Book Review: High Sorcery by Andre Norton

Book Review: 'High Sorcery' by Andre Norton

3 / 5 Stars 

 

'High Sorcery' (156 pp.) was published by Ace Books in March 1970, with cover art by Jack Gaughan. Two of the five stories and novelettes in this anthology are seeing print for the first time.

 

A Kindle edition of 'High Sorcery' is available from amazon (be warned, there are many typos and, apparently, missing pages).

 

My capsule summaries of the contents:

 

'Wizard's World' (1967): a novelette about an 'esper' named Craik, who involuntarily teleports himself to a stereotypical 'barbarian' world called Sampur, where his powers are amplified. Unfortunately, the dreaded Black Hoods also wield considerable psy powers. In his confrontation with the Hoods, Craik will have to rely on aid profferred by a barbarian girl named Takya, who has her own ideas as to who will rule the roost in Sampur.........

 

This story is mediocre. Stilted dialogue and prose, and perfunctory story beats that come across as something borrowed from comic books. Norton plainly was on autopilot with 'Wizard's World.'

 

'Through the Needle's Eye' (1970): it's the South, a residential neighborhood, the 1950s, and Ernestine Williams, a little girl crippled by polio ("In those days, before Salk....") meets the spinster in the house next door. There are supernatural events. A well-composed story, with tones of Southern Gothic. Had it been published two or three years after 1970, this tale likely would have made it into 'The Pan Book of Horror Stories,' or perhaps a volume of 'The Year's Best Horror Stories.'

 

'By a Hair' (1958): in the aftermath of World War Two, in a remote Baltic village, the evils of a Communist regime provoke resistance. The dark arts of the area's pre-Christian beliefs come to the fore. Another tale with supernatural elements; it would have been right at home in the 'Alfred Hitchcock' magazines and anthologies of the late 1950s and early 1960s.

 

'Ully the Piper': an engaging fable about a crippled man named Ully, who does a good turn to the rustic inhabitants of the Witch World.

 

'Toys of Tamisan' (1969):  another novelette, this one about the planet Ty-Kry and a young woman named Tamisan who, via the use of special headgear and connecting cables, can invite others to enter into, and participate in, her dreams. As a 'professional' dreamer, Tamisen provides dreaming service to an aristocrat named Starrex. When a dream, set in the older times of Ty-Kry's history, goes badly awry, there is melodrama.

 

'Toys' is a solid dud: badly overwritten, in stilted prose, no less. The premise is contrived and Norton's handling of the concept of sharing dreams less than skilled. A touchstone in the early history of cyberpunk and virtual reality ? No, this is not.

 

Summing up, it's the three shorter tales in 'High Sorcery' that best present Norton's storytelling skills and serve as attractions for those readers who are not dedicated fans of her fiction.