Moon Called

~ A Novel by Andre Norton

moon called 1982 45716 0

 

Synopsis ~

Write-up from the rear of the 2006 tradepaper edition ~

Their Powers must fuse as One against the Orgy of Death that awaits them!
Thora, is the Chosen One. Pressed against her breast is the sacred jewel, possessing all the powers of the Moon.
Makil is the Man of Pure Light, from the valley of enchantment and the swaying, sensual dance. In the golden scabbard at his side is the magical Sword of Lur.
Together they descend into an underground world of soulless machines and eternal night. High Priestess and Warrior, Jewel and Sword, they must join in blood and battle against the Dark Lord. To fail would mean the Holy Force would fail, and Thora and Makil would forever be entombed in the flesh of evil. 

 

Write-up from the back of the paperback edition ~

Their Powers Must Fuse as One
Thora is the Chosen One. Pressed against her breast is the sacred Jewel, possessing all the powers of the Moon. Makil is the Man of Pure Light. In his golden scabbard rest the magical Sword of Lur. Together they descend into an underground world of soulless machines and eternal night. High Priestess and Warrior, Jewel and Sword, they join in battle against the Dark Lord. If they fail, the Holy force will fall - and Thora and Makil will be forever entombed in the flesh evil. 

 

Write-ups from fans ~

Post-Doomsday scenario. Thora, The Chosen One of the Craigs settlement, and her dog companion Kort, are forced into flight by raiders who plundered the Craigs village, killing the three senior Priestesses. For some reason unknown to her, she chooses to run to the west. In a crudely made but stout fortress-like building of the traders, she comes upon a strange little being who has been badly tortured. She and Kort rescue the little creature, Malkin, who is Bonded of Makil the Chosen One of another village.

The Men of the Valley want her and her powers to help them fight the Dark Shadow'm evil servants -- the ones who had kidnapped and tortured Malkin. Together with some of the "Little Ones", they plunder an ancient storeroom of the Before Time, they find strange mechanical devices that can travel across the ground and put out a beam of energy that can destroy the evil servants. But Thora and Mikil, with their religious talismans, are the ones who have to go up against the Dark One. ~ SL

 

Thora aka, the chosen one, a half-trained priestess possesses a sacred jewel that allows her to access the powers of the moon. After raiders destroy her village and scatter her people, she and her dog, Kort are wandering around when she rescues a small, strange furry humanoid (named Malkin) and nurses her back to health. Malkin leads them to a secret valley where she meets a village of humans including Makil who has a magical sword. Ever since the ancient technologically-advanced civilization fell, evil forces of the DARK have been advancing. When the village elder sends her astral self to scout for a cache of ancient weaponry and forces her into a hopeless battle with a powerful Dark lord. Luckily, Makil uses his sword to rescue her, she leaves the valley and finds a gathering of creatures like Malkin and she bonds with their leader, Tarkin. Then a party from the valley joins Thora, Kort, Tarkin and a few of the furry people and they all go looking for the cache to get a jump on the Dark forces who are also searching for the same stuff. They all get there about the same time and a battle ensues between the Dark lord's powers and the combined powers of the moon jewel, the magic sword, and a couple of tanks from the "old days". If they win, they plan of finding the source of the Dark creatures and defeating them for once and for all. It has an atypical ending for a Norton story. ~ PG

 

Thora is a Chosen One of the Mother (the Lady, the Three-in-One) of the Light (of the Moon). When pirates invaded her home in the Craigs, her people scattered to find their ways as best they could. Thora hid the things of ritual and escaped only with a chained girdle of silver with a round moon gem. Thora and her hound, Kort, find an injured creature. Malkin is a small furred familiar that only eats blood or raw meat. She was separated from her Blood Brother (Makil) and needs to find him. Malkin considers Thora a sister because they both follow the same path of the Light and the Mother.
They stumble into a long-hidden storehouse where they find the remains of an ancient battle between Light and Dark. Malkin finds some vials of dried blood that she wraps into Makil's cloak that she carries with her. The vials are her travel rations. Thora dreams of a man with a sword of light, and Malkin tells her that it was Makil. They set out to find him.
Along the way, they find the body of one of Malkin's kind. The followers of Set killed him and captured his Blood Brother, Karn. That night, Thora dances to the moon and to Malkin's strange singing. The ritual fills the moon gem With power that Malkin absorbs to give her strength.
They reach the boundaries of Makil's land, but Thora cannot pass through an unseen barrier. She drinks a few drops of Malkin's blood and passes easily. Marian takes them to Makil and Borkin (their leader). The men are surprised at the bond between Malkin and a woman. Thora is just as surprised that men yield Power of Light and good while the women are pampered.
Borkin uses Thora to find Karn. She has a vision or out-of-body experience into the place of the three evil ones who attempt to bind Karn with their evil rituals to Set. She manages to break Karn's bonds, but only escapes when Makil saves her. Makil is as upset as she is at Borkin for using her.
Thora sneaks away during the night but encounters invisible barriers that prevent her leaving. She goes into a wood and meets a group of Little Ones (those of - Malkin's people who are not Blood-bonded to humans). She forms a mental and spiritual bond with Tarkin who is Chosen among her own kind.
Thora, Tarkin, and Kort decide to travel together. Their path crosses the one of Makil, Borkin, and their companions who search for the storehouse Thora had found earlier. They agree to travel together to find the storehouse again before the Dark does.
They fight the Dark when they arrive. Makil uses his Sword of Lur—the Sword of Light Thora dreamed about-and she uses the moon gem to fight together. With help from the power of the Little Ones, they destroy the Dark.
Later, Thora and Kort sneak away from the camp so Makil will not try to stop her. She says farewell only to Tarkin with whom she will always share a bond. ~ DB

 

Reviews ~

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

1983 by Don D'Ammassa in Science Fiction Chronicle (fnz), October
1983 by W. Hooks in Voice of Youth Advocates, October
2021 By Judith Tarr

 

Bibliography of English Editions ~

  • (1982) Published by Wallaby / Simon & Shuster, TP, 0-671-45716-0, LCCN 82236312, $7.95, 301pg ~ cover by Jay Muth, illustrated by Victoria Poyser {# 1082 and ISBN on Rear Cover}
  • (1983) Published by TOR, PB, 0-523-48585-9, $2.95, 301pg ~ 3rd printing #54727-6, 1985, $2.95, 301pg ~ 4th printing #51533-1, 1991, $3.99, 301pg ~ covers and illustration by Victoria Poyser
  • (2012) Published by Premier Digital Publishing, eISBN 978-1-937957-45-2, DM, $3.99, 169pg ~ cover by Kib Prestridge
  • (2014) Published by Open Road Media, eISBN 978-1-497656-48-2, DM, $3.99, 169pg ~ cover by Kib Prestridge

 

Non-English Editions ~

  • (1989) Published in Milan, Italy; by Mondadori, Urania Fantasy n. 19, 5,000 Lit, 144pg ~ translation by Matteo Del Colle ~ cover & illustration by Maren ~ Italian title Il potere della Luna [The power of the moon]
  • (1999) Published in Poland; by Zysk i S-ka, 83-715-0545-0 ~ translation by Dorota Dziewońska ~ cover by Christensen via Agentur Luserke ~ Polish title Zew księżyca [Moonfall]

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