The Wizard of Karres

August 1, 2004
A sequel to James Schmitz's cult classic " The Witches of Karres" (1966), this collaboration continues the saga of Captain Pausert and his ship, the " Venture," now on its way to the imperial capital, smuggling Hantis, the Nartheby Sprite, and her " grik-dog," Pul, past imperial security. The nanite plague that decimated Hantis' people long ago has reached the empire, which aims to foil its invasion. Pausert attracts the attention of a little " vatch," occasionally useful but often just mischievous, and then they are captured on Pidoon during a routine fueling stop. Thereafter, realizing more thorough disguise is necessary, they head to Vaudevillia. There they secure passage and jobs with Petey, Byrum & Keep, the Greatest Show in the Galaxy, and proceed to the imperial capital--slowly, of course, because the show must go on, regularly. This satisfying revival of Schmitz's fantastic characters is entertaining enough, even if one lacks knowledge of its progenitor; the Leewit and Goth, in particular, are made for circus living.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)

November 1, 2004
Adult/High School-James H. Schmitz's The Witches of Karres, a far-future space opera combining screwball comedy with psi powers, has remained one of science fiction/fantasy's best-loved classics since its first publication in the 1960s. Decades of readers have been disappointed that Schmitz himself never revisited his richly imagined universe, but now there's a sequel that should satisfy all but the most nit-picking fans. Wizard seamlessly picks up the story where Witches ended, sending the still overly honest Captain Pausert and his oddly assorted crew of spies and precocious child-witches on a new mission to save humanity (and friends) from imminent disaster. Soon they are pursued by competing Empire factions, pirates, and alien gremlins, all with agendas of their own. Much of the time, the gang hides in plain sight-in an intergalactic traveling showboat/circus, working as sideshow artistes and Shakespearian thespians (the Bard would have been delighted with these productions of his plays). Though the plot might seem at first to be hurtling randomly from crisis to crisis, soon the elements come together in a wacky Karres sort of way that matches Schmitz's narrative style and high standard of humor, imagination, and absurdity. To bring new readers up to speed, numerous references to the first book are skillfully worked into the narrative; for those already familiar with Karres, Wizard expands satisfyingly upon many elements of that universe that Schmitz merely touched upon. Fans of humorous science fiction will enjoy this outing.-Christine C. Menefee, Fairfax County Public Library, VA

Copyright 2004 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.