ISBN: 0-441-89854-8 Order from: Amazon.com Barnes & Noble.com
A charming space opera, complete with pirates, space battles, mysterious aliens and gifted witches; but best of all, fun characters.
Reviewed by David on May 11, 1998
Genre: Science Fiction (Science Fantasy, Space Opera)
Synopsis: A trader operating an old space freighter runs into difficulties when a chance encounter allows him to rescue three young girls kidnapped and sold into servitude. Full of good intentions, he tries to return the girls to their parents, when he finds out that the girls have unexpected gifts. . . The resulting light-hearted adventures of captain Pausert and the Witches of Karres have made this novel a very enjoyable classic for over 20 years.
Full Review: Perhaps the most famous of James Schmitz's novels, this book is an expansion of a short story of the same name, which constitutes the first portion of the book.
Pausert, a restless young man from a very conservative and provincial republic of Nikkeldepain, is determined to make his fortune by a spot of judicious trading across the stars in an old freighter. His fortunes, however, are not uniformly good, and he runs into a spot of trouble when he gets a chance to rescue three sisters sold into slavery after an imperial raid.
Unfortunately, the sisters are young witches from the proscribed world of Karres, and their powers quickly bring Pausert into conflict with police and military forces of several systems. Fortunately for his aging ship, they can also assist with running away from the larger and better armed ships of his pursuers.
The witches' desire for adventure prove irresistible to Pausert, and he decides to pursue a more exciting life, fighting evil pirates and struggling with aliens of all shapes and predilections, including ominous, curious, playful and power-hungry.
The Witches is the very antithesis of hard science fiction. It is neither great literature nor an exposition of brave new concepts. Instead, it is a charming, playful space adventure suitable for children of all ages. It has the Schmitz hallmarks of strong characters and loose governments, a vaguely libertarian story without preaching or politics. It is far too bad that the draft manuscript of The Karres Venture (the sequel to Witches) has been lost. If you can find this book in a used book store, buy it. If not, you may be lucky enough to find Schmitz in your local library.
Overall: 8; Plot: 7; Characters: 8; Style: 7; World-building: 6; Originality: 7;
Ace, 1984, Mass-market, 309 pages
ISBN: 0-441-89854-8 Order from: Amazon.com Barnes & Noble.com