The cover blurb of my copy of Spell of the Witch World is deceptive. After three paragraphs of effusive – but general – praise and comparison to Tolkien, the final one explains “[h]ere you will meet the twins, Elys, the witch-sister, and Elyn, the warrior-brother – and the pact that drew both into perils beyond the laws of our everyday stars.” Leaving aside the over-the-top rhetoric, the deception lies in the fact that Spell comprises three novellas – “Dragon Scale Silver” (where we meet the twins), “Dream Smith” and “Amber out of Quayth” – connected only by their Witch World setting.Elys and Elyn of “Dragon Scale Silver” are the children of Estcarp refugees who washed up on the shores of High Hallack and found refuge in a fishing village. When Alizon invades some years later (after the twins’ parents have died), Elyn goes off to fight them, and Elys flees with the other villagers to hoped-for havens inland. Through her witching abilities and aided by the village’s wise-woman and Jervon, a wounded soldier who’s sought succor with the refugees, Elys learns that her brother has been ensnared by an ancient curse and she’s the only one who can rescue him. It’s a well told if formulaic entry in the Witch World oeuvre. What puts it a bit above average is the ending, (view spoiler)[where Elys learns what her brother really thinks of her. (hide spoiler)]
(As posted on my blog, Pneumatised!)Spell of the Witch World is classic Andre Norton. If you're a fan of classic fantasy (that is, swords and sorcery), Andre Norton is highly recommended. Somehow Norton is able to engage the reader in even the simplest of stories. "Dragon Scale Silver" is about a sister who, after having a premonition of her brother heading into danger, decides to rescue him herself. "Dream Smith" is a cute tale about a deformed blacksmith who crafts a dream world for him and the frail young woman with whom he is enamoured. Lastly, "Amber Out of Quayth" tells the story of how a woman escapes the prison of her arranged marriage.
What do You think about Spell Of The Witch World (1977)?
Consisting of three short stories: (1) The novella Dragon Scale Silver (introducing Elys and Jervon), (2) Dream Smith, and (3) Amber Out of Quayth.More essentially motiveless violence. If the invaders from Alizon were after something in the Waste, why didn't they just ask the Dalesfolk for passage? The Dalesfolk might've issued warnings, but they probably wouldn't've tried to stop the strangers' passage. Come to that, once the Dalesfolk realized what the 'Hounds of Alizon' wanted, why didn't they offer truce and free passage to them? It's not like the invaders would find anything but trouble (for themselves and/or their masters)in the Waste.Similarly, in Dragon Scale Silver, wherefore the assumption that what a man finds seductive in a woman, another woman would find repulsive and provacative of jealousy? It seems an odd theory, and not a sound basis for a curse--or the breaking thereof.
—Valerie
Definitely better than the first two books in the High Hallack sub-series. Strong characters who triumph mostly through their own abilities: the last novella is a bit too fatalistic.
—Derek (Guilty of thoughtcrime)
