The Beast Master Series
by Andre Norton
(aka) Hosteen Storm
Portrait as Andre saw the Beast Master ~ It used to hang in her living room.
He was a beast master in the now-defunct Patrol. The military (and the need for his talents) was reduced after their defeat of the Xiks, which came only after those aliens had destroyed Terra. All Terrans are being repatriated to other human colonies including Arzor where Storm has arrived. With him he has brought his Team, a Dune Cat, an African Eagle, and two Meercats. These are creatures developed and trained to work in concert with the telepathic beast masters. The eagle is the scout from the air, the meercats the saboteurs, and the cat provides muscle and cunning on the ground.
NOTE: Unbeknown-st to some people there were two full length feature films, a TV show (that ran for three seasons) and one “Made for TV” movie produced. All claim to be based on this Andre Norton Novel. While some Critics thoroughly hated all – some people loved them. All three movies were released in many countries around the world. As for the TV shows there is evidence that they also were released internationally once they were put on DVDs. There are even CDs of the Original Movie Soundtracks available.
For your pleasure we have chosen to add a few interesting things about the spin-offs,
Check out the Movie and TV Show galleries listed below.
View a PDF of the original Movie-rights Agreement signed by Andre.
View a PDF of the TV Series Option Agreement signed by Andre.
The Beast Master ~ 1959;
Hosteen Storm, an Amerindian, whose home planet Terra had been destroyed in an interplanetary war by the ruthless and nonhuman Xiks, was forced to seek a new life elsewhere. His Navajo Indian ancestry had endowed him with the rare trait of communicating with animals so that, during the recent war, he had become Beast Master, one of a handful of scouts who commanded a trained and loyal animal team.
Arzor, the planet to which Storm emigrated, was like Terra in some aspects, but that was not his only reason for choosing it. Unknown to anyone else, he had another purpose – a mission of revenge – to face at last the man who had killed his father.
How Storm slowly works toward his goal, how he is almost drowned by a flash flood when on a survey trip, how he discovers a hold-out pocket of Xiks, and how – armed only with a knife – he meets the Xik leader in hand-to-hand combat, suggest the exciting adventure in this novel that grips and holds the reader from beginning to end.
Andre Norton, acknowledged as one of our leading science-fiction writers, has written a vividly imagined, chillingly taut story that will take its place with her popular Star Gate and Star Guard.
Lord of Thunder ~ 1962;
Why --- at the height of the great dry season when neither man nor beast can long survive away from shelter and water -- should all the native tribes on the planet Arzor be gathering in the sinister and almost unknown country of the Peaks? To find the answer, Hosteen Storm, a Beast Master relocated here after Terra's destruction in a galactic war, is sent into the Peaks on a mission of utmost danger. With his great cat Surra and his African Eagle Baku, a perfect scouting team, Storm and two companions discover a fantastic world underground and an uprising planned against the off-worlders. How can total disaster be averted?
The solution forms the dramatic climax of this superior science fiction by one of its foremost exponents, the author of such previous successes as The Beast Master and Sea Siege.
Beast Master's Ark ~ 2002;
Beast Master Hosteen Storm has endured great perils to carve out a life for himself on Azor, the colony planet he’s called home since the destruction of Earth by the alien Xil. On a planet with alien life forms and untold secrets from its pre-human past, there are always dangers in the wild, especially in the vast desert and rugged mountain region known as Big Blue.
But nobody has ever experienced a threat like the devastating scourge the natives call Death-Which-Comes-In-The-Night. Something is killing grazing animals, and has begun to attack humans as well, leaving nothing behind but the bones of its victims.
Hosteen, aided by his telepathically linked animals, knows that if he can’t stop the killings Azor will be decimated. His only ally is a young woman who has beast master ability, but was raised to mistrust others with such a power. At stake is the safety of all those on Azor and on other colony planets as well. Because Death-Which-Comes-In-The-Night is a scourge that if not stopped here, could spread...
Beast Masters Circus ~ 2004;
Someone is kidnapping the animals of beast masters' teams. On planet after planet, telepathically gifted people are being attacked - some of them murdered - by a conspiracy to take their precious animals.
Laris, an orphan who trains exotic alien creatures for an interstellar circus, knows that somehow her employer is connected to the deadly plot. She also knows that those involved will kill her if she talks.
Beast master Hosteen Storm has heard about the plot, but when the circus comes to Arzor, he doesn't realize his mortal peril. The circus, with its many colorful acts, is danger cloaked in the swirling excitement of the show. Laris loves all animals, and is herself able to communicate with them. When she meets Hosteen and becomes friends with him and his family, she desperately wants to warn him, to save him and his animals. But as the circus nears the end of its stay on Arzor, the deadly plotters prepare to strike at those Laris cares about ... and at her, if she interferes!
Beast Master's Quest ~ 2006;
Laris is a young orphaned ex-refugee, gifted with the beast-master ability allowing her to communicate with animals. Her closest companion is a remarkably intelligent and enigmatic catlike creature named Prauo, whose origin is shrouded in mystery. Laris, having made a home for herself with the Quades, a family of Arzor ranchers, has also become friends with beast masters Tani and Hosteen Storm, who help her develop her beast-master skills.
When Laris inherits a spaceship from a distant relative, she realizes that she might now fulfill her dream of finding Prauo's home planet. But it won't be easy, and she is relieved when she is able to convince her new extended family to embark with her on a journey into the unknown depths of space.
What Laris and her friends find in space, however, tests their beast-master abilities and threatens their lives. Prauo's home world is beset by dangers that the intrepid travelers could not have anticipated. It will take all of their talents and experience to get back to Arzor alive.
Beast Master's Planet ~ 2005;
Omnibus featuring The Beast Master and Lord of Thunder
Beast Master Team ~ 2004;
Omnibus featuring Beast Master's Ark and Beast Master's Circus
