I loved this book so much. Normally I do not like sci-fi but my mom picked out this book. I had to read a sci-fi book for a science book report and I didn't know what kind of book to get. At the beginning of the book it is very confusing and even boring but once you get into this book it is so good. The ending is terrific and if I had the time I would read it 24 hours a day. I would recamend this book highly. I hope my review helped you!

I came across this rather bizarre little author in a chat room, and felt the need to read one of her books at random - this one. I fear i was needlessly insulting to her during an argument I had with her, because now that I've read this mindless, awful drivel, I wonder if perhaps she wasn't being a little ironic about the general quality of sci - fi writing.

So a review of the book - If you are the sort of person who likes this sort of thing, you are the sort of person who likes this sort of thing.

And of the author - If you are the sort of person who writes this sort of thing, you are the sort of person who writes this thing.

Irredeemable, really, but five stars for trying.

In this book Andre Norton has begun tying together most of her important Witch World families. I really enjoyed watching the songsmith work her way from one part of the world to the other. She picks up a horse-racing ringer and barely excapes with him from a mob who felt that they were cheated. (Imagine that!) There is a wise woman gone to the bad who wanted to drain the racer's power, Garth Howell is on the prowl, and assorted other badies. All comes right in the end though, (I like good endings) the songsmith triumphs over all of these obstacles, finds the cure for her father, rescues her mother and little brother, finds her talent, and gets a hubby. Ms. Norton is my favorite and if she must team up with someone A.C. Crispin is the best of them all. This is a good book.

I can't remember the last time I laughed so long and loud over a book. This is very, very amusing, laugh-out-loud funny, yet highly informative and interesting, e.g. the first recorded Dive Club had the singularly unimaginative name of 'The Bottom-Scratchers'!
The book is peppered with excerpts from many other books, but loses nothing by that, rather it shows how much research reading has been done.
We are taken on a biographical tour through the stars of underwater invention, in no particular order, but there are some early pioneers who are not mentioned, possibly because there is little information available to make interesting (and humorous) reading.
Our tour-guide extracts the minutest details for our delectation, again sprinkled with that undercurrent of wit. And our guide is no armchair chronicler either, he was there in the '50s, doing field work in the cold waters of Lough Ine.

Incidentally we find that some of our Stars worked in other fields as well; mining, surgery, explosives, writing, biology, photography, cinema, genetics - with the usual humourous anecdote, in case we were inclined to fall asleep (unlikely!).

A wonderful, refreshing read - guaranteed to liven up your lungs and your life!

This unique book tells the story of a bunch of intrepid and inspired men who pioneered the exploration of the last great unknown: the deeps of the sea. How would you fancy wading out under water with nothing more than an inverted coal bucket over your head? Would you agree to a fight a shark, equipped with nothing more than a knife, all so that some movie company could film the gory encounter? Inventive, adventurous, foolhardy to the point of recklessness, many of the diving pioneers were also world-famous in their own right, like the great biologist JBS Haldane, who worked out how to survive at dangerous depths. Others evolved from treasure seekers to become the first underwater archaeologists, exploring ancient shipwrecks in exotic waters, or, most interesting of all, opening our eyes to the beauty of marine habits and wildlife, including the seriously threatened coral reefs. The author, himself a marine biologist and diver, blends all this into a magical weave of fact and wonder enlivened by a mordant wit and a delightful eye for quirky detail. I would recommend it to any reader.

Trevor Norton presents us with a series of vivid portraits of the strange assortment of characters who pioneered diving. Henri Milne Edwards conducted the first expedition by a submarine biologist in 1844 off Sicily. As early as 1865, the mining engineer Benoit Rouqayrol designed a diving suit with a compressed air cylinder at the back, and a demand valve that supplied oxygen only when the diver sucked on the mouthpiece; but the idea somehow lay forgotten for eighty years.

The engineer Otis Barton designed, built and tested the first bathysphere in 1932, reaching a depth of 3000 feet. Jack Kitching was the first marine ecologist. In the 1930s, Guy Gilpatric, who held a world altitude record when he was only sixteen, invented the very idea of diving for pleasure.

