Flight in Yiktor

~ 3rd Novel in the Moon Magic Series by Andre Norton

(Series aka) Free Traders or Moon Singer

flight.in.yiktor

 

Synopsis ~

Write-up from the front flap of the 1986 dustjacket ~

A crippled child seeking courage and identity.
An exiled sorceress seeking redemption.
A spaceman in an alien's body, seeking justice.
Three quests joined together beneath a moon of three rings - an adventure novel brimming with all the warmth, invention and magic that are uniquely André Norton’s.
Orphaned, deformed, Farree was a beastmerchant’s slave in a spaceport slum. Suddenly he and his only friend, a venomous hunting pet, Toggor the smux, were released by two strangers Lady Mnelen, the Moon Singer, a psychic, body-stealing sorceress: and Lord-One Krip Vorlund, a telepathic ex-Free Trader. With their encouragement, Farree began to learn self-respect as his limited mental rapport with animals grew into a full mind-touch.
But Farree's freedom brought new perils: Maelen and Krip had earlier stopped the intergalactic Thieves' Guild from looting Forerunner artifacts, and the pirates had marked them for death. On planet and in space, the three and their beasts repeatedly fought off Guild attacks, as their course led to the planet Yiktor - Maelen's home world, from which she had been exiled by her people, the Thassa mindmasters. But now she had to return: a secret Guild plot centered on Yiktor, the pirates had perfected a mind shield, and the non-technological Thassa might not be able to stop the plundering of their world.
Thus, with Farree, Krip and Maelen each helping and protecting the others, the triple quest began. One would lead to success; one to disaster, destruction and terrifying devastation. And one would lead to an incredible transformation, to the emergence of a being whose beauty, grace and power had before been seen in the galaxy; and to a great - and possibly unsolvable - mystery...

 

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

The Exile Returns to The Moon of Three Rings - Three wanderers. Three exiles. Three quests linked together between the moon of three rings.

MAELEN: Exiled Thassa sorceress, stealer-of-bodies, Moon Singer; she returns to her forbidden home seeking renewal and redemption.

KRIP VORLUND: Telepathic Starman in a Forerunner's body, he seeks to stop pirates from plundering the galaxy's most ancient heritage, and most fearsome weapons.

FARREE: A hunchbacked child with no memory of a past nor hope for a future, his only friend a venomous hunting pet; he seeks his Wanderers turned companions, they are exiles turned champions on a single path to three destinies.

 

Write-up from the back of UK paperback edition ~

A crippled child seeking courage and identity.
An exiled sorceress seeking redemption.
A spaceman in an alien’s body, seeking justice.

Three quest joined together beneath a moon of three rings – an adventure novel brimming with all the warmth, invention and magic that are uniquely Andre Norton’s.

 

Write-ups from fans ~

Book 3 in the Moonsinger Series. It helps if you have read Moon of Three Rings and Exiles of the Stars. This is the continuing story of Maelen (wearing a Forerunner body) and Krip Vorlund (in the same Thassa body he obtained in MOTR). With their share of the forerunner treasure from Sekhmet, they now own their own ship and visit Grant's World to remodel the ship to carry animals to the stars and perform in beast shows. Someone is trying to block their plans. Could it be the Guild who longs for revenge for the two's messing up their play on Sekhmet? While on this planet, they hear telepathic cries of a Smux named Toggor and go to find it. On the way, they meet a strange hunchback boy in tattered rags. He is telepathic and is on his way to feed the Smux whom he has befriended. Maelen and Krip buy the Smux from the beastseller who has been using it as a fighting animal. The boy, who goes by the name "Dung" reveals that his true name is Farree and he joins the duo as a liaison with the Smux and some other animals. They buy a journey tape locked onto Yiktor (Maelen's home planet) because she wants to go home when the Third Ring of Sotrath is shining brightly and Thassa powers are at their peak. Not long after taking off, the two crewmen they had hired on Grants World try to take over the ship but are defeated by Farree and the other animals. They land on Yiktor and go to meet with the Thassa. While they are away from the ship, the Guild rescues their men from the ship. Later, Farree is kidnapped and the Thassa help him to escape. Then the Thassa send our group on a race against the Guild to locate a rumored cache of ancient Thassa weapons. And on this trip, Farree changes and we all find out why Andre chose that name for him. Read it to know what I mean. ~ PG

 

