Gods and Androids [Hardcover]

Andre Norton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 6, 2004

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 Tallhasseee 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 civilisations...

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Baen; 1St Edition edition (April 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743488172
• ISBN-13: 978-0743488174
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,634,318 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Doppelganger Novels, March 30, 2004

By 

Arthur W. Jordin (Smyrna, GA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gods and Androids (Hardcover)

Gods and Androids is an omnibus edition of two independent novels. It includes Android in Arms and Wraiths of Time. Both involve doppelgangers who replace their duplicate persons during a time of great crisis.

Androids at Arms (1971) is a singleton novel set in the Psychocrat universe. Imperial Prince Andas of Inyanga and other personages awake on a harsh planet apparently uninhabited by sentient life except for the single building that they occupy. In discussing the situation, they conclude that they have been under the influence of an inhibitor, which muddles the mind. Then one of them tells of a rumor he has heard of a service that, for a suitable fee, offers to replace selected persons with programmed androids.

Wraiths of Time (1976) is a singleton novel about an ancient Egyptian civilization. Tallahassee Mitford is a student of archaeology and an assistant curator at the local museum. As she examines an artifact found in an airport locker, she is suddenly surrounded by a riot of light, heat, sound and pain and then falls senseless. Upon awaking, Tally finds that she has been hurled into a time after Egypt was overrun by barbarians.

These stories illustrate one of the recurring themes in the author's SF works: persona transfer. As best exemplified in the Moonsinger series, the author explores the results of transferring or copying a mind from one body to another. In these stories, the mind is impressed upon a near duplicate body. However, in other tales the persona is impressed upon a very different physical carrier; for example, in The Moon of Three Rings, the mind of Krip Vorland is transferred to a barsk, an alien canine-like animal. These stories also depict the two approaches that the author takes to such advanced techniques; in the first tale, the transfer is apparently accomplished by machines, but the second story seems to use an advanced technology indistinquishable from magic.

Nevertheless, these stories don't dwell upon the technical aspects, but paint vivid pictures of two very different worlds and their inhabitants. As in most of her novels, the author shows human beings, and aliens, coping with trying circumstances and achieving a fair degree of success in unexpected circumstances and strange environments. While these novels are not among the author's major works, they are easy and enjoyable reads.

Highly recommended for Norton fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of daring adventures and exotic societies.

-Arthur W. Jordin

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Andre Norton, September 11, 2010

By 

K. Hennessy (Dayton, Ohio) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Gods and Androids (Hardcover)

Compilation of 2 classic Andre Norton books. Great reads. Norton is a wonderful story teller who keeps your interest through-out the book.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gods and Androids, August 28, 2006

By 

Robert E. Crichton - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gods and Androids (Hardcover)

I found the book to be a quality addition to my library. This replaces some of thr paperbacks that I have read until they were coming apart