I have to admit that I really didn't like this book.The idea sounded really cool. I hadn't read any Andre Norton before, but since she's one of the preeminent fantasy writers of all time, I wanted to give her a try. However, it turns out Three Hands for Scorpio was her final book, written when she was well into her nineties. If this novel had been written by a debut writer, there's no way it would have gotten published.I spent most of this book confused. The story was told in the alternating point of views of Tamara, Drucilla, and Sabina of the House of Scorpys. Their voices, however, all sounded the same. Norton wrote it in an elevated style, which was cool, but really hard for trying to discern what the heck was happening. Setting changes especially were hard to figure out. It seemed that suddenly the characters were in a different place, and I was left scratching my head, trying to figure out how they got there.The three sisters weren't very compelling characters. They only ever reacted to stuff that happened to them, never taking the initiative. I didn't find out until past the halfway point what the main conflict of the story was, who the bad guy was, and what the stakes were. The magic system really confused me. The sisters have Talent, which seems to be a mish-mosh of symbol-carving, healing, telepathy, illusion-making, to name a few. The problem I had was Norton never spelled out exactly how it worked or what her characters were capable of. So when they created the illusion of an army toward the end of the book, I had no idea that was even possible and made me wonder why they hadn't done it before in the novel.The character of Zolan was also perplexing. He seemed to just wander off randomly at plot points where he would have been really useful. The twist at the end, about him, wasn't very twisty. I never got a sense of what he could actually do magically. So when he swooped in to save the day, it seemed like a bit of deux ex machina. I'm not saying this book was without good points. The world Norton created was fully realized. There's some truly beautiful prose in the book as well. But, even though I did finish it, I couldn't get past the faults.I do want to try some of Norton's earlier works. I mean, she's freaking Andre Norton for a reason. As for this book, I think only die hard Norton fans will find it appealing.
This story was a bit strange, and written in first person with a sort of old-fashioned tone. Identical triplet sisters who are born to nobility and have inherited a gift of power are kidnapped and dumped into the Dismals, a land that is unlike anything anyone has ever seen before. The Dismals are filled with strange creatures--giant spiders, red-furred felines who have rudimentary telepathy, and the remnants of an ancient race. The sisters Drucilla, Sabina, and Tamara are very close and are never separated because they share gifts of power and can Send to each other telepathically. Their ordeal brings them closer together and further apart at the same time. As they continue to explore the Dismals with the help of a mysterious stranger they met when they arrived, the sisters learn how to survive without their triple link and grow in power and wisdom. Eventually they learn of a plot that threatens the world and must use their newfound strength to battle it.Andre Norton will always have a fond spot in my heart because she was the first Sci-Fi/Fantasy author I ever read. My dad placed his battered copy of Star Man's Son, 2250 A.D in my hands when I was in second grade and it got me hooked. When I saw this at a March of Dimes fundraising booksale, I had to pick it up. I can't say I loved this book as much as her Beastmaster chronicles or 2250 A.D but it was enjoyable for the novelty of it. The pacing could get very slow at times and the world development was basically nil other than describing the Dismals and basic background about the triplet's family and their rival nation to the north.Some elements did get repetitive ("Oh no! I can't feel my sister through the link, again!") and I could have wished for a bit more fleshing out of the plot.But as I said it was a novel idea and a different concept than anything I've read recently so it was enjoyable for that reason.
What do You think about Three Hands For Scorpio (2007)?
Eh. I didn't like this all that much. I found the language very stilted, and even though there were three first-person narrators of the story, I didn't feel like I really knew any of them. The world where the characters lived was pretty interesting - magic was an inborn talent of some people, as well as a natural force. There was a land called the Dismals where giant insects terrorized the people, and a graveyard filled with spirits in clay jars.The three hands of the title are the teenage sister Tamara, Drucilla, and Sabina. They are the magic-wielding daughters of a lord and lady who become entangled in a political conflict when they are kidnapped and dumped into the Dismals, where they meet a mysterious man named Zolan. Then there is an adventure, with battle! and mystery! and magic! and evil! and so forth.
—Emily
