Magic in Ithkar 2

Magic in Ithkar #2

by Andre Norton (Editor), Robert Adams (Editor)

Pilgrims, merchants, sorcerers, and tricksters journey to to magical Ithkar Fair, the setting for a collection of fantasy tales by Lin Carter, Linda Haldeman, Lyn Ward, and R.A. Lafferty

Genres: Fantasy, Anthologies, Fiction, Short Stories

306 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 15, 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

[Larry Kollar · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a shared-world anthology, where all the authors write a story in the same setting—in this case, the Fair in a place called Ithkar. Given that it came out in 1985, it was obviously trying to capitalize on the popularity of the Thieves' World series, but it lacked the interaction between different authors' characters that really made Thieves' World stand out.

The quality of the stories were a little uneven. Several of the stories seemed like the editors skimmed over them a little too quickly, and the overall quality was not up to how I remember Thieves' World (except that last one, which just let things drop). My three favorites were in the second half of the collection: "The Shaman Flute" (Sheriann Lewitt), "The Cards of Eldrianza" (Mary H. Schaub), and "The Marbled Horn" (Lynn Ward). About half of the stories were worth slogging through the other half, in my opinion, so overall it was OK. But I'll probably drop this off in a book-swap, which is where I got this one.