John Scott Haldane worked on improving miners' safety and studied the effects of high pressure on deep-sea divers and of altitude sickness in climbers. His son, the communist and geneticist J.B.S. Haldane, was the first to map the genes on a human chromosome. He also worked on solving the problems of pressure experienced by divers and submariners.

In 1942, Jacques Cousteau's colleague Emile Gagnan re-invented the demand valve, the key to developing the self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA). Louis Boutan and Ernest Williamson started underwater photography, popularised by those most photogenic photographers, Hans and Lotte Haas, in their 26 BBC television programmes.

Frederic Dumas, Peter Throckmorton and George Bass initiated underwater archaeology. Throckmorton found lost ships all over the world, most famously a 3,200-year-old wreck at Bodrum on the Aegean coast. He was the first to realise that "it was possible to do scientific archaeology under water." He acutely observed, "What historians had missed, the sea remembered."

Trevor Norton's fascinating book is full of humorous stories and conveys masses of information in a charming and easy style.

Storm Over Warlock is the first novel in the Warlock series. Warlock is the second planet in the Circe system. First scouted four years previously, a Terran Survey Corps team has been sent to prepare the planet for the coming of the first pioneers.

In this novel, Shann Lantee has joined the Survey team as contract labor from the Dumps of Tyr, performing the dirty, tedious clean-up jobs and the dull maintenance routines. Yet one of these jobs is the care and feeding of the mutant wolverines, which soon becomes an act of friendship rather than a chore. While the wolverines return this friendship, they are mischievous and cunning, enjoying an occasional outing without formal permission. During one such escape, Shann and the wolverines witness the Tharg attack that overruns the camp. As the only known survivors, Shann immediately increases the distance between themselves and the camp.

As they travel, Shann comes across a downed Terran scoutship being harried by Tharg flyers, but the Tharg weapons set off an explosion that destroys one of the Tharg vessels and drives the other Tharg flyer from the scene. Shann investigates the crashed flyer and is fired on and pinned down by a survivor, but then a rock smashes the Tharg's head from above, thrown by Ragnar Thorvald, leader of the Survey team. Thorvald has been off-world on Survey business and was returning for the arrival of the settler ship, but their hail of the camp was not answered except by the Tharg flyers. The scoutship had been damaged during the fight and the pilot killed, so Thorvald sets an explosive surprise for the Tharg and abandons ship.

When Thorvald recognizes Shann, he immediately asks about the camp and receives little good news. However, he realizes that the Tharg have probably left many Survey items within the camp, since they are no use to the aliens, and then conceives a plan to raid the camp disguised as natives, thereby concealing the presence of Terran survivors. Thorvald and Shann prepare primitive tools and weapons for the attack to add authenticity to the subterfuge. They use bolos, fireballs, stink bombs and spears to kill a few Thargs and create a diversion while Thorvald gathers items from the camp, then they escape on a raft.

Thorvald has noted a "hound" within the camp and suspects trouble. Later, they discover that the alien animal is following their trail and that they can neither evade it nor even kill it with any weapon at their disposal.

In the journey downriver, Thorvald finally admits to Shann why they are heading toward the sea. Thorvald possesses a curious bone-like medallion with hypnotic carvings that has been found on a sea island beach. The object was very unlikely to be Tharg work, so possibly Warlock holds, or once held, a native race living somewhere near the sea. When Thorvald allows a few drops of water to fall on the object in his hand, he looks dazed and acts like he is mind-controlled.

As they float downriver, both Thorvald and Shann have weird dreams about skull mounts and veiled caverns. The first-in scout also had such dreams, which sometimes coincided with an "emanation" registering on certain instruments. They speculate that the river water may have conducted the dreams to them from the sea.

When they reach the sea, the dreams are even stronger. Thorvald is now obsessed with finding the things or persons who are projecting the dream. Then Thorvald apparently succumbs to the lure of these dreams, paddling their canoe away while Shann is asleep on the beach. Shann tries to build another craft, but destroys it later as he sleeps. The dreamers seemly want to remain unfound.

