Brother to Shadows (Moon Singer/Free Traders, Bk. 5) [Mass Market Paperback]

Andre Norton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 9, 1999

Brother to shadows marks the triumphant, long-awaited return of one of the most distinctive voices in the realm of the future-possible - the first sf novel in over a decade by the incomparable Andre Norton, winner of the Science Fiction Writers of America's prestigious Grand Master Award. At the end of the history of Ho-Le-Far Lair, a young Shadow named Jofre is cast out in disgrace - cruelly forsaken by the illustrious Brotherhood of spies, bodyguards and assassins to whom he has dedicated his life...and damned to wander Asborgan alone. Then Destiny unveils her grand designs for Jofre in the Stinkhole - haven of the vilest scum to follow the star lanes. For there he is blood-oathed to the off-worlder Zurzal - a gentle, reptilian knowledge-seeker on a quest to penetrate the mystery of time itself. There are others, however, intently interested in the progress of the lizard-being and his newly acquired guardian: the lord of a contentious world who would harness their powers to crush a revolution...the bloodthirsty minions of the dreaded interplanetary Thieves Guild...and a beautiful, issha-trained Shadow-sister, entrusted with the destruction of one with whom she shares an unbreakable bond. But a Shadow, once oathed, may not question his mission. And Jofre must be faithful to the path he has chosen - embarking upon an exrtraordinary journey through strange worlds and unknown perils...and toward an unforeseen magnificence that awaits him in the terrible Shattered Land.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The well-known author of the Witch World series sets her disappointingly thin mix of fantasy and space opera in the far future on the recently settled planet of Asborgan. After being expelled from the brotherhood of assassins by a corrupt priest, Jofre makes his way to a rundown Asborgan city. There he rescues from street thieves a reptilian alien named Zurzal, who hires the young man to be his bodyguard on a quest for valuable ruins left behind billions of years ago in the first wave of galactic colonization. They are dogged during their travels by others who want to reach the ruins first and by the cohorts of the priest who exiled Jofre. After a desperate battle of half-magical, half-scientific forces, Jofre and Zurzal triumph; the former even acquires an assassin girlfriend. Although possessed of a certain old-fashioned charm, the novel is static and expository, the characters more archetypes than real people and the plot extremely predictable. A forgettable effort from a writer who has done much better.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Cast out of his monastery because of his off-world birth, the young issha-monk Jofre seeks his fortune in the employ of an alien scholar whose inventions have gained him deadly enemies throughout the galaxy. Set in her Forerunner universe, Norton's latest sf adventure features a youthful protagonist and a supporting cast of believable aliens as well as a plot that combines both intrigue and space adventure. Despite a less than successful overlay of Asian culture, this is still classic Norton. Suitable for both YA and adult sf collections.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 311 pages
• Publisher: Avon (March 9, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380770962
• ISBN-13: 978-0380770960
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #463,801 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Grand Master had not lost her touch, August 20, 2003

By 

Ama Lady (Ama, Louisiana United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brother to Shadows (Hardcover)

This book is vintage Andre Norton. I enjoyed it so much, I am going to attempt to get a hardbound copy so it will last longer than my paperback will. If you are a Andre Norton fan, do not miss out on this book. I can only hope that she will write a sequel. There were so many things that I would like to see enlarged upon. For instance, will Jofre confront the Shagga priests and vindicate himself with the Brotherhood of Shadows. Are he and Tanyan bonded as a couple? What race of people did Jofre come from? What happened to his parents? Why was his escape pod ejected from whatever ship he was on as a baby? What other adventures will our intrepid Zacathan, Shadow Brother, Shadow Sister and Yat encounter? There are so many possiblities open.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars solid and well written., January 15, 2001

By 

Dixon Whitley (Albuquerque, New Mexico United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brother to Shadows (Moon Singer/Free Traders, Bk. 5) (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is not in any way original, or very thought provoking for that manner. But this is bulk sci-fi at its best. It takes a story that has been written at least a dozen times, and remakes it in a way that is very readable and entertaining. The main characters are from a tribe of superwarriors who have to fight much stronger and better equipt enemies. While this is a plot that has been made several times, and by better authors, this books works like most saturday action movies that Hollywood creates. It's not that thought provoking and you know what is going to happen but it is still good entertainment for a rainy day.

6 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Anvery gratifying read, March 4, 1998

By 

KitchenSharkMama "MicahBina" (NC,, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brother to Shadows (Moon Singer/Free Traders, Bk. 5) (Mass Market Paperback)

Andre Norton as long been one of my favorite authors and one can but hope that there will be more of these books coming.