch World novels. Although the book was "readable" and somewhat interesting, the style was VERY amateurish -- not at all written in Andre Norton's style. It was entirely predictable -- nothing to draw one feverishly to the end. While reading a well-written book, the words will tend to disappear and one finds oneself immersed in the story. Sadly, the words never quite disappeared while reading this story.

I started collecting the Andre norton books about a year ago. The first book i bought was Ciara's Song, also by Lyn McConchie too. I fell in love with that book about 4 pages in, this one to a little while longer to love. This book told of a lot more of the Whitch world creatures, not just the people. I thought the discriptions in the book were wonderful. I felt like i was the one trying to find my way in the Dark Tower. i would recomend this book to anyone atarting the witch world series. I have yet to read The Mage Stone, but i am sure it will be just as good. This book even caught the attention of my friends, and usually Jr. High students don't like books that are fantasies. The bottom line is, I believe that Andre norton fans would not be disappointed by this book, or any other of the witch world books.

I just got done reading this book. I was captured by the adventures waiting just on the next page. It was so good I couldn't bare to put it down. If you love fantasy, magical, and adventure books, this is a must for you! Eleeri, (the main character) travels into a witch world to escape her fate from the world she originated in. There she finds a friend who teaches her the ways of life in this magical new world. Then venture forth, she must, to a calling in the "east" area. What lies ahead is an adventure only author Andre Norton can describe. Untamable and Dark are the Keplians; or are they? To any creature in this world a Keplian means death. But Eleeri has a mind of her own. Determined to befriend these magnificent beasts, turn this world into the Light, destroy all Darkness, and be accepted as a daughter to the Light are just a few of the...oops, I can't tell you wether she does accomplishes them or not. To find out you'll have to read the book!

Nothing quite like curling up with a purring cat in your lap and an adventures cat in your book! ^_^

As with all compendiums there are some good, and some bad stories, but I feel that the good drasticaly outweight the bad. I've found this to be a well collected anthology series and would highly recommend it to anyone who is fond of cats!

Bell, Clare: "Bomber and the Bismarck" - The HMS Ark Royal rescues a cat with bomber-jacket markings from the North Sea, and takes him on as their new ship's cat - to discover that they have the only (unofficial) survivor of HMS Hood aboard.

Belden, Wilanne Schneider: "A Puma and a Panther" - Belden's stories tend to be about exceptional children, but in this case, the story isn't told from the viewpoint of Christine or her little brother Ian. Instead, we have Bat's viewpoint - who's settling for life as Christine's pet, since he's denied his rightful place as her familiar, having been born into a non-magical world.

Boyer, Elizabeth H.: "The Last Gift" - My favorite story in this book. Isolf, presented to the jotun on her 16th birthday, is lonely, so the jotun decides to create a new creature to be her companion - but he only has tiny scraps of spirits left from the making of the world's animals, and they're a mixed bag. Combining them in his cauldron to make a bigger piece produces unexpected results. "I don't remember adding claws - or teeth!"

Cirone, Patricia B.: "Papercut Luck" - Ling Mei is now alone on the family junk; by chance, she wasn't aboard when the Emperor's soldiers seized her family. All the lucky papercuts in the market have been sold, so she buys one for courage, since courage can make luck.

Dunn, Marylois: "Shado" - Cat and White Cat are back (see _Tales of the Witch World 1_ and _Catfantastic_). White Cat is deeply depressed, having been prevented from having kittens for the last 2 winters. Cat, out hunting field mice on a foggy morning, finds just the thing to cheer her up.

Griffin, P.M.: "In Bastet's Service" - No relation to her stories in Catfantastic 1 or 4, but rather to those in 3 & 5. These stories begin with a cat facing Bastet prior to reincarnation, and by their very nature have dea ex machina situations, but not quite in a way that makes sense. For instance, the cat facing his 2nd incarnation in this story died of abuse in his 1st life; Bastet now intervenes to try to help him recover. We're never told why, if she can do this, she left him to his fate before.

