Beast Master's Ark

by Andre Norton and Lyn McConchie

Book Overview

In Beast Master and Lord of Thunder, Andre Norton created a memorable character, Hosteen Storm. A Native American soldier for Earth, he barely escaped his doomed home world when the Xic destroyed it.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0765340097
• ISBN13: 9780765340092
• Release Date: July 2003
• Publisher: Tor Books
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.63 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 4.1" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

Problems with Creepy-crawlies

Beast Master's Ark (2002) is the third SF novel in the Beast Master series, following Lord of Thunder. In this novel, the Arkship is trying to collect genes from every available Terran species. This collection started with unauthorized samples of species used by the Beast Master Command and expanded to include all Terran species. After the flaming of Terra by the Xiks, the Ark became an official instrument of the High Command. Tani is the niece of Brion and Kady Carraldo, the couple running the Ark. She is the daughter of a Beast Master who died with his whole team on Trastor. Tani's mother went a little crazy after his death and she has told Tani that the High Command deliberately sent her father on a suicide mission. She also tells Tani that most Beast Masters send their beasts into combat without regard for their safety. Then her mother is killed by Xiks on Terra. Tani has been working on the Ark for her aunt and uncle as a biogenetic technician, collecting gene samples and splicing gene sequences for various species. She is a good worker, but she still has an attitude toward Beast Masters. When an effort to obtain samples from one team on Fremlyn was mishandled and a beast died, Tani blamed the Beast Master rather than her uncle. With this attitude of disdain and distrust for beast masters, Tani comes to Arzor to collect samples from the team of Hosteen Storm. While Hosteen had been scheduled to greet the Ark crew, a local rancher reports that something is killing his frawn and asks for help from the Beast Master and his team. Hosteen finds evidence of something eating both animals and men down to the skeleton. The natives are also suffering from its hunger and are totally mystified. When he is not present at their arrival, Tani decides that Storm is being rude toward her aunt and uncle. However, she learns to like Brad Quade, Hosteen's stepfather. After Storm arrives and encounters Mandy, the paraowl, Tani reacts defensively and abruptly asks his business. Then she foists him off to Jarro, an unimaginative prig, who snubs the Beast Master and sends him on his way. Although Tani continues to see Storm as an arrogant and self-centered man, Hosteen learns more about her and begins to treat her as a victim of war trauma. When the mobile lab vehicle arrives at the Quade ranch, Tani relaxes her defenses and spends much time with Logan Quade, Hosteen's half-brother. They go for long rides and Logan tells her about the Norbies and other aspects of Arzor. Then Tani starts to have trouble sleeping. When her aunt gives her something to help her sleep, she has a full-blown nightmare. From her description, Hosteen suspects that she is picking up the feelings of both the victim and its killer. Tani grows tired of being confined to bed and decides to go for a ride. She sees a young duocorn-bred filly in the corral and makes friends with the animal. The filly is entranced by the young women who displays no trace of fear. Tani pre

I Love It!

One of the very first Andre Norton titles I ever read, more than 25 years ago as a 7th grader, was a science fiction story titled "Lord of Thunder", featuring Beast Master Hosteen Storm and his furred or feathered companions Baku the eagle, Surra the dune cat and Hing the meerkat. It was set on a desert planet called Arzor peopled with a fascinating mixture of humans and horned natives called Norbies, along with their wilder, more formidable cousins the Nitra. I became hooked on Ms. Norton's writings, and have been a major fan of hers ever since. In fact, I just did an inventory of her books on my shelves, and counted exactly 100 of them. This includes "The Beast Master", the first of the Hosteen Storm series.For those who do not know her work, Ms. Norton is positively legendary in the sci-fi/fantasy field. Born in 1912 as Alice Mary Norton, her first published work was (I think) in 1939. In those days, it was not considered proper for women to write science fiction, so she took on the pseudonym Andrew North and, later on, Andre Norton. Here we are now, some 64 years later, and she is still writing, at the age of 91. This in itself is most remarkable. True, her recent works tend to have co-authors, but this is true of younger writers as well. Anne McCaffrey, another of my favorites, comes immediately to mind.Unlike some other reviewers on this page, I do not in any way believe Ms. Norton's mental abilities have declined one whit with age. With my brand-new paperback copy of "Beast Master's Ark" in hand, I began a marathon session, rereading the first two books of the series, then plunging directly into the new one. One thing that struck me at once was the stylistic continuity. I know Ms. Norton's voice very well, and it rang true. Co-author Lyn McConchie may have helped out, but I don't see how she could have done the bulk of the work. Not unless she's an excellent mimic.Granted, given the forty years since "Lord of Thunder" came out, there have been some changes in the terminology used. None of the writers of the '50's and '60's, it seems, could have dreamed of the tremendous advances in computer technology and genetics which have developed in recent years. These, extrapolated into the future, play an important role in this new story. And "lasers" have replaced "slicers", but what of it?One thing which has always struck me about Ms. Norton's work has been her emphasis on tolerance and harmony, both between the races of humanity and between humans and the other intelligent beings in the galaxy. She has to have been one of the very first writers in her field to delve into the (still very relevant today) themes of overcoming prejudices. Hosteen Storm is a full-blooded Navajo, and other major characters are also of Navajo or Cheyenne extraction. This plays an important role in all three of the "Beast Master" novels, as in how Native American spiritual values mesh with those of the Norbies. I cannot say for certain how accurate

She's still got it

The reviewer below whose review labels this book schizophrenic really peeved me. First being 90 doesn't presuppose senility or incompetence, and I've never seen an aging male accused of that when they write until the age they leave this planet. Second she has written several novels within the last three years without a co-writer and which were fully up to her old style, which shows that the writer of that review didn't bother to do his homework. It has become remarkably common for even midlife or younger famous authors to take on writing companions or partners to keep up with audience demand, publishing schedules and/or find a way to get the overwhelming number of plots and characters coalesced. This was one of my very favorite series of her that I was overjoyed to see a sequel be published. Her characters have become part of my psyche's inner population. As others have said on this board some co-writers are more personal favorites than others, and we probably would all have different ones, so that says something too.

The return of the beast master.

After a long absence, the Beast Master has returned, and it is well worth the wait. It is another great Beast Master story, with its usual action, suspense and adventure. This time a new element has been added, romance, and I feel this really spiced up an already good story. I'd call this a "Must Read" for Norton fans.

I was not disappointed

After my experience with other Norton series resuming with a co-author (Solar Queen's new books I read and quickly shelved to gather dust; Time Agents I enjoyed and re-read) I was a little concerned when I saw a new Beast Master book due out. Could they recapture what I loved in my all time favorite of Norton's SF?They did. Yes, there is a new character, a female character, and a beastmaster herself. But she's not just a female version of Hosteen Storm. Tani is a well-developed independant character, with her own distinct personality and past. Everything fits in with the pevious books. And the danger is suspenseful and well handled.I would have enjoyed this book even if it was not part of a series, but to see Storm, Logan, Brad; Surra, Baku, and Hing; all of my favorites - portrayed as I remembered them and in a story that kept me interested to the end was wonderful. And we even got to see more about the planet and its natives;and a bit more on the history that brought things to where they are.There's another book in the series coming, and I eagerly await it. It's very hard for a writer to bring in a new partner and resume an old series. But Norton and McConchie pulled it off in grand style with this one. Bravo!