Outside [Hardcover]

Andre Norton (Author), Bernard Colonna (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1974

A young girl determines to find out what is "outside" the sealed off city in which she's always lived but discovers that the only way she can get out is with the help of a mysterious rhyming man.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Child survivors of some ecological disaster who live inside a sealed off dome city where the life support machinery is running down . . . Andre Norton takes this premise, surely as old as sci fi itself, and finds a new solution aptly suited to the child readers this is intended for. Kristie, no longer one of the really little kids, but still young enough to be attached to her pet fox, is one of the young ones lured away by a Pied Piper known as Rhyming Man. And, following his trail of nursery rhymes and his motto, "Believing's Seeing," she finds herself led to the world outside the dome, now livable again. She also discovers that she has acquired the power of telepathy, and sets out to communicate the secret of escape to her big brother Lew. Anyone who knows his way around the genre will find this thin stuff, but the Rhyming Man is clever enough to lure those on the cusp between fairytales and sci fi. (Kirkus Reviews) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 126 pages
• Publisher: Walker & Co; First Edition edition (June 1974)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802761852
• ISBN-13: 978-0802761859
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,138,936 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Leaves a lasting impression..., September 28, 1998

By 

Dawn Smoker (Mechanicsburg, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Outside (Hardcover)

I first read this young adult book when I was 7. It was my first taste of Science Fiction and 23 years later I still remember it! It is set on a world where everyone lives in a huge domed city which is full of broken machines that no one remembers how to fix. People live in gangs where anyone in their twenties is considered an "old". They suvive by scavenging out of ancient stores. Whole areas of the city are abandoned. Food is running out, and the oxygen makers are breaking down. And children are following a mysterious rhyming man and vanishing. The heroine of the story is a young girl, a "little", who longs to see what is outside the dome, even though "olds" say everything is dead. So she follows the rhyming man...

This story of a future Earth is a bit scary for young readers, but is very haunting and thought provoking for more mature kids. This story is one that many adults would do well to read as well. It may very well be our own future!!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Sci-fi starter - wonderful memories, February 20, 2000

By 

Kathy Carrington "book fiend" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Outside (Paperback)

I read a friend's copy of this book when I was in early grade school and I have been searching for a copy ever since. It's been more that twenty years but I still remember the images from the book: the destroyed city, the frightened children, the hope for the future. At least now I know the author's name and my search will be a little easier! Thanks Amazon!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mystical revelations disguised as kids' sci-fi, May 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Outside (Paperback)

This ain't "Witch World!" "Outside", by Andre Norton, tells how a return to nature and the mysticism of Nature Religion could turn around the dead-end journey of our increasing reliance on technology too complex for all but a few to understand. Many of the images are derived from traditional Wicca -- the Black Man who is also the Fool and also the Wise One and who leads his followers to freedom is only the foremost among them. In many ways this book is like a zen koan -- the puzzle or joke that has no straight answer, meditation on which leads to illumination. That there are so few copies available is a great pity -- it should be widely read by mystics, ecologists, and urban planners.