Spell of the Witch World (The Witch World Novels of Andre Norton)

Rating:
Summary: 2 excellent novellas and 1 excellent short story...
Review: "Dragon Scale Silver" - This is the tale of Elys, and of how a woman obviously of Estcarp's witch blood should happen not only to live in the Dales, but to ride with Jervon, just as clearly of High Hallack ancestry. It isn't long enough to make a full-length novel, but it's longer than the usual short story.

The tale begins with two shipwrecked refugees, obviously of Estcarp blood, being washed ashore at Wark, near Vastdale in High Hallack, in the Year of the Salamander. Although this is before the Invaders' War erupted in High Hallack, remember that Estcarp had been fighting what is called 'the Kolder War' on their side of the ocean for some years at that point.

Almondia, who was a Witch in her former life, opts to lay down her oath and take Truan for her husband, after casting one last spell, ensuring that although she dies after giving birth to twins, she leaves behind a son, Elyn, for Truan and a daughter, Elys, leaving them only the legacy of the dragon scale silver cup created by her last act of magic.

The story follows Elys through the opening years of the Invaders' War, when the people of Wark must flee from their seacoast village and take refuge far inland. (Elyn left Wark to join the Dales' forces as a warrior.) Jervon stumbled across the refugees' new village with his dying lord, the last survivors of one of the early, desperate battles against the Hounds. Elys and Jervon join forces to find and rescue Elyn when the dragon scale silver cup gives warning that Elyn is in mortal danger.

Elys and Jervon encounter Joisan in _Gryphon in Glory_, and also appear in _Gryphon's Eyrie_.

"Dream Smith" - The Dales are full of stories warning of the danger of handling artifacts from those who lived in the Dales before the coming of mortals. Collard, a young smith, was crippled and disfigured in an explosion caused by trying to work a mysterious metal brought out of the Waste. Upon his return to such health as he can now enjoy, he discovers a talent for working the strange metal into lifelike figurines, based on images he now sees in dreams. The Wise Woman Sharvana, who nursed Collard back to life after the accident, brings him into contact with the invalid Lady Jacinda, exiled to her father's country estate to get her out of her stepmother's household. Can either of them hope for a life with more than dreams?

"Amber Out of Quayth" - In the years after the Invaders' War, life in the Dales entered a time of flux. Many lords, together with their heirs and most of their fighting men, were lost in the early stages of the war, when the Hounds still had the Kolders' support to draw on (the Hounds had access to Kolder tanks, the Dales had swords and crossbows). After the war, women outnumbered men, especially nobleborn women, and few Dales were prosperous enough to provide adequate dowries.

Ysmay, the sister of the lord of Uppsdale, acted as chatelaine during the Invaders' War; in her brother's absence, she ruled the dale in his place. After the war ended and her brother brought home a bride, Ysmay's duties were transferred to the new lady, except for those involving her talents with herbs. Ysmay's only dowry is an amber mine which can no longer be worked after being blocked by a cave-in years before, so she has no prospects of escaping through marriage (and she refuses to be pushed off into a convent).

Enter Hylle, Lord of Quayth (an obscure hold bordering on the Waste west of High Hallack). Hylle has brought with him to the fair near Uppsdale a great wealth of amber, including a great deal of finished, fine jewelry; in fact, his products are so fine that the local nobility expect that he will have trouble finding buyers in the post-war Dales who can pay him a fair price. Oddly enough, though, Hylle's prices can be afforded even by Uppsdale's lord (if only for one bracelet). Is Hylle trying to build up a market slowly, sacrificing immediate profit in favor of long-range plans for trade?

And why is a man so wealthy in amber bargaining for Ysmay's hand in marriage, a woman he has never met? Even though his skills in alchemy (e.g., in brewing explosives) allow the mine to be reopened, why should he be interested in the ordinary amber produced by Uppsdale's mine when he obviously has so much of his own?

"Amber Out of Quayth" has a few overtones of the old story of Bluebeard; a young woman married to a stranger, and finding that he seems to be hiding a sinister secret. "Dragon Scale Silver" is roughly in the same vein as some other major love stories in the Witch World - Kerovan and Joisan (_The Crystal Gryphon_), Gillian and Herrel (_Year of the Unicorn_). Although each differs considerably from the others in terms of the actual events that befall the protagonists, if you like one you'll probably like the others.

