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Witch World (1963) is the first novel in the Witch World series. Once Simon Tregarth had been a Colonel in the US Army in Occupied Europe, but had been unknowingly caught up in a black market deal. On the basis of perjured testimony, he had been courtmartialed, stripped of rank, and imprisoned.

When released, he had become that of which he was falsely accused, a dealer in illegal merchandise. Then his path crossed that of Hansen and now the Organization is after him. He has been on the run for some time and has left a few dead pursuers on his back trail, but is tired and sleepy. Now he faces Sammy, who is more dangerous than the others.

Tregarth stops in a restaurant to eat a pleasant last meal and is accosted therein by Doctor Jorge Petronius, who is well know in some circles as the man who can make you disappear. Petronius offers his services in exchange for whatever remains of the $20,000 brought from San Pedro.

Tregarth accompanies Petronius to an ancient little house and is told the legend of the Siege Perilous. "One takes his seat upon the Siege and before him opens that existence in which his spirit, his mind -- his soul if you wish to call it that -- is at home." At dawn, Tregarth sits on the stone and disappears from this world.

Tregarth is spilled out to sprawl face down of the thick wiry turf of a gray-green moor. Behind him are two rough pillars of reddish rock. He walks directly away from them across the soggy turf. As the sun rises, he hears a horn calling and cautiously moves in that direction. He sees a woman pursued by thin, white hounds and then the masters riding on horses. The animals and men corner the woman and one of the men takes a weapon from a holster on his belt and raises it toward the woman. Tregarth shoots him out of the saddle.

Thus Simon Tregarth meets the Lady Jaelithe, although he was not to learn her name for some time yet, and is introduced to the Witches of Estcarp. He soon meets Koris, Captain of Estcarp's fighting men and Prince of lost Gorm. Together, these three battle an invasion of evil from another worldline: the Kolder.

Although the Witch World series is now considered fantasy, this first novel does not differ significantly from much of the author's science fiction. The "magic" powers of the Estcarp witches may just as well be psionic talents such as in the Warlock, Janus, and Forerunner series. Moreover, the "magic" exists side-by-side with technology, both native to Estcarp and imported from Earth and wherever the Kolder come from. It is difficult to find anything in this first novel that isn't just as much SF as the Pern series.

Later, the series begin to acquire characteristics of fantasy, such as shapechangers and Words of Power. Maybe the fantasy ambiance was just more exceptable than the author's soft SF environment, for this series became wildly popular within the SF/Fantasy community and then with other readers. The author had been popular with younger readers, including myself, for some time, but now started attracting wider attention among college students and older adults. She had never really published much in the magazines and thus didn't garner Hugo and Nebula nominations, but now her novels began to impress the readership enough that a special Hugo was awarded for her lifetime achievement as a Master of SF and Fantasy.

This story was first published in 1963. As such, it was written to a different standard than contemporary authors such as Robert Jordan and Terry Goodkind. It is very linear, without the stylistic gimmicks of flashbacks and multiple storylines. However, it tells a story that can still enthrall a reader who is willing to put aside all expectations and just go with the flow.

This tale started Andre Norton's rise to fame. It is a must read for any Norton fan. The next volume is Web of Witch World. Read and enjoy.

Highly recommended to anyone else who might enjoy a well-crafted tale of courage, special talents, and romance.

-Arthur W. Jordin

How many times have you fallen asleep and dreamt you were in the fantasy world created by your favorite author? I've only had that experience once in my life and my dream took place in Andre Norton's Witch World.

This author kept me turning the pages, not only for the cliff-hangers that the hero, Simon Tregarth gets himself into, but also for glimpses of a strange new, magical landscape. She doesn't pile on the adjectives, either. Her prose is remarkably clean. Just read the lead sentence of "Witch World," which introduces us to ex-soldier, Simon Tregarth:

"The rain was a slantwise curtain across the dingy street, washing soot from city walls, the taste of it metallic on the lips of the tall, thin man who walked with a loping stride close to the buildings, watching the mouths of doorways, the gaps of alleys with a narrow-eyed intentness."

He is a hunted man, unjustly cashiered from the U.S. Army for dealing in the post-war blackmarket. Since Simon had been labeled as a crook, he figured he might as well play the game.

