"The Zero Stone" by Andre Norton (BR)

[MrsJoseph *grouchy*]

A mysterious stone, born of worlds long extinct, is the key to unimaginable powers in this latest novel from the winner of the Science Fiction Grnad Master Award. Murdoc Jern and his mutant feline companion, Eet, are hunted throughout space when Murdoc comes into possession of a magnificent gem.


Please don't forget to place spoiler tags: < spoiler > < / spoiler >

[MrsJoseph *grouchy*]

I just finished up this weekend! I found it...weird because the last time I read this book I was under the age of 10, IIRC.

[Trike]

So is this a Space Fantasy a la Star Wars/Mass Effect?

[MrsJoseph *grouchy*]

Trike wrote: "So is this a Space Fantasy a la Star Wars/Mass Effect?"

I've never read Mass Effect!

It's certainly a Space(ish) Fantasy. Andre Norton almost always writes a combination of the two. More time is spent planet-side than in space, however.

[Del]

I read that as a teenager (don't ask me how long ago that was lol). Don't remember much about specific books, but I read many of them and liked them all.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

I'll be starting tonight! I know nothing about it outside of the blurb. But because my short term memory almost entirely filled up with memes and meeting invites, it's like the world is newly minted and ready to explore all the time!

[MrsJoseph *grouchy*]

Allison wrote: "I'll be starting tonight! I know nothing about it outside of the blurb. But because my short term memory almost entirely filled up with memes and meeting invites, it's like the world is newly minte..."

LOL!

[MrsJoseph *grouchy*]

Del wrote: "I read that as a teenager (don't ask me how long ago that was lol). Don't remember much about specific books, but I read many of them and liked them all."

LOL!

yeah, Norton's written so much - I've not even attempted to read it all - I concentrated in a few areas only.

[Bruce]

I was also under 10 when I read it, but I still remember that stone being pretty cool. I vaguely remember Murdock being chased and boosting his ship's speed with the stone.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

I just started it! The intro is so good - evocative and dark, slightly alien but relatable.

Though by the end of the chapter I knew it was going to be nothing like it, I still found myself wishing that this had been how Mistborn started. It had the same kind of gritty dampness I guess I associate with that series? But way more compelling to me.

Good start! Curious how he gets out of this.

[MrsJoseph *grouchy*]

Allison wrote: "I just started it! The intro is so good - evocative and dark, slightly alien but relatable.

Though by the end of the chapter I knew it was going to be nothing like it, I still found myself wishin..."

Norton has some great opening lines and chapters. One of her books starts with "The old man was dying..."

Attention caught right away!

[MrsJoseph *grouchy*]

I have to say that after finishing this - I have much more respect for younger me. I am surprised that I was able to read something like this at that age. I was in elementary school - no clue the age but I am surprised this engrossed me the way it did.

She also had a lot more info dumping than I expected - though the info-dumping was decently shortish.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Okay, it is very much not misty anymore. I did find the next two chapters a little bizarre because (view spoiler)[ you're right, Mrs. J, there is a bit of infodumping but it also sort of requests I make a personal connection? Hearing your mom never loved you is an emotional thing, but I don't feel like I'm tight enough with Murdoc yet to feel his pain. It's a strange placement, but, as you say, quite short. (hide spoiler)]

[MrsJoseph *grouchy*]

Allison wrote: "Okay, it is very much not misty anymore. I did find the next two chapters a little bizarre because [spoilers removed]"

You're right! And honestly...the more I think about it, the more I feel that I never really made that connection. It becomes (view spoiler)[more than obvious that Murdoc is over his head and he acts like it. There are things that he never thinks of until its too late - but instead of being in that emotional space with him, I feel distant/disconnected. More like I'm watching a dream sequence or a movie. (hide spoiler)]

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

re: writing style
(view spoiler)[It does have a feeling of the removed retelling, sort of like Dracula or Jeckyll and Hyde, which does remove you a little if the emotional state isn't stressed. (hide spoiler)]

As of three pages into Chapter 7 (38%)
(view spoiler)[ I'm glad we've gone back to the amount of description of the first chapter. I was getting concerned! I really like the concern of unknown organisms but am confused by how unprepared these space suits are for things like crash landing on foreign planets! Just one line "the built in sensors that I assumed monitored air quality read green, signalling acceptable atmosphere for an alien race whose standards I couldn't begin to compare with mine, but had kept me alive so far." would have helped me SO MUCH! (hide spoiler)]

[MrsJoseph *grouchy*]

I agree! I love this because it makes me look at Norton in a more critical light (I normally don't, lol).