Inks, Caralyn: "Shadows" - The world setting here is unfamiliar to me, and we're never told much about it. Jariel Belldancer and his camilacat partner break an ancient trap, to free a tortured human and the shadow of an immortal Pierdon.

Major, A. R.: "The Execution" - New York City is divided into many 'kingdoms' of cats (a cross between kingdoms with formal courts and gang territories). Since Flintface the dog killed a kitten after receiving his only warning, the local king put out a contract on him - and Sir Ex has been assigned to get Flintface to 'the place of execution' at 5:30 Wednesday morning.

Mayhar, Ardath: "Hermione at Moon House" - See also Catfantastic 1, 3, and 5 (but not 4). After the distressing end of her last job as a (19th century) wizard's familiar, Hermione was happy to relocate to the home of a nice, quiet astronomer. Unfortunately, kittens have a talent for finding trouble wherever they happen to be, despite a mother's best efforts. Written in the same old-fashioned diarist style as the previous entry in volume 1. If you like the content here, try Robert Lawson's _Ben and Me_.

Miller, Ann & Rigly, Karen: "Quest of Souls" - The cat and apprentice must rescue the souls of the rest of the castle's inhabitants from a 'soul robber.' We don't see enough of the victims to care much.

Miller, Sasha: "Ede's Earrings" - Ede is the familiar of Ferdon, a young wizard (just out of the Academy) with his first practice. He depends on her, so she's able to keep him out of most kinds of trouble - until he meets Dala one market day. This one is continued in Catfantastic 3 & 5.

Moon, Elizabeth: "Clara's Cat" - This story is told from Jeanine's point of view - Clara's closest relative, a divorced alcoholic who's moved in to take care of Clara in more ways than one. This one's pretty disturbing, since Jeanine's intention of murdering Clara for her money is made clear.

Norton, Andre: "Hob's Pot" - 2nd installment of the adventures of Noble Warrior, Siamese cat (in his own language, his name's Thargun Neklop), and his 'princess' Emmy. (A Noble Warrior story appears in each of the 5 volumes of Catfantastic to date.) Emmy's father has now returned from his work with the East India Company - but one of his parting gifts bears a curse.

Scarborough, Elizabeth: "The Queen's Cat's Tale" - Camelot, from the viewpoint of the aforementioned cat, now that she has retired with the Queen into a convent.

Schaub, Mary H.: "The Keep-Shape Spell" - These characters reappear in Catfantastic 3 & 4, but not 5. This time, the spell revealing a creature's true shape accidentally hit the wizard's *cat*, so Drop (formerly Raindrop) must adjust to life as a human for awhile.

Schlobin, Roger C.: "Of Age and Wisdom" - A tale of ancient times, when cats and dragons (of the Chinese variety) ruled the earth, but don't expect Dunsany here.

Schwartz, Susan: "Critical Cats" - The protagonist, Puff, has spent his life in a wire cage, as a blood donor for the animal hospital, and is embittered toward humans. Nevertheless, he's drawn as a poor soul whose attitude needs changing, to be 'saved' by the pet-patient in the next cage. (Puff is left in hospital by the grateful owner.) Stylistically well-written, I suppose, but the preachy aspect isn't to my taste.

Springer, Nancy: "In Carnation" - The nameless cat, whose previous 8 'lives' have spanned millenia, can take a human shape, but forgot human speech 4 lives ago. In this life, she takes human shape (naked, of course) and gets a job as a carnival stripper.

This series of short story books is an absolute pleasure to read!
Totally enjoyable short fantasy stories. Enough to get a taste of the author's style. A whole lot of fun.
Please keep them coming!