This novel has the signature characteristics of early Norton stories: a courageous young person coping with adversity on his own, with aliens and animals as well as telepathy and other psionic powers. It also displays another signature personality trait: perseverance to the point of obstinacy.

Storm Over Warlock is recommended for all Andre Norton fans and anyone who likes stories about young people, friendly animals, and even somewhat friendly aliens, successfully coping with a hostile environment and even more hostile sentients.

In this book and it's sequel, Ordeal in Otherwhere, Andre Norton continued to develop the far future history that would sustain many of her books though the next decade.

Shan Lantee is very much a Norton young adult hero. Reared in the Dumps of Tyr, he fought his way into a laboring position as a caretaker for a pair mutant wolverines used by Survey in exploring the planet of Warlock. This precarious toe-hold on respectability was threatened by the malice of Garth Thorvald, a young cadet. However, Garth's malicious action in releasing the wolverines led to Lantee being absent from the camp hunting them when the insect like Throgs (aliens with whom the Terrans cannot find common meeting ground and so they fight a war of running skirmishes) attacked and destroyed it.

Heading away from the camp, Lantee chances upon a downed space ship and meets up with Garth's older brother, who had been off world an effort to slow down colonization of Warlock.

The two begin a fantastic adventure as they cross the vividly described countryside, pulled by a compulsion that cannot be explained, while dodging Throgs and natural threats.

This books definitely bears reading and rereading. I may like it even more now, than it did nearly forty years ago.

Norton is one of the most prolific authors ever within the fields of science fiction and fantasy. Most of her works are very workmanlike enjoyable reads, but are often quite formulaic, with little to distinguish one work from the next. Not so with this work, written when she was at the height of her powers as a science fiction writer before turning mainly to fantasy.

Shann Lantee is left stranded on the alien world of Warlock after the Survey camp of which he was the lowest member is wiped out in an attack by the Throgs, beetle like beings so alien no one has figured out how to have any intelligent discourse with. From this fairly stock beginning this book quickly progresses from learning how to survive under harsh conditions while being chased by the Throgs to an investigation of the power of dreams and the value of being able to distinguish between real and unreal when Shann meets the Wyverns.

The Wyverns, the semi-aquatic native race, are masters of the illusion, the dream made real, delvers into the pre-ordained while maintaining the right of individuals to choose their actions. Some of the images Norton paints in describing these people and the tests they impose on Shann have remarkable staying power, haunting and fittingly alien. Norton's thematic points here on the role of fate, individual drive and determination, and the possibility of there being truly intelligent beings that we will never be able to communicate with are all well drawn, never starkly thrown at the reader, but developed naturally from the events of the story. It is these images combined with her strong thematic points that elevate this book well beyond the standard young-man adventure story, though it is also a very good example of that type of page-turning story.

Norton's prose is pretty utilitarian, not scaling the walls of the unforgettable line, but at the same time managing to paint a very coherent picture of her scenes, characters, and concepts. This makes this book both readable and understandable to a wide range of audience ages, from early teen to adult. At the same time, the 'science' here is pretty soft, mainly techno-babble words and concepts that allow her to set the environment for her story, which she acknowledges at one point by referring the Wyvern technology as 'effectively magic'. This is not really a detriment, as the science is definitely secondary to her story of different kinds of people, human or not.

A fine adventure, a compelling look at fate and dreams, an outstanding vision of intelligence in many different forms.

When I was forty I wrote Andre Norton a letter in which I thanked her for everything that her books at taught me when I was growing up. Her stories about outsiders who succeed by finding the right path for the right person, something that out of step adolescents need to hear. Ms. Norton graciously responded with a letter I cherish nearly a decade later-- actually it's professionally framed and hanging in my office.

This was one of the books I was thinking about when I wrote her. The hero has great physical strength, but feels as though he lacks the mental swiftness and physical grace to fit into the world of his father. He flees using a stolen travel tape and ends up on Mimir where he must find the courage and wits to survive and foil a villainous plot.

