Voodoo Planet, Andre Norton

Andre Norton (1912-2005) is a legendary science fiction writer from the Golden Age of science fiction. She wrote many short stories and novels. This novella is the best of hers that I have read thus far. It can be found freely at Gutenberg.org.

There are two major problems that I have with this novella. I will get into the worst first. I have seen a few accusations (after having read this book) about some of her works being suggestive of racism. I read this book first, and got that impression, before I checked online to see if others felt the same way I do. I did find some. James Nicoll Reviews wrote, "I really think Norton meant well when she decided to write this story (bless her heart!). You can see that she is trying to push back against the racist conventions of the era. Khatka is an advanced world!"

However, there's one key sentence that makes her racism beyond reasonable doubt:

...the white technicians they had kidnapped to run the ships didn't (thrive).  (ch. 1)

In other words, black people are too dumb to run the technical parts of a spaceship to make it to another planet. They have to kidnap others.

On the other hand, she does seem to see it as an injustice, the way Africans are treated, "... herded most of the natives into a giant concentration camp and practiced genocide on a grand scale." (ch. 1)

Most science fiction is a retelling of stories we tell about earth. That's what this is, but with blasters instead of revolvers, spaceships instead of oceanships, and drugs instead of herbs. Basically this is a battle between poachers and a sanctioned/licensed hunting group. In the mix, there are hallucinations that look like real lions, apes, and elephant-like creatures.

This story is a fast paced action story, and it has a lot of merit for it.

The other demerit I find in her writing thus far is the absence of women. There are no women at all in this story. Why didn't she write women or girls into her stories in a way that wasn't just a carrot to the ass (the protagonist)?

The motif of earth's basic destruction through war is reiterated in this book as has been done with the other two stories of hers that I have thus far read.

I recommend reading it, but keep the above in mind (or try to forget about it... up to you).

The Gifts of Asti, Andre Norton

This is the third story of Andre Norton's that I have read. Andre Norton (1912-2005) is a legendary writer from the Golden Age of sci-fi. "The Gifts of Asti" is available at manybooks.com, feedbooks.com, gutenberg.org, and many more locations.

The story is a fairly simple one. It's either set in the very distant future or the very distant past. One culture is being destroyed by a barbarian one. As the last of the 'virgin Maidens of Asti' of that culture flees with the aid of a reptilian servant, she discovers a well preserved man. The lake in which she finds him preserves everything for as long as they are in the lake. They do not age or die.

They discover a mostly destroyed ship in the lake, with the parts sticking out of the lake rusted to dust, while that sticking in the lake is still in good shape and without signs of damage aside from what happened with the crash. The lake is described as alive, so they do not drink of it (and why not if it preserves life?)

They rescue the man who is a hardened warrior, not like her dying people who had had everything done for them and gone soft. That seems to be a frequent motif with both "The People of the Crater" and "The Gifts of Asti." I suspect that this is a motif born from the competing ideologies of communism and capitalism, or, perhaps a consequence of a long lasting peace. Just like "The People of the Crater," the woman is a religious figure while the man is a human warrior come to give an almost extinct species hope. However, of course, biologically speaking it would be nearly impossible to accomplish this with just two people. But, that is the story from Genesis, isn't it?

All Cats are Gray, Andre Norton

This is the second piece of Andre Norton (1912-2005) fiction I have read. Andre Norton is a famed and richly decorated author of science fiction and fantasy. It can be found for free at Gutenberg.org. The story's author is listed as Andrew North.

I'm not sure if the note is Norton's or the editor's. However, it seems to attempt to bring some kind of advantage to someone who is disabled. The disability is fairly minor: Steena, the protagonist of this story, is color blind.

I think she's the captain of a salvaging vessel looking to loot The Empress of Mars, a famous ship for having a glorious loot that no one seems to be able to win. Norton calls it "a Flying Dutchman of space." It's haunted by a ghost, or perhaps more accurately, an invisible alien. Because she and the cat called Bat are colorblind, they are able to see the invisible alien who lives only to kill those seeking to plunder The Empress of Mars. Why exactly an alien would want to be stuck all by itself on a ship like that is beyond me. However, Steena is able to barely see the creature, and Bat can see it easily enough. She guns it down and the crew become rich for it.

I wasn't too impressed with this story, either. I have several more of hers to go through in the next few days.

The People of the Crater, Andre Norton

Andre Norton (1912-2005) is one of the most celebrated science fiction writers of the 20th century. She is one of the great science fiction and fantasy writers. "The People of the Crater" is available for free at a number of locations: gutenberg.org, manybooks.com, and www.loyalbooks.com.

She wrote most of her stories under the pseudonym, Andre Norton, but also under Andrew North and Allen Weston. She was the first woman to be Gandalf Grand Master of Fantasy, first to be SFWA Grand Master, and first inducted by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. I don't think it was on the basis of this book. This is the first book of hers that I have read.

"The People of the Crater" is a novella set in a fantasy world. This is more of a fantasy novella than it is science fiction. Captain Garin Featherstone is an out of work pilot who loses his job as a war ends. He is approached to pilot a plane. However, this is essentially a trap.

Some aspects have science fiction aspects: the plane crashes. He is almost dead. He is restored to life due to some very advanced healing device. There is a stick that is a powerful killing and wrecking device. 

The culture is that of a kind of goblin. However, they are not cruel or anything. They are involved in a war. The black goblins, referred to as the Black Ones, are very sick and serve an evil master, Kepta. I do find this to be a bit of a racist setup. I'm not a fan of making black characters evil or associating the color black with evil or bad, considering all the problems with racism.  

He goes to an alien world where he is used to rescue a young woman referred to as 'the Daughter.' They determine him to be a good mate for her, he just has to rescue her first. He succeeds, but is nearly executed over a misunderstanding. Had he failed to love 'the Daughter,' they would have killed him. He had thought Dandtand had loved her, but he was in fact her brother. 

Another interesting element of this story is the idea of reincarnation. As Garin kills Kepta, Kepta says,

"No, I am not dead, Outlander—nor shall you kill me, as you think to do. I go now, but I shall return. We have met and hated, fought and died before—you and I. You were a certain Garan, Marshall of the air fleet of Yu-Lac on a vanished world, and I was Lord of Koom. That was in the days before the Ancient Ones pioneered space. You and I and Thrala, we are bound together and even fate can not break those bonds. Farewell, Garin. And do you, Thrala, remember the ending of that other Garan. It was not an easy one."

This story is OK. I have a number of her other books and novellas. I hope that they are better.