• Witch World

  • Witch World, Book 1
  • By: Andre Norton
  • Narrated by: Nick Podehl
  • Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (362 ratings)

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Witch World  By  cover art

Witch World

By: Andre Norton
Narrated by: Nick Podehl
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Publisher's summary

Andre Norton enthralled readers for decades with thrilling tales of people challenged to the limits of their endurance in epic battles of good against evil. None are more memorable than her Witch World novels.

Simon Tregarth, a man from our own world, escapes his doom through the gates to the Witch World. There he aids the witch Jaelithe's escape from the hounds of Alizon, only to find himself embroiled in a deeper war against an even deadlier foe: the Kolder.

©1986 Andre Norton (P)2010 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about Witch World

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    154
  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
    65
  • 2 Stars
    31
  • 1 Stars
    6
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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    118
  • 4 Stars
    87
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    52
  • 2 Stars
    19
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Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    144
  • 4 Stars
    70
  • 3 Stars
    51
  • 2 Stars
    14
  • 1 Stars
    5

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful

I had read the Witch World books many years ago and enjoyed them at that time. The enjoyment of the series has been rekindled with this audio version. It was enjoyable to be reintroduced to Simon Tregarath and the Witches of Estcarp. I hope that a number of the other books are brought out. The narrator does a wonderful job with reading the book.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Lo-o-o-ove Andre Norton

I was introduced to Andre Norton a few months ago, and this has reopened my love for old-fashioned sci-fi... The twists, the imagination - wow... Love the different style that Andre Norton adopts.

I love driving, but now I love the audio books that go with the trip :) This is simply a "must-have" for your audio library...

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

I just couldn't keep listening

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I think the best thing that could have been done would be to change the narrator. I just couldn't listen to this narration. It was very irritating and grating and quite monotone. I listen to LOTS of audiobooks and love them but I only made it to Chapter 6 and I just couldn't listen anymore.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Another Patrick Rothfuss....I was very impressed.

What didn’t you like about Nick Podehl’s performance?

monotone, no real emotion, grating and irritating

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

annoyance and disappointment that I had wasted money on it.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

A sci-fi classic or is that sci-fantasy?

With the benefit of 20-20 hindsight it is easy to say how could anyone not know author Andre Norton was a woman? There is a lyricism to the prose and a subtle focus upon issues of control and power that only a woman of Norton's era (or perhaps any era) could fully appreciate and covertly address. The story is straightforward adventure without many big surprises, but this classic conflict of magic versus a mechanistic society still endures and intrigues, setting the stage for a franchise that only gets better as it goes.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An Old Favorite

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I am so thrilled to find that Audiobooks has the first three books in the Witch World series!!!! I owned the collection years ago, and just dearly loved the stories. However, time passes, and I no longer have the collection (my bad). Thank you, Thank you, Audible, for carrying these awesome stories!!! I am soooo looking forward to hearing my old friends spring back to life!

What other book might you compare Witch World to and why?

There is no comparison. Andre Norton ROCKS!!!

Which scene was your favorite?

I just could not tell you. From the aeries to the runes to the ancient places of power, the adventures the characters go on enthrall me and hold me spell-bound.

Any additional comments?

Sure wish these books would be made into movies. They would be AWESOME!!! Harry Potter has NOTHING on Witch World!!!

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Witch World on audio!

Andre Norton's Witch World series is one of my favorites. I have enjoyed her books for over 40 years and was very happy to see the first three books of the Witch World series show up on audio. I'd be thrilled if more of her books came to Audible. (Note to Audible: Please release more of Andre's books. : ) I read a lot of her books, and it was wonderful to return to this world via audio.

The Witch World is a mix of fantasy and science fiction. It has magic and technology, travel between worlds, and good versus evil. It has strong male AND female characters-this was NOT a common occurrence in 1963 when this book was written. #GoodVsEvil #MagicSystems #PortalFantasy #Magical #HappyEnding #Tagsgiving #Sweepstakes

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • LN
  • 03-06-13

Disappointing performance

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I love Witch World, it's one of my favorite books, and certainly one of my favorites of Norton's books. Her writing and story in this first book of the Witch World are stellar, usng Celtic mythology to weave a story of a man who finds his true life on another world. What I couldn't stand was Podehl's narration.

Would you be willing to try another one of Nick Podehl’s performances?

No. His delivery is lifeless, and he mispronounced words. He has no sense of phrasing, and seems to be merely reading the story instead of performing it. I'm also not fond of the tenor of his voice, I find it a bit whiny, but that's just my ear, and has nothing to do with his lack of performance.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

great story

I just love Andre Norton's witch world series-- Glad to see they are going audio-- looking forward to listening to more--

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Which World?

I know I read this book when I was a child, but I don’t remember anything about it. So everything is new to me as I listen to the book. I’m about 2 hours in & I’m not going to be able to finish. 1st, there are too many weird(invented) place & people names that I can’t remember very well when I’m only hearing the names rather than reading the text. They just go in 1 ear & out the other. And the 2nd major thing is, the world Simon escapes to is at war. There is no build up or even any explanation of why they are at war, they just are. Plus there are time jumps that are not adequately accounted for. Just all of a sudden, it’s 7 years later. Maybe I wasn’t so critical as a child, but I just can’t listen to the rest.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Classic Andre Norton - superb

Engaging with Norton's sweeping and detailed style of storytelling. Very well read. Captivates the imagination.

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2 people found this helpful