"Sargasso of Space" is the opening novel in Andre Norton's so-called "Dane Thorson series," and is a fine introduction to the books that follow. In this first volume we meet Dane Thorson, a young cargo-apprentice who is assigned (by mechanical Psycho selection) to the trader ship Solar Queen. The crew of the Queen pools its earnings and wins an entire planet, sight unseen, at auction. (Perhaps Ebay will be conducting auctions such as this in 50 or so years!) The crew then explores this strange planet, called Limbo, and discovers the remnants of a lost civilization, as well as globular natives, space pirates, mysterious artifacts and so on.
Ostensibly written for juveniles and "young adults," this novel has a strong appeal for "grown-ups" as well. Not for nothing has Ms. Norton become one of the most popular of all sci-fi/fantasy writers, selling kajillions of books and endearing herself to the hearts of millions. She writes simply but directly, and her characters are always sharply drawn and easy to identify with. Her early sci-fi works (this one was written in 1955) are in the true Golden Age pulp spirit, with no symbolism or literary tricks to gussy up the pleasure of an exciting story well told. By the end of this short but exciting novel, we feel that we know a lot about the 12 crewmembers of the Solar Queen, yet want to know more. In that, the book is an unqualified success.
As a matter of fact, I only had one small problem with this Norton novel. At one point in the story, our trader heroes set out to explore some alien ruins located around 20 miles from their ship. They walk to the ruins in a heavy fog, look around, and then decide to walk back! Now, I don't care how tough these guys are (and truth to tell, they seem more like average Joes than Stallone-type action figures, to the author's credit)...nobody walks 40 miles in a day--not even the Marines--on a gravity-normal planet! But beyond this stretching of credulity, "Sargasso of Space" is a marvelous entertainment that I do recommend highly to all lovers of old-fashioned sci-fi fun.

Sargasso of Space is the first novel in the Solar Queen series. This volume and the next two Solar Queen novels were first published under the pseudonym of Andrew North.

In this novel, Dane Thorson is a newly graduated cargo-apprentice from the Trade Training Pool reporting for his first assignment. As he waits with some of his former classmates for the Psycho computer to match him with a Trade organization, the others are assigned to interstellar companies -- Inter-Solar and the Combine -- and even the local Martian-Terran Incorporated line, but Dane is assigned to the lowest of lows, a Free Trader ship, the Solar Queen. However, the demeaning attitude of the other recruits only triggers Dane's stubbornness and determination to succeed in his assignment.

After he has a not very enjoyable last meal with his former classmates, Dane is joined by two crewmen from the Solar Queen who have overheard the name of their ship. They introduce themselves as Rip Shannon, astrogator-apprentice, and Ali Kamil, engineer-apprentice, and accompany him back to their ship. There Dane meets Captain Jellico, Cargomaster Van Rycke, Astrogator Wilcox, Com-Tech Tang Ya, Chief Engineer Stotz, Jetmen Kosti and Weeks, Medic Tau, Cook-steward Mura, the ship's cat Sinbad, and the Captain's Hoobat.

The first port of call is Naxos, where the Solar Queen buys ten-year trading rights to a planet, Limbo, in a Survey auction. The planet has been burnt off, but not completely. While their prospects don't look promising, a charter from an archaeological expedition interested in the Forerunner artifacts on Limbo will pay for the voyage, so they blast off to Limbo the following morning. On Limbo, the Solar Queen crew finds ancient ruins, strange machines, wrecked ships, and space pirates. They have to use all their skills, ingenuity, and courage to survive.

This novel has some of the signature characteristics found in many of the author's SF works, with Dane being an orphan and an outsider who eventually finds a niche of his own, but it differs from most later works in that Dane starts to feel at home on the Solar Queen even before going aboard. However, Dane becomes part of a human team, as in Star Guard and The Crossroads of Time, so alien sentients do not occupy a central role in this novel as in Star Rangers. Moreover, the animals, while playing an important role in the series, are more valued adjuncts rather than team members.

As with other novels of this period, the tale emphasizes teamwork over individual accomplishment. Each contributes their own unique expertise and viewpoint to strengthen the team. As with Star Rangers and Star Guard, this novel starts with a high degree of acceptance and companionship among the Solar Queen crew; in later works, such as Storm Over Warlock, active cooperation and good feeling is exceptional and occurs only at the end of the tales after much hard work and good fortune.

This story is one of the author's best accepted works, as witness the number of sequels. In many respects, this series is the positive side of the author's worldview. Despite the many hazards and trials of his chosen career and ship, Dane is part of a tight-knit group that freely gives acceptance and respect to each other. Many of the other tales by this author feature young persons who are desperately trying to obtain such relationships.