On one level a simple adventure story, on another a story that most adolescents, who can't seem to fit in their changing bodies, can identify with. This Norton's juvenile stories at their best.

This book combines some of the great SF/Fantasy themes in a way that works and flows. It is the Norton that I would most frequently check out of the library to re-read as a young adult. Some of the mental images I developed in reading this story, can still bubble up in my memory today. The sense of alienation - of not belonging - felt by the main character echoes the feelings of all unpopular-due-to-nerdiness kids - many of whom were SF fans in the making. That alone should explain part of its appeal.

We also get -
*a cold wintry planet with a Forerunner-like mystery
*one of the friendliest and most interesting of Norton's Zacathan characters [a wise, peaceful lizard-evolved race (in sharp contrast to most authors' intelligent-lizards-are-savage depictions (although see Norton's *Eye of the Monster*)]
*a hidden, "furry" race
*Norton's trademarked handling of telepathy, with her concept since copied by many other authors
*and a plot that , while a classic hero's journey, has many particular 'vignettes' that have also been copied since - including by Norton herself - but rarely as well done.

All in all, my sentimental favorite of early Nortons, and still fondly remembered.

-Brooks A Rowlett

At this point in Norton's Council / Confederation universe, the job of discovering and exploring new planets - that of the First-In Scouts - is pretty much a closed occupation. Scouts make contract marriages with suitable women, which end after the birth of a child or upon the Scout's departure for his next assignment, and any children of the union - nearly always sons - go to the nearest Scout creche to become the next generation.

But what happens when the child of such a union isn't suited to the life of a Scout?

Diskan Fentress was rejected as mentally unsuitable for Scout training; his size and great strength mark him as a throwback. Since his mother's death in childbirth and his father's disappearance in space left him in state custody, he wound up assigned to manual labor - until the day Renfry Fentress reappeared. Renfry had found a new civilization, and even a wife among his adopted people - but knowing that they could not have children, he sought out his son.

But Diskan, despite - or because of - the endless patience, charm, and tact of his father's adopted people, is utterly alone among strangers, marked by clumsiness, his great size and strength, and inability to express himself. Anyone who has ever felt like an outsider will appreciate how his isolation is drawn here - and will understand why he gives in to temptation.

Fleeing from an embarrassing scene of (accidentally) shattered artwork, Diskan hides in Renfry's study - and steals a voyage tape for Mimir, a world marked as only partially explored and having some mystery about it. His journey in a stolen spaceship brings him into contact with a Zacathan archeologist, the Guild, and the ruins of an alien civilization. Or are they really ruins - could Mimir still be inhabited?

The saurian Zacathans, historians of the galaxy, are mentioned throughout the books set in this universe, but this is one of their (to date) few appearances as actual characters. The Guild - the criminal underworld - appears in many books, as do many Forerunner civilizations. If you're interested in books wherein the Guild plays a major role, try _The Zero Stone_ or _Forerunner Foray_. For another story of someone rejected from Scout training, try _Dread Companion_ (the daughter of a Scout, rejected for reasons different from Diskan's).

The Zero Stone is the first novel in the Murdoc Jern series. Murdoc is the son of Hywel Jern, a former prime assessor to a sector boss of the Thieves' Guild who bought out when his patron was assassinated. Hywel migrated to Angkor and married the daughter of a local hock-lock operator. Shortly after the marriage, his in-laws. and many others in the vicinity of the port, died from disease brought by a plague ship, but Hywel and his wife survived and even performed some of the necessary governmental functions during the emergency. Some five years later, Angkor became a hub for interstellar trade in that sector and the Jern business thrived through Hywel's many off-world contacts, both legal and illegal, but he maintained a low profile, operating from the same modest hock-lock.