"Dragon Scale Silver" also occupies an interesting point in the history of the Invaders' War - during the first devastating defeats of the Dale forces, long before the lords made pact with the Were Riders.

IRRELEVANT NOTE: The cover paintings for the 2 editions of _Spell of the Witch World_ with which I am most familiar are both drawn from the first story, "Dragon Scale Silver." The edition that may be the most well-known has a Michael Whelan cover painting whose centerpiece is a woman (either Almondia or Elys) holding the dragon scale silver cup.

Rating:
Summary: Three of Norton's best High Hallack tales
Review: "Spell of the Witch World" is the seventh book in the Witch World saga and is made up of two novellas and a short story, all of which take place in the dales and sorcerous wastelands of High Hallack. Here is a brief description of the contents:

"Dragon Scale Silver" -- Norton uses the multiple birth theme again here, as she did so successfully in her Witch World trilogy about the Tregarth triplets, Kaththea, Kemoc, and Kyllan. In this novella, a woman of witch-blood gives birth to the twins Elys and her brother Elyn, and does not long survive their entry into the world. The twins are raised by the Wise Woman, Aufrica and their father, who trains both Elys and Elyn in arms-play. The Dales are attacked by foreign invaders (as in Norton's 'Gryphon' trilogy, "Year of the Unicorn," and "Zarsthor's Bane"), and the twins' father rides off to war. Soon, Elyn follows him, but not before he has shared a drink with his twin sister in a special cup, fashioned by their deceased mother from dragon scale silver. If the cup loses its luster while he is off to war, Elys will know that her twin brother is in danger.

Sure enough, after several seasons have passed the cup begins to tarnish. Elys must use both her skills as a warrior and as a witch to save her twin from an ancient curse. Her only companion in her quest is Jervon, once Marshal of Horse at a keep that fell to the foreign invaders.

"Dragon Scale Silver" scintillates with Norton's eerie brand of magic, especially in her handling of the old, uncanny legend of the sealed window.

If you enjoy this novella, you can seek out the further adventures of Elys and Jervon in "Gryphon in Glory," "Gryphon's Eyrie," and "Sword of Unbelief" (in "Lore of the Witch World").

"Dream Smith" -- In my opinion, Norton doesn't display her story-telling talents as well in an abbreviated format as she does in her novellas and novels. However, "Dream Smith" and another short story, "The Toads of Grimmerdale" are rare and wonderful exceptions to this rule. In "Dream Smith," her hero is handicapped so severely by an explosion at his father's forge that he must wear a mask and live away from the other villagers, including his family. Many of Norton's most finely realized characters are misfits, handicapped, or otherwise rejected by society. In this story, both the hero and heroine have been cast off because of physical abnormalities. The magic is delicate, almost wistful. The happy ending is a bit contrived, but I wouldn't have had it any other way.

"Amber out of Quayth"--Ysmay, who was once chatelaine of the keep at Uppsdale, is now made to feel unwanted by her brother's new bride. She yearns for her former responsibilities, even if it means she must marry a stranger who comes to town for a trade fair. He in turn is attracted by her dowry: an old, caved-in amber mine. Ysmay follows her new husband to the far north, to Quayth Keep and learns to her dismay that "it is one of the ancient places which the Old Ones had the building of." Witch World fans know what this might mean: does Ysmay's new lord have dealings with certain Dark Powers?

Rating:
Summary: 2 excellent novellas and 1 excellent short story...
Review: "Dragon Scale Silver" - This is the tale of Elys, and of how a woman obviously of Estcarp's witch blood should happen not only to live in the Dales, but to ride with Jervon, just as clearly of High Hallack ancestry. It isn't long enough to make a full-length novel, but it's longer than the usual short story.

The tale begins with two shipwrecked refugees, obviously of Estcarp blood, being washed ashore at Wark, near Vastdale in High Hallack, in the Year of the Salamander. Although this is before the Invaders' War erupted in High Hallack, remember that Estcarp had been fighting what is called 'the Kolder War' on their side of the ocean for some years at that point.