Highly recommended to Norton fans and anyone who enjoys tales of young persons striving for competence and success within a SF setting.

I am a 45 year-old electrical engineer, yet I have re-read my copy of this "juvenile" level paperback so many times that the paper is coming apart. Andre Norton's introductory story of Dane Thorton and the Solar Queen is close to timeless.

This SF action story from the 50's does have some dated technology (the "Psyco" asignment machine and the "Trade Center" Computer installation come to mind) but these are mostly obsured by not getting into their details too closely - No huge vacuum tube computers here! Later stories in the series have their technologies smoothly brought into the present (projected into the future) without losing their original series contexts. Very skillful.

I am hoping that "Sargasso of Space" and its next few successors are treated to the same updates that have been lavished on other Norton novels from this time period. In the mean-time, by all means go ahead and read this classic pulp!

Even though I am not a Sci Fi person per se, I do love cats (I have 4!!). I thought I would give this book a try, and I am very glad that I did. This book is a wonderful collection of stories, all involving cats of course, in a wealth of different genres. Some were adventure, some were 'love stories', some straight comedy in a variety of manners. I truly enjoyed reading this book, and plan to read books II through IV!

If you like both cats and fantasy, you will like these stories. Some of the characters that appear in this first book make return appearances in the other volumes. I look forward to new editions and recommend any of the volumes.

I am not a fan of short stories, but I enjoy the series of Catfantastic books. It combines my two loves, cats and fantasy. The stories are all excellent. The authors really have an insider's knowledge of the cat's mind. I laughed, cried, and cheered for the cats throughout the book. It's the type of book that you race to finish, but feel sad when you reach that last page because you know it will awhile before you'll get to read another like it.

This book is an exicting story which moves at a brisk pace. But it is part of a series, and in this book the principle heavies are revised to be ecologists. It does not fir the earlier portrayals of the baldies at all!
In the first two books of the series the baldies were the (ruthless) dominant race of an interstellar empire. The revision of their charactor and motives does not fit the earlier books in the series. That was a very jarring element to me.
Even so, the book was an excellent read.

When archeologists discover a modern earing burried beneath tons of lava, they see an anomoly. Scientists at the time project see something different. A possible attempt by aliens to redirect human history, destroying the modern world. A small team of project agents are sent back to the ancient Greece of Minoan civilization--and Atlantis itself--to ensure that humanity's destiny is not subverted.

Before the ancient civilization of Kalliste was destroyed in a huge volcanic explosion, it had achieved technological levels not seen again until modern times. Clearly the world would have been transformed had it survived--but would the transformation have been for the better? Authors Andre Norton and Sherwood Smith add a degree of ethical complexity to a science fiction adventure. The project agents think that they are doing the right thing, but so do the two separate groups of aliens that they face.

The Time Traders series formed a part of many baby boomers introduction to science fiction and still holds power today. Norton and Smith's decision to add ethical complexity to the adventure gives strength to ATLANTIS ENDGAME. Young adult readers will find Norton and Smith's style to be approachable while more mature readers will find a deceptive intellectual subtlty. Emotional depths, however, are only hinted at.

Atlantis Endgame is the seventh novel in the Time Traders series, following Echoes in Time. It tells the further adventures of Ross Murdock, his wife, Eveleen Riordan, and his partner, Gordon Ashe. It also adds a new character, Linnea Edel, an old acquaintance of Gordon.

In this story, Linnea has found an anachronistic earring with a modern jeweler's mark in a site on Thera, the probable location of legendary ancient Atlantis. While interesting in and of itself, it becomes extremely intriguing when found to be identical to an earring belonging to Eveleen. This existence of this object in ancient layers of soil suggests that it was lost circa 1628 BC, shortly before the island was destroyed by an huge volcanic eruption. The Project suspects Baldie intervention in the eruption and intends to send a team back in time to investigate.