After seven years in the underworld, surrounded by his enemies and a gunshot away from death, Simon treats himself to a decent last meal (Andre Norton heroes and heroines NEVER whine. They assess the odds, then keep on slogging). Enter the mysterious Doctor Petronius who persuades Simon that he has nothing to lose by vanishing from his enemies' gunsights through the Siege Perilous, a Cornish megalith that is rumored to be a gate to other worlds. Simon leaves the restaurant with Petronius, almost positive that he is walking into a trap. Instead of the bullet he is expecting, our hero is transported to the foggy moors of a new world.

The action doesn't let up. The first thing Simon does is rescue a witch from a nasty bunch of snake-headed dogs and hunters (we don't learn the witch's name until the very end of the book). The next thing he knows, he's embroiled in a war where the good guys appear to be losing.

Simon allies himself with "a tall, proud-walking race with...the carriage of rulers and an odd weight of years upon them." His new home, medieval Estcarp is a matriarchate, ruled by witches, whose powers depend on their continuing virginity. Nevertheless, Simon falls in love with the witch he rescued.

The enemies that he and Estcarp must confront have invaded Witch World via a gate similar to the Siege Perilous. The alien Kolder are technically advanced, with submarines and mind-control devices that they use to command their zombie soldiers.

Estcarp's only allies are the Sulcarmen, seafaring warriors and traders who lose their main port of Gorm to the Kolder. Simon, his friend Koris of Gorm, the witch he rescued from the Hounds of Alizon, and a youthful soldier called 'Briant' tread the mysterious byways of Estcarp and its warring neighbors, in an attempt to track down and destroy the technically superior aliens.

Lifetime Grand Master of Fantasy, Andre Norton built well. There are 35 Witch World (WW) fantasies, and the count is probably still rising even though this author passed away on March 17, 2005. Many of the later WW novels were collaborations, and it wouldn't surprise me if her co-authors attempt to live on in the world that the Grand Master created. I wish them well, but so far they have not managed to penetrate the brilliantly weird landscapes of Andre Norton's imagination.

Lieutenant-Colonel Simon Tregarth was a man at the end of his rope. He had been unjustly cashiered from the service of his country for black market dealings that he had never engaged in. Then he had in reality been forced into that shadowy underground world when no one else would have him. But, he was a cut above the men that he had to deal with- and this inevitably made him enemies. In fact, he had eaten his final meal and resigned himself to meet the assassins that shadowed him. Time spent in combat and in prison had led him to look deeper inside himself than most men ever do - or perhaps should. He was ready to end this travesty of an existence one way or another. It was then that the infamous Dr. Jorge Petronius introduced himself....

The good doctor told Tregarth of the legend of the Siege Perilous- the seat that could judge a man, determine his true worth, and deliver him to his fate. In legend, only Percival and Galahad had ever escaped the judging unscathed. Now it was Simon's term- and he was far from a pure knight.

The world to which he found himself transported was far from a paradise. It was an ancient world truly ruled by sword and sorcery. Simon already knew how to live by the sword. In the service of the Women of Power of ancient Estcarp he came to know of sorcery. For that mysterious extra sense that had kept him alive for so long was the faint stirring of the Power. Here in this world it would thrive. Indeed, it would prove both his personal redemption and that of dieing Estcarp, for before his arrival none but women possessed the Gift.

Have you ever read a book as a young person, found it fascinating, and then re-read it as an adult only to be sadly disappointed? Witch World does not fall into that category! Even as a 12 year old, I could understand the plight of the hero, Simon Tregarth. He was a fugitive who no longer fit into society on Earth, desperately hunting a way out. Little did he know what he was getting himself into! He is dumped into a world of strange customs and peoples -- a world including the women of Estcarp, the witches. Tregarth finds himself in league with one of these witches, fighting against their enemies backed by an ancient evil. Andre Norton's characters are vivid and believable, and her storyline is gripping. It's grand adventure in the very highest tradition of fantasy, and I still love it!