One day, the first officer of a spaceliner brought in a ring with a dull stone that was found in interstellar space, far from any star, on the finger of a spacesuited corpse. The crude stone is plain and cloudy, but has a remarkable hardness. The stone gives an impression of great power to Hywel and Murdoc, but not to the rest of the family. Hywel is obsessed with the stone and arranges an apprenticeship for Murdoc with Vondar Ustle, a master gemologist who searches for new sources of precious stones, so that Murdoc can search for more information on the ring and stone. Hywel is well satisfied with his life as apprentice to Vondar and, when he returns for a visit, finds that he no longer fits into his family. One evening, Hywel stays home to conduct some business while the rest of the family goes to a party. Leaving the party earlier, Murdoc returns home to find his father tied to his chair, bloody and dead. Murdoc takes the ring and stone from its hiding place and leaves his home forever.

In this novel, Murdoc and Vondar have come to Koonga City on Tanth searching for gems. They are dining in a taproom when the Green Robes, native priests, enter, spin their selection wheel to point between Murdoc and Vondar, and try to take both men. Murdoc kills one priest, fights his way clear, and then finds sanctuary with the priests of Noskald. These priests arrange for a Free Trader, the Vestris, to take Murdoc off-world. The crew treats him in a distant, but civil manner, but his only companion is the ship's cat, Valcyr. When the ship sets down on a primitive planet, Valcyr accompanies Murdoc as he explores the area. When Murdoc finds some bits of a curiously dull black substance that forms an extremely hard but fuzzy oval, Valcyr takes the largest specimen and starts to lick it. Murdoc tries to take it away from her, but gets clawed for his efforts. When a crewman tries to get the specimen, Valcyr runs off with it and hides. Murdoc and the crewman find her again, but she then swallows it.

When they return to the ship, the Medico tests Valcyr and the specimens; he determines that the black ovals are alive at a low level as if hibernating and that Valcyr is now pregnant. Since there is a possibility that Valcyr is not carrying ordinary kittens, she is locked in a cage within the sick bay. About four weeks later, she disappears from the cage and is next seen in Murdoc's cabin with a newborn animal, Eet, that is not a kitten. And then Murdoc finds himself covered with purple blotches and feeling feverish. At this point, Murdoc and Eet leave the Vestris, Murdoc in a spacesuit and Eet in a clear-sided box, to escape the plague-fearing, frantic crew.

This novel has some of the signature characteristics of the author's space adventure tales, including the outcast Murdoc, the telepathic Eet, and alien artifacts. However, this story is one of the wanderlust kind, much like Star Man's Son and the Solar Queen series, where the hero/heroine goes on to discover new adventures.

The creature Eet is rather unique in the author's space adventures, having a human level of intelligence, yet possessing an animal body. Eet combines the friendly alien, symbiotic animal, and mutated talents aspects of these tales, all in one body, sort of a highly evolved version of the meerkats in The Beast Master.

While this story is not one of my favorites, it still provides the same high level of storycraft one expects of the author. The characters are interesting but not as enthralling as some of the other tales. The relationship between Murdoc and Eet is not clear, but one feels as if Eet is much superior to Murdoc, yet is handicapped by his inadequate body. Is Murdoc a pet to Eet?

Recommended for Norton fans and anyone who enjoys space adventures involving a young hero and a mysterious alien.

And missed many of the subtleties.
Norton's vision of a universe awash in ancient, eerie alien rubble, and her vivid planetscapes, are incomparably haunting.

This is simply one of the best stories ever told in the Sci-Fi universe. If you've never read anything by Ms. Norton then you must read this one, and its sequel 'Uncharted Stars'

A must for the collector. color photo's and detailed drawings and pictures. This is the way to do it right. Includes Inception of the Globemasters, phototypes leading up to the C-17, Development History -photo's in the building stages - many, Missions, Productions list, and Specs, A "gotta a have one".