The Russian time travel group cooperates with the Project to send a small ship with six agents aboard back to Kalliste, the ancient name of Thera before the eruption. There they travel to Akrotiri, the major town on the island, where they discover signs of Baldie tech in the volcano vents both on land and in the sea. Later a group of Baldies are seen on the beach, apparently looking for indications of THEM. They also find a Baldie ship in the sea, but can't locate the Baldie onshore base. They do find a couple of Fur Faces, a alien sentient species encountered only once before; however, they do not seem to be allies of the Baldies.

The natives are anxiously awaiting word from their oracle, but nothing new has been spoken in the past few months. Some Kallistans have left the island anyway, terrified by the frequent earthquakes and the steam, smoke, ash and rock ejected by the volcano. Linnea claims to be an Egyptian Earth-Goddess priestess to infiltrate the Oracle's household and is there when the seer orders the evacuation of the island.

This novel is driven by the imminent threat of eruption, so is more like a hit and run than the almost leisurely exploration in the other tales in this series. The team are all disappointed by the lack of opportunity to study this almost unknown culture, but Linnea, the newcomer, is particularly frustrated by the time limit.

Recommended for all Norton fans and anyone who enjoys tales of ancient societies in a SF setting.

there are actually 2 books here : Time Traders from 58
and Galactic Derelict from 59 (sequal). both books are kind of infantile SF books, representing the clasic age of the ganre. it has a very entertaing plot with aleans back to the past, and the back to the feuture plot, and then flying in rockets to sidtant planet, meeting bad russians, and aleans, and monsters. in short a full plot of 5 spielberg movies in one cover -
because the story is so plane, the figures are one dimentional, the americans are always the best and humane, while the russian and the aliens are always bad or stupied. and the writing style is not something to cover on it.

andre norton won the SWFA grand master aword in 83. i think this was to show gratitude for his persistance, but judging from this books, i don't think he truely deserved it.

The Time Traders is the first novel in the Time Traders series. In this original version, Ross Murdock is a young man with a bad record. While in detention, he is subjected to a series of psychological tests and, when called back into the courtroom for sentencing, he is offered a chance to volunteer for an unidentified government project as an alternative to Rehabilitation. He chooses to volunteer and is turned over to someone called Major. He plans to run at the first opportunity, but the Major takes him up to the roof of the building where they are picked up by a helicopter. They land on an airfield, change to flying suits, and leave in a sleek flying machine that departs straight up. By the time that they reach their destination, Ross has learned that the Major is named Kelgarries, but has no idea where they are, except that it is thoroughly covered in snow.

Within the base, Ross is subjected to a series of tests, including a full day of physical examination. The rest of the time he spends in a cell-like room by himself on a very comfortable bunk. After the speaker in his room brays an announcement in the Major's voice, Ross is startled to see the opposite wall disappear, revealing an outdoor scene with mountains and fir trees, the scent of pine trees, and the moaning of the wind. He hears a wolf howl, senses gray shadows in the trees, and sees a wolf come toward him, hears it growl and then sees it crouches down to leap. A bow twangs and the animal leaps into the air, then falls and bites at an arrow in its side. By this time, Ross has the blanket wrapped around his arm and is crouched down himself, waiting for the wolf's leap. Puzzled, he carefully walks to where the wall had been and discovered an unseen but solid surface at that location. He assumes that something new in image viewing has been developed and lies down to enjoy the remainder of the show.

Suddenly, all lights go out, leaving him in complete darkness. He feels his way to the door and finds it open. As he explores the corridors, he hears something crawling toward him, with frequent pauses and heavy breathing. Now the lights all come back on, temporarily blinding him, but soon revealing someone wrapped in bandages over his entire body. Before he can move, Major Kelgarries comes running up and kneels besides the figure, calling him "Hardy". The Major reassures Hardy that he is safe and then tells Ross to go to the end room and call a "Dr. Farrell". Hardy is carried away by the doctor and two attendants, with the Major walking alongside holding Hardy's hand. Ross realizes that the project is important and has suspected that it is dangerous; now he is certain of that danger.