Norton started writing in the thirties, but really made a name for herself with her very competent, sometimes brilliant YA science fiction works she produced from the late forties through the early sixties, such as The Beast Master, Starman's Son, and The Last Planet (aka The Star Rangers). With this book, she took a giant step in a new direction, that of an adult fantasy, a book that spawned a veritable library of sequels and other stories set in the same universe, most written by her, but some written by others or as collaborators with her. Today it still stands as one of her best works.

Simon Tregarth is a man on the run from various shadowy ruffians, people he associated with because he was wrongly convicted of working the black market while in the military. Willing to try anything, he ends up passing through the Siege Perilous, a megalith which apparently is actually a gate to another world. There he immediately finds himself embroiled in a war between the Witches of Estcarp and the alien, technologically advanced Kolder, and somewhat in love with one of the Witches, even though she is bound to remain a virgin if she wishes to retain her powers.

The magic of this book lies not so much in the overt acts of magic that are performed as part of this war, nor even in Simon's growth into a hero with honor, but rather it is in the richness, the otherworldliness of this imagined world. From intimations of its past, highlighted by the Sulcarmen's possession of obvious high-technology devices, now totally forgotten by the rest of the world, to the realization that Estcarp is merely a small sliver of what once was a much larger nation with much greater magical powers, this world creeps into your subconscious, makes you feel its reality and uniqueness. As others have mentioned, this world really does seep into your dreams, makes you wish you could be there, have a part in its actions.

Along the way, there are questions raised about the proper roles of men and women, a theme that would recur throughout much of Norton's later works, as she consistently championed the (for its day) radical idea that people should be allowed to do whatever their capabilities fit them for, that society not only should not, but cannot force people into subservient or socially acceptable roles merely because of their gender. Determination, honesty, a sense of honor, and bravery in the face of overwhelming odds run right alongside this idea, at sharp variance with all too many `literary' books that seem to have mediocrity as their highest goal.

Perhaps this book doesn't have quite the power of Lord of the Rings, but at the same time it may be more accessible, more `believable' as a real world that you just might be able to go to - if you could only find a `gate' to take you there.

---Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)

Witch World
Andre Norton
(1963)

Witch World (1963) is the first novel in the Witch World series. Simon Tregarth had once been a Colonel in the US Army in Occupied Europe, but had been unknowingly caught up in a black market deal and, on the basis of perjured testimony, court-martialed, stripped of rank, and imprisoned. When released, he had become that of which he was falsely accused, a dealer in illegal merchandise. Then his path crossed that of Hansen and now the Organization is after him. He has been on the run for some time and has left a few dead pursuers on his back trail, but is tired and sleepy. Now he faces Sammy, who is more dangerous than all 0f the others.

The protagonist is Simon Tregarth, an "outlander" who flees his own world.
He is a stranger to Estcarp and as such not really part of it. Instead, he becomes an observer who tries to fit into this new and different world. Repeatedly, he expresses his wish to understand--yet such alien aspects as their magic are difficult for him to accept. As a result, there is a curiously detached quality to him, and this detached quality carries over into the descriptions of Witch World. It is almost as if one, looking through Simon's eyes, sees the land and its people through a mist. Ironically, those seen most clearly are the Kolder, those terrible results of a scientific age gone wrong. Their world is close to the modern world of Simon


Tregarth stops in a restaurant to eat a pleasant last meal and encounters Doctor Jorge (Spanish for George) Petronius, who is well know in some circles as the man who can make you disappear. Petronius offers his services in exchange for whatever remains of the $20,000 brought from San Pedro.

Tregarth accompanies Petronius to an ancient little house and is told the legend of the Siege Perilous. "One takes his seat upon the Siege and before him opens that existence in which his spirit, his mind -- his soul if you wish to call it that -- is at home." At dawn, Tregarth sits on the stone and disappears from this world.

Tregarth is transported sprawling face down on a gray-green moor. Behind him are two rough pillars of reddish rock. He walks directly away from them across the soggy turf. As the sun rises, he hears a horn calling and cautiously moves in that direction. He sees a woman pursued by thin, white hounds and then the men riding on horses. The animals and men corner the woman and one of the men takes a weapon from a holster on his belt and raises it toward the woman. Tregarth shoots him out of the saddle with his pistol. Tregarth used to be quite good at this and once learned combat skills tend to stick.

