''Magic in Ithkar 4'' is a
shared world
A shared universe or shared world is a fictional universe from a set of creative works where more than one writer (or other artist) independently contributes a work that can stand alone but fits into the joint development of the storyline, chara ...
anthology of
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...
stories edited by
Andre Norton
Andre Alice Norton (born Alice Mary Norton, February 17, 1912 – March 17, 2005) was an American writer of science fiction and fantasy, who also wrote works of historical and contemporary fiction. She wrote primarily under the pen name ...
and
Robert Adams. It was first published as a paperback by
Tor Books
Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles, and is the largest publisher of Chinese sci ...
in July 1987.
Summary
The book collects fourteen original short stories by various fantasy authors which share the setting of an annual fair in the city of Ithkar, together with an introduction by Adams and notes on the authors by Norton.
[Fantastic Fiction entry for ''Magic in Ithkar 4''](_blank)
/ref>
Setting
As described in the introduction by co-editor Robert Adams (identical to that in the previous volumes), the world of which Ithkar is a part has suffered from some past holocaust which wiped out an earlier, higher civilization. Subsequently, the area which became Ithkar became a base for the explorations of three godlike visitors, who came to be worshiped as actual deities after their departure. A temple and priesthood dedicated to them developed over succeeding generations, which held a yearly fair on the anniversary of the visitors' first arrival. The city of Ithkar grew up about the temple on the strength of the commerce the fair attracted.
The historical background provided appears science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
al in nature; the war that destroyed the previous culture is related in terms which suggest a nuclear war, complete with radiation-derived mutations of life-forms in the vicinities of the nuclear strikes, while the story of the visitors resembles an expedition of interstellar explorers. Present-day Ithkar is, however, a fantasy setting, in which wizards and sorcerers are rife, and magic works.
Contents
* "Prologue" ( Robert Adams)
* "The Clockwork Woman" (Ann R. Brown)
* "First Do No Harm" (Mildred Downey Broxon
Mildred Downey Broxon (born June 7, 1944 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American science fiction and fantasy author.
Life
Broxon was born in Atlanta and grew up in Brazil. She studied psychology and worked as an assistant teacher for the mentally ha ...
)
* "Honeycomb" ( Esther M. Friesner)
* "Demon Luck" (Craig Shaw Gardner
Craig Shaw Gardner (born July 2, 1949) is an American author, best known for producing fantasy parodies similar to those of Terry Pratchett.
He was also a member of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America (SAGA), a loose-knit group of Her ...
)
* "A Quiet Day at the Fair" ( Sharon Green)
* "Mandrake" (Caralyn Inks)
* "To Trap a Demon" (Ardath Mayhar
Ardath Frances Hurst Mayhar (February 20, 1930 – February 1, 2012) was an American writer and poet. Mayhar wrote over 60 books ranging from science fiction to horror to young adult to historical to westerns, Some of her novels appeared under ...
)
* "Trave" ( Shirley Meier)
* "The Book-Healer" (Sandra Miesel
Sandra Louise Miesel (born Sandra Louise Schwartz on November 25, 1941) is an American medievalist, writer, and science fiction and fantasy fan. Her early work was in science fiction and fantasy criticism, fields in which she has remained active ...
)
* "The Demon's Gift" (Kathleen O'Malley
Mary Kathleen O'Malley (March 31, 1924 – February 25, 2019) was an American film and television actress, who was the daughter of vaudevillian and actor Pat O'Malley. Her screen debut came during the silent film era as a thirteen month old bab ...
)
* "The Gentle Art of Making Enemies" (Claudia Peck)
* "Day of Strange Fortune" (Carol Severance
Carol Severance (1944 – February 19, 2015) was a U.S. science fiction writer.
Life
Carol Severance was a Hawaii-based Science Fiction and Fantasy writer known for her strong female characters. As an artist she had a special interest in Paci ...
)
* "Cat and Muse" (Rose Wolf)
* "The Talisman" (Timothy Zahn
Timothy Zahn (born September 1, 1951) is an American writer of science fiction and fantasy. He is known best for his prolific collection of ''Star Wars'' books, chiefly the ''Thrawn'' series, and has published several other series of sci-fi and f ...
)
* "Biographical Notes" (Andre Norton
Andre Alice Norton (born Alice Mary Norton, February 17, 1912 – March 17, 2005) was an American writer of science fiction and fantasy, who also wrote works of historical and contemporary fiction. She wrote primarily under the pen name ...
)
Reception
The book was reviewed by Don D'Ammassa
Donald Eugene D'Ammassa (born April 24, 1946) is an American fantasy, science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts ...
in ''Science Fiction Chronicle
DNA Publications was an American publishing company that existed from 1993 to 2007 and was run by the husband-and-wife team of Warren Lapine and Angela Kessler. Initially based in Massachusetts, DNA Publications relocated to Radford, Virginia. A ...
'' no. 99, December 1987.
Notes
{{Andre Norton
1987 anthologies
Fantasy anthologies
Andre Norton anthologies
Tor Books books