Here Abide Monsters

~ A Novel by Andre Norton

here.abide.monsters

 

Synopsis ~

Write-up from the front flap of the 1973 dustjacket ~

Nick Shaw knew the strange reputation of the shortcut to the lake—long overgrown, but recently reopened-—when he turned his motorbike into it, directing Linda, a newcomer, to her destination. Over a long span of years, a number of people had simply disappeared from that road. And then his bike hit something, and he blacked out!
With the slow return of consciousness, Nick discovered that he—and Linda in her jeep—-were no longer on the narrow country road. But it took him a long While to understand that they had been catapulted into another space-time era—into Avalon of Arthurian legend—where “reality,” as Nick knew it, and “illusion,” as he had never known it, mingled disconcertingly. From people like themselves, who had been drawn earlier into this world, they learned that alien forces were harrying the land. Evil was everywhere, yet mysterious heralds also rode abroad, offering a “true” way of life to those who would accept it. But could the heralds be trusted?
Nick—and Linda’s--final choice between the believers and the unbelievers leads to the tautly told climax of this vivid and compelling narrative by one of today’s most outstanding and creative writers of science fiction.

 

Write-up from the back of the DAW paperback edition ~

Have you ever wondered how much of ancient folklore is grounded in fact? Are there really unicorns, elves, magic cities?
“Here Abide Monsters is a fresh approach to myth. Most people have heard of the ‘Bermuda Triangle,’ but Andre Norton uses a similar situation to show the possibility of a two-way door that opens both on this world and on another quite unlike our own.
“Nick Shaw and Linda Durant pass through the door into a world where their nightmares are real and deadly. They band together with an English group, some of whom have been on the planet since before the turn of the century…
“Andre Norton has long been a storyteller. One cannot be acquainted with fantasy without knowing her Witch World series. She is a master craftsman of her art. Combining ancient lore and magic with her skill and imagination, she has produced one fascinating novel after another.” – Chattanooga Daily Times

 

Write-up from the back of the TOR paperback edition ~

Take UFO’s, parapsychology, the singing of Lorelei, Eve’s apple, Merlin, and all the folklore of the British Isles. Andre Norton has spun all these themes into this tale of wanderers from our earth who have blundered into the parallel world of Avalon. The clash of good and evil escapes the hackneyed and comes out in favor of a plurality of truth.

 

Write-up from a fan ~

This starts out with the premise that there are 12 spots around the world where the wall between universes is thin and where people have disappeared. Nick Shaw and Linda Durant pass through a door into a world that at first seems like our own. Then they run into "mythical" creatures, some benign and others horribly nightmarish and deadly. They join up with an English group who fill them in on the dangers of the world and they meet with what on their world would be members of the Fairy Folk who tell them to go away. Then they witness attacks by alien spaceships that are taking captives. The fairy Folk are immune to the weapons of the aliens and their cities are safe from attack. They try to get Nick and the other humans to join them and become part of the Folk, but the humans resist for fear of losing their own identities. Nick gets captured and an unexpected ally teaches him how to tap into latent psychic powers that he unknowingly possesses. Will his newfound abilities prove a key to his and his band's survival? Action packed right up to the last page. ~ PG

 

Reviews ~

Kirkus Reviews ~ Issue: Sept. 1st, 1973
Nick Shaw knows that the Cut-Off Road near his family's lakeside cabin has the reputation for being one of those places where people disappear from time to time -- like the Bermuda Triangle. So, he's better prepared than we are when he and his new friend Linda find themselves propelled into an Arthurian Avalon full of mythical beasts, other timewarp travelers and menacing demons who attack from the air. There's no way back from Avalon, and Nick and Linda must either become eternal fugitives in the wilds or accept an offer of safety in the cities from a being known as the Herald. Deciding whether the Herald is out to save their souls or buy them sets off a chain of omen-ridden confrontations -- though, as with so many of Norton's productions, one has the sense that a vast store of mythological lore is being wasted on an unnecessarily convoluted plot and affectless characters. For confirmed believers. 

 

Booklist Review ~ January 01, 1974
Although the Cut-Off, Like the Bermuda Triangle, has a history of disappearances, Nick Shaw agrees to guide newcomer Linda Durant over the shortcut to her friends' house on the lake. En route the pair are suddenly thrust into an alternate world---a land they later learn is Avalon of Arthurian legend---inhabited by mythical creatures and threatened by alien flyer hunters from yet another world. Befriended by a small band of humans who crossed over years earlier Nick and Linda learn that they must either choose to accept the Herald's offer and become one of Avalon's not-quite-human People or live like fugitives running before a dark tide of evil spreading over the land. Despite flat characterizations this is a relentlessly paced science fiction fantasy adventure with well-realized other world settings.

 

Review by Publishers Weekly - August 27, 1973
The prolific author's imagination is undiminished, as the eerie plot of her new novel proves. Young Nick is wary of the cut-off near his family's summer cottage---people who have taken the short cut have disappeared and never been found---but he dares the route to guide Linda, a new neighbor, to her place. Instantly, the two are thrust back in time and place to Arthur's Avalon, where they find the lost travelers. The group is menaced on all sides: evil stalks the land and Nick has to decide whether to trust the Herald who holds the promise of a true way of life. Ms. Norton's many faithful readers will find here just what they're looking for.