As he is contemplating the group around Hardy, his name is called by a dark stranger who identifies himself as Ashe and says that they have been partnered. Ashe states that the project is Operation Retrograde and then takes him to mess call. There Ross discovers ten men, with six being ordinary in appearance; two of the men, however, were clearly Oriental, with long black mustaches and blue tattoo marks on their foreheads and the back of their hands and the other pair are blond giants with long braids in their hair. As they enter, another man, Kurt, calls to Ashe and asks him if he has heard about Hardy, saying that such injuries could occur to anyone. Although he is jeered down by the others, Ross notes that Kurt is a potential ally in escaping the base and agrees to meet him later.

From Kurt, Ross learns that the base has a technology that allows "taping" the characteristic of a person so that they can be traced anywhere. Kurt says he has a way to beat the taping, but needs a partner to escape. Ross is somewhat reluctant, so Kurt tells him that the project is sending teams back in time. When Ross agrees to go with him, they immediately leave the base, wind through the mine fields, and steal a snow cat. When they reach their destination, Ross learns that Kurt is a plant for the Soviets and manages to wrest control from Kurt. Under the circumstances, he has no choice other than returning to the base.

After his return, Ross is cleared to know more about the project. It seems that the Soviets have discovered how to travel to the past and somewhen they have found a few superscience gadgets that have led to amazing strides in certain areas. The US has duplicated the time machine, but still has no idea where the Soviets found the futuristic gadgets, so Operation Retrograde has been formed to search the past for clues. Ross is slated to join one such team traveling to Stone Age Britain.

This series has changed over the years to adapt to the political upheaval in Russia, but the real enemies in this series has always been the Baldies. When faced with a superior technology from a group of hostile aliens, the political differences between humans looks less important. Thus, the cooperation with the Russian time travel project has been almost inevitable by the logic of this series. It is merely convenient that the real world has, for a change, agreed with the Time Traders plot.

This series has always been more complex than it appears on the surface, for lurking in the background is a vision of the probability multiverse such as found in Crossroads in Time. Change the past and forever lose your future. Thus, it raises the issue of how much change is required to spawn a new timeline.

Recommended for Norton fans and anyone who enjoys tales of the past, the present, and the future within a single SF setting.

A reprint of the 1958 edition, this was like finding an old friend. I first read this in 1958 or 1959, when I was about 10 years old. I remembered snippets of it ever since and wondered if I would ever come across it again. The story is just as fresh as it was then. Indeed, I looked for some disclaimer that it had been updated, but found none. Other than the lack of scientific explanation underlying key aspects of the plot, thus dating its style somewhat, this was a remarkably prescient piece. And far from sophomoric in the bad sense, it appeals to the kid still inside me. I enjoyed it as much now as I did when I was 10. It has time travel, Russians, aliens, prehistoric tribes, space ships, personal struggle and triumph...what more can you want in a science fiction yarn? From over 40 years ago, it still rates 5 stars!

I can't believe that I never read more of this lady's books! I remember reading at least 3 of her novels back when I was a young'un, and I wasn't all that enthralled to read more. I read the time traders and iron cage and none of them was as good as this one in my opinion.
I'm currently reading The Beastmaster and it's already good.
Starman's Son was a good, fun, fast read full of action and adventure, full of cool and rich characters of both human and animal. A must read!

Star Man's Son is a post-apocalyptic novel that takes place about two centuries after the Great-Blowup. This story is also entitled Daybreak - 2250 AD in reprint editions.

The cause of the catastrophe is unknown, but the effect are quite obvious. Much of the population was killed by the immediate effects of nuclear bombs, many others died later from the direct radiation and fallout from those bombs, and many more died from induced radioactivity, plague and starvation. Many plants and animals had been mutated into unrecognizable and deadly forms. Only a few humans survived and many of these were also mutated into Beast Things and other horrible creatures in the "blue cities" where radioactivity lingered. A very few survivors, however, received beneficial mutations that improved their chances of survival, but the seemingly normal survivors generally feared and hated any and every mutant.

Fors is the son of Langdon, a Star Man, a far ranging explorer and leader of the Eyrie, and a woman that Langdon had meet down on the plains. Although Langdon was seemingly normal, Fors has inherited white hair from his mother, a mutation viewed with suspicion by the other residents of the Eyrie. While Langdon was alive, he protected Fors from most of the fear and hatred, but then Langdon was killed by Beast Things on an exploration into a far city and the men who find him bring back only a few of his belongings.