Thus Simon Tregarth meets the Lady Jaelithe, although he was not to learn her name for some time (asking someone their name is a major breach of etiquette as Tregarth learns), Tregarth is introduced to the Witches of Estcarp/Escore/Escore. He soon meets Koris, Captain of Estcarp/Escore's fighting men and Prince of lost Gorm. Together, these three battle an invasion of evil from another worldline: the Kolder.
Power in all its aspects is a major theme of the Witch World novels. There is the power wielded by the scientific strength of the evil Kolders, but there is also the power of magic that is handled by the witches of Estcarp. Simon, the outlander, is much more familiar with the former, while even the thought of magic makes him uneasy. Yet the author hints that he has his own share of the old magic, due to his Celtic background. And during his most threatening encounter with the head of the Kolder he instinctively employs a magic symbol that he has seen the witches use and is saved by it.

Later, the series begin to acquire characteristics of fantasy, such as shapechangers and Words of Power. Maybe the fantasy ambiance was just more exceptable than the author's soft SF environment, for this series became wildly popular within the SF/Fantasy community and then with other readers. The author had been popular with younger readers for some time, but now started attracting wider attention among college students and older adults.

Koris
Man of Gorm. Commander of the Guards, Marshal and Seneschal of Estcarp. Son of Hilder by a Tor wife, Koris was not allowed by his step-mother Orna to succeed his father. Instead, he barely escaped from Gorm alive when the Kolder arrived to take over his land. Koris found his way to Estcarp, taking service with the Guards and rising to become their Captain. He befriended Simon Tregarth and took Simon with him when he went to Sulcarkeep to help defend the fortress against the Kolder. After Sulcarkeep was destroyed Koris and his men took ship with Simon and Jaelithe, but Koris and Simon's vessel was caught in a wild storm and dragged toward the coast north of Verlaine in Karsten. There Koris found and claimed the Axe of Volt, a great weapon and talisman. He also met Loyse, daughter of Fulk, lord of Verlaine. Loyse joined Koris, Simon, and Jaelithe in their travels and she eventually married Koris. They had one son, Simond. After Simon and Jaelithe disappeared from Estcarp, Koris and Loyse protected their children, preventing the Witches from taking Kaththea to the Place of Wisdom. But eventually Koris was wounded and the Witches seized Kaththea after Loyse went to be with Koris. Koris in time recovered from his wounds but he could no longer bear the Axe of Volt. It was believed among the Estcarpians that he made a special trip to Verlaine to return the Axe to Volt's tomb. Koris then returned to Estcarp, resumed command of the Guards, and eventually restored order to Estcarp after the Witches' nearly destroyed themselves in bringing about the Turning. Koris then became effective ruler of Estcarp, and he helped to establish relations with people in Escore, Alizon, High Hallack, and Arvon. Koris convened the great council that decided to destroy all the gates and he oversaw the progress of the various missions from Es City. (WITCH WORLD, WEB OF THE WITCH WORLD, THREE AGAINST THE WITCH WORLD, WARDING OF WITCH WORLD).


The Witch World by Andre Norton is a long series of fantasies laid in a parallel universe where magic works and, at the beginning at least, is the exclusive property of women. The series combines many traits of high fantasy and sword and sorcery. It begins with what is now called the Estcarp/Escore cycle. These describes the adventures of Simon Tregarth from Earth, his witch wife Jaelithe, and their three children Kyllan, Kemoc and Kaththea.
If I have counted correctly, The Witch world Series has a total of twentythree different books:

Escore Escarp - 10

High Hallack -11

The Turning 2

If combined all into one series this is by far Ms. Norton's most numerous series.