 

Various reviews ~ For more info and other listings see Articles Over the Years

1973 by E. Haynes in Library Journal, December 15
1973 by D. Parente in Best Sellers, December 15
1974 by Theodore Sturgeon in New York Times Book Review, February 24
1974 by Theodore Sturgeon in Galaxy Science Fiction [UK], March, reprinted in: Galaxy
1974 by L. Bloon in Luna Monthly #54 (fnz), September
1976 by J. Goldfrank in SF & Fantasy Journal #86 (fnz), February
2021 by Judith Tarr

 

Dedications and Acknowledgements ~

For Bee Lowry,
who suggested that Lung Hsin
be one of the adventures in Avalon.

 

Bibliography of English Editions ~

  • (1973) Published by Atheneum, HC, 0-689-30422-6, 978-0-689-30422-4, LCCN 73075438, $5.95, 215pg ~ cover by Jack Gaughan {Orange Cloth Boards, Taupe End Papers}
  • (1973) Published by MacMillan, HC, $6.95, 215pg ~ Canadian printing ~ cover by Jack Gaughan
  • (1974) Published by DAW, PB, # UY1134, $1.25, 205pg - #97333-1 1977 $1.50, #97686-1 1985? $2.25 ~ cover by Jack Gaughan
  • (1985) Published by TOR, PB, 0-812-54732-2, 978-0-812-54732-0, $2.95 US $3.50 Canadian, 252pg ~ cover by Victoria Poyser
  • Children of the Gates (2013) Published by BAEN, TP, 1-451-63889-2, 978-1-451-63889-9, $13.00, 512pg ~ cover by Stephen Hickman ~ Omnibus containing Here Abide Monsters (1973) & Yurth Burden (1978)


Non-English Editions ~

  • (1985) Published in Rastatt, Germany; by Moewig, 38-118-3803-2, TB 3, DM5.80, 160pg ~ translation by Lore Straßl ~ cover by Nikolai Lutohin ~ German title Die Alptraumwelt [The nightmare world]
  • (1988) Published in Rastatt, Germany; by Moewig, 38-118-3853-9, Moewig SF 3853, DM7.80, 160pg ~ translation by Lore Straßl ~ cover by Carl Lundgren ~ German title Die Alptraumwelt [The nightmare world]

 

Russian Omnibus Editions ~

  • (1992) Published in St. Petersburg, by Egos, 5-864-76001-0, HC, 336pg ~ cover by N. Zubkov ~ cover by N. Zubkov ~ Russian title Клуб любителей фантастики [Dzant from the Union of Thieves]

Contains:

    • "Forerunner Foray" as "Dzant from the union of thieves" ~ translation by D. Pavlovsky & I. Burova & E. Voronko, pp. 5-164
    • "Here Abide Monsters" as "Monsters live here" ~ translation by D. Pavlovsky & I. Burova & E. Voronko, pp. 165-335

 

  • (1994) Published in Moscow, by Sigma Press and Zelenograd, by Zelenogradskaya Books, 5-863-14031-3, HC, 352pg ~ cover by D. Avvakumov ~ Russian title Здесь обитают чудовища [Monsters Live Here]

Contains:

    • "Eye of the Monster" as "The Eye of the Beast" ~ translation by D. Saveliev & J. Saveliev, pp. 3-94
    • "Here Abide Monsters" as "Monsters live here" ~ translation by D. Saveliev & J. Saveliev, pp. 95-349

 

  • (2003) Published in Moscow, by Eksmo, 5-699-04540-6, HC, 480pg ~ cover by D. Burns ~ Russian title Здесь водятся чудовища [Monsters are found here] ~ Limited to 8000 copies

Contains:

    • "Dread Companion" as "Dangerous satellite" ~ translation by O. Kolesnikov & S. Sergeyev, pp. 5-178
    • "Here Abide Monsters" as "Monsters are found here" ~ translation by O. Kolesnikov & S. Sergeyev, pp. 179-374
    • "Huon of the Horn" as "The Horn of Yuon" ~ translation by O. Kolesnikov & S. Sergeyev, pp. 375-478

 

  • (2015) Published in Moscow by Eksmo, 978-5-699-84463-0, HC, 800pgs ~ cover art by A. Dubovik ~ Russian title Гаран вечный [Eternal Garan] ~ Limited to 3000 copies

Contains:

    • "Garan the Eternal" as "Eternal Garan" ~ translation by O. Kolesnikov & V. Sergeyev, pp. 5-122
    • "Here Abide Monsters" as "Monsters are found here" ~ translation by O. Kolesnikov & V. Sergeyev, pp. 123-340
    • "Huon of the Horn" as "The Horn of Yuon" ~ translation by O. Kolesnikov & V. Sergeyev, pp. 341-456
    • "Knave of Dreams" as "The Knight of Dreams" ~ translation by D. Arseniev, pp. 457-638
    • "Merlin's Mirror" ~ translation by O. Kolesnikov & D. Arseniev, pp. 639-797

View the Original contract

View the 1983 TOR contract

View the embedded image gallery online at:
https://andre-norton.com/works-of-a-master/long-works-of-a-master/413-here-abide-monsters#sigProIdb19bcc0ac2

DAW Frontispiece;

here.abide.monsters.frontspiece

 

 

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