After that, Fors was mostly ignored in his efforts to become a Star Man like his father. He has been adopted by Lura, a great hunting cat, and has made his own sword, knive, bow, and arrows as required. His father, a master teacher among the Star Men, had already ensured before his death that Fors knows all that is required. Nevertheless, the Council has passed over him for five years and tomorrow he will have to give up his weapons and become a tiller of the soil. As he ponders his options, Fors conceives a bold plan and immediately starts gathering supplies and equipment, including his father's pouch, for a great journey to search for the lost city in the north that was never bombed and thus is safe for scavengers.

Although Fors has tried to hide them, he has some unusual talents that will help him on his trek: he is able to communicate empathically with Lura and he has much better night vision that most humans. Moreover, he has other, more subtle talents that manifest as he travels.

This story is based on the premise that mankind will come close to destroying himself and this premise is found in many other works by the author. In many respects, it is a reflection of the worldview of the Cold War era, but it persists even in recent SF stories. In most of Norton's tales, this apocalyptic vision was like Pandora's box, in that there was an element of hope among all the horrors of war.

Recommended for Norton fans and anyone who enjoys a mostly optimistic story of the possible future.

I read this book as a pre-teen, and it has remained at the top of my list since. Fors was my hero of many an imagined adventure of my youth. It is admitadly dated now, but I still recomend it to someone who enjoys a good sci-fi book, especially a young reader.

Although this book does in fact revisit likeable characters, there is very little character development. The budding romance between shana and lorryn is of no surprise and caillach gwain is, as always, a menace. This book spends entirely too much time expounding upon the nuances of elven politics and explicating the intricacies of magical spells. The main character, Kyrtian, may be a military genius but that doesn't prevent him from being as dull to the reader as he is to the other elves. All in all, there is very little action involved and a dissapointing lack of plot. One gets the feeling that authors were trying to make a few bucks by fluffing up the series rather than releasing a well- thought-out install ment to the series. I expected more. Three stars.

Like some of the other reviewers, I've been a fan of this series from the start, and eagerly awaited the release of this, the third book in the trilogy. Not only do I find the world Lackey/Norton constructed fascinating, but it's a very different spin than other authors have given to human-elven-dragon interaction, and I love it. It should go without saying that no-one should read any trilogy-finishing book without first having read the preceding two in the series, but with the way Lackey and Norton wrote the second and third books, this is even more important. Although the dedicated reader gets the updates on existing major characters that he/she craves, a whole new host of characters and circumstances is introduced as well, making this book not only a delightful continuation of the first two, but surprising and even more complex than I imagined it would be. It was definitely worth the wait, but as always with books I love - too short! I think I finished it in seven or eight hours on one day, since I'm a fast reader. Now I'll have to wait for the next offering!

I have been a fan of the Elvenbane books for a long time. It was with much joy that I read the second book when it came out, and it was with even more joy that I finally read the third installment.
It has been a long wait, and I savored every page, forcing myself to read it as slowly as I could to make it last, just a little bit longer.
The book is a fantastic addition to the previous two novels. There is little character development with the characters that the fans already know and love. But they introduction of a few new ones is well handled.
Norton and Lackey have done a wonderful job of showing seven degrees of seperation works very well in the Elvenbane world. Twisting together charcters that have connections, even though they may not know it yet. Dropping hints that only those who are very familiar with the books would recognize.
I was frustrated at first because the characters I loved were not introduced in the book for several chapters, but the new characters are interesting enough to make it worth it.
And while it is not as thick as many of he epic novel series, it is just as entertaining. And a must read for any Elvenbane fan.

Well, I really hate to say anything bad about one of my favorite authors, but this book really is a disappointment. It'd be ok I suppose if "The Elvenbane" didn't come before it. But with such an amazing prior book, it just doesn't measure up! After reading Elvenbane, I looked forward to the next book for a real long time, but when Elvenblood finally came out, it really disappointed. The book is too bland, not much excitement, action, not much of a plot at all to tell the truth. It just can't move you like the first book did. And one more thing I can't stand is how the characters paired up in the end. To think that such a nice boy would end up with such a disgustingly depressing wimp of an elven girl.

