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Three Against the Witch World

October 28, 2007 at 2:41 pm · Filed under Book Reviews, Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror

115. Three Against the Witch World by Andre Norton (Fantasy) 190 p.

Three Against the Witch WorldFantasy Classics Challenge

Tolkienesque high fantasy isn’t really my thing, so it’s not surprising that I didn’t much enjoy Three Against the Witch World. Kyllan, Kemoc, and Kaththea (and how those names impede the suspension of my disbelief) are triplets, bound together from birth. Kyllan, the warrior, is the narrator of this first book in the Chronicles of the Witch World trilogy. When Kaththea is taken from her family to be trained in the ways of the Wise Ones, the powerful witches of Estcarp, her brothers are determined to rescue her before she can be made to take the oaths that will sever her connection to them forever. Pursued by the witches, the three escape into an unknown land.

If you like high fantasy, this might be worth trying. I don’t see much in it that sets it above any other work in the genre, but maybe it’s just not my type of book. Despite the first-person perspective, the elevated language keeps the reader at a distance from the narrator, and the tale lacks any breath of humour or warmth. I’m going to finish the trilogy, because I am interested in the plot, but I doubt it will ever be among my favourite fantasy series.

(Actually, I’ve already started the sequel, Warlock of the Witch World, and something incredibly annoying has happened, but I’ll save my rant about it for the review of that book.)

Books read: 115
Pages read: 34,131

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6 Comments »

CJHill wrote, on October 28th, 2007 at 10:50 pm:

I love Andre Norton and the Witch World novels. Have you read the first book yet? It’s called, amazingly enough, Witch World. It’s b een a long tme since I’ve read the series and it’s the one that established Andre Norton on my favorites list.

cjh

Poodlerat wrote, on October 28th, 2007 at 11:23 pm:

I haven’t, no. I found the trilogy in one volume, used, but I haven’t found Witch World in any of my favourite bookstores yet. I’ll keep my eye out, though—it’s actually on the list for my fantasy classics challenge.

Imani wrote, on October 30th, 2007 at 8:57 pm:

Despite my love for Tolkien I’ve never ventured far into the “high fantasy” books, not beyond Guy Gavriel Kay, who his more known for his historical fantasies anyway, I think. I don’t think I would have been able to move past the names in your book to get involved in the plot. (Frankly, I wouldn’t have gotten past the cover, which isn’t bad mind you but… is too close to stereotype.)

Poodlerat wrote, on October 31st, 2007 at 1:44 am:

That’s actually not the cover of the edition I own (although IMO my cover is much, much worse. Maybe I’ll post a photo of it.) The Fionavar Tapestry and Tigana are pretty much my idea of acceptable high fantasy; anything farther into the genre I have trouble taking seriously.

And oh, the names bug me every time they’re used. It’s funny how often really plausible, pleasing names often go hand-in-hand with the best writing. Maybe it’s just my taste, but I find that my favourite SFF authors are the ones whose characters’ names I want to savour.

Imani wrote, on October 31st, 2007 at 2:28 pm:

Oh please, do post the cover. Laughter is a good thing. :D

Poodlerat wrote, on November 1st, 2007 at 2:57 pm:

It’s the one on this page at fantasticfiction.co.uk. I especially like Kaththea’s upraised arms. It reminds me of some of Terry Pratchett’s covers—only on a Discworld book, it’s meant to be funny.

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