Showing results by author "Andre Norton" in All Categories

Set in a world where civilization has crumbled and the divine still whispers through ruins, the story follows Varta—the last priestess of the god Asti—on a journey of survival, destiny, and cosmic revelation. Alongside her enigmatic, scaled companion Lur, Varta flees a fallen city to seek the truth of her world’s ancient powers. As they traverse desolate lands and uncover long-buried relics of a space-faring race, Varta awakens a mysterious figure from another world—an act that may restore a lost legacy.

A mage, seeking to enslave the Valley and destroy the Forest, has brutally sundered a family. A mother has fled into the woods with her infant girl-child, while the depraved sorcerer holds the babe’s twin—a boy—captive in a black tower. The mother dies but the girl survives. Adopted by the strange denizens of the Forest—safe from the mage’s malevolent influence—she grows to young womanhood, cultivating a cherished skill that has been denied the others of her kind: the ability to truly hear the sounds of her world.

Even the coming of an autumn dusk could not subdue the color of this land. Shadows here were not gray or black; they were violet and purple. The crumbling adobe walls were laced by strings of crimson peppers, vivid in the torch and lantern light. It had been this way for days, red and yellow, violet—colors many had hardly been aware existed back in the cool green, silver, gray-brown of Kentucky. So this was Tubacca! Back in ‘59 this had been a flourishing town, well on its way to prominence in the Southwest.

Three generations of people have been raised on Astra, a colony established by people escaping from the tyrannical government of Terra. Dalgard is embarking on his coming-of-age exploration of the unknown northern lands. In his canoe with a friendly merman native he travels north and discovers proof that Those Others, the evil master race that formerly ruled the planet, are still a danger.

The Patrol has a strict policy of pushing any star ship infected with unknown plagues straight into the sun, no questions asked. When the crew of the Queen start dropping like flies with no explanation, rival traders start crying, 'Plague Ship!'

None loves the land as well as Lorcan, orphaned at birth, who has sought his birthright for as long as he can remember. Exiled from his native land when it was invaded by Alizon, he spent his youth in Paltendale where he was treated as an outsider, especially by Hogeth, an heir of that dale, who resented Lorcan’s presence when both were still young men.

The heritage of the Gryphon will choose its own. The time of choice is now. The urge within him is overwhelming, and Kerovan - he of the cloven hooves and amber eyes - is driven toward the mountains - toward the dark. With him goes the Lady Joisan, who carries with her secrets unknown to Kerovan.

Long ago, after the Elder People deserted the place known as Witch World, a portal opened from another realm, bringing the people of Hallack to colonize the abandoned lands. But although the old inhabitants had gone, the Old Gods still existed to confound the new mortals beneath them.

Was Andas an android - or the rightful emperor, held prisoner on a distant planet while an android impersonated him on the empire's throne world? Was Tallhassee Mitford a modern archaeologist suffering from strange delusions, or has an ancient Egyptian ankh somehow hurled her personality far back in the mists of time to a Nubian kingdom where she is now a warrior princess named Ashake, caught up in a struggle between the gods of Egypt? Two very different heroes in the grip of forces beyond control, beyond comprehension, both destined to be the only hope of doomed civilizations.

The birth of a hero is never easy. Clumsy as an elephant in high heels, he is nothing like his legendary scout father. But inside that bull-moose-of-a-body lies the heart of a hero whose moment has arrived! Next, a boy survives alien invasion - but must learn to think and act like his reptilian enemy to exact retribution for slaughter. These and two other tales of coming-of-age-through-peril from the writer who invented the genre, Andre Norton.

This volume contains two novels. Perilous Dreams: Tamisen the Dreamer is trained to walk through her dreams to other places, other worlds. But when she is asked by the crippled star traveler Lord Starrex to take him into a dream world where he can regain his legs and his life, something goes terribly wrong. Knave of Dreams: For Ramsay Kimble, sleep means nightmares, and he avoids it whenever possible. But now a car accident has catapulted him into the very world he most dreads: the horror world of his own dreams.

In a future where humanity has scattered itself across the stars and Earth itself is now a dimly remembered place of legend, two worlds of near-supernatural strangeness challenge two naive but courageous heroes.

Kerovan of Ulmsdale released his wife, Joisan, of all obligations to him. Though their love is unbreakable, he could not burden her with his unrest as he was beckoned to wander the Waste in search of his true destiny. But Joisan, unable to bear his absence, leaves her refuge to find him. And with both of them gone, the Dales are sure to fall under the power of the Dark as the shadows of evil begin to rise across the land.

Hunter Hume was kicked from the Star Pilot’s Guild and now scrapes a living guiding rich clients onto unpopulated worlds to hunt the wildlife. When scouting a new world Hume spotted something unusual and saw an opportunity to make money. In a devilish deal with an underworld kingpin Hume leads a safari into the jungle world of Jumala, and into a terrifying situation he never expected.

A criminal plot, a kidnapped youth, and a sinister intelligence on an alien world. Out-Hunter Ras Hume has a plan to steal a fortune with a shadowy underworld character, but the plot goes awry on the supposedly open world of Jumala, which is not as open as it seemed. A classic science fiction novella by sci-fi master Andre Norton.

When Fredericka Wing arrives in South Sutton, Massachusetts, a tiny New England town, it seems an ideal place for a working summer vacation. She plans on managing Miss Hartwell's bookstore while working on her own writing. She never dreamed she would find a body in a hammock in her own backyard. Someone brutally murdered Catherine Clay, an heir to the Sutton fortune. And more violence follows. Together with Peter Mohun, a professor at a local college, Fredericka sets out to discover the murderer's identity.

A girl and her two brothers are transported back to the time of King Arthur, where they must return three magic talismans to their rightful owners or remain trapped forever in the distant past. The adventure begins when Sara Lowry wins a picnic basket at the Firemen's Strawberry Festival. She and her brothers, Greg and Eric, are staying with their uncle at his Hudson Valley estate while their parents are in Japan.

The young man in question, Ross Murdock, is about to embark upon the adventure of his life. In order to avoid prosecution, he reluctantly joins Operation Retrograde, whose members are exploring various time periods. Their goal? To find out where – and when – the ‘Reds’ are obtaining certain scientific breakthroughs, in order to maintain the balance of global power. An outsider in his own time, Ross becomes an outsider in other times as well, and faces one challenge after another.

Rebel Spurs continues the saga of Drew Rennie as he rides into Arizona after the Civil War, seeking the father he never knew. Hiding his true identity, Drew must navigate danger, betrayal, and the untamed frontier in a gripping Western filled with suspense, honor, and self-discovery.

Ralestone Luck follows the three Ralestone siblings as they return to their crumbling ancestral home, Pirate’s Haven, in search of their family’s lost sword—a talisman said to restore their fortunes. With mystery, adventure, and unexpected dangers lurking, they must unravel the secrets of the past to reclaim their legacy. A thrilling blend of history, mystery, and Southern Gothic intrigue.