Star Born

By Andre Norton

When the oppressive global dictatorship of Pax took over Earth they put a stop to space exploration. Still, a few rebels escaped in the sleeper ships to found free new colonies -- or perish in the attempt. Those few colonists that reached inhabitable worlds were cut off for centuries, and in that isolation and freedom they developed the mysterious mental powers that ''civilization'' had all but destroyed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Start Classics
• Release date: Mar 28, 2014
• ISBN: 9781609775575

Andre Norton

For well over a half century, Andre Norton was one of the most popular science fiction and fantasy authors in the world. Since her first SF novels were published in the 1940s, her adventure SF has enthralled readers young and old. With series such as Time Traders, Solar Queen, Forerunner, Beast Master, Crosstime, and Janus, as well as many stand-alone novels, her tales of action and adventure throughout the galaxy have drawn countless readers to science fiction. Her fantasy, including the best-selling Witch World series, her "Magic" series, and many other unrelated novels, has been popular with readers for decades. Lauded as a Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America, she is the recipient of a Life Achievement Award from the World Fantasy Convention. Not only have her books been enormously popular; she also has inspired several generations of SF and fantasy writers, especially many talented women writers who have followed in her footsteps. In the past two decades she worked with other writers on a number of novels. Most notable among these were collaborations with Mercedes Lackey, the Halfblood Chronicles, as well as collaborations with A.C. Crispin (in the Witch World series) and Sherwood Smith (in the Time Traders and Solar Queen series). Andre Norton passed away in 2005.

Reviews for Star Born

[stige_3 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Golden age Sci-fi probably best experienced way back then.

[jjmcgaffey · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I've read this before, but not in years - not since I started tracking my reading on LT. It's a good one, less Norton-formulaic than most. The protagonist - actually, both of the protagonists - are young, but young adults, not children just growing up. Both Raf and Dalgard are pretty well established in terms of personality and pretty satisfied with their own abilities and situations. Dalgard has mental abilities and a non-human ally (but not an animal, as in so many Nortons - a sapient alien); Raf has a position on a starship (though not a very good starship), various gadgets and an understanding of machinery. The alternating chapters, as their two very different situations and positions begin to converge, are interesting. I wonder where the RS 10 went next - back to Earth, or out to another star? We're not given much info on its limitations. And there's one odd bit - at the beginning, Raf is presented as much like all his crewmates, but later on he draws apart and identifies himself as "not a veteran". Veteran of what? Can't be spaceflight. Odd. The Others are interesting, particularly when it becomes apparent that the revulsion between them and the mermen is mutual. Still, the adventure that makes up the plot of this story is pretty minor; it's the unanswered questions around the edges (the fate of the RS 10, ditto Homeport, could there be a decent Other...) that make this one worth reading, and rereading. Enjoyable.

[spurts-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The prequel, Stars are Ours, is one of my all time favorite reads. I liked this one okay but it really was a disappointing followup that I would have rated higher except the story arc and races/characters did not flow well for me. Nothing really wrong I can put my finger on and as a really huge fan of the vintage Andre Norton of course I cannot hate the book.

[deusxmachina-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

A war between a master race and a slave race, a small human colony in the middle of it and an innocent visitor from Earth who, of course, gets involuntarily drawn into the context. I always like Norton's protagonists, as singular characters they're reasonably detailed and multilayered, but unfortunately her "big picture" often falls flat. In this case, the portrayal of "The Others" as monolithic evil felt pretty forced, and I would've liked more indepth confrontation between Homeport and the RS10.

[joeldinda_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The very first SF book I read, back in fifth grade. Evidently I liked it then.The storytelling's probably more interesting than the story itself. The structure is two parallel story lines that come together about two thirds of the way in. There's some complexity in the characterization that I likely missed in elementary school.