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Krip, the Free Trader, is changed into an animal by the strange Moon Singer maiden in an effort to save him from the evil power seekers; but now he faces a more serious danger - that of not being able to return to his human form.Tags
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DisassemblyOfReason If you enjoyed Norton's short story "Swamp Dweller" in this anthology, MOON OF THREE RINGS also involves a woman with unusual powers who has a beast show.
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I have the 1968 edition of [Moon of Three Rings] by Andre Norton. It's been a very long time since (at least 20 years) I've reread this book, not sure why. I loved it as a child since it features animals as equals and human-animal telepathy. My go-to Norton comfort reads tend to be the early [Witch World] books, especially the [Crystal Gryphon] set, and the [Solar Queen] and [Beast Master]books, along with a few oddball solo stories like [The X Factor], [Secret of the Lost Race], etc.
[Moon of Three Rings] along with [Exiles of the Stars] form a duology featuring Krip Vorlund and Maelen. Krip Vorlund is the assistant cargomaster of the Free Trader ship Lydis, the last crew member signed aboard, much like Dane Thorson, the protagonist of show more the better known and more popular [Solar Queen] series ([Sargasso of Space], [Plague Ship], [Postmarked the Stars], [Voodoo Planet] in the original set, [Redline the Stars], [Derelict for Trade], [A Mind for Trade] in the 1990s reboot, which I didn't like). Another similarity between these unrelated stories is the precipitating trouble of the story engineered at least in part by one of the Combine ships. This story takes place in the same universe as the Solar Queen stories, but possibly much later in time. There's reference to the League of Free Traders, and that the open conflict between Free Traders and Combines ended a long time ago, which seemed to be a key feature of the Solar Queen stories.
Krip describes Free Traders as almost a separate race from the rest of humanity, intermarrying among themselves with mates and children either traveling together on larger spaceships or living in Free Trader "space-borne ports" operated independently of any planet and visited between voyages. For people unfamiliar with Norton's science fiction, the Serenity/Firefly show by Joss Whedon would perhaps give the best sense of the ambiance of the Free Traders arranging deals on frontier planets, working the margins, and hoping for a big score while only one mischance away from financial ruin.
Unlike the [Solar Queen] books, the action takes place entirely on the planet of Yiktor, with minimal mention of the other spaceship crew. The Free Trader Lydis arrives during the phase when the moon has three rings instead of the usual two, which is when the big trade fair in the plains city of Yrjar is scheduled. The ship is exchanging a cargo of murano silk for sprode, blocks of compressed juice, to be traded to the Zacathans who use it for a medicinal and telepathy-enhancing wine. On his first free evening at the fair, Krip goes to see a beast show and thus meets Maelen.
Maelen is a Moon-Singer of the Thassa, and she emcees a beast show with performing animals who work cooperatively to dance, play music, and otherwise display complex talents without the need for a trainer offering treats as rewards or whips for punishment. The Thassa are a once-technological, once-urban people associated with the mountains (where the tumbled ruins of their cities might be found) who now roam the continent without set homes, and are explicitly compared to the Roma (gypsies). And much like the Roma, they are outsiders who are feared and distrusted as having magical powers. Unlike the Roma, they aren't persecuted and dehumanized but instead respected and left alone for the most part by the plains people who arrived and settled the region long after the Thassa had changed their way of life. Maelen describes the Thassa as having abandoned a more material culture focused on personal gain for a life of the mind and spirit, seeking to develop inner power and communion with life instead of power over others. It sounds very much like Eastern philosophy.
The story is told equally from Krip and Maelen's viewpoints in alternating chapters to move the action forward. It's a fast-paced adventure with some philosophical exposition thrown in. One of the details that I like, being familiar with Norton's ouevre, are the hat tips to planets (and their associated trade goods) that are featured in other novels, such as Sargol ([Plague Ship]) and Hawaika ([Key Out of Time]). Events rapidly spin out of control after the fateful meeting between Krip and Maelen. It's a good story that does a great job of making one think about what's important in life and valuing life itself, as well as the nature of our relationships with people of all creeds and ethnicities, animals, and places. show less
[Moon of Three Rings] along with [Exiles of the Stars] form a duology featuring Krip Vorlund and Maelen. Krip Vorlund is the assistant cargomaster of the Free Trader ship Lydis, the last crew member signed aboard, much like Dane Thorson, the protagonist of show more the better known and more popular [Solar Queen] series ([Sargasso of Space], [Plague Ship], [Postmarked the Stars], [Voodoo Planet] in the original set, [Redline the Stars], [Derelict for Trade], [A Mind for Trade] in the 1990s reboot, which I didn't like). Another similarity between these unrelated stories is the precipitating trouble of the story engineered at least in part by one of the Combine ships. This story takes place in the same universe as the Solar Queen stories, but possibly much later in time. There's reference to the League of Free Traders, and that the open conflict between Free Traders and Combines ended a long time ago, which seemed to be a key feature of the Solar Queen stories.