Almondia, who was a Witch in her former life, opts to lay down her oath and take Truan for her husband, after casting one last spell, ensuring that although she dies after giving birth to twins, she leaves behind a son, Elyn, for Truan and a daughter, Elys, leaving them only the legacy of the dragon scale silver cup created by her last act of magic.

The story follows Elys through the opening years of the Invaders' War, when the people of Wark must flee from their seacoast village and take refuge far inland. (Elyn left Wark to join the Dales' forces as a warrior.) Jervon stumbled across the refugees' new village with his dying lord, the last survivors of one of the early, desperate battles against the Hounds. Elys and Jervon join forces to find and rescue Elyn when the dragon scale silver cup gives warning that Elyn is in mortal danger.

Elys and Jervon encounter Joisan in _Gryphon in Glory_, and also appear in _Gryphon's Eyrie_.

"Dream Smith" - The Dales are full of stories warning of the danger of handling artifacts from those who lived in the Dales before the coming of mortals. Collard, a young smith, was crippled and disfigured in an explosion caused by trying to work a mysterious metal brought out of the Waste. Upon his return to such health as he can now enjoy, he discovers a talent for working the strange metal into lifelike figurines, based on images he now sees in dreams. The Wise Woman Sharvana, who nursed Collard back to life after the accident, brings him into contact with the invalid Lady Jacinda, exiled to her father's country estate to get her out of her stepmother's household. Can either of them hope for a life with more than dreams?

"Amber Out of Quayth" - In the years after the Invaders' War, life in the Dales entered a time of flux. Many lords, together with their heirs and most of their fighting men, were lost in the early stages of the war, when the Hounds still had the Kolders' support to draw on (the Hounds had access to Kolder tanks, the Dales had swords and crossbows). After the war, women outnumbered men, especially nobleborn women, and few Dales were prosperous enough to provide adequate dowries.

Ysmay, the sister of the lord of Uppsdale, acted as chatelaine during the Invaders' War; in her brother's absence, she ruled the dale in his place. After the war ended and her brother brought home a bride, Ysmay's duties were transferred to the new lady, except for those involving her talents with herbs. Ysmay's only dowry is an amber mine which can no longer be worked after being blocked by a cave-in years before, so she has no prospects of escaping through marriage (and she refuses to be pushed off into a convent).

Enter Hylle, Lord of Quayth (an obscure hold bordering on the Waste west of High Hallack). Hylle has brought with him to the fair near Uppsdale a great wealth of amber, including a great deal of finished, fine jewelry; in fact, his products are so fine that the local nobility expect that he will have trouble finding buyers in the post-war Dales who can pay him a fair price. Oddly enough, though, Hylle's prices can be afforded even by Uppsdale's lord (if only for one bracelet). Is Hylle trying to build up a market slowly, sacrificing immediate profit in favor of long-range plans for trade?

And why is a man so wealthy in amber bargaining for Ysmay's hand in marriage, a woman he has never met? Even though his skills in alchemy (e.g., in brewing explosives) allow the mine to be reopened, why should he be interested in the ordinary amber produced by Uppsdale's mine when he obviously has so much of his own?

"Amber Out of Quayth" has a few overtones of the old story of Bluebeard; a young woman married to a stranger, and finding that he seems to be hiding a sinister secret. "Dragon Scale Silver" is roughly in the same vein as some other major love stories in the Witch World - Kerovan and Joisan (_The Crystal Gryphon_), Gillian and Herrel (_Year of the Unicorn_). Although each differs considerably from the others in terms of the actual events that befall the protagonists, if you like one you'll probably like the others.

"Dragon Scale Silver" also occupies an interesting point in the history of the Invaders' War - during the first devastating defeats of the Dale forces, long before the lords made pact with the Were Riders.

IRRELEVANT NOTE: The cover paintings for the 2 editions of _Spell of the Witch World_ with which I am most familiar are both drawn from the first story, "Dragon Scale Silver." The edition that may be the most well-known has a Michael Whelan cover painting whose centerpiece is a woman (either Almondia or Elys) holding the dragon scale silver cup.