I am starting to think that a lot of her work (especially the earlier stuff) has that (view spoiler)[ emotional wall between the reader and the text. I think is has something to do with the matter of fact way that she words things. There's a scene in a book where a character had been tied up and was in fear for his life. Another character sneaks him a sword and he ends up fighting his captor for his life. After the fight, everything is dealt with as if it were Tuesday. There's little to no discussion of what just occurred. Modern writers probably would have put a lot of detail about the characters feelings, etc. Norton moved on. And its one of my favorite 'slice of life' books. (hide spoiler)]

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Interesting! I can see how it would be refreshing, but I'm afraid it didn't really work for me in this case. I felt completely removed from the main characters, and honestly found their sniping and redundant conversations a little annoying. I think her world building is amazing, but the characters and the plot made me wish this was more just a travelogue for the new worlds we saw.

[MrsJoseph *grouchy*]

Allison wrote: "Interesting! I can see how it would be refreshing, but I'm afraid it didn't really work for me in this case. I felt completely removed from the main characters, and honestly found their sniping and..."

I can agree.

But I'm pretty happy as regarding how well this held up after 50 years, all things considered.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

I think I'd like to try something by her that's a little more whimsical? Maybe the Memory one? (My search just froze).

[MrsJoseph *grouchy*]

Allison wrote: "I think I'd like to try something by her that's a little more whimsical? Maybe the Memory one? (My search just froze)."

What kind of whimsical? Like The Elvenbane is really popular but I haven't read it since middle school. I don't really remember a lot of it - but I liked it.

The Crystal Gryphon - This one is the first book I ever read in the Witch World series. I think her characterization is better here but I don't know if it will give you what you want. I read this one when there was much less fantasy out there. The whole idea of it fascinated me.

Perilous Dreams - I really like this one (story #2 if my favorite) but it's an anthology of shorts. The stories are only loosely connected and they are short. I always have somewhat of an issue with shorts due to the lack of development. But I still like it a lot. The premise of story #1 reminds me of the movie Interception.

[MrsJoseph *grouchy*]

Steel Magic - This is the first book in a series I've never read! Its a children's, too.

Largely written during the Vietnam era, featuring young outsiders struggling to fit in and make sense of their worlds through fantastical journeys to times past.

I wonder how I'd like this - IDK...


ETA: The Beast Master - this one was made into a movie or two. And a short lived TV series.

My mom loved these movies when I was a kid - and they terrified me, lol. So I've never read them but I keep meaning to work through that issue. O_O

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Yeah, maybe I try Lackey and then a mash up book like Elvenbane. She really caught my attention with the intro and I looooved the description of the world. Those were really outstanding.

[MrsJoseph *grouchy*]

Allison wrote: "Yeah, maybe I try Lackey and then a mash up book like Elvenbane. She really caught my attention with the intro and I looooved the description of the world. Those were really outstanding."

You've never read Lackey?

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Not yet. I'm working on it!

[MrsJoseph *grouchy*]

Allison wrote: "Not yet. I'm working on it!"

:-D

I really love Lackey's earlier works - some of her more recent stuff... :-(

She typically works with a YA setting

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Cool! I have Valdemar up soon :-) I've been told "I should like that." I don't know if the "should" is a hedge because my tastes are inscrutable or a vague threat. Either way, I'm hoping to accommodate the kindly friend/bully who considers my tastes.

[MrsJoseph *grouchy*]

Allison wrote: "Cool! I have Valdemar up soon :-) I've been told "I should like that." I don't know if the "should" is a hedge because my tastes are inscrutable or a vague threat. Either way, I'm hoping to accommo..."

lolol!

I like Lackey - and at one time she was a bit of a forerunner: She had a gay male MC back in the 80's (one of my fave series) and she wrote "magic school" long before there was a JK Rowling.

She was also one of the first to start writing UF.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Amazing. I like her already!

[Kateb]

love Andre Norton's stuff and also Lackey. Elvenbane and the rest of the series were great. Must re read them

[Wen]

I am in the middle of the book. (view spoiler)[And so far I only interested in the alien kitten… (hide spoiler)]

[Lost Planet Airman]

Just got it in from the library -- will start tonight!

[Dawn F]

I’ll be starting today as I’ve really wanted to re-read some Andre Norton whom I haven’t read since I was a kid.