Three Hands for Scorpio

From Publishers Weekly
SFWA Grand Master Norton (Wizards' Worlds, etc.) delivers her first solo novel in more than five years, a solid stand-alone inspired by the border wars between England and Scotland. Three outspoken and appealing princesses, the triplets Tamara, Sabina and Drucilla, narrate in turn their action-packed adventures in the gloomy underground "Dismals," to which their kidnappers have consigned them. There the sisters meet a peculiar young man who could be an ally, but in the end they must rely largely on their own wits and telepathic powers to thwart their enemies' evil designs. While aimed primarily at younger readers, older fantasy fans will be charmed as well. Agent, Jack Byrne at Sternig and Byrne. (Apr. 20) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
"A superb storyteller with a narrative pace all her own."
--The New York Times

"One of the most distinguished living SF and fantasy writers."
--Booklist

"She remains one of the most underrated masters of science fiction and fantasy."
--Minneapolis Star-Tribune

"In giving us amazing stories, she serves as an ongoing inspiration for more than one generation of fantasy writers."
--Mercedes Lackey

"I've seen a complete collection of Andre Norton's books and it haunts me to this day, sort of like the sight of an unscalable Everest."
--C.J. Cherryh


Book Description
Andre Norton, the celebrated author of Witch World and many other fantasy adventures, offers a new novel unique among her works, set in a realm not dissimilar to northern England in the sixteenth century: also, the Dismals of Northern Alabama are the model for part of the exotic setting.

Drucilla, Sabina, and Tamara, identical sisters born to Desmond, Earl of Skorpys, understand the price of being princesses in a realm bordered by fractious neighbors. For generations their land has been plagued by incursions, raiding parties, and more serious conflicts with Gurlyon, the land to their North. But when these three plucky young ladies are kidnapped as part of a plot to undermine their father's domain, they are taken to a mysterious realm where they experience terrors unlike anything they could imagine.

Their captors, fearing pursuit, thrust the princesses into a deep recess in a bizarre underworld called the Dismals. Once there, they must fend off hideous creatures, and a young man who claims to be lord of this dark, forbidding realm. Not sure whether he is friend or foe, they must depend on their wits, on each other, and on the mind-link that binds them together. Only thus can they escape the bizarre nether-realm they must roam in search of a way home.

Their travails test them in ways they cannot foresee, both physically and magically. Powerful forces work against them, but together they may yet escape, and help right the wrong that brought them to the strange realm in the first place.


About the Author
For well over a half century, Andre Norton has been one of the most popular science fiction and fantasy authors in the world. Since her first SF novels were published in the 1940s, her adventure SF has enthralled readers young and old. With series such as Time Traders, Solar Queen, Forerunner, Beast Master, Crosstime, and Janus, as well as many stand-alone novels, her tales of action and adventure throughout the galaxy have drawn countless readers to science fiction.

Her fantasy, including the best-selling Witch World series, her "Magic" series, and many other unrelated novels, has been popular with readers for decades. Lauded as a Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America, she is the recipient of a Life Achievement Award from the World Fantasy Convention. Not only have her books been enormously popular; she also has inspired several generations of SF and fantasy writers, especially many talented women writers who have followed in her footsteps. In the past two decades she has worked with other writers on a number of novels. Most notable among these are collaborations with Mercedes Lackey, the Halfblood Chronicles, as well as collaborations with A.C. Crispin (in the Witch World series) and Sherwood Smith (in the Time Traders and Solar Queen series). An Ohio native, Ms. Norton lived for a number of years in Winter Park, Florida, and now makes her home in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where she continues to write.



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Three brave, bold daughters of the House of Scorpy recount their kidnapping and subsequent escape from an underground wasteland. Norton's first solo appearance since 1999's Wind in the Stone presents Tamara, Drucilla and Sabina, who share a special birthright. Possessors of mystical power, they can also connect telepathically with each other. Kidnapped in a political ploy-their land resembles medieval Europe, divided into tiny spheres of familial power-and dumped into a place of terrors known as the Dismals, they quickly discover the great extent of their abilities. They make friends with a fierce, catlike creature they dub Climber. They're shocked to find a man named Zolan living as a hermit in this place of no return. But that's not the only odd thing about the Dismals. Though at times described as being underground, the area is in fact covered by dense forest. Tribes of something (human? alien?) used to live here and are now communicating with Zolan through their spirits. An ancient evil power rising in the girls' homeland is also somehow connected to these lost folk in the Dismals. One thing is very clear: the monsters in the area are truly horrible and to be avoided. The girls narrate the segments of their adventures by turn, and the interplay of three voices, perceptions and personalities does much to enrich the text, even when the plot becomes difficult to follow. For lovers of strong female fantasy characters, a delight. For those in search of clearly imagined alternate worlds, a muddle.


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