Rating:
Summary: Three of Norton's best High Hallack tales
Review: "Spell of the Witch World" is the seventh book in the Witch World saga and is made up of two novellas and a short story, all of which take place in the dales and sorcerous wastelands of High Hallack. Here is a brief description of the contents:

"Dragon Scale Silver" -- Norton uses the multiple birth theme again here, as she did so successfully in her Witch World trilogy about the Tregarth triplets, Kaththea, Kemoc, and Kyllan. In this novella, a woman of witch-blood gives birth to the twins Elys and her brother Elyn, and does not long survive their entry into the world. The twins are raised by the Wise Woman, Aufrica and their father, who trains both Elys and Elyn in arms-play. The Dales are attacked by foreign invaders (as in Norton's 'Gryphon' trilogy, "Year of the Unicorn," and "Zarsthor's Bane"), and the twins' father rides off to war. Soon, Elyn follows him, but not before he has shared a drink with his twin sister in a special cup, fashioned by their deceased mother from dragon scale silver. If the cup loses its luster while he is off to war, Elys will know that her twin brother is in danger.

Sure enough, after several seasons have passed the cup begins to tarnish. Elys must use both her skills as a warrior and as a witch to save her twin from an ancient curse. Her only companion in her quest is Jervon, once Marshal of Horse at a keep that fell to the foreign invaders.

"Dragon Scale Silver" scintillates with Norton's eerie brand of magic, especially in her handling of the old, uncanny legend of the sealed window.

If you enjoy this novella, you can seek out the further adventures of Elys and Jervon in "Gryphon in Glory," "Gryphon's Eyrie," and "Sword of Unbelief" (in "Lore of the Witch World").

"Dream Smith" -- In my opinion, Norton doesn't display her story-telling talents as well in an abbreviated format as she does in her novellas and novels. However, "Dream Smith" and another short story, "The Toads of Grimmerdale" are rare and wonderful exceptions to this rule. In "Dream Smith," her hero is handicapped so severely by an explosion at his father's forge that he must wear a mask and live away from the other villagers, including his family. Many of Norton's most finely realized characters are misfits, handicapped, or otherwise rejected by society. In this story, both the hero and heroine have been cast off because of physical abnormalities. The magic is delicate, almost wistful. The happy ending is a bit contrived, but I wouldn't have had it any other way.

"Amber out of Quayth"--Ysmay, who was once chatelaine of the keep at Uppsdale, is now made to feel unwanted by her brother's new bride. She yearns for her former responsibilities, even if it means she must marry a stranger who comes to town for a trade fair. He in turn is attracted by her dowry: an old, caved-in amber mine. Ysmay follows her new husband to the far north, to Quayth Keep and learns to her dismay that "it is one of the ancient places which the Old Ones had the building of." Witch World fans know what this might mean: does Ysmay's new lord have dealings with certain Dark Powers?

Rating:
Summary: This is one of her best shorts collections!
Review: I have always enjoyed shorts that follow a constant theme...and she always seems to have them flesh out WW while at the same time well able to stand on their own...not only her own works, but those of others she chooses as well.

Rating:
Summary: a look at the Gregg Press edition
Review: The Gregg Press hardcover edition (0-8398-2354-1) is approximately 6"x8", dark blue with gold lettering with Andre Norton's signature on the cover. Published in 1977. The dustjacket is by Jack Gaughan and (except for title changes) is used on all of the Witch World titles that Gregg Press published. The text is the same as that used by DAW when the book first appeared in 1972. The endleaves have 2 maps of the Witch World by Barbi Johnston. Interior B&W art by Jack Gaughan & Alice Phalen.

Rating:
Summary: hello
Review: The novel Spell of the Withch World was an adventure book that held my intrest most of the way through it. The main Characters in this story were the twins Elys and Elyn. Elys is a witch and Elyn is a warrior. They travel around the countryside to gain back their home land of Wark and come across wierd events. I'm not to interested in these kind of books but I wouldrecommend this book for people who like stories of fantisy lands.