Shelfie Challenge, Book the First: The Crystal Gryphon

First up, The Crystal Gryphon by André Norton, given to me for Christmas by my marvelous roomie. After deciding months ago that it had been too long since I’d read the trilogy, I managed to locate the sequels. The first book, however, had eluded me. Luckily my roommate is a skilled huntress of books.

The Crystal Gryphon is an old favorite, written by one of my old favorite authors. It’s the story of two young people suddenly finding themselves in a world at war, and I am very fond of both Kerovan and Joisan. As I told the roomie, “Joisan finds out Kerovan lied to her, and her response isn’t oh I’m so hurt I hate him! it’s he must have a good reason also he’s going into battle and he’s outnumbered but I’m unarmed GIMME A ROCK OR SOMETHING.”

The novel is written in alternating first person POV too, which is a rare and interesting choice. Lo, these many years ago when I was writing what would become my first ever finished novel draft, I made the same choice. It was a big mistake. André Norton, you enabler, you.

I think I’ve mentioned elsewhere that André Norton was possibly my first exposure to SF in books. I think by then I was watching Star Trek after school, but Norton’s SF is of a different breed, one that calls to me more. Don’t get me wrong–lifelong and proud Trekkie here–but I do love Norton’s universes. Maybe it’s just the medium, that I do better with books than with video, but her books are what I think of when the phrase “sense of wonder” comes up. The Dipple, the Moon of Three Rings, a boy with butterfly wings, a telepath that looks like a toucan with tentacles…

Also I love her choices of main characters. She takes the broken and the outcast, the abused and neglected, and lets them grow into heroes. Oh, hey–kind of like I tend to do in my books. Hmm…