Krip Vorlund and Maelen plan to use their share of the reward for breaking up a smuggling ring to buy a ship and take a traveling animal show to other planets.  While on one planet, buying animals, they come across a misshapen boy and his only friend, a venomous insectile-like animal, who are being mistreated by their "master."  They resdue him and take off with a hired crewman to run the ship.  The crewman mutinies, and Faree and Toggar return the favor of rescue by helping to subdue the crewman.  However, the ship is forced to land on an unknown planet, where Faree's hunched back bursts open to reveal butterfly-like wings. ~ SL

 

Reviews ~

Kirkus Reviews ~ Issue: April 15th, 1986
A frail, diffident sequel to Exiles of the Stars, from the veteran author of, most recently, Forerunner: the Second Venture (1985). Farree, a pathetic, crippled slave of unknown ancestry, lives in the Limits (slums) of Grant's World; he is purchased by a pair of human-alien Thassa, the former Moon Singer Maelen and her companion Krip, because of his telepathic powers. Maelen and Krip are headed for planet Yiktor, once a stronghold of the Thassa, now mostly deserted. But they are stalked by agents of the Thieves' Guild who believe that Maelen and Krip will lead them to caches of ancient Thassa weapons and artifacts. So while Maelen and Krip struggle to ingratiate themselves with the skeptical Thassa authorities, the Guild kidnaps Farree and baits a trap with him. Farree, helped by some telepathic animals with whom he has been confined, escapes--but during the pursuit his hunchback splits open: the reviled cripple is transformed into a beautiful winged creature. In most of Norton's works, the characters, situations, and voices are inescapably juvenile. This one is no exception. The ambiance is magical rather than science fictional. The backdrop is mostly froth. And the narrative sounds absurdly like a muffled groan. So, overall, this one would look better--though by no means convincing--on the YA shelf. 

 

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

1986 by Robin Roberts in Fantasy Review, April
1986 by Tom Easton in Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact, December
1989 by Lynne Bispham in Paperback Inferno #79, August/September
2015 by Patrick Reardon
2021 by Judith Tarr

 

Bibliography of English Editions ~

  • (1986) Published by TOR, HC, 0-312-93245-6, 978-0-312-93245-9, LCCN 85052253, $14.95, 251pg ~ cover by Victoria Poyser {Green Paper Boards}
  • (1986) Published by TOR, TP, 0-312-93245-6, LCCN 85052253, 251pg ~ cover by Victoria Poyser
  • (1987) Published by TOR, PB, 0-812-54721-7, 978-0-812-54721-4, $2.95 US $3.95 Canadian, 251pg ~ cover by Victoria Poyser ~ reprinted 1990
  • (1988) Published by Methuen - Teens, PB, 0-416-07432-4, 978-0-416-07432-1, £2.50, 251pg ~ UK printing ~ cover by Roger Garland
  • Moonsinger's Quest (2011) Published by BAEN, PB, 1-451-63756-X, 978-1-4516-3756-4, $13.00, 612pg ~ cover by unknown ~ Omnibus containing Flight In Yiktor (1986) & Dare to Go A-Hunting (1989)

 

Non-English Editions ~

  • (1996) Published in Poland; by Zysk i S-ka, 83-715-0173-0, 203pg ~ translation by Dorota Dziewońska ~ Polish title Lot ku planecie Yiktor [Flight to the planet Yiktor]

 

Russian Omnibus Editions ~

  • (1993) Published in Zelenograd, by Zelenogradskaya Books, 5-863-14022-4, HC, 384pg ~ cover by D. Avvakumov ~ Russian title Лунная магия [Moon Magic]

Contains:

    • "Flight in Yiktor" as "Flight to the Yictor" ~ translation by L. Gridneva, pp. 3-196
    • "Dare To Go A-Hunting" as "Dare to go hunting" ~ translation by L. Gridneva, pp. 197-381

 

  • (2005) Published in Moscow, by Eksmo, 5-699-13246-5, HC, 400pg ~ cover by D. Dzhankol ~ Russian title Опасная охота [Dangerous hunt] ~ Limited to 5100 copies

Contains:

    • "Flight in Yiktor" as "Flight to the Yictor" ~ translation by O. Kolesnikov, pp. 5-204
    • "Dare To Go A-Hunting" as "Dangerous Hunt" ~ translation by O. Kolesnikov, pp. 205-395

View the Original contract

See Also: Timeline 1 - Andre's Universe entry for this title.

View the embedded image gallery online at:
https://andre-norton.com/works-of-a-master/series-of-a-master/the-moon-magic-series/293-flight-in-yiktor#sigProId76b9845eb7

 

 

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