The BookThe Witches of Karres started life in 1949 as a short story, and then in 1965-1966 Schmitz expanded it into a full novel by adding a couple of short novellas. In 2005 Eric Flint did a bit of editing work (Mainly removing a lot of references to smoking and some other points that badly dated the story) and it was released as part of Baen's reissue of Schmitz's most popular works.Witches of Karres is classified as a space opera, but really it's more like a space operetta - Light, fun, and fast-paced, with lots of humour and adventure. There's no real plot here, since the first fifth of the story started life as a separate short story and has little relationship to the plots of the next two sections. But sometimes plot is over-rated, and in this case it serves as nothing more than a bare bones structure to hang a series of adventure on.As a note about the plot -Witches of Karres starts with the captain of an aging but fast tramp freighter rescuing three children with psychic powers from the clutches of an Empire hunting for their homeworld, then escalates rapidly to a space battle against Worm World, a world-sized battleship commanded by a robotic being in black armour. Replace the three little kids with a single princess, drop the Worm Worlders and place the worldship under the command of the Empire, and you have exactly the plot of an early draft of Star Wars. Eventually George Lucas discovered Akira Kurosawa and Joseph Campbell and realised that if he ripped them off instead he'd be a lot less likely to be sued, but elements of Schmitz (and classic space opera in general) are all over early Star Wars.The GoodJames H. Schmitz was a master of transparent prose, the craft of writing sentences and paragraphs that don't draw attention to themselves and let you enjoy the story. He was also an expert at minimalistic character-building, letting characters define themselves through action and dialogue rather than internal monologues or description. Both of these skills were vital for someone who worked as a writer of short stories and novellas.Captain Pausert comes across as a basically decent and highly pragmatic individual without the narrative ever really calling attention to these traits. Pausert simply takes the actions appropriate to a decent and pragmatic young man, and the narrative lets you draw your own conclusions about his character. The same can be said of everyone in this story. We don't need to be told that dread pirate-lord the Agandar is a bad man: We see him doing bad things all while explaining why taking children hostage, drugging and kidnapping people, leading a band of murderous thugs, etc, is all highly rational and the only clever thing for a man to do.More complex narratives can draw more complex characters, but for a compact tale likeWitches a narrative style that sticks closely to 'show don't tell' and simply gets on with the story is exactly the right style.The BadThere's nothing at all wrong with this book, but it definitely a piece of fluff. If you're looking for a complex plot, deep themes, well-developed worldbuilding, or subtle characters, this is not the book for you. Schmitz intended Witches as a light-hearted adventure story and that's exactly what ended up on the pages. If you like fast-paced adventures and basic space opera, you'll like Witches of Karres. If those sort of stories aren't to your taste, then you'll want to give Witches a pass.The ProblematicSo, Goth. The three witches of Karres are Maleen, Goth, and the Leewit (the the being a vital part of her name, and don't you forget it) are fourteen, nine or ten, and six years old respectively. And they've decided that Goth is going to marry Captain Pausert, aged twenty-eight. Not yet, mind you, but still...As pointed out above,Witches of Karres started life as a short story. Specifically, it started out as a humorous adventure story for ages ten to thirteen. A short story with the premise that these three kids have completely screwed over Captain Pausert is right up the alley for that age group, as is ending on the idea that they will continue to screw over Captain Pausert for the rest of his life. (He's actually a lot happier in his new life as an interplanetary rogue then he ever was as a law-abiding citizen of Nikkeldepain, but that's besides the point.)As a premise for a kids-oriented short story, this is fine. Don't think too hard about it, enjoy the story, and move on. As part of a longer novel it becomes a bit... Problematic.Schmitz deals with the problematic aspects in a way that feels appropriate for the light-hearted tone of the story. Captain Pausert is an instinctively decent person. As such he is clearly uncomfortable with the idea and deflects Goth and changes the subject every time it comes up, and his interactions with Goth are all age-appropriate. Goth's behaviour towards Pausert is likewise age-appropriate, and her attitude towards him is not at all 'potential mate material'. In fact, between the three witches it seems to be more a matter of finders keepers. You can imaging the witches saying to their parents "He followed us home We dragged him home, kicking and screaming. Can we keep him?" The narrative of the story gives the idea of marriage a very light treatment, very much a child's eye view of just spending a lot of time with one particular person. It's completely non-sexual.Within the story, the witch-people of Karres organize much of their life around the work of probability calculators, psychic oracles who scan possible futures and provide guidance towards best outcomes. These probability calculators (including Maleen, Goth's older sister) calculate that continued association with Pausert will be good for Goth. They also say that it's not necessarily good for Pausert, but oh well... And thanks to their psychic powers, despite being away from home Goth and her sisters are in reasonably close contact with their parents.Schmitz deals with the problematic material by keeping the treatment of it light and age-appropriate, and providing in-story justifications for why Goth is safe hanging around this older man she's decided to marry in a few years. Whether or not that's enough for the reader is a matter of individual judgement. I will say that I find age-difference fanfics to be highly squicky, and some of Lois McMaster Bujold's May-December pairings border on squick as well for me, but I had no problems with Goth and Captain Pausert.The VerdictHighly recommended. Witches of Karres is both a lot of fun and an opportunity to watch a master of old-school pulp science fiction at work.
