Tales from High Hallack ― The Collected Short Stories of Andre Norton

Stories and poems from one of the greatest imaginations in literary history

Each year, Garner’s troupe makes its way to Ithkar Fair. The actors charm the crowd, winning applause and lavish reward, but none captures the audience’s imagination like the yellow-eyed, silver-haired girl whose performance conceals pain that few can understand. She is a Quintka—her coloring makes that plain—and yet even Garner, who has seen more of the world than anyone, can unlock the secrets of her unknown father, who left her mother to sacrifice herself to save the child. As she passes her seventeenth birthday, the mystery of her past drives her into danger, as she fights to find answers that no mortal should possess.

“Swamp Dweller” is a classic Andre Norton story—lush, thrilling, and impossible to put down. Like the others in this invaluable volume, it is more than mere escapism—it is an entrancing look into another world.

For well over a half century, Andre Norton was one of the most popular science fiction and fantasy authors in the world. With series such as Time Traders, Solar Queen, Forerunner, Beast Master, Crosstime, and Janus, as well as many standalone novels, her tales of adventure have drawn countless readers to science fiction. Her fantasy novels, including the bestselling Witch World series, her Magic series, and many other unrelated novels, have 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. An Ohio native, Norton lived for many years in Winter Park, Florida, and died in March 2005 at her home in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.