Forerunner: The Second Venture

Forerunner #2

by Andre Norton

Sisma, the beggar whose mind held the ancient legacy of the Forerunners, had escaped her claw-and-fang life in the Burrows, with the off-planet Rangers. But the Rangers wanted her in captivity for study by historians.

So Sisma and Zass, her winged hunting zorsal, escaped again, taking a stolen lifeboat to an unknown world. A desert where shapeshifting creatures lurked beneath the sand, where Zass and Sisma's hunting skills, psychic powers, and strange link to the Elder One in Sisma's mind were their only survival weapons.

Then Thom, the Ranger who saved--and perhaps betrayed--Sisma, crashed on the planet. Together, they realized that a mysterious, mind-threatening and possibly monstrous power had found them...

And only the Elder One could help.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

254 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Andre Norton, born Alice Mary Norton, was a pioneering American author of science fiction and fantasy, widely regarded as the Grande Dame of those genres. She also wrote historical and contemporary fiction, publishing under the pen names Andre Alice Norton, Andrew North, and Allen Weston. She launched her career in 1934 with The Prince Commands, adopting the name “Andre” to appeal to a male readership. After working for the Cleveland Library System and the Library of Congress, she began publishing science fiction under “Andrew North” and fantasy under her own name. She became a full-time writer in 1958 and was known for her prolific output, including Star Man’s Son, 2250 A.D. and Witch World, the latter spawning a long-running series and shared universe. Norton was a founding member of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America and authored Quag Keep, the first novel based on the Dungeons & Dragons game. She influenced generations of writers, including Lois McMaster Bujold and Mercedes Lackey. Among her many honors were being the first woman named Gandalf Grand Master of Fantasy and SFWA Grand Master. In her later years, she established the High Hallack Library to support research in genre fiction. Her legacy continues with the Andre Norton Award for young adult science fiction and fantasy.

Reviews

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the sequel to Forerunner, you will be confused if you don't read it first. You may feel a bit befuddled anyway, the story is a chase story that seems forced. Simsa flees from some of the scientists that work with her buddy from the first book Thom, but its unclear if they were really going to do anything bad to her.

She escapes via lifeboat to a hostile planet upon which alarms and excursions occur, many of them involving the wave of Simsa's magic wand. There's also the struggle of Simsa to retain her identity as opposed to being replaced by the goddess she shares her body with.

The dwellers in the valley reminds me a bit of A. Merritt's The Moon Pool.

A decent read but not one of Norton's best.

[Doris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simsa battles with the visions and powers, and the potential loss of her whole self, as the ancient memories and persona she first welcomed threaten to her own self, and become the dominant in this strong tale of multiple personalities with a fantasy twist.

Simsa had been invaded, and her memories and frightened young self overpowered, by the clinging memory of a Forerunner - one of those peoples who had existed so far in the past that no one knew much of them.

Now, she struggles to be her own person again, but also contends with those who would use her to find out more about those others. She does not always act wisely, and the moves she takes to correct her actions and protect herself are the strength of the story.

[Cr · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not so great. The first one was better. This one is incomprehensible, weak, and totally dispensable. . .

Neither the first book, nor this one is particularly good. . .
The 1st one, is better written, more of a real story.

This one. . . practically incoherent.

None the less:
If you like Andre Norton you may like it.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sequel to Forerunner, but I didn't think it was as good as the first one. It's a fairly short book, less than 200 pages. Thom has talked Simsa into going with him into space, but when she reads the minds of some of the people on the ship, she wants to escape. She and her zorsal get into a Life Boat, which deposits them on an arid, burnt-out planet. She is saved by a small cluster of creatures who help her, but when a flitter arrives one of them uses her powers to bring it down. She realizes that Thom may be on it, looking for her, and feels she must save his life. She is continually learning more about the Elder One who inhabited her body (see Forerunner), but fights to keep her own persona at the same time. She and Thom go back to the people who helped her, but yet another ship comes following the signal of Thom's flitter. Simsa must decide whether to stay as an exile, or go with him and find herself back in the power of the spacers. This could be read as a standalone, as some of the happenings in Forerunner are sprinkled here and there, but in my opinion it is better to read them in order.

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

A continuation of the story in Forerunner, about the survival/resurrection of a member of a long lost race. But Simsa must deal with battle for control over her own body with an ancestor of great power. And at the same time the lust for that power by her purported rescuers. I thought Norton had a good story going about dominance by force vs by peaceful means but it sort of dwindled into an adventure story with a happy ending. Still worth rereading.

[Ellis Wasend · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would give a 3.5 star if possible, second best out of the 5 probably, maybe third. Mrs Norton always leaves me wanting more information and closure on the worlds she’s built but then it wouldn’t be as realistic and first person would it?

[Michael Busick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written, but virtually nothing interesting happened until the last few pages.

[Valerie]

There really wasn't long between Forerunner and this, its sequel. I suppose prolific authors, having so much more to remember, can be forgiven for minor failures of continuity. In this case, however, it's something of a doozy. In Forerunner, there's no doubt that Simsa has retractable claws. It's pertinent to the plot, and has impacts several places. In this book, she regrets the lack of claws (to aid in climbing, for example). So what happened? Surely she wasn't declawed?

I'm not sure why this book is shoehorned into a series in the citation, btw. The simple use of the common word Forerunner, (even in the title) doesn't establish any necessary linkage. These two books can stand alone, despite many elements in common with other books, though there's room for a third book, if necessary.

Note that the education the Burrowers and other poor children in and around Kuxortal is frankly abusive, involving repeated beatings. If the children AREN'T naturally inquisitive, there's very little likelihood of then learning anything.

[Doris]

This book is dealing with the same characters as in "Forerunner" but in a different twist, Norton does not have the same plot theme – searching for the world of origin for Simsa. I really liked the character, but had a little trouble reconciling some of the discrepancies between that plot and this one.

Although this will never be one of the strongest books as far as plot, it does have as a strength the struggle for personal and cultural identity and the ability to grow and trust. It also allows us to see Simsa as she struggles to fit in without being used, meld in without giving up herself and self knowledge, and above of to be part of something. In that sense, this book is a bridge to the Simsa's future.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

This follows very shortly after "Forerunner" and adds a layer of complexity to the "past Simsa" and "current Simsa" situation. Still not one of Norton's stronger books, but I did feel acutely Simsa's struggle for identity and trust, her need to not be used against the sheer loneliness of her situation.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A living member of the race called Forerunner is discovered living in the Burrow. She is taken into space by the humans where the only human she trusts pursues her and his life is endangered to the point that she must decide whether to save him or not.