I enjoy this book immensely. If you're an enthusiast, you know that there aren't a lot of books currently available on the C-17; the plane is just too new. The C-17 is, however, a fascinating plane, and if you're eager for more info you won't be disappointed with this book. The textual content is first rate. It has a very pleasing rhythm and balance. If you have other aerospace books on your shelf you know that sometimes the writer is very technically knowledgeable without possessing adequate writing skills. Or, the information is unbalanced (e.g., too much history, too little technical, or vice versa). This book was both written well, and edited well. The photos, too, are very good. While most are black-and-white [there are several pages of 4-color photos], they are well printed and not distracting because of their monochromatic nature as in some other, cheaper publications. I was also impressed with the tidbits of information that Norton delivers. You'll read about and see information on hidden features (e.g., jacks, APUs, exterior lights, etc.). All in all, it's a very well delivered presentation on the newest airlifter, and a worthy addition to your aerospace library.

With less than a decade from its first flight, and with production less than halfway through its presently federally funded run, the C-17A Globemaster II is still considered a young aircraft. Aviation specialist Bill Norton presents the reader with a profusely illustrated history of this remarkable American military aircraft's gestation, development, unique features, strategic and tactical airlift missions; and service record to date. Boeing C-17A Globemaster III is a remarkable and impressive addition to any personal, professional, academic, or community library aviation history collection.

I read this book cover to cover and it was an education to say the least. Looking for income strategies, I found a foundation to build off of here.

I also give it a Aaa rating!

The best guide to investing in bond funds available anywhere!

Perfect for income investors looking to increase their understanding and income potential.

Strategies are a real eye opener!

Ralph does a terrific job introducing the investor to the sometimes complicated world of bonds and bond mutual funds. For any investor who is looking to round out an equity portfolio with fixed income products, or who wants to invest entirely in bonds, this book is absolutely the best place to start.

Great book. Clear and helpful. If you want to learn about control systems and business management control, this is the book you need.

Es un excelente texto de apoyo para la docencia. Tanto mis alumnos como yo lo hemos utilizado. Es importante el aporte de los autores con los casos de estudio que entregan en cada capitulo, que permite en tender y reforzar los conceptos vertidos en el mismo

A straight-forward no-nonsense approach backed by the right mix of cases. Expensive but worth every penny.

This book is short, and what is there deserves five stars. However, the story feels unfinished. Hynkkel, rejected to the role of servitude by his family and despairing over the murder of his pet cat, is forced into a manhood ritual by his father. He emerges from this test of survival with a new grace and self confidence and new friends, including a feline, but still finds himself on the outskirts of society. He is dismayed when he is seemingly forced into a new and surprising path. Just when the Essence smiles upon him and he appears to be a winner, the book ends with more questions than answers in the reader's mind. Once again Andre Norton's writing is superb. Hopefully, there will be a sequel, otherwise the book is as unsatisfying as decaf.

this story was about a young boy, who defying all odds and with a little magic came out as emperor, however the evil was not totally overcome. So Andre Norton, one of my favorite authors. I ask where is the sequel?

One of the first fantasies that I read and I have to say one of the best. I felt that the story could have continued but I think it was still a good book.

I read this story in one sitting and I can honestly say that it is, by far, one of the most poignant books I've ever read. The descriptions found on these pages are the makings of heaven. You will find just where Smith's inspiration comes from on these pages and you will begin to understand why she became such a warrior for the early civil rights movement as she also demonstrates her deep devotion to family values and the family unit.

Most of all, the section about the chain gang still captivates me - and althought I'm not a betting man, I'd bet the farm that it will have the same affect on you.

Please buy this book - or borrow it!

I received this book at the age of eight. Every November since then my brother insisted I read the entire book aloud to him. A true Christmas tradition at our home.
Somehow I misplaced the original over the years and I'm thrilled to be able to order another copy at this time.
All children, young and old can learn/relearn about a true country Christmas.
Written about a much simpler, less commercial Holiday season; where love of family IS what Christmas is about, this book is a must-have for the family library.

Lilian Smith's recollection of Christmas as a child at the turn of the century transports one to a kinder and gentler time--one where the anticipation of hog killing is at once a wondrous and dreaded occasion! My family and I roll with laughter at the exploits of a large family in the south. Our mouths water at the descriptions of traditional southern delights. Truly a book of rare insight and warmth. A must read every Christmas season.