Recommend me something by Andre Norton

I have so far not read any of her works, at least not knowingly. I may have read one or three of her short stories in some anthology, but if so I don't recall.

So I'd like to change that, and to that purpose I ask you for recommendations. I understand that Norton wrote both Fantasy and Science-Fiction, and also mixed elements of both.

Getting examples of each category would be just great, but I'll take any recommendations, though I'd like to ask that you say a few words about why you'd recommend your pick.

Thank you for your time.

I always liked her SF best although the fantasy is also good. A good place to start would be Sargasso of Space which is the first of the Solar Queen books, about some space-faring traders. I'm also fond of The Beast Master, about a man of Amerindian ancestry who is a scout, teamed with animals (horse, meerkats, sandcat) during a war, and after the war goes to his father's homeworld to meet the father and step-family he never knew.

Seconding the Beast Master rec! Love that book. So much. (though there are horses, his team is meerkats, sandcat, and eagle.)

The Crystal Gryphon, Gryphon in Glory, and Gryphon's Eyrie are a good series on the fantasy side. Magic and mystery, interesting people and places, and two main characters you can really get behind.

Thanks, KD - I forgot about the eagle. When I first read that book I didn't know what meerkats were. Was many years before I saw some in a zoo and was completely charmed by them.

I've always been partial to Star Rangers, though all of the previous recommendations are good, too, especially the Beast Master. Star Rangers has a positive racial harmony message, cool telepathy and a xenoarcheological mystery, of sorts; plus, I always dug the cover, though it's kind of a Baen books precursor, heh.

I agree with the suggestions so far. Another that I have fond memories of is Ice Crown

Wow - probably 40 years since I read her stuff, but for some reason Catseye sticks in the memory.

ETA: Just to explain why I'm in such an old thread: I got here through the new 'Book Discussions' link in the sidebar.

'Dark Piper' is rather good, tho' like many Norton books it's definitely aimed at the (intelligent and discerning) young adult reader. A few adult readers find this unacceptable, even though some really fine sci-fi was written with such an audience in mind.

Much of Norton's work is part of one (occasionally more than one) series, but 'Dark Piper' is a stand-alone novel, set among the survivors of interplanetary war and brigandage on the planet of Beltane. This planet had been a giant laboratory for the genetic enhancement of a variety of animal species. Meet the swamp-dwelling Wart-Horns, the off-world Ystroben, and the rather dangerous Paca and Ungers.

Enjoy.

‘Aurélien Arkadiusz’

I grew up with Andre Norton's books, and while I enjoyed the science fiction, (Beast Master is great!) my favorites are her Witch World series. It's been a while since I read them, but I still recall the main characters with fondness. The series opener brings Simon Tregarth, from Earth, into the parallel world where witchcraft is limited to females. Simon, who also possesses magic, meets a witch, Jaelithe, and together they turn the witch world on its ear. The stories continue with their children, Kyllan, Kemoc and Kathea. There are other stories from other continents in the world. I loved them all!

I also recommend her Witch World books. There are several more in the SF range worth reading (all about Intergalactic Traders and Forunner artifacts - try the Warlock books). In her fantasy books the Fur Magic books are interesting.

I also like Jargoon Pard.

Storm Over Warlock and Catseye are two of my favorite of Norton's science fiction. Moon of Three Rings is a favorite fantasy. Of the Witch World books, the Gryphon ones mentioned above are favorites, as well as Year of the Unicorn, but it is nice though not essential to have started with the original books to get an idea of what is going on in this world. Check my library under Andre Norton to see the 120 or so titles available.

I started reading fantasy in 8th grade and Andre Norton was the first book- Spell of the Witch World. I still have it and have read it many times since and I'm 35 yrs old now. A more recent fav- one she finished before she died- Silver May Tarnish. Excellent book!!