Disbelieving, but with little to lose, Tregarth gives up all the money he has left, and is transported to a land where magic vies with more mundane swords and bows. Petronius recounts a fantastic tale of a stone of power, the Siege Perilous of Arthurian legend, that has the power of opening a gateway to a world attuned to the person who sits on it. Jorge Petronius, a man with an amazing reputation for hiding men in dire straits.
After months on the run, killing at least two of these assassins, he knows his time is running out. He later also managed to anger a powerful criminal organization enough for it to send assassins after him. In post-war Berlin, he became involved, almost accidentally, in the black market, only to be caught and discharged in disgrace from the Army. It inaugurated the Witch World series and established a setting that she eventually shared with other writers.ĭuring World War II, Simon Tregarth rose from a common soldier in the U.S. I don’t see going on to the other (31!) books in this series.Witch World is a science fantasy novel by American writer Andre Norton, published as a paperback original by Ace Books in 1963.
In this novel, the environment and plot were more interesting, but I think what eight books tells me is that I just don’t care much for Norton’s work. Unfortunately, I had a similar reaction to the Time Traders series – thinly sketched, not very credible action heroes in ‘luckily it all worked out’ situations. He wanders hither and thither as the plot requires, with no real interests of his own. Our hero, Simon, while shown to be intelligent and resourceful, rarely shows much initiative. Where it is weaker is in the human relationships. The book then turns to a mix of interesting concepts, and I give it credit for interesting cultures and an interesting approach to multi-dimensional trade.
Then there’s a reasonably standard (for the period) man saves woman, becomes champion scenario. It starts well, with intriguing, gritty streets and an act of desperation. I’m sorry to say I didn’t think much of this first book in the series. I read the Time Traders series (with various co-authors), and wasn’t impressed, but I figured that it was the Witch World books that were what she was best known for. Decades later, I decided to give her another try. I knew about the Witch World, but I just wasn’t very interested. When I was growing up, I was well aware of Andre Norton, but I don’t believe I read more than a couple of her books.
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