I loved The Elvenbane. I really liked the stereotype-defying, "evil, nasty elves" concept. The characters (that mattered) were fairly well developed, and the plot, while a bit cliche, still kept me entertained. This book was good also. Not *as* good as the first one, but still good. I thought the story moved a bit too quickly-I finished the book in about a day. I've been waiting for the third book ever since since. The publishers have been lying about the release date of Elvenborn since 1995! I enjoyed the series and am still waiting for it to continue. Please TOR, make me happy!

After reading The Elvenbane. I was a little bit dissapointed with Elvenblood. In the second halfblood chronicle Lashana is almost a secondary character in the plot. It does not have the same action/adventure/suspense combination that the Elvenbane had. However, it is not a bad book. If you have never read the Elvenbane, read it before you read this one. If you have, then you are going to like Elvenblood (I said like, not love).

Review from Roz: I'll admit I wasn't too thrilled with the book at first. The whole first chapter, in which the royal family is beseiged in the Ruwenda Citadel, seemed almost melodramatic to me. I remember reading the first part of the book with a lot of skepticism. I was thinking, "Well, this is okay, but it's just not the best book I've ever read." However, once I got past the first few chapters, I COULD NOT PUT THE BOOK DOWN. It's just simply a wonderful story. I think most of the appeal lies in the characters--the three princesses who are so different from each other, the dangerously charming bad guy. The history and the setting are very well-thought out. There is an entire side-culture of the "Oddlings", the other sentient species on the World of Three Moons. The history of the place is textured--besides the surface story of the princesses' quests, there is a deeper, interesting layer underneath: the mystery of the Vanished Ones who have left their strange technology behind. When you really start to think about it, the plot of this book is a little tired. Some things are a little too cliche or contrived. But the bottom line is: Who Cares? It's an effective, interesting, enjoyable book, and I loved it. The characters are the best part. Well done.

This book is truly what introduced me to these superb authors .It's definately one of the best books ever written .Magical ,interesting ,fast moving,it has all the qualities to a good book .I adored the creatures they invented ,the Oddlings ,the tree varts ,the Glismak ,the Skritek ,and everything else .They develope a wondreful feeling that I've barely felt before . Here is the plot :Three princesses are born in Ruwenda :Haramis ,smart and leader -like and heir to the throne ,Kadiya ,firey tempered but an amazing huntress,and Anigel,sweet ,timid ,and loving .Each of them is bestowed with the amulet of the black trillium by the Archmage Binah .When the princesses are young women ,the neighboring country of Labornok invades.Haramis ,Kadiya ,and Anigel are split up and sent to look for the magical talismans that will save their country :The Three Winged Circle ,the Three Lobed Burning Eye ,and the Three Headed Monster .But if the sorcerer you uses the king of Labornok as a puppet finds them first ,they will surely be destroyed.

The trio authors Marion Zimmer Bradley, Julian May, and Andre Norton have created a world so enchanting that I had to read non-stop from beginning to end. Action began from the first page as the triplet sisters are forced to split up and embark on their own journeys, and conquer themselves.

The story is fun, beleivable, and full of mystery surrounding the ancient citizens of the planet, the vanished ones. It is fairly easy to read because the authors did not add too much description, or confusing topics, which often take away the pleasure of reading.

The charcters came to life for me because their personalities were so human. Also, although I am not a feminist, I enjoyed the fact that the main characters Kadiyah, Haramis, and Anigel are women, which is a good change from many other fantasy stories that have either men as the lead characters or super-strong and unrealistic women running around and beating everyone up, (*cough*Xena-wannabees*cough), excuse me.

Black Trillium has all the elements that make an excellent story. The only problem that I had with it is that the ending seemed to be a little slapped together because it was so short.
This is when all three sisters confront The bad guy, Orogastus, together for the first time. About two short chapters later, the story ends. This dosen't create any loose ends, but it does take some of the momentum that the story had built up.