The Witches of Karres: Amazon.ca: James H. Schmitz: Books

Product Description

Captain Pausert thought he had finally made good with his battered starship, successfully selling off odd-ball cargoes no one else could sell. And then he made the mistake of freeing three slave children from their masters (who were suspiciously eager to pan with them). No good deed goes unpunished, and in fact the harmless-looking little girls were three of the notorious Witches of Karres. A rollicking novel from the master of space adventure.

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Customer Reviews

5 Reviews

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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Average Customer Review

4.6 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars To Old Friends, July 17 2004

By

James M. Holtzclaw II (Rock Hill, SC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Witches of Karres (Hardcover)

The Witches of Karres is an old favorite. My old and battered copy has a cover price of 75 cents. Still, wherever I move, I'll take this one with me.

The adventures, or more accurately, the misadventures of Captain Pausert begin with his "rescue" of three young children. Of course, these three, Maleen, Goth, and the Leewit, are his introduction to the Witches of Karres.

While a somewhat predictable space opera, the characters are such a delight that is easily overlooked. Where else does one find 3 witches in the same story? Uh...well that's another story entirely. This one is a light hearted adventure complete with pirates, battle robots, teleportation, spies, and the usual suspects.

The only disappointment is the sequel that was never written. The ending is an obvious setup for one. It appears the continuation of the story is in other hands than Schmitz. May they fare as well.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars My all-time favorite sf book, April 30 2004

By

N. W. Smith (PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Witches of Karres (Paperback)

Poor kind-hearted Captain Pausert thinks he's rescuing 3 child slaves. Turns out the girls are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves and quite adept at creating problems for the captain. I first read this book 30 years ago, and I still chuckle when I think of the delightful interplay between the hapless spaceship captain and his supposedly helpless charges. And Schmitz' description of life on Karres remains my ideal of the way people ought to live. Completely delightful and memorable.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful science fiction story for kids ages 8-100!, Jan 25 2004

By

Roger J. Buffington (Huntington Beach, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Witches of Karres (Paperback)

This is a truly wonderful science fiction novel that will hold the reader's interest from the very first page. And I mean any reader, whether it be a young person just breaking in on reading science fiction novels, or a seasoned adult. This book has something to offer everyone! This is one of the most colorful science fiction tales ever to come down the pike, with vivid characterizations, an incredibly imaginative view of the far future, and the works. It is somewhat like "Star Wars" only much more imaginative and more lighthearted.

This is the story of one Captain Pausert, a merchant spaceship skipper who is somewhat of a ne'er do well, although he is a fundamentally good-hearted man with a knack for getting into trouble. And trouble is what he finds when he runs into the unforgettable "Witches of Karres!" More would be telling, but I promise you, this is a great little story that the reader will never forget. This story is loaded with twists and turns, and is a hilarious and joyous look at the far future, when humankind has spread out across the galaxy along with many alien races, and humans themselves have diverged into very different types of people.

I first read this book when I was in high school, and I still pick it up and re-read it every five or ten years. This is a memorable story, and unfortunately the author never wrote anything else half as good, meaning no disrespect.

There is absolutely no better book than this one to introduce to young readers. Older readers will not be able to put it down either. Some books are like that, and this is one. Although the book never takes itself too seriously, this is an engaging story that in my opinion any reader will appreciate.

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A cozy, dreamlike fantasy space-opera.
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The Witches of Karres is an old-fashioned science-fantasy space opera,
written with a... Read more

Published on Jan 17 2004 by Peter D. Tillman

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic, but not his best
I'll echo the thoughts of all the other reviewers: this is one of the best space operas I've ever read, and I re-read it every few years just because it's so damned fun. Read more

Published on Dec 16 2003 by Joseph A. Knapka