The Magic Books

Series · 7 books · 1965-2008

By Andre Norton

Books in series

Steel Magic

1965

Original Title: Steel Magic 1967 ed. illustrated by Robin Jacques. A well told story of time travel with wonderful detailed black and white, pen and ink illustrations. Sara, Greg, and Eric Lowry are exploring the woods near their uncle's Hudson Valley estate when they are magically transported to the land of Avalon. There they meet Huon, Warden of the West. When he tells them that the forces of darkness have stolen the three talismans that protect Avalon-King Arthur's sword, Excalibur; Merlin's ring; and Huon's horn-the children set off on a quest to find the three tokens of power. For Avalon stands as a wall between the Dark and the mortal world. And if Avalon falls, so does Earth....

Octagon Magic

1967

The secret of Octagon House When her grandmother gets sick, eleven-year-old Lorrie Mallard is sent to live with her aunt in the U.S. Things were different back home in Canada, and Lorrie is homesick—especially when boys like Jimmy Purvis and Stan Wormiski tease her. One day, Lorrie finds herself at the door of Octagon House, where she is welcomed by the elderly Miss Ashemeade and her servant, Hallie. Could the kindly Miss Ashemeade truly be a witch, like everyone says? Lorrie doesn’t know, but with the help an old rocking horse and a dollhouse she finds in a mysterious eight-sided room, she begins to unlock the secrets of Octagon House.

Fur Magic

1968

Enter a world of ancient magic When his father is called to active duty in Vietnam, Cory Alder is sent to spend the summer with his adopted Native American uncle, Jasper. Accustomed to life in the city, Cory finds the reality of the ranch scary―every shadow is full of menace. But when an encounter with a medicine man catapults Cory into a world of Native American legend, conquering his fears becomes a matter of survival. Transformed into a beaver called Yellow Shell, Cory is now part of a war between the People, animals whose intelligence equals that of humans. In order to return home, Cory must help Yellow Shell and his allies defeat the Changer, who is attempting to enslave the People in this world―and in Cory's world as well. With two worlds hanging in the balance, Cory will have to use every ounce of courage and animal instinct within him to defeat this enemy . . .

Dragon Magic

1972

Sig, Artie, Kim, and Ras have same neighborhood and school, but nothing in common...until they sneak into the old abandoned corner house and each find a a picture of four dragons on a puzzle box. Strong magic draws the boys together, transform them, and transport them into worlds of heroes and dragons.

Lavender-Green Magic

1974

An old pillow, found in an attic trunk, guides three children through a maze to a house with an unusual occupant.

Red Hart Magic

1976

A brother and sister by marriage are taken back to the time of King James I in England where their solution of problems there enables them to better deal with some serious peer problems in their own time and with their acceptance of each other as family.

Dragon Mage

2008

Shy realizes that she is lucky to be taken in by her grandparents after her father dies–but life above an antique store in Slade’s Corners, Wisconsin is not exactly the place a teenage girl wants to be. One day while going through boxes of her father’s boyhood stuff, she comes upon a rare old set of dragon puzzles … all of which are missing pieces. Her grandmother recalls the fantastic tales Shy's father would tell about his travels to lands of dragons and adventure. She always thought that these fantasies were inspired by the puzzles Shy has found. Shy realizes that by mixing and matching the different sets she can complete a single dragon puzzle that combines all of the others. Upon doing so she is whisked away to ancient Babylon where she must continue the duties of her father’s legacy as a servant to the dragon and a savior of the world.

Author

Andre Norton

Author · 174 books

Alice Mary Norton always had an affinity to the humanities. She started writing in her teens, inspired by a charismatic high school teacher. First contacts with the publishing world led her, as many other contemporary female writers targeting a male-dominated market, to choose a literary pseudonym. In 1934 she legally changed her name to Andre Alice. She also used the names Andrew North and Allen Weston as pseudonyms. Andre Norton published her first novel in 1934, and was the first woman to receive the Gandalf Grand Master Award from the World Science Fiction Society in 1977, and won the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) association in 1983. Norton was twice nominated for the Hugo Award, in 1964 for the novel Witch World and in 1967 for the novelette "Wizard's World." She was nominated three times for the World Fantasy Award for lifetime achievement, winning the award in 1998. Norton won a number of other genre awards, and regularly had works appear in the Locus annual "best of year" polls. On February 20, 2005, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, which had earlier honored her with its Grand Master Award in 1983, announced the creation of the Andre Norton Award, to be given each year for an outstanding work of fantasy or science fiction for the young adult literature market, beginning in 2006. Often called the Grande Dame of Science Fiction and Fantasy by biographers such as J. M. Cornwell and organizations such as Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Publishers Weekly, and Time, Andre Norton wrote novels for over 70 years. She had a profound influence on the entire genre, having over 300 published titles read by at least four generations of science fiction and fantasy readers and writers. Notable authors who cite her influence include Greg Bear, Lois McMaster Bujold, C. J. Cherryh, Cecilia Dart-Thornton, Tanya Huff, Mercedes Lackey, Charles de Lint, Joan D. Vinge, David Weber, K. D. Wentworth, and Catherine Asaro.