Summer of Sword and Sorcery Week 8

Web of the Witch World by Andre Norton.  I don't think Norton's Witch World books are widely read anymore, which is a shame being as they're pretty cool.  As was often the case in the era, they mix sci-fi technology (in this case the alien race the Kolder, the villains of the piece) and magic (the psychic powers of the titular witches, which ranges from classic EPS to full-on sorcery).  This is the second book in the series, the sequel to Witch World, and it picks up so immediately on the heels of book one that they might as well be under one cover (and they are, in my copy).  Like its predecessor, I found it a little hard to follow at times with all its twists and turns, and the somewhat rushed feel that often appears in Norton, and I found it more interesting in retrospect than in the immediate moment.  It definitely reads more like a chapter in a series, rather than a standalone novel (which, of course, it is).  I like Judith Tarr's observation: "This is not your standard medievalist fantasy. It’s like a mashup of H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine, classic swords and sorcery, political intrigue, and a little inarticulate romance. Simon and Jaelithe are not demonstrative, but they are deeply bonded—emotionally and magically. It’s that bond that carries through everything that happens, and ends up saving them all."  As always, Norton's characters are more human, not superheroic, and there are good male and female characters (much of the plot deals with hero Simon Tregarth's fears when his wife, Jaelithe suddenly begins to manifest magical powers previously thought to have been lost), and both Simon and Jaelithe undergo growth and transformation in the course of the novel.

"Two Suns Setting" by Karl Edward Wagner. Kane, having left his most recent HQ under the usual suspicious circumstances, encounters a giant, one of the last of a dying race, and helps his new friend in the quest for an artifact he hopes will restore glory to his people.  This tale gives us a slightly more sympathetic Kane (though he does at one point wonder if it would be in his best interests to betray the big guy) and has a slightly bittersweet quality that's unusual for an s&s tale.  Highlight: Kane and the giant debate the virtues of the human race vs the races which preceded them.