The Beast Master

https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3095510.html

Long long ago, I think even when I was in primary school (so, more than forty years ago), I read The Beast Master, and it stuck with me. Not quite so long ago, I got it and its sequel, Lord of Thunder, in a single volume, Beast Master’s Planet. Both concern a future galaxy where Earth has been destroyed in the final act of a war with the alien Xik, and our protagonist, Hosteen Storm, is (as far as he knows) the only survivor of the Navajo. He is an ex-soldier, trained to have a psychic link with his animal conpanions - two meerkats, an eagle and a big tiger-like cat, and he is sent to the planet of Arzor to earn his living as a civilian.

Arzor turns out to be a sparsely settled planet whose show more main industry appears to be the ranching of the cattle-like frawns, carried out by human settlers in negotiation with the indigenous Norbies, who have a complex tribal structure and totem-based religion. Hosteen Storm becomes a horse wrangler. It’s basically the Old West in space, although nobody ever says that, with Storm set up as uniquely placed to bridge the communication gap between humans and natives. Basically he is a Magical Indian.

It’s also worth noting that there isn’t a single female speaking character in either book. Storm’s mother is mentioned in passing, but she is dead. The Norbies seem to be all male. Storm’s animals are female, which is interesting.

The Beast Master

Still, the first book reminded me of the magic it exerted on my mind in a Belfast classroom long ago. (I think I may have even written a book report on it.) I appreciated then the tragic burden carried by Storm as the last of his tribe, charged by his grandfather with maintaining a family vendetta (which drives a lot of the narrative) but then also caught up in both a Xik plot against the humans and the discovery of lost ancient alien tech under the mountains. The tone of the book is detached, measured and firm. The flaws are still there, but the fact is that this was an sf book featuring a Navajo protagonist at a time (1959) when the future was mainly seen as white.

Still, bearing in mind that both are books of their time, they are good reads. show less

This is a nice book, in traditional Norton style where a low technical solution to an invasion comes to the fore. After a rather abortive attempt to honour native American cultures in the Time Trader stories, Hosteen Storm, a Navajo native of a Terra that has been burnt off by alien invaders finds himself a new home on the desert world of Azor. Along with his native American heritage, Hosteen is a Beast Master, a commando who is part of a team consisting of a variety of animals that could go behind enemy lines and commit mayhem or intelligence runs. Hosteen and his team fit in easily with both settler and native Azorans but Hosteen has another agenda; a local settler supposedly destroyed his mother's life but when he meets this man, he show more can't match the man to the crimes he's supposed to have undertaken. And too, there is the unreasoning hatred of one of the settlers who'd taken against Hosteen - was he all he seems, or something... different? A tale that has multiple strands weaving themselves together. show less

Written in 1959, some aspects of the novel has become 'politically incorrect', but less than you might expect. Rather, the social and political situations are simplified in a way we no longer accept (is this one reason why sf novels have gotten so long?). Hosteen Storm is an ex special services man, Navaho, and a 'beast master' - in telepathic communication with four animals who work with him (eagle, puma-ish, and two meerkats). The war is over, Earth destroyed (by the bad guys, Xiks, out of spite). He sets down on a planet where he hopes to settle a vendetta with a man he believes killed his father. It's kind of the good old West, horses and so on and the natives are good folks, basically, though some are less friendly than others. The show more story held up, though, with some interesting twists and matters left unexplained for future novels, no doubt. **** show less

After Earth is destroyed a commando seeks revenge over a childhood memory, one that had kept him focused over the years. Being a Navajo gave him an extra dimension bringing in SW culture and references while searching on a planet not dissimilar to the SW. It is a retelling of a root metaphor, the Hero's journey in the guise of sci-fi cowboys and Indians. Read this in junior high in the 1970's. Yes, we need hero's of Storm's sort.

Hosteen Storm is a Navaho tribesman, a Beast Master, and a Commando, released from his service after the war with the alien Xiks has been won. He is unable to return home, though, as his birth world has been reduced to a radioactive rock. However, a new home is not what he seeks on Arzor, but revenge.

This was a very good tale, with action, and enough twists to keep me guessing what would happen next. The author never bogs down the reader with too much description or definitions, but allows us to figure things out on our own. I plan to reread this in the future, I liked it that much.

I love this book. It's sort of like Avatar with alien natives vs human settlers. But it also is more serious about a person's reaction to how you are raised as a child and to psychology of war. The main part though is native American culture and the genetically engineered animals that Hosteen (the main character) is bonded too. The sequel is even more interesting as the characters discover an underground high tech alien installation long abandoned.

One of my favourites from teenage years. I still reread it every few years, it reads like an old friend. I loved the Indian (Native American) take on the space age and the seething conflict of emotion.