It expanded greatly with the High Hallack cycle, starting with Year of the Unicorn (Witch World No. 3)in 1965 and its sequels The Jargoon Pardand Gryphon in Glory. The Dales of High Hallack are on a different continent from Estcarp/Escore and its neighboring lands.
Mostly these cycles are organized by loosely by country or city state. Estcarp/Escore corresponds to France or Gaul in our world (directly: Simon Tregarth entered Estcarp/Escore through Europe).
The Turning sequence is about events which convinced conservative witches that men could handle magic responsibly. The Secrets of the Witch World trilogy brings many of these story lines to a climax. Both deal with worldwide events. Except for the last of the The Secrets of the Witch Worldrld books most of these were written in collaboration with Miss Norton's fans. The Witch World series can be considered the first romantic fantasy series, both because of the content and because these books were a primary inspiration to later romantic fantasy authors like Mercedes Lackey.
As noted, in the Witch World, as first introduced, magic power is considered to be exclusively female and exercised only by virgins, with the sexual act depriving a witch of her power (which leads Estcarp/Escore's male-dominated enemies to consider rape as a convenient way of "neutralizing" captive witches). The advent of Simon Tregarth, a man who turns out to possess some magical power and who forms a magical link with the witch Jaelithe after she becomes his wife, poses an uncomfortable challenge to the conservative witch hierarchy, which is by slow degrees forced to accept that males - and females who have relationships with them - can and do possess magic power. This can be considered a mirror image ofThe EarthSea Trilogy/Boxed Set, where a hierarchy of male mages who hold female witches in contempt is slowly and painfully forced to accept them as equals. And in both series, the long-held assertion that sex and magic are mutually exclusive ("a mage who makes love thereby unmakes his power") proved unfounded.
Here is a list of Witch World stories:
] Estcarp/Escore Cycle
Simon Tregarth
* Witch [[ASIN:B000NXA7YI Web of the Witch World (Witch World #2)Web of the Witch World (1964)
Annals of the Witch World (omnibus) (SFBC, 1994), AKA The Gates to Witch World (Witch World Chronicles) (TOR, 2001), contains Witch World, Web of Witch World and Year of the Unicorn)
The Tregarth Children
* Three Against the Witch World (Witch World #4)d (1965)
* Warlock of the Witch WorldWorld (1967)
* Sorceress of the Witch World (1968)
Chronicles of the Witch World (omnibus) (SFBC, 1998, AKA Lost Lands of Witch World (TOR, 2004); contains Three Against the Witch World, Warlock of the Witch World and Sorceress of the Witch World)
Others
* Trey of Swords (Witch World) (1977)
* Ware Hawk (1983)
* The Gate of the Cat (Witch World)(1987)
Witch World: Swords and Spells (omnibus) (SFBC, 1987, contains Trey of Swords, Ware Hawk and The Gate of the Cat)
* Ciara's Song: A Chronicle of the Witch World(1998) with Lyn McConchie
* The Duke's Ballad (Witch World Chronicles)(2005) with Lyn McConchie
High Hallack Cycle
Year of the Unicorn (Witch World No. 3)(1965)
* The Jargoon Pard(1974; sequel to Year of the Unicorn)
* Spell of the Witch World (The Witch World Novels of Andre Norton)(1972) collection of stories
* Gryphon Trilogy
* The Crystal Gryphon (1972)
* Gryphon in Glory (1981)
* Gryphon's Eyrie (1984) with A. C. Crispin
* Zarthor's Bane (1978)
* Horn Crown (1981)
* Were-Wrath (1984) Very Rare - Only 177 Copies Printed
* Songsmith (1992) with A. C. Crispin
* Silver May Tarnish (2005) with Lyn McConchie

The Origins of
the Witch World

Andre Norton



The Norton Newsletter
Issue #1, march 1979**
Creation of the
Witch World

Andre Norton



Reginald, R. Science fiction and fantasy literature (1979), p. 1018
"The Witch World and its sequels is one of Andre Norton's most famous creations. Although the novel itself never won any major
awards (it was, however, a Hugo nominee in the best novel category), it proved very popular with the readers. Indeed, so popular that Web of the Witch World and subsequent sequels were written. Since that time many fans expressed their interest in the history behind the novel's creation and Ms. Norton was happy to answer their questions. Below you will find two articles in which the authoress reveals some of the mystery that shrouds the origins. The Witch World books grew of themselves - I never intended to make a series in the beginning. Part of Witch World was taken from separate scenes I had done years ago for a novel on the Crusaders who had settled in Outremer. And the background of most of the books is based on Celtic and early English legends and folklore. Warlock of the Witch World is a retelling of Childe Roland, and Year of the Unicorn of Beauty and the Beast."