Krip describes Free Traders as almost a separate race from the rest of humanity, intermarrying among themselves with mates and children either traveling together on larger spaceships or living in Free Trader "space-borne ports" operated independently of any planet and visited between voyages. For people unfamiliar with Norton's science fiction, the Serenity/Firefly show by Joss Whedon would perhaps give the best sense of the ambiance of the Free Traders arranging deals on frontier planets, working the margins, and hoping for a big score while only one mischance away from financial ruin.
Unlike the [Solar Queen] books, the action takes place entirely on the planet of Yiktor, with minimal mention of the other spaceship crew. The Free Trader Lydis arrives during the phase when the moon has three rings instead of the usual two, which is when the big trade fair in the plains city of Yrjar is scheduled. The ship is exchanging a cargo of murano silk for sprode, blocks of compressed juice, to be traded to the Zacathans who use it for a medicinal and telepathy-enhancing wine. On his first free evening at the fair, Krip goes to see a beast show and thus meets Maelen.
Maelen is a Moon-Singer of the Thassa, and she emcees a beast show with performing animals who work cooperatively to dance, play music, and otherwise display complex talents without the need for a trainer offering treats as rewards or whips for punishment. The Thassa are a once-technological, once-urban people associated with the mountains (where the tumbled ruins of their cities might be found) who now roam the continent without set homes, and are explicitly compared to the Roma (gypsies). And much like the Roma, they are outsiders who are feared and distrusted as having magical powers. Unlike the Roma, they aren't persecuted and dehumanized but instead respected and left alone for the most part by the plains people who arrived and settled the region long after the Thassa had changed their way of life. Maelen describes the Thassa as having abandoned a more material culture focused on personal gain for a life of the mind and spirit, seeking to develop inner power and communion with life instead of power over others. It sounds very much like Eastern philosophy.
The story is told equally from Krip and Maelen's viewpoints in alternating chapters to move the action forward. It's a fast-paced adventure with some philosophical exposition thrown in. One of the details that I like, being familiar with Norton's ouevre, are the hat tips to planets (and their associated trade goods) that are featured in other novels, such as Sargol ([Plague Ship]) and Hawaika ([Key Out of Time]). Events rapidly spin out of control after the fateful meeting between Krip and Maelen. It's a good story that does a great job of making one think about what's important in life and valuing life itself, as well as the nature of our relationships with people of all creeds and ethnicities, animals, and places. show less
Krip Vorlund, a junior crew member of a trading space ship, gets into some trouble in a technologically backward planet. Some local nobles want to get galactic technology, which is extremely illegal, and they kidnap Krip. At some point, with the help of Maelen, a woman from a nomadic people with ancient mystical powers, he escapes, but he has to swap his body with that of an animal's. Then his quest to get his body back gets complicated.
Old school YA science fiction, in the style of Heinlein's juveniles. However, unlike Heinlein's YA novels, this one did not quite work for me. Nothing really wrong with it, it's just that the writing style (subjectively) rubbed me the wrong way for some reason and I could never get into the story. The show more characters were not engaging enough, and the descriptions interrupted the flow of the narration. It's quite short and to the point, as SF used to be. show less
Old school YA science fiction, in the style of Heinlein's juveniles. However, unlike Heinlein's YA novels, this one did not quite work for me. Nothing really wrong with it, it's just that the writing style (subjectively) rubbed me the wrong way for some reason and I could never get into the story. The show more characters were not engaging enough, and the descriptions interrupted the flow of the narration. It's quite short and to the point, as SF used to be. show less
This tale set on an alien planet could almost be a fantasy given the setting of a feudal society in which warlords scheme against each other and an outsider race who were once dominant but have become roamers, preferring to live in symbiosis with animals. It starts with the male protagonist, Krip Vorlund, who goes to a 'beast show' while ashore: from a Free Trader ship, he and his comrades are meant to look out for trade goods that might sell well offworld. They have come at a time when a fair is held, and the rules of the fair mean that the various warlords are not meant to cause trouble, the fair being neutral ground - but a hothead son of one of the warlords is encouraged to do so in an attempt to win over the others, egged on by show more offworlders from a rival ship.
