Customer Reviews

Star Man's Son 2250 A.D.

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This was one of the first science fiction novels that I ever read, and the ideas and images in it have stayed with me all this time. Nor is it really "dated", it could all still happen- only it is now 250 years into the future instead of 300.

This is the story of Lars of the Puma clan, of the people of the Smoking Mountains. Lars's father was of the famed Star Men- explorers of the blasted wilderness beyond the mountain stronghold of the Star Hall. The brotherhood of Star Men sought to carry on the tradition of their research scientist ancestors- to seek out new knowledge for the betterment of the tribe- and of the world. This was to be Lars's destiny also, except that his father failed to return from his last mission and there was no one to speak for him at the last choosing of apprentices. So, rather than accept the insult of a lesser life, Lars took up his sword, bow, and his father's pouch, and along with his great mutant hunting cat, Lura, went out to find the great lost city of the Old Ones that his father's last journal entry spoke of.

Published in 1952 this was one of the first post-apocalyptic novels. It is also one of the most believable. Even in light of current knowledge you still find it believable.

One other thing, in spite of the tales about the unimaginable horror of nuclear war, this book was about hope. You see, even after you press that big "reset" button, mankind will yet find a way to survive; the great cycle of re-civilization from the ruins of former greatness will start again. If you were a kid growing up during the Cold War this was an important message to keep at the back of your mind.

Wow, so many read this story so long ago and loved it, too. I'm 42 and read this book when I was a 7th grader. I still have my original copy! I've read it perhaps eight or nine times since then, although it became more and more dated and the pages more and more brittle with each read. Regardless, Ms. Norton brilliantly captured Fors' quest and his sense of alienation. It was the sheer adventure and the characterization that's most important in this story, not the socio-political backdrop that somewhat shadows the storyline.

When I found out that Andre Norton was female (when I was a teen) I was amazed that she was able to get inside of Fors' head (who's male) so well. The mark of writing genius, if you ask me.

This book is truly is one of the classics of all of S/F. And this is the story that totally hooked me in the genre.

This is uncanny! I feel like I'm in a chat room with all the other reviewers! I too read this book in the 7th-8th grade (way too many years ago) and the story has never left me. Unfortunately for me, my copy (titled "Daybreak 2250 A.D.") was sold in an auction in a box of books that I intended to keep! This is one of the most engrossing stories that I have ever read, even if it was meant for kids. If you can find a copy, buy it, treasure it, and share it with your children. A great book

This was the first Andre I ever read, and I still have it, a little ragged and discolored. I am now a grandmother, and look forward to hooking my grandson on reading the sci-fi masters, as I did with our sons. This book took me to another world, and left me wanting more of it.

I loved this book when I read it almost 30 years ago. It has stayed with me all this time. Fors was so cool the way he communicated with his cat. I only read it once but it has never really left my consciousness. i recommend it highly. I'm going to scour the second hand shops for a copy!

Son of a gun, I just happened to think of this book one day and typed it in just for fun - and there are other reviews - and the reviews are good! I read a chapter from this many many years ago a middle school English class (required reading) and thought this story rocks! A story of after the apocalypse , primitive tribe living around Noo York City! This was a super book, I wish they would reprint it, it would make a good "Twilight Zone" or "Star Trek" type TV movie. I never did read the whold book, though, don't know how it ends - on an uplifting and hopeful note, I'm sure!

This is the first Andre Norton book that I read. My cousin had it and when we visited them I spent the whole time with me nose in the book. Got me in a lot of trouble but I never regretted it. That was about 40 years ago but it doesn't seem that long. Andre Norton has given me lots of new heros and heroines but none has ever replaced this one. He was basically cast out of his clan, decided to show them that he was worthwhile, met the baddies, saved a stranger, fought with the strangers tribe against the baddies, and saved the world. What more can you want in an action adventure? It also has an Andre Norton cat. It's one of her best.

My attention was first drawn to "Star Man's Son" by a school librarian about 1955, when I was in 8th grade. From then on until I graduated from high school, I read it at least 2 or 3 times a year, probably more, to the point where I could recite whole chapters by heart. The novel is set 200 years after a nuclear war has destroyed "civilization as we know it", as they say. Humankind has reverted to tribes of wanderers, who fear and avoid the old ruined cities for fear of the radiation that has created a race of "beast things". The hero, Fors, has yearned to follow in the footsteps of his later father, a "Star Man," one of the small group that tries to recover the old, lost secrets of science. But Fors is different from the others in his tribe--his night sight and hearing are too keen, and worst of all, his hair to completely white. Out of fear of genetic mutation from the radiation, people like him are not allowed to be full-fledged members of the community. Fors decides to leave the tribe before they decide on his fate. He will make his own way in the world. In the course of his adventures, he encounters and befriends a wounded man whose skin is as black as Fors's is white; they penetrate one of the old cities, and survive, though they have some narrow escapes from the Beast Things. Fors and his friend must both prove their valor and worth to their respective tribes--white and black--which are suspicious of one another, and join them to fight the Beast Things, which have become bolder and are beginning to emerge from the cities. As an adolescent, I empathized utterly with Fors, and I repeated envisioned myself as the hero of a film version of this exciting novel. I lost my copy somewhere long ago, and I've tried to find it again to lend to young friends who would enjoy it as much as I did 40 years ago. Any young man who feels misunderstood and put upon by family and the world at large will share in the excitement of Fors' adventures and his final success. I've read quite a few other Andre Norton stories, but this one, to me, was always the VERY best. I wish it were back in print!

Like many other reviewers, I read this one years and years ago, 1958 (I was 14 at the time). It was one of the first SiFi books that I had read and it hooked me on the genre. I read it several times during the very early 1960s and recently gave it a reread. Is is no worse for the wear! In my opinion, this was one of Norton's best works, having read much of her stuff since then. There is a haunting quality about the book and for some reason the story sticks with you. Women authors of this genre were few and far between at the time of this books writing and in fact, it was a number of years before I found that Andre Norton was in fact a female. Since that time, there of course are some wonderful female SiFi writers, but Norton was one of those who lead the way. We should all be grateful! I highly recommend this one. Like another reviewer pointed out, if you can find a old, illustrated copy, get it. If not, then by all means get a copy of the current paper back. You certainly will not be sorry.

This is a book that I read in the early '70's, my brother had bought it from the book order at school. I only read it once and have never forgotten it. It was so well written and appealed to me and my friends at the time. I'm going to try and find a copy too!