Forerunner: The Second Venture

Rating:
Summary: Sequel to "Forerunner" relating Simsa's further adventures
Review: Andre Norton has written many SF novels using the theme of the Forerunners, an ancient race of space farers that disappeared (except for their artifacts) well before humanity took to the stars. Other books employing this theme are "Sargasso of Space" (1955), "Exiles of the Stars" (1971), "Forerunner Foray" (1973), "Forerunner (1981), and "Moon Called" (1982).

In most of these novels, Norton describes the ancient Forerunner ruins as vast, underground high technology installations where ordinary human beings can be driven crazy just by the odd angles of the walls, the mazes and tunnels where they're always getting lost, or by the harmful emanations from the ancient and only partly understood machines.

However in "Forerunner" (1981) and "Forerunner: the Second Venture" (1985), Norton's Forerunners have gone beyond technology and into the realm of what we would call supernatural powers.

"Forerunner: the Second Venture" is a sequel to "Forerunner," and continues the story of Simsa, once a runner and fetcher for an old Burrow-dweller in the ancient port of Kuxortal, and now a reincarnated Forerunner with superhuman talents, including telepathy, the ability to channel killing forces through her sun-and-moon scepter, and the ability to tamper with other peoples' minds.

In "Forerunner," Simsa teamed up with the off-worlder Thom who came to Kuxortal in search of his missing brother. She and Thom survived many harrowing adventures together, and they seemed like good friends at the end of the book, but in this sequel Simsa suspects Thom of abandoning her to his fellow scientists. No one has ever met a living Forerunner, and Simsa finds herself an 'honored guest,' i.e. prisoner, on a starship where at least one of the scientists would like to have a go at dissecting her. She escapes from the starship, via its life boat which will automatically search out a planet where humans can, at the very least, breathe the atmosphere.

And that's exactly what the lifeboat finds: a planet where Simsa can breathe the air, but which otherwise seems inimical to life. She and her zorsal (think 'bat' with four feet and cute fern-like antennae) almost perish in a searing, rocky wasteland where the only thing that moves is an eerie river of sand.

Norton has invented some interesting aliens in 'The Second Venture.' There are the bad-smelling, octopus-like blobs that live in the rivers of sand, but there are also intelligent creatures in one secluded valley where Simsa finally stumbles upon food and water. Simsa must persuade the furry lobster-things that she too is intelligent and worthy of their respect. She must also do battle with the Forerunner who is co-inhabiting her body, and last but not least, find Thom who has crash-landed into one of the rivers of sand while searching for Simsa.

Norton's heroine is by turn sour, prickly, brave, and fiercely independent. She's hard to like, but it is easy to admire her, especially in her fight almost-to-the-death to gain control of her body and mind from the ancient and powerful Forerunner.

This book is primarily an adventure story that wanders from one alien wonder to another, without really tying everything together into a neat, tidy plot. There is quite a bit of character development as Simsa struggles to somehow share her mind and body with the Forerunner. There is also a nice sub-theme of friendship as Simsa drags Thom out of one dilemma after another, even though she thinks she despises him.

But it's really hard to love a surly heroine with superhuman powers. These two Forerunner books will never be my favorite Nortons.

Rating:
Summary: Sequel to "Forerunner" relating Simsa's further adventures
Review: Andre Norton has written many SF novels using the theme of the Forerunners, an ancient race of space farers that disappeared (except for their artifacts) well before humanity took to the stars. Other books employing this theme are "Sargasso of Space" (1955), "Exiles of the Stars" (1971), "Forerunner Foray" (1973), "Forerunner (1981), and "Moon Called" (1982).

In most of these novels, Norton describes the ancient Forerunner ruins as vast, underground high technology installations where ordinary human beings can be driven crazy just by the odd angles of the walls, the mazes and tunnels where they're always getting lost, or by the harmful emanations from the ancient and only partly understood machines.

However in "Forerunner" (1981) and "Forerunner: the Second Venture" (1985), Norton's Forerunners have gone beyond technology and into the realm of what we would call supernatural powers.

"Forerunner: the Second Venture" is a sequel to "Forerunner," and continues the story of Simsa, once a runner and fetcher for an old Burrow-dweller in the ancient port of Kuxortal, and now a reincarnated Forerunner with superhuman talents, including telepathy, the ability to channel killing forces through her sun-and-moon scepter, and the ability to tamper with other peoples' minds.

In "Forerunner," Simsa teamed up with the off-worlder Thom who came to Kuxortal in search of his missing brother. She and Thom survived many harrowing adventures together, and they seemed like good friends at the end of the book, but in this sequel Simsa suspects Thom of abandoning her to his fellow scientists. No one has ever met a living Forerunner, and Simsa finds herself an 'honored guest,' i.e. prisoner, on a starship where at least one of the scientists would like to have a go at dissecting her. She escapes from the starship, via its life boat which will automatically search out a planet where humans can, at the very least, breathe the atmosphere.

And that's exactly what the lifeboat finds: a planet where Simsa can breathe the air, but which otherwise seems inimical to life. She and her zorsal (think 'bat' with four feet and cute fern-like antennae) almost perish in a searing, rocky wasteland where the only thing that moves is an eerie river of sand.

Norton has invented some interesting aliens in 'The Second Venture.' There are the bad-smelling, octopus-like blobs that live in the rivers of sand, but there are also intelligent creatures in one secluded valley where Simsa finally stumbles upon food and water. Simsa must persuade the furry lobster-things that she too is intelligent and worthy of their respect. She must also do battle with the Forerunner who is co-inhabiting her body, and last but not least, find Thom who has crash-landed into one of the rivers of sand while searching for Simsa.

Norton's heroine is by turn sour, prickly, brave, and fiercely independent. She's hard to like, but it is easy to admire her, especially in her fight almost-to-the-death to gain control of her body and mind from the ancient and powerful Forerunner.

This book is primarily an adventure story that wanders from one alien wonder to another, without really tying everything together into a neat, tidy plot. There is quite a bit of character development as Simsa struggles to somehow share her mind and body with the Forerunner. There is also a nice sub-theme of friendship as Simsa drags Thom out of one dilemma after another, even though she thinks she despises him.

But it's really hard to love a surly heroine with superhuman powers. These two Forerunner books will never be my favorite Nortons.

Rating:
Summary: Andre Norton's Forerunner series...
Review: is an excellent read. With this book she continues the story begun in her other book titled: Forerunner. Engaging, and a very good read, Andre Norton keeps the pace up and the reader riveted until the last page. If you like Andre Norton's other works, I suggest purchasing this one too.