The book then switches between his viewpoint and that of Maelen, the alien woman from the outsider race, who runs the beast show. The intelligent animals that accompany her are friends with whom she shares a mental bond. Maelen is approached by a representative of the troublemaking ship who wants her to lure Krip - she doesn't co-operate but inadvertantly is drawn into a sequence of events which involve kidnapping, murder, body swaps into animals, raids on peaceful settlements and her having to answer to her own superiors for what she has been compelled to do.
After finishing the book, I found out it was the start of a series and this didn't surprise me as the ending is a set up for such - as Maelen has to go offplanet with Krip, in beast form to atone for what she has done . I didn't find the story compelling sadly; I really enjoy the author's Witch World series, but somehow couldn't get into the characters and didn't find the motivation of the various villains believable. So can only rate it as 2 stars. show less
The book then switches between his viewpoint and that of Maelen, the alien woman from the outsider race, who runs the beast show. The intelligent animals that accompany her are friends with whom she shares a mental bond. Maelen is approached by a representative of the troublemaking ship who wants her to lure Krip - she doesn't co-operate but inadvertantly is drawn into a sequence of events which involve kidnapping, murder, body swaps into animals, raids on peaceful settlements and her having to answer to her own superiors for what she has been compelled to do.
After finishing the book, I found out it was the start of a series and this didn't surprise me as the ending is a set up for such -
An interesting story of a spaceman on an alien world, in the style of both SciFi and Fantasy, due to the natives' magical abilities being on display. It's a slow-starting tale that is both predictable and not: I guessed correctly about how one situation would be resolved, but was also surprised by other elements within the story. Although it was published 50 years ago, unlike a recent read of a book by Heinlein, from the same era, this one is not dated at all. Overall, I enjoyed my read, and I plan to seek out the next book in the series.
This is the story of Krip Vorlund, a Free Trader, and Maelen, a Singer of the Thassa people of the planet Yiktor. Krip came to Yiktor hoping, as all young Free Traders do, to stumble across something that might make his fortune. He finds himself drawn to a beast show (basically a circus, although the text makes it sound more mystical than that) run by a beautiful and mysterious Thassa woman named Maelen. Maelen's goal is to one day add a barsk (a dangerous dog-like creature) to her group of "little people," and to one day perhaps take her beast show to space and other planets.
Unfortunately for both Krip and Maelen, there are dangerous politics at work, people who want power and the advanced weaponry Free Traders have access to (or so I show more understood - I admit that I lost track of the political aspects after a while). Maelen, her motivations a tangle, saves Krip's life but leaves him so changed that he wonders if it was worth it. The question then, is whether she can manage to make things right again, and what the ultimate price will be.
I have some nostalgic feelings where Norton's works are concerned. I fell in love with her Star Ka'at and Witch World books when I was in the 5th grade. However, it's been about that long since I last read a lot of her stuff (I reread Breed to Come in late 2019, but that's about it), and there were many of her works I never read. Although the title of Moon of Three Rings sounded familiar, I'm pretty sure this was my first time reading it.
Although this wasn't terrible, it was a chore to get through. I disliked the writing style - the characters spoke like they'd just stepped out of a high fantasy story, and it was occasionally a struggle to understand what they were saying. The pacing was slow, and I didn't particularly like or connect with any of the characters, although Maelen gradually became more interesting as the story progressed.
I will say this, at least: the story didn't at all go in the direction I thought it would, when Maelen and Krip first met. Maelen, who initially seemed like she'd be some infallible mystical woman, turned out to be very fallible (but still mystical, with telepathy and other powers), and the wishes and hopes she hid from Krip and even, to a certain extent, from herself ended up causing a big and bloody mess.
I didn't realize, going in, that this was the first book in a series. It might be interesting to see how things turn out for the characters in the later books, but I'd really rather not subject myself to more of that "high fantasy-like, but in space" writing style, so I'll be stopping here.
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) show less
Unfortunately for both Krip and Maelen, there are dangerous politics at work, people who want power and the advanced weaponry Free Traders have access to (or so I show more understood - I admit that I lost track of the political aspects after a while). Maelen, her motivations a tangle, saves Krip's life but leaves him so changed that he wonders if it was worth it. The question then, is whether she can manage to make things right again, and what the ultimate price will be.
I have some nostalgic feelings where Norton's works are concerned. I fell in love with her Star Ka'at and Witch World books when I was in the 5th grade. However, it's been about that long since I last read a lot of her stuff (I reread Breed to Come in late 2019, but that's about it), and there were many of her works I never read. Although the title of Moon of Three Rings sounded familiar, I'm pretty sure this was my first time reading it.
