Beast Master

In _Beast Master_ Norton gave us a really good coming of age tale. Hosteen Storm was a beast master in the now-defunct Patrol. The military (and the need for his talents) was reduced after their defeat of the Xiks, which came only after those aliens had destroyed Terra. All Terrans are being repatriated to other human colonies, including Arzor where Storm has arrived. With him he has brought his Team, a Dune Cat, an African Eagle, and two Meercats. These are creatures developed and trained to work in concert with the telepathic beast masters. The eagle is the scout from the air, the meercats the saboteurs, and the cat provides muscle and cunning on the ground.Storm has come for two reasons, to settle snd find a home, and to fulfill a vow made to his Grandfather for revenge. He has sworn to kill a man named Quade, for what Quade did to Storm's family. Storm meets with Quade before he is ready, and pretends not to possess the knowledge of his Navajo heritage. He ends up working with Quade to find that man's son, encountering a umber of natives ("Norbies"), with whom communication consists of sign language due to differing vocal abilities. Storm signs on to help herd horses, then makes his way to the wilderness with some Norbies in tow. Exploration leads to danger, as they encounter remnants of an ancient civilzation that had lived upon Arzor. They also encounter violence, from Norbie-hating humans and some aliens who should not be there. It falls to the Beast Master team to oppose these foes. Norton does a good job of presenting mood, exposition, and character development. The resolution is somewhat abrupt, leaving the reader wanting more. Eventually more was presented in _Lord of Thunder_. With new books coming out recently from Norton about the Beast Master, after a 40 year hiatus, I felt a review of the old ones was in order. They are both enjoyable reads.

The Beast Master (1959) is the first novel in the Beast Master series. Hosteen Storm is a native of Terra, an Amerindian, a Galactic Commando, and a Beast Master with an unusual affinity with animals, who is mustering out of the service to be repatriated on Arzor. "The last desperate thrust of the Xik invaders had left Terra...a deadly blue, radioactive cinder", leaving the native Terrans homeless and in shock. Some had gone mad, killing themselves and others. Finally, all Terran troops had been forcibly disarmed. Since Hosten has not displayed any symptoms of such delayed shock, the service medics reluctantly agreed they could not deny Storm's release. Storm travels with Baku, Ho, Hing and Surra -- his commando team -- to Arzor on a troop ferry and then looks for employment herding horses to the auction to be held during the Gathering at Irrawady Crossing. To prove his ability to ride, he tames a young stallion and introduces him to Surra, the dune cat. When the horse tolerates the cat breathing in his nose, Storm gets the job without further questioning. He claims the stallion as his working mount and names him Rain-On-Dust. Since the horse herd is an attraction for covetous natives as well as wild animals, Surra patrols the camp at night and Baku, the African Black Eagle, scouts the route by day as they proceed cross-country to the Gathering. On the first night, they encounter a yoris and Storm, Surra and Baku kill the lizard in a coordinated attack before it can harm the horses. But its scent and hissing causes the horses to stampede. With the herd scattered all over the area, the drivemaster hires some Norbies, the local native sentients, to track down the horses. It soon becomes evident that someone has separated the herd and stashed the small bands in out of the way places. However, even the Norbie trackers cannot determine who has done this. While the horses are being returned to the herd, Storm spends some time gentling a few of the wild stock to replace riding animals lost in the stampede. The other men soon come to respect his skills and he gains an even closer relationship with Put Larkin -- the drivemaster -- and Dort Lancin -- an old Arzor hand -- who is teaching him finger talk and other lore. However, Coll Bister has developed a hostile attitude toward Storm for some unknown reason. Storm has also become accepted by the Norbies as a fighting man with a fighting bird totem. Gorgol, the youngest of the trackers, is drawn to Storm by admiration and curiosity, providing him with lots of chances to practice finger talk as he answers Gorgol's questions. At the gathering, Storm fends off a couple of attempts to kill or maim him, in which Bister seems to be involved, and meets Brad Quade, the man he has come to Arzor to see, but not quite yet. He accepts a job with the Survey Service to locate and explore the Sealed Caves within the High Peaks. This novel is vintage Norton, but with an older protagonist than usual.

Back in the `50s and early `60s Norton wrote some excellent and original science fiction, before turning mainly to fantasy writing. This book is one of the best of that period, an excellent adventure that anyone of any age can enjoy.Hosteen Storm is the Beast Master, a mustered out soldier after the end of Xik war, who has managed to keep his military team of animals together - two meercats, Hing and Ho, an eagle, Baku, and a sand cat, Surra, genetically enhanced animals that Storm has a strong empathic and near telepathic bond with. Arriving on the planet Arzor that he chose as probably best for a man who prefers outdoor living, that will provide him employment opportunities for himself and his team, he quickly adds one more member to his team, a rugged, quick footed horse he names Rain-on-Dust. Hired on to help herd the native equivalent of cattle, he makes friends with the local native intelligent race, the Norbies, a people whose anatomy precludes their being able to talk and have therefore developed sign language to an art, whose culture in many ways mimics that of Storm's early life. Storm's heritage is that of the Dineh (Navajo), a name which simply means `The People' in their own language, and he was partially raised by his medicine-man grandfather, a heritage he clings to, as Earth has been destroyed by the Xiks in one of the last acts of the war. This is the background beginning to Storm's search for new home, one that respects his heritage and can use his talents, with a buried unsatisfied anger at the Xiks, a festering grudge against a man named Quade, and a conflicted self image. As he travels through this new planet, events lead to his discovery of a buried city of the Old Ones, a race that traveled the star-lanes long before man (note that this long vanished race appears in many of Norton's books of this period), and to discoveries and actions that will eventually help heal his hurts and provide him with a more complete, mature image of himself and the world around him.As the above indicates, character development is quite strong in this book, applying not just to Storm but also to his animals and his Norbie friends. Also strongly in evidence is Norton's excellent look at the Native American culture, something she developed in several books and obviously cared deeply about. The story line itself is fast paced, with plenty of action, and will make you greedily keep turning pages, till you unhappily turn the last one, and realize there is no more to enjoy. Though much of Norton's prose is fairly prosaic, there is sheer magic in her bits-and-pieces revelations about the Old Ones, a magic that will fire your imagination and enter your dreams. Thematically this book has much to say about prejudice, honor and friendship, the importance of roots, courage and self-image, and the validity of alternate cultures, all quietly slipped in amongst all the action. This work bears almost no relation the movie of the same name, though it was suppo

I have read and re-read this book for the last 10 years at least. It never gets old. The characters are so human and her worlds so believeable that you are there with them without knowing how you got there. It's great. I wish that she would write one more and find Storm a gal of his own but I suppose that's too much to hope for. There are two books in this series and they can both stand alone but are much better read together. Hope you enjoy them as much as I have.

Classic Norton, human - animal interaction, telepathy, ancient ruins, greed, violence, nobility, and the triumph of good over evil. One of my favorites and I've read them all!