Sorceress Of The Witch World

"I summon your banner." With these words, Kaththea the sorceress called forth a power such as no longer existed on the distant planet known as the Witch World. It was a power so great that it could destroy all that she loved best-and might even prove to be a greater evil than the Shadow itself. Yet there could be no other choice for Kaththea than to call on Hilarion in the Death-Naming. For she was a witch deprived of power and she needed a guide to regain her lost skills and her lost world. There was only this ancient one, the opener of gates, with force mighty enough.

The legendary, seminal second Witch World trilogy, together in a single edition for the first time, Lost Lands of Witch World In the 1960s Andre Norton's career took a fateful and important turn. Having written adventure science fiction for almost thirty years, she turned to something new: science-fantasy, with Witch World. This unique world of sorceresses and the many others who fight such adversaries as the Kolder, the Hounds of Alizon and other threats, has proven to be Miss Norton's most beloved and popular creation. Three Against the Witch World, Warlock of the Witch World, and Sorceress of the Witch World, the fourth, fifth, and sixth novels in the series, have long been recognized as novels that comprise the core of the series, along with the first three novels. Today, decades after their first publication, these novels of adventure, excitement, and daring remain as fresh and original as when they first appeared. For the first time they are now available in a single volume for new readers of all ages to discover, and for fans to rediscover in an attractive, durable new format. Lost Lands of Witch World includes a long introduction by Mercedes Lackey. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Lieutenant-Colonel Simon Tregarth was a man at the end of his rope. He had been unjustly cashiered from the service of his country for black market dealings that he had never engaged in. Then he had in reality been forced into that shadowy underground world when no one else would have him. But, he was a cut above the men that he had to deal with- and this inevitably made him enemies. In fact, he had eaten his final meal and resigned himself to meet the assassins that shadowed him. Time spent in combat and in prison had led him to look deeper inside himself than most men ever do - or perhaps should. He was ready to end this travesty of an existence one way or another. It was then that the infamous Dr. Jorge Petronius introduced himself.... The good doctor told Tregarth of the legend of the Siege Perilous- the seat that could judge a man, determine his true worth, and deliver him to his fate. In legend, only Percival and Galahad had ever escaped the judging unscathed. Now it was Simon's turn- and he was far from a pure knight. The world to which he found himself transported was far from a paradise. It was an ancient world truly ruled by sword and sorcery. Simon already knew how to live by the sword. In the service of the Women of Power of ancient Estcarp he came to know of sorcery. For that mysterious extra sense that had kept him alive for so long was the faint stirring of the Power. Here in this world it would thrive. Indeed, it would prove both his personal redemption and that of dieing Estcarp, for before his arrival none but women possessed the Gift. --Oakshaman at Amazon.com.

In the gray light before dawn, Jaelithe felt a summons that thrilled and alarmed her. When she left the sisterhood of he Wise Women to marry Simon Tregarth, she believed that she had laid aside her power as a sorceress. The summons clearly meant that she had kept her power; it also warned that evil was upon the land. She awakened Simon and together they answered the call, a cry for help from their old ally, Loyse of Verlaine.

Kimberly B. Stratton investigates the cultural and ideological motivations behind early imaginings of the magician, the sorceress, and the witch in the ancient world. Accusations of magic could carry the death penalty or, at the very least, marginalize the person or group they targeted. But Stratton moves beyond the popular view of these accusations as mere slander. In her view, representations and accusations of sorcery mirror the complex struggle of ancient societies to define authority, legitimacy, and Otherness. Stratton argues that the concept "magic" first emerged as a discourse in ancient Athens where it operated part and parcel of the struggle to define Greek identity in opposition to the uncivilized "barbarian" following the Persian Wars. The idea of magic then spread throughout the Hellenized world and Rome, reflecting and adapting to political forces, values, and social concerns in each society. Stratton considers the portrayal of witches and magicians in the literature of four related periods and cultures: classical Athens, early imperial Rome, pre-Constantine Christianity, and rabbinic Judaism. She compares patterns in their representations of magic and analyzes the relationship between these stereotypes and the social factors that shaped them. Stratton's comparative approach illuminates the degree to which magic was (and still is) a cultural construct that depended upon and reflected particular social contexts. Unlike most previous studies of magic, which treated the classical world separately from antique Judaism, Naming the Witch highlights the degree to which these ancient cultures shared ideas about power and legitimate authority, even while constructing and deploying those ideas in different ways. The book also interrogates the common association of women with magic, denaturalizing the gendered stereotype in the process. Drawing on Michel Foucault's notion of discourse as well as the work of other contemporary theorists, such as Homi K. Bhabha and Bruce Lincoln, Stratton's bewitching study presents a more nuanced, ideologically sensitive approach to understanding the witch in Western history.

As Witch Child ends so Sorceress begins. Alison Ellman is still searching for information about Mary Newbury; she has a diary and some scattered information about other people in Mary's life, but Mary has disappeared into the forests and Alison has no way of following her. But when she meets Agnes Herne, Alison encounters the person who is going to tell her all about Mary's life after she leaves Beulah. Agnes is a descendant of Mary's and has a special skill which allows her to be in touch with Mary in the spirit world. And Mary has a story to tell. A story of love and friendship, sadness and loss. A story that takes her across the New World in an epic search for a home. We fell under the spell of Mary in Witch Child and now at last we find out what happened to her after her ill-fated time in Beulah. Just as Mary's story has to be told to Agnes, it has to be read by us for it is passionate, compelling and utterly wonderful.

The powerful and learned Mancers arrive in Eliza’s town to take her away to their Citadel. The only problem is they have made a terrible mistake – Eliza isn’t the powerful Sorceress they think her to be. Or is she? Eliza is stunned to learn her father, Rom Tok, has been keeping important secrets: her mother’s death wasn’t from pneumonia, but the death of all great Shang Sorceresses: killed in battle against evil forces. Even so, Eliza’s lessons with the Mancers at their Citadel show them what she has always known – she can’t do any magic. The final brave act of Eliza’s mother was to trap the evil Xia Sorceress, Nia, in an Arctic prison. But Nia is still powerful enough to use her minions to capture Rom Tok. Escaping the Citadel with her best friend Nell and new friend Charlie, Eliza sets off to rescue her father. They seek help from the Triumvirate, an uneasy alliance of ultimate power – the Oracle, the King of the Faeries, and Swarn, the witch who delivered Eliza as a baby. They try to stop her, but she is determined. She knows she’s connected to the Xia Sorceress somehow. What awaits Eliza in the Arctic is more horrible than she could have imagined. Abandoned by the Mancers and the Triumvirate, she must rely on her friends and her own wits and common sense to succeed in her quest. Shade and Sorceress is Catherine Egan’s first published novel. Her short fiction has appeared in several publications in the USA and Canada. Catherine currently resides in Princeton, NJ.