Rating: 
Summary: My all-time favorite sf book
Review: Poor kind-hearted Captain Pausert thinks he's rescuing 3 child slaves. Turns out the girls are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves and quite adept at creating problems for the captain. I first read this book 30 years ago, and I still chuckle when I think of the delightful interplay between the hapless spaceship captain and his supposedly helpless charges. And Schmitz' description of life on Karres remains my ideal of the way people ought to live. Completely delightful and memorable.
Rating:
Summary: My all-time favorite sf book
Review: Poor kind-hearted Captain Pausert thinks he's rescuing 3 child slaves. Turns out the girls are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves and quite adept at creating problems for the captain. I first read this book 30 years ago, and I still chuckle when I think of the delightful interplay between the hapless spaceship captain and his supposedly helpless charges. And Schmitz' description of life on Karres remains my ideal of the way people ought to live. Completely delightful and memorable.
Rating: 
Summary: To Old Friends
Review: The Witches of Karres is an old favorite. My old and battered copy has a cover price of 75 cents. Still, wherever I move, I'll take this one with me.The adventures, or more accurately, the misadventures of Captain Pausert begin with his "rescue" of three young children. Of course, these three, Maleen, Goth, and the Leewit, are his introduction to the Witches of Karres. While a somewhat predictable space opera, the characters are such a delight that is easily overlooked. Where else does one find 3 witches in the same story? Uh...well that's another story entirely. This one is a light hearted adventure complete with pirates, battle robots, teleportation, spies, and the usual suspects. The only disappointment is the sequel that was never written. The ending is an obvious setup for one. It appears the continuation of the story is in other hands than Schmitz. May they fare as well.
Rating:
Summary: To Old Friends
Review: The Witches of Karres is an old favorite. My old and battered copy has a cover price of 75 cents. Still, wherever I move, I'll take this one with me. The adventures, or more accurately, the misadventures of Captain Pausert begin with his "rescue" of three young children. Of course, these three, Maleen, Goth, and the Leewit, are his introduction to the Witches of Karres. While a somewhat predictable space opera, the characters are such a delight that is easily overlooked. Where else does one find 3 witches in the same story? Uh...well that's another story entirely. This one is a light hearted adventure complete with pirates, battle robots, teleportation, spies, and the usual suspects. The only disappointment is the sequel that was never written. The ending is an obvious setup for one. It appears the continuation of the story is in other hands than Schmitz. May they fare as well.
Rating:
Summary: The Magic of Karres
Review: This book is a delight for all ages. James Schmitz's classic story has never been matched for sheer inventive genius, both in the unusual society he envisions or in the wild aliens he creates for this fast-paced romp. Captain Pausert, a merchant captain, is returning to his (boring) home world after a profitable trip through the Empire. His predictable life changes drastically when he finds the three defenseless young girls (Maleen, Goth and The Leewit) he rescues from slavers are in fact Witches of Karres - and not defenseless at all When the Imperial forces attack, Captain Pausert trys to save them all, only to discover his space ship suddenly travelling at unheard-of speeds. He finds to his shock that the Witches saved him by using the Sheewash Drive - a secret spaceship drive powered by klatha magic. Captain Pausert finds that instead of protecting the girls from the Galaxy, he must protect the galaxy from the girls' well-meaning (but illegal) attempts to repay him for his trouble by teleporting valuables into his ship's cargo hold. Successfully returning his three young charges to Karres, he returns home to discover the Planetary Police want to arrest him, seize his ship and learn the Sheewash Drive's secret - a secret Captain Pausert does not have. Fortunately, Captain Pausert is rescued by Goth (who stowed away in his ship). Captain Pausert and Goth's adventures now begin in earnest. Can the captain's piloting skills and Goth's klatha magic defeat the spies seeking the Sheewash Drive's secrets? What about the dangers of the Chalinoor - a haunted region of space? And why is that annoying Giant Vatch pestering them? One thing is for sure - Captain Pausert's life isn't boring any more!
Rating:
Summary: I LOVED this book!
Review: This is a GREAT book!
I found this book at a friends house in the late 70s, read it, loved it, left it (it was his book, after all ;)) and could never find it again, 'til now.
It's lots of fun - I'm not even sure how to discribe it - it's kind of like Space Opera writ small. Rather than juggling galaxies (well, until the end, anyway) it's the story of a captain trying to pay off his debts, win the hand of the girl he left behind, and his adventures with 3 young witches of Karres he rescues along the way.
One of the cool things is the captain is much more human than most heroes of space opera stories (check out Kim Kinnison or Dick Seaton of EESmith fame, for example) - you can sort of see yourself in his place as he struggles thru trials and tribulations to win the hand of his true love and (in the end, of course) Save The Universe from distruction by an evil race of invaders. :)
Anyway, it's a great read, and you'll want more at the end, I promise!
Rating:
Summary: Perhaps the Best Sci-fi Novel Ever Written
Review: This was a Hugo runner-up to Heinlein's "Moon is a Harsh Mistress", and "Witches" is a much better book than even this Heinlein great. This book is my favorite sci-fi novel, although Schmitz's "Agent of Vega" (a collection of stories) is one I enjoy even more. I re-read this book a few months ago for the first time in 25 years, and was just mesmerized by this timeless story. This book has everything, in grand J.H. Schmitz style. It moves you as it thrills you; makes you smile and moves you to tears; more than anything it makes you wish he had written a sequel. (as I wish he had done with "Agent"). He is my favorite sci-fi writer and I enjoyed this book so much that I purchased it in a First Edition after reading it this time around. Nothing compares to it.
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