Oddly enough, this book first caught my attention because I've been tearing through Eric Flint's 1632 series and noticed Sorceress of Karres shelved alongside them at my local library. Out of curiosity I did some checking on goodreads and was surprised to find that the book was not only a sequel to another author's work but to a book that is now almost 50 years old. Doubly intrigued I reserved a copy and I'm certainly glad I did. This book is a rare gem among older science fiction, particularly the mid-20th century variety, it doesn't show its age with goofy antiquated "future" technology or silly dialects and literally feels as if it could've been written last year. Partly, I suppose that this is because it is as much a fantasy book as a science fiction book, but mostly it's because the author's writing is funny, imaginative, and clever, and his characters are delightfully quirky and likeable.The story follows Captain Pausert, a young man from the very proper sort of planet (Nickeldepain) on his way back from a profitable trade voyage, hoping to repay a rather unfortunate debt and win the right to marry his secret betrothed. His life takes an unexpected turn when he encounters a girl slave being attacked (he thinks) by her master, whom he accosts. Surprisingly, he finds the owner and the planetary authorities practically giving him the strange girl (Maleen), and being a decent sort, the Captain agrees to buy her so he can return her to her home planet, Karres. However, she has other ideas and demands that he free her sisters as well (Goth and The Leewit). Two bizarre (and cheap) exchanges later, the three girls are in his charge and all seems well as he sets course for Karres. However, he's barely off the planet when it becomes clear that the girls not only exceedingly powerful witches (with amusingly bizarre powers) but that wherever he takes them, trouble is bound to follow as Pausert finds himself hunted by practically every malevolent power in the galaxy, from the horrific alien Worm World down to the pirate king Agandar.
What do You think about The Witches Of Karres (2005)?
This is based on a novelette written in 1949, which is charming and unique, and takes up the first two chapters of the book. In 1966 the author decided to extend it into a novel. The extension is readable and acceptable, without quite managing to maintain the spirit of the original story.The story of the young Captain Pausert's meeting with the even younger Witches of Karres is delightful. By now some details are dated, but much of the story is timeless.The book as a whole basically describes the adventures of a young man roaming the galaxy in the company of his magically-enhanced nine-year-old first cousin once removed, who has already declared her intention of marrying him. Modern authors would surely hesitate to work with such a situation, but James H. Schmitz in his innocence grasped the nettle and produced this book.
—Jonathan Palfrey
The best space opera thriller ever written. Bar none. Pausert, a ship's captain (and sole crew member) rescues three young sisters from slavery, on the planet Porlumma, and agrees to take them to their home on Karres. Suddenly Pausert is the focus of unwelcome attention, and slowly he realizes the citizens of Karres possess abilities desired by many, understood by few. Chased from one star system to the next, Pausert and one of the sisters, Goth, must stay alert, alive, and figure out how to handle yet another menace, the mysterious Nuris, as well as a space pirate who is in hot pursuit. Humor and creativity abound in this book, and for those who never thought they could enjoy sci-fi, this is the book for you. Schmitz' writing is solid--he creates distinctive personalities quickly, easily, and then gets out of the way; even tertiary characters get respect. The story unfolds at a fast pace, yet there's no sense of deliberate rush or obvious manipulation by the author. One anachronism: Pausert occasionally lights up a cigarette. The only negative: Schmitz never wrote a sequel. He did, however, write a number of other books and short stories, many--if not most--featuring smart, strong-willed women as the main protagonist
—Charlotte Hunter
This is one of those semi-forgotten underground classics that, like many people, I'd heard of but never read or indeed even seen available anywhere. So I was reasonably pleased to find a copy on my most recent foray to the used bookstore. Calling this science fiction is really to distort the term beyond all meaning, this is a perfect example of what is sometimes referred to as science fantasy. Sure, there are spaceships and ray guns and various unexplained technological devices but there are also fantastic magical powers, creatures from beyond our universe and the fate of worlds resting on a bumbling starship captain and a few young girls. Throw in some angry planetary spirits, ancient robots and planet sized battleships and you've got a first rate space opera in the classic style. This book is all about the fun. There's no deeper message, no working out the implications of a new technology or scientific discovery, just a man and three rescued slaves trying to get home and having whacky adventures along the way. Sometimes, that's all we want from a book, and Witches delivers just that.
—Leons1701
