Beast Master's Ark - Andre Norton & Lyn McConchie Book Review

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Review Summary

Tor, Jun 2002, 23.95, 318 pp.
ISBN: 0765300419

Death-which-Comes-in-the-Night is as deadly a killer as anyone will find. The creature hunts its prey in darkness, but leaves no traces that it has dined except the totally cleansed bones of the victim. No one has lived to tell anything about this deadly scourge that eradicates populations with ease.

Death-which-Comes-in-the-Night assaults and feeds from the people of planet Arzor. Native American soldier Storm, who barely survived the Zik destruction of Earth, wants to stop the creature from razing his new home world and is willing to use his Beast Master skills to defeat the invincible foe. He needs help and it seems to have arrived with Tani, a genetic engineer from off-planet. Tani's mother does not want her daughter to follow the path of her deceased husband, a dedicated Beast Master; the lass grew up to hate Beast Masters, not knowing she is one of them. Only if these two individuals team up can they halt more than just a dangerous creature. They must try to stop a interstellar conspiracy that if successful will destroy all the human planets.

After a forty year void, Andre Norton (and Lyn McConchie) returns to her Beast master novels (see THE BEAST MASTER and LORD OF THUNDER) with the highly exciting BEAST MASTER'S ARK. The story line is loaded with action that never slows down though there are no major surprises as the tale plays out, as the audience would expect. Still readers will cheer the heroes and wonder what this Death-which-Comes-in-the-Night truly is. Fans will want a fourth book and the reprinting of the first two novels.

Harriet Klausner

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar

Detailed literary breakdown of Beast Master's Ark

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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 10%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 10%

Tone of book - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story
Inner Struggle Yes
Plotlet: - change of heart
Adversaries are… - giant monsters
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
GIANT monster(s) Yes

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - explorer
Age: - 20's-30's
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - An "It".
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount

Setting
A substantial portion of this book takes place on a non-Earth planetary body: - humans in a futuristic society
Planet outside solar system? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
scientific jargon? (SF only) - a fair amount of scientific explanation
How much dialogue? - significantly more dialog than descript

Most similar books to Beast Master's Ark
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The Food of the Gods by H.G. Wells
Cretaceous Sea by Will Hubbell

Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).

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