Although this wasn't terrible, it was a chore to get through. I disliked the writing style - the characters spoke like they'd just stepped out of a high fantasy story, and it was occasionally a struggle to understand what they were saying. The pacing was slow, and I didn't particularly like or connect with any of the characters, although Maelen gradually became more interesting as the story progressed.
I will say this, at least: the story didn't at all go in the direction I thought it would, when Maelen and Krip first met. Maelen, who initially seemed like she'd be some infallible mystical woman, turned out to be very fallible (but still mystical, with telepathy and other powers), and the wishes and hopes she hid from Krip and even, to a certain extent, from herself ended up causing a big and bloody mess.
I didn't realize, going in, that this was the first book in a series. It might be interesting to see how things turn out for the characters in the later books, but I'd really rather not subject myself to more of that "high fantasy-like, but in space" writing style, so I'll be stopping here.
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) show less
Hmmm, not very good. The story is OK - some interesting aspects to it - but there's a lot of coincidence, lots of plotting behind the scenes that we never get to see (why _was_ the Combine doing all this? The page of "explanation" at the end makes very little sense), and it's written in very high language. Usually I can take Andre's style just fine, but somehow this one overloaded me. I'll read the rest of the series and see if this one's worth keeping - but unless the rest of the story is really great, I think I can do without this. Krip and Maelen are interesting but opaque - I know what they do and what we're told about why, but I have no feeling for them as people. I liked Simele better than the both of them. And the whole thing show more with body-switching and the very convenient available bodies just...just too much. show less
Another Year of Nostalgic Re-reads entry... I don't know how many times I borrowed this from our tiny town library as a pre-teen. Forty plus years later, it hasn't aged well - or I aged differently. I give Ms. Norton an extra star for this one because her writings helped develop my love of science fiction at a young age.
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Born Alice Mary Norton on February 17, 1912 in Cleveland, Ohio, she legally changed her name to Andre Alice Norton in 1934. She attended the Flora Stone Mather College of Western Reserve University (now Case Western Reserve) for a year then took evening courses in journalism and writing that were offered by Cleveland College, the adult division of show more the same university. Norton was a librarian for the Cleveland Library System then a reader at Gnome Press. After that position, she became a full-time writer. She is most noted for writing fantasy, in particular the Witch World series. Her first book The Prince of Commands was published in 1934. Other titles include Ralestone Luck, Magic in Ithkar, Voorloper, Uncharted Stars, The Gifts of Asti and All Cats are Gray. She also wrote under the pen names Andre Norton, Andrew North and Allen Weston She was the first woman to receive the Gandalf Grand Master of Fantasy and the Nebula Grand Master Award. She has also received a Phoenix Award for overall writing achievement, a Jules Verne Award, and a Science Fiction Book Club Book of the Year Award for her title The Elvenbane. In 1997 she was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. She died on March 17, 2005. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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- Canonical title
- Moon of Three Rings
- Original title
- Moon of the rings
- Original publication date
- 1966
- People/Characters
- Krip Vorlund; Maelen (of the Kontra, Moon Singer); Urban Foss; Juhel Lidj; Gauk Slafid; Griss Sharvan (show all 22); Malec; Lord Osokun, son of Oskold; Otjan; Othelm of Ylt; Alfec Lalfarns; Borba; Vors; Tantacka; Simmle; Orkamor; Maquad; Merlay; Mathan; Prydo Alcey; Monstans; Jorth Kosgro
- Important places
- Yiktor (planet); Three-Ringed Sotrath (moon); Yrjar; Lydis, D class Free Trader bachelor ship; Yim-Sin; Valley of Umphra (show all 7); Yultravan
- Dedication
- To Sylvia Cochran
Who guided so many "infant" pens. - First words
- What is space?
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)We shall both see Yiktor again - and if it lies then under Three-Ringed Sotrath - who can foresee what may happen?
- Original language
- English
- Disambiguation notice
- This is NOT a part of the Free Trader Series.
There IS no Free Trader series in Norton's Universe. No more than there is a Forerunner, Patrol or Free Trader/Combine rivalry series.
The Free Trader Solar Queen (which... (show all) will NOT be found in 3 Rings) is NOT part of a free trader series but of a Solar Queen series.
3 Rings is not part of a free-trader series. You might not even be able to call it a Moon-Singer series - it would be more of a Vorlund/Malen or Beast Master series.
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