The Iron Cage (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

The People are the umpteenth race of highly evolved (dog/cat/bear-like) animals to populate Norton's fictional planets, and when Jony, of human stock himself, realizes that his friends are about to be captured and exploited by the inhabitants of a visiting starship (also human) he fights to defend them. Jony himself started life as a caged specimen in the laboratories of a superhuman race he knew only as the Big Ones, and - lest anyone miss the point - Norton begins and closes with a flashback to a mistreated mother cat on earth, suggesting that man's cruelty to the animal world will trigger cosmic revenge in the form of slavery to another order of Big Ones. Jony's defense of his adopted kin is accomplished with a whole range of weapons from the aliens' own stun guns and lasers to his special ESP powers, and the primitive, communal culture is depicted in careful detail. The premise is hardly new, especially to loyal Norton fans; however, in contrast to her other exotic future worlds, this latest presents a bleaker and more chilling prospect. (Kirkus Reviews) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

Snatched from his family by an alien race, Jony endures torturous experiments and comes to live with the People, a gentle tribe of intelligent animals. Reprint.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Roc (December 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451451937
• ISBN-13: 978-0451451934
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,929,545 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great anthropomorphic adventure!, January 15, 2002

By	Alyssa Manley (Vermont) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Iron Cage is the story of a young boy, Jony, who escapes from an alien race which used humans as experimental tools. He finds friends with the People - a race of bear-like, intelligent animals. When humans arrive upon the planet, and try to subject the People to their will, Jony finds himself in a difficult posistion - should he protect the People? Or should he join his own kind?

I really enjoyed this book! The only reason, in fact, I'm denying it that last star was because the story was sometimes hard to follow. Despite this, read it anyway!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Andre Norton ever (and one of the best books ever), April 5, 1997

By A Customer

Iron Cage is about Rutee and Jony. They were captured by a society of cruel aliens who did tests on them and controlled their mind. They managed to escape right before Rutee was scheduled to be "dumped". They were taken care of by "the people" a clan of intelligent bear like creatures. Rutee died but Jony took care of Geogee and Maba, the two children that came of a mind controlled raper, on the alien ship. Problems came when humans landed on this planet. Geogee and Maba considered the humans their people. They later discovered that the humans were doing cruel experiments on the clan. The war started and Jony, Geogee, Maba, and the clan won.

This book is my favorite Sci-fi ever, and I tried the other Andre Norton books but I didn't like any of them as much. Iron cage is the type of book you will want to pass on to your children through tradition.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, well crafted reading, November 26, 1997

By	[e-mail] (Atlanta, Georgia USA) - See all my reviews

This is one of those books that really make you think and re-evaluate your values and beliefs. Andre Norton is great, and this is one of her best efforts! If you like this one, try 'Breed to come'.