"The division of the books is according to continents on that world. Estcarp corresponds roughly to Europe and High Hallack to America. The Estcarpian stories largely have the same family as characters - the High Hallack do not. The Atlas of Fantasy has a map of Witch World; however, since that was drawn quite a few more towns and important sites have been added."

"As I mentioned, the Verlaine segment in Witch World was developed from a fragment I did about one of the knights of Outremer - those who settled in the Near East during the Crusades, and built up petty kingdoms there. I never wrote the historical tale, but used it as a part of fantasy. I switched to High Hallack with Year of the Unicorn, and then wrote several short stories and novelettes laid in the dales - which are founded on the Yorkshire dales of England, with their wild Viking-invader backgrounds. I then did the two novels, The Crystal Gryphon and the Jargoon Pard, taking up various dates before, during, and after the invasion."

"As for what I write - well, I write the kind of tales I like to read myself. There is a great deal of research which goes into each book - I use archaeology, ancient history, history of the middle ages, folklore, legends, natural history, and occult for my backgrounds. When I use such a definite occult matter as psychometry, the tarot, etc., in a book, I have a definite demonstration by an expert in order to get a material correct. Witch World really grew from another idea altogether. Years ago, before I entered the sf-fantasy field of writing (no one was interested in buying ms. that were book length then), I had an idea dealing with the Norman holdings in Outremer during the Crusading period - those small baronies (ect) which were carved out and held by landless knights who did not wish to return to Europe after their long travel to the Middle East."

"The section in the first book which deals with Verlaine and its heiress was an incident I had imagined for such a book. The book was never written except as scraps at the time. Then, much later, I came across the legend that the mysterious seat at the Round Table which came to be Galahads - The Siege Perilous - in reality dropped into another time and place those rash enough to try it who were not fitted to be seated there. That gave me an opening for an adventure tale."

"Witch World was never meant to be a series - it just grew. And many of the books are based on authentic folk tales long in our knowledge. Warlock of the Witch World, for example, is really a retelling of the old Saxon story of Childe Roland. Year of the Unicorn is a version of Beauty and the Beast - and so on."

"I research heavily for each book or tale - not only in the field of legend and folk story, but also in history of the middle ages and early English and British material. Over the years I have acquired an extensive personal library of folklore, history and witchcraft material to which I go for reference."

"I have to ration myself now with Witch World books as I do not want to start repeating myself - which is easy to do with a too familiar background. So I do not write one as often as I wish, and I do try to get an unfamiliar background as much as I can. My most recent work is one laid in the mysterious south from which the Falconers first came and gives a clue to the reason for their warped life style - it is a shorter work entitled Falcon Blood and has a Sulcar girl for a heroine."

"But one does have to deal with a great many small details and I now have a special Witch World book with backgrounds for the already printed stories, ect. so that I won't make any glaring mistakes."


I highly recommend this book and this series to anyone interested in reading a truly great book.

Gunner January, 2010

Simon Tregarth knows he's about to die -- he's being hunted down by a professional assassin and he has a "feeling" that it's going to happen tonight. But then the infamous Doctor Petronius interrupts Simon as he's savoring his last meal and offers him an escape. Dr. Petronius's services don't come cheap, but this expense is a no-brainer (after all, you can't take it with you). The only downside is that neither Simon nor Dr. Petronius knows where Simon is actually going, for he will sit on King Arthur's Siege Perilous and be sent to a world where his soul is at home...

Andre Norton (her real name was Alice, but she chose to write SFF under a male pseudonym back in the 60s) is often called the Grande Dame of Science Fiction and Fantasy and was the first woman to receive the Gandalf Grand Master Award from the World Science Fiction Society. I've been meaning to read Witch World for years and since Brilliance Audio has just released the first Witch World novel on CD, this was the perfect opportunity.

As expected, I enjoyed Witch World. Andre Norton's language is pleasant, if not brilliant, and all the characters were instantly engaging. I liked Simon immediately -- how can you not like a guy who has already killed two of his potential assassins and is now eating a steak dinner while waiting for the arrival of the last and best one? I also particularly liked Loyse, daughter of the odious Fulk, who doesn't want to marry the equally odious duke.

