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Rating: Summary: A fantasy on par with Le Guin's Earthsea books Review: Many of Andre Norton's most haunting stories are set in water and/or the underworld. This dark, water-bound environment is often a river of rebirth for Norton's heroes. In "Warlock of the Witch World" the hero, Kemoc is guided through a watery underworld by the amphibious, amorphous Orsya who defies her own people to aid him in his quest. Kemoc Tregarth was born one of three triplets. His birth-sister Kaththea was gifted with witchery. His brother, Kyllan became a warrior. Kemoc himself was gifted with wisdom, but as he states it, "...my wisdom consists in knowing that I know very little, though the thirst for learning has ever been in me." At the very least, you probably need to read "Three Against the Witch World" (1965) as a precursor to 'Warlock' (1967), in order to learn about the hidden land of Escore, the magical sister-state of witch-ruled Estcarp that lies to the forbidden East in "trembling balance between the forces of Light and those of the Dark." When Kaththea, Kemoc, and Kyllan flee to Escore, they accidentally destroy the false peace that had long abode there between the great powers of Light and Dark. "Things awoke and gathered, and the land was troubled..." and the three learn that they must fight with the forces of Light, or be utterly annihilated by the Dark. Kemoc sets out to win allies among the Krogan, who made their homes in the lakes, rivers, and waterways of Escore. When he returns from this failed mission, there are many other battles to be fought in the now-troubled land. During one such engagement, Kemoc is wounded and is almost captured by minions of the Dark, but is saved by the Krogan maid, Orsya. When Kemoc finally reaches the safety of the Valley of Green Silences, he discovers that his birth-sister Kaththea has ridden off to the stronghold of a apparent ally, Dinzil. However, Kemoc suspects that the fair-seeming man who wooed his sister is actually a creature of the Great Dark Ones. Off he goes on another quest into the magic-troubled land, where he meets with the gnarled Moss Wives, and Loskeetha of the Garden of Stones, Reader of Sands. Loskeetha shows Kemoc three separate futures--all which end in the death of his birth-sister, Kaththea, and twice by his own hand! A greatly troubled Kemoc continues his search for Kaththea, with the help of his web-fingered, silver-haired friend, Orsya. This is an eerie, compelling fantasy with many allusions (intended or not) to Wagner's "Rheingold." It doesn't have a happy, fairytale ending, and you must certainly read the sequel, "Sorceress of the Witch World" (1968) in order to experience a good, satisfying thumping of the Great Dark Ones. Andre Norton is a powerful mythmaker and world-builder, and her three fantasies concerning the triplets Kemoc, Kaththea, and Kyllan ("Three Against the Witch World," "Warlock of the Witch World," and "Sorceress of the Witch World") do not suffer in comparison with Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea books. In fact, my own personal preference is for Norton's Witch World.
Rating: Summary: The Tregarths - warrior, sage, and witch... Review: This volume is narrated by Kemoc Tregarth, for whom Jaelithe asked at his birth that he be a sage. "...Though the thirst for learning has ever been in me...I have done no more than nibble at the edges of knowledge's rich cake, liplicked the goblet rim of true wisdom. But perhaps to know one's limitations is, in itself, a kind of sagecraft." A promising beginning, but Kemoc isn't given as much to work with as I'd like in this story. Kemoc, the 2nd of the Tregarth triplets, picks up where Kyllan left off in _Three Against the Witch World_, after a brief recap. (The ending of the book, as you might begin to suspect, indicates that Kaththea will conclude the story in _Sorceress of the Witch World_.) Each of these 3 books can stand on its own, since each tells a different story, but this is the weakest of the three, since it not only has to tell its own story, but bridge the gap between Kyllan's story (the cool one about the flight from Estcarp into Escore on the night of the Turning) and Kaththea's (about her recovery from the events in this story). Just as Kyllan brought in allies from Estcarp in the previous book, Kemoc sets out on a journey to rouse the various peoples of Escore (using the term a bit loosely). Many of the more interesting entries on the map of Escore come from this book - Kemoc meets the Mosswives, who send him to the seer Loskeetha, for instance. Some interesting tidbits in this book lay the groundwork for other books in the series. We have our first glimpse of Ha-Harc, the ruined city near the Valley of Green Silences, whose story we will hear in _Trey of Swords_, as well as our first meeting with some of the characters who feature in that story. As it happens, we don't get to see much of any one place on Kemoc's journey; his primary concern is with his sister, Kaththea. She is a particularly tempting target for the forces of darkness, being Witch-trained but not under the final seal of the Jewel Oath. The bad guy who's after her here, unfortunately, carries an aroma of Villains-R-Us - no real personality, and what little we know of his background isn't fleshed out. It's hard to care about him.
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