Andre Norton Moonsinger

Moonsinger

Andre Norton

Baen, May 2006, $25.00

ISBN: 1416520619

"Moon of Three Rings". When Free Trader ship Lydis lands on Yiktor crew member Krip Vorlund attends a beast show where he meets and is attracted to Maelen, the owner of the "little people" animal players. When he intercedes in an incident involving her, the local law arrests him only to have others abduct him. Maelen mentally stays in contact with Krip and will do anything to rescue him even violate the code of the Thassa that she is a member of in good standing.

"Exiles of the Stars". Krip and Maelen are crewmembers on the Lydis though his body is now that of a Thassa thanks to her sorcery while she hides as one of her "little people" animals. The ship debarks at Thoth, but a religious civil war forces a quick reloading of cargo, the valuable Forerunner artifacts to be delivered to Ptah. However, a gadget hidden inside one of the cargo items forces an emergency landing on an allegedly uninhabited Sekhmet. Instead Forerunners reside on the orb using ESP to control others to do their bidding that is when they do not snatch their body for their own use.

The reprint in one book of two classic Andre Norton tales will showcase how great this author has been over the past five or so decades. Each novel is terrific as science fiction meets fantasy especially with the traits of the various races (some being more science fi while others are fantasy); that ability to move back and forth effortlessly between the two genres is a trademark of the incomparable Ms. Norton. Fans will enjoy the two Krip-Maelen thrillers that entertain yet leaves readers considering ethical principles like a forced body exchange is a rape. This reviewer thinks it is great to see the duo back in print.

Harriet Klausner