This tale set on an alien planet could almost be a fantasy given the setting of a feudal society in which warlords scheme against each other and an outsider race who were once dominant but have become roamers, preferring to live in symbiosis with animals. It starts with the male protagonist, Krip Vorlund, who goes to a 'beast show' while ashore: from a Free Trader ship, he and his comrades are meant to look out for trade goods that might sell well offworld. They have come at a time when a fair is held, and the rules of the fair mean that the various warlords are not meant to cause trouble, the fair being neutral ground - but a hothead son of one of the warlords is encouraged to do so in an attempt to win over the others, egged on by offworlders from a rival ship.

The book then switches between his viewpoint and that of Maelen, the alien woman from the outsider race, who runs the beast show. The intelligent animals that accompany her are friends with whom she shares a mental bond. Maelen is approached by a representative of the troublemaking ship who wants her to lure Krip - she doesn't co-operate but inadvertantly is drawn into a sequence of events which involve kidnapping, murder, body swaps into animals, raids on peaceful settlements and her having to answer to her own superiors for what she has been compelled to do.

After finishing the book, I found out it was the start of a series and this didn't surprise me as the ending is a set up for such - as Maelen has to go offplanet with Krip, in beast form to atone for what she has done. I didn't find the story compelling sadly; I really enjoy the author's Witch World series, but somehow couldn't get into the characters and didn't find the motivation of the various villains believable. So can only rate it as 2 stars. ( )

This is the story of Krip Vorlund, a Free Trader, and Maelen, a Singer of the Thassa people of the planet Yiktor. Krip came to Yiktor hoping, as all young Free Traders do, to stumble across something that might make his fortune. He finds himself drawn to a beast show (basically a circus, although the text makes it sound more mystical than that) run by a beautiful and mysterious Thassa woman named Maelen. Maelen's goal is to one day add a barsk (a dangerous dog-like creature) to her group of "little people," and to one day perhaps take her beast show to space and other planets.

Unfortunately for both Krip and Maelen, there are dangerous politics at work, people who want power and the advanced weaponry Free Traders have access to (or so I understood - I admit that I lost track of the political aspects after a while). Maelen, her motivations a tangle, saves Krip's life but leaves him so changed that he wonders if it was worth it. The question then, is whether she can manage to make things right again, and what the ultimate price will be.

I have some nostalgic feelings where Norton's works are concerned. I fell in love with her Star Ka'at and Witch World books when I was in the 5th grade. However, it's been about that long since I last read a lot of her stuff (I reread Breed to Come in late 2019, but that's about it), and there were many of her works I never read. Although the title of Moon of Three Rings sounded familiar, I'm pretty sure this was my first time reading it.

Although this wasn't terrible, it was a chore to get through. I disliked the writing style - the characters spoke like they'd just stepped out of a high fantasy story, and it was occasionally a struggle to understand what they were saying. The pacing was slow, and I didn't particularly like or connect with any of the characters, although Maelen gradually became more interesting as the story progressed.

I will say this, at least: the story didn't at all go in the direction I thought it would, when Maelen and Krip first met. Maelen, who initially seemed like she'd be some infallible mystical woman, turned out to be very fallible (but still mystical, with telepathy and other powers), and the wishes and hopes she hid from Krip and even, to a certain extent, from herself ended up causing a big and bloody mess.

I didn't realize, going in, that this was the first book in a series. It might be interesting to see how things turn out for the characters in the later books, but I'd really rather not subject myself to more of that "high fantasy-like, but in space" writing style, so I'll be stopping here.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) ( )

Another Year of Nostalgic Re-reads entry... I don't know how many times I borrowed this from our tiny town library as a pre-teen. Forty plus years later, it hasn't aged well - or I aged differently. I give Ms. Norton an extra star for this one because her writings helped develop my love of science fiction at a young age. ( )

An interesting story of a spaceman on an alien world, in the style of both SciFi and Fantasy, due to the natives' magical abilities being on display. It's a slow-starting tale that is both predictable and not: I guessed correctly about how one situation would be resolved, but was also surprised by other elements within the story. Although it was published 50 years ago, unlike a recent read of a book by Heinlein, from the same era, this one is not dated at all. Overall, I enjoyed my read, and I plan to seek out the next book in the series. ( )

I first read this in High School. I can't remember how many times I checked it out from the library. I thought it a most magical and wondrous story. A great blend of sci-fi and fantasy. I went on a quest of my own and found the exact library copy from the great evil Amazon. I read the book again a few years ago. I still love it and think its a most magical and wondrous story. You will never change my mind.
And through the joys of the interwebs I discovered 3 more books to follow! ( )