Though decades old, the plot was quick, fun, and refreshing and I liked the blend of science fiction and fantasy. However, the book wraps up a bit too quickly and easily at the end; I could have used a bit more tension. But perhaps if you go straight on to the next novel (Web of the Witch World, also being produced on audio) you won't feel this way since it's a continuation of the story.

Nick Podehl was the reader for this book and he did an adequate job, though his voice could sometimes be described as plodding and soporific. Consequently, I didn't find that his reading added anything to the story. It didn't reduce my enjoyment of the story, but I was disappointed that it didn't enhance it.

I'm looking forward to Web of the Witch World. I like Simon and his companions and I'm wondering what they'll do next in Simon's new world.

I first encountered Andre Norton when an elementary school publication--was it Junior Scholastic--offered some paperbacks for sale. I got "Foundation and Empire" and "Star Rangers", along with another by Poul Anderson whose title I have forgotten.
Norton's YA, or juveniles were hard sci-fi usually featuring a young person cast away in one sense or another. As one writer noted, Norton's characters are all looking for a family. Younger folks than I--sixty-five next week--will not recall the many short novels, even the Ace Doubles, two short novels back to back for forty cents at the drugstore book rack. Norton was well-represented.
Some may say that these were potboilers, but they were well-done for potboilers. As a youngster myself, I found it easy to identify with the protagonists, to wonder what I would do in this situation or that, to wish I had the opportunity to visit far worlds and find relics of tne mysterious Forerunners. Literary quality, whether it was noticeably present or unnoticeably absent, was not a concern.
Witch World is Norton's first fantasy. I read more of the Witchworld series, three or four, anyway, and became tired of them.
In Witch World, there is magic. But it is limited. There is no deus ex machina where somebody finds himself in a blind alley--actually or figuratively--and hauls a previously undisclosed magic blind-alley-opener hickey from his pocket.
The old playwrights and screen writers have a saying that if you show a gun in the first act, shoot somebody in the third act. If you shoot somebody in the third act, you'd better have shown the gun in the first act. To do otherwise is to cheat the audience.
Norton and her collaborators failed to keep the magic under control and the books suffered.
Witch World is something like hard scifi, but with a bit of magic as part of the plot. Indeed, the limitations on magic make it more like some kind of technology, and so this book should be seen as a transition.
Unfortunately, although I will reread her Star Man series with pleasure, Witch World is as far along as I will go.

Witch World fits in both science fiction and fantasy as it has elements of both. Those of Grom are based in science and a technology very much in the future while those of Estcarp are more magic based. Andre Norton has created a world where the main female characters are all intelligent, strong and powerful. It is clear that in the land of Estcarp, it is a Matriarchal society . The women who are witches do not have sex. For once they do, their power is gone. This is what I loved about Witch World. That women are strong, intelligent, powerful. I also the mythology surrounding the world as well. The Falconers are a great example of this. I loved how they dressed as birds and the book made several references to those that have come before that were God like.

This is my first introduction to Andre Norton and after reading Witch World, I will be buying more of her books.

I read this book years ago. It gets better each time I have read it and I have read it and its associated books and sequels more than ten times each. Why? Because they are all that good. Norton was a consummate story teller. She creates worlds and characters that you know, you see them, you journey with then, you are there and you can see it. All of it. Norton does not neglect, like so many writers, the background/setting. She treats it as a character, with an important part in the story. If you have read any of the "collaborations" and did not enjoy the book as much as you thought you would, I would assume it is because of the co-author. I know that there have been times that I wasn't just disappointed in the story but in the telling of it as well. And that is when I realized that Ms. Norton had little to do with the book, other than it being set in a world that she had created.

Obviously, this book is fantasy. But it is not about fairies and elves and sprites. It is hard magic, it is not light fantasy; it is fascinating.

The current cover of WW is awful. If I had seen it before I read it the first time I never would have even picked up the book.

Her characters are interesting, and the introduction of Simon, in WW, is memorable. He is a very strong character and his presence is felt in all the direct sequels.

The book is not slow. It is a fascinating travel through a new world that I visit often. And you should, too. There is not a single place in WW that I would not love to see, for real.

The death of Ms. Norton was a major blow to storytelling and modern myth making.