Fur Magic
The Magic Sequence, Book 3
Andre Norton
Open Road Media
Fiction, MG Fantasy
***+ (Okay/Good)
DESCRIPTION: When Cory's dad is sent to Vietnam, he is sent to live with foster uncle Jasper, a Nez Perce Indian living on a working Appaloosa ranch out West. Cory thought it would be a great adventure, like something out of a book - but, since the moment he arrived, he's been nothing but afraid. Every shadow might hide a cougar or a wolf. He couldn't stay seated on a horse, and lacked the courage to try again. Even Jasper seems to have given up on him, leaving him behind at the ranch house to wait for the elderly medicine man Black Elk, due down from the hills any day now. Then Cory accidentally breaks the man's "medicine bag," a terrible desecration that he demands the boy fix... and the next thing Cory knows, he's in the body of the beaver scout Yellow Shell, in a lost world from native tales when the animals walked and lived as men. The Changer Coyote's minions are on the warpath, and the peaceful tribes of the land fear he means to turn the world over as has been prophesied, with the Old People falling to little more than slaves before a new master species. Yellow Shell and Cory must find courage they never knew they had to survive a journey straight out of legend, one to save his people and the other to return home.
REVIEW: I read this long ago, but reread it as part of an online book challenge. It has not aged particularly well, unfortunately. Though Norton likely intended this to be an homage to Native American culture, it comes across as stiff and stereotyped when read today; apparently, Indians - or animals standing in for Indians - are entirely without humor or joy, concerned solely with coup-counting and medicine energy and the bare basics of tribal survival... but, then, white boy Cory's not much more rounded himself. (Norton also refers to the animal-tribe women as "squaws," which as I understand it is an offensive term, especially these days when we white people should know better. Yes, we should've known better then, too...) Cory often disappears into the mind of Yellow Shell, resurfacing only at key moments; as a passenger, he learns what it means to be brave, to study the land, to rely on himself, and to bring honor to one's family and peers. Often, though, he's muddling through medicine that's way over the heads of both beaver and boy; the climax in particular sees him reduced to almost observer status through much of it, and the rules at play are unclear save as the odd gut instinct. The wrap-up seems abrupt (which is all I can say without spoilers.) The tale has plenty of adventure and some nice descriptions - I was surprised how much I remembered, actually, so those parts clearly made an impression - but in this day and age it induces enough cringes to temper enjoyment somewhat. (I also couldn't help wondering how the concept would play out in the hands of a Native American writer in modern times.)
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Dragon Magic (Andre Norton) - My Review
Coyote's Daughter (Corie Weaver) - My Review
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