Star Ka`ats and the Winged Warriors
~ 4th Novel in the Star Ka`at Series by Andre Norton
Written with Dorothy Madlee
Synopsis ~
Write-up from the front flap of 1981 dustjacket ~
When Jim Evans and Elly Mae Brown joined forces with the superior and benevolent race of ka’ats, a large contingent of earth cats joined them in their journey from Earth to the ka’at home on the planet Zimmorrah. Elly Mae and Jim quickly proved their usefulness and contentment with the ka’ats. Some of the earth cats, however, found the adjustment difficult, with disturbing effects.
Seeking to utilize the combative talents of a group of the discontented earth cats, Jim and Elly Mae join Tiro and Mer and others on an interplanetary journey to another ka’at colony where life forms have grown to monstrous proportions and have been nearly exterminated the struggling ka’at colonist. Bees the size of large dogs, wasps bigger that wild turkeys, and praying mantises taller than Jim attack the travelers and seek to destroy them.
In this new adventure – the fourth in the noted Star Ka’at series – the distinguished science/fiction novelist Andre Norton and her co-author Dorothy Madlee, create a suspenseful drama that underscores the need for peace and harmony among living beings.
Write-ups from fans ~
Some of the Earth Cats are finding themselves in trouble with the elder brothers of the Star Ka'ats because they cannot give up their ways of hunting and killing. The Star Ka'ats consider hunting as uncivilized and criminal. When they travel to another world to check on a colony of long ago, they discover monstrous insects at war with the remnant population of the Star Ka'ats who have had to change their ways in order to survive. Elly Mae and Jim along with a scout party of Cats and Ka'ats search for the spaceship reputed to have landed just before the bug war began. They find the crew of the alien ship all dead, but a machine is still running which was supposed to revive their sleeping colonist. It's the machine that has caused the mutation of the insects and given them their ferocious attitudes. Elly Mae and Jim, with the help of "Boots" an Earth cat manage to move the leaver which turns off the machine. ~ SL
In this last book in the series, there is trouble on Zimmorreh. Some of the cats transplanted from Earth have not acclimatized to the peaceful ways of the Ka'ats. They want to hunt and kill like they were used to doing. This behavior is illegal on Zimmorrah. The high council decides to take some of the dissidents to one of the many colony worlds settled by the Ka'ats many years ago. They take Jim and Elly Mae to serve as hands if necessary. When they get there, they are attacked by beetles the size of German Shepherds and wasps the size of turkeys along with many other insects of similar size. They finally locate the remnants of the colony which is in dire straits. They learn of a spaceship crash many years before that seemed to have caused all if the local wildlife to grow to immense proportions. Our intrepid band finds the wreckage an manage to stop the emanations that had caused the mutations. They hope that with time that the large insects will gradually revert to normal size. They leave the now-happy misfits to help guard the colony. The End. ~ PG
Reviews ~
Various reviews ~ For more info and other listings see Articles Over the Years
1981 by M. Chatman in School Library Journal, August
2020 by Judith Tarr
Bibliography of English Editions ~
- (1981) Published by Walker, HC, 0-802-76416-9, LCCN 81011692, $8.95, 123pg ~ cover & illustrations by Jean Jenkins Loewer {Gray Paper Boards}
Note: Star Ka'ats and the Winged Warriors which is the hardest to find as it was never released in paperback, no matter what "Books In Print" reported. I actually was able to talk with someone at the publisher and was told that Dorothy Madlee had passed away just as they were printing Winged Warriors but before the PB. They could not figure where to send the royalties for the PB and so the PB never got printed. For two years, it was listed as being "In print" and had an ISBN assigned to it. ~ PG
- (2017) Published by Worldbuilders Press, DM, no ISBN, $2.99, ~ cover by Matt Forsyth
- Star Ka'ats (2020) Published by Worldbuilders Press, DM, no ISBN, $5.99, 238pg ~ cover by Matt Forsyth ~ Omnibus containing Star Ka`at (1976), Star Ka`at World (1978), Star Ka`ats and the Plant People (1979) and Star Ka`ats and the Winged Warriors (1981)
Non-English Editions ~
- (1984) Published in Copenhagen, Denmark; by Tellerup, PB, 87-588-0052-2, 79pg ~ translated by Bjarne Skovlund ~ Danish title Telekattene og de flyvende fjender [The telecats and flying enemies]
Russian Omnibus Editions ~
- (1995) Combined with "Star Ka'at World" "Star Ka'ats and the Plant People" and "Star Ka'ats and the Winged Warriors" ~ Published in Moscow, by Sigma Press and Zelenograd, by Zelenogradskaya Books, 5-859-49054-2, HC, 320pg ~ translation by Dmitry Arseniev ~ Russian title Мир звёздных ко'отов [Star Ka'at World]
Contains:
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- "Star Ka'at" as "Star Co'ot" ~ translation by D. Arseniev, pp. 3-76
- "Star Ka'at World" as "The World of Star Co'ot" ~ translation by D. Arseniev, pp. 76-160
- "Star Ka'ats and the Plant People" as "Star co'otes and intelligent plants" ~ translation by D. Arseniev, pp. 160-229
- "Star Ka'ats and the Winged Warriors" as "Star co'ots and winged warriors" ~ translation by D. Arseniev, pp. 229-318
Ukrainian Omnibus Editions ~
- (2017) Published in Kyiv, Ukraine by Globe (Fanzine) ~ cover by Sandara Tang ~ Ukrainian title Прославляя Короля. Звёздные ко’оты [Praising the King. Star Co'ot] ~ Limited to 10 copies
Contains:
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- "The Shadow of Albion" as "Shadow of Albion" ~ translation by O. Stepashkina, pp. 5-295
- "Leopard in Exile" as "Leopard in exile" ~ translation by N. Nekrasova, pp. 297-566
- "Star Ka'at" as "Star Co'ot" ~ translation by D. Arseniev, pp. 567-608
- "Star Ka'at World" as "The World of Star Co'ot" ~ translation by D. Arseniev, pp. 609-657
- "Star Ka'ats and the Plant People" as "Star co'otes and intelligent plants" ~ translation by D. Arseniev, pp. 659-699
- "Star Ka'ats and the Winged Warriors" as "Star co'ots and winged warriors" ~ translation by D. Arseniev, pp. 701-752
View the Original contract
View the original Copyright app.
View the 2004 Russian contract ~ no publishing data at this time
For information on editions currently available visit the Book Store
https://www.andre-norton.com/works-of-a-master/series-of-a-master/the-star-ka-at-series/316-star-ka-ats-and-the-winged-warriors#sigProId802b90a695
Interior Illustrations;
https://www.andre-norton.com/works-of-a-master/series-of-a-master/the-star-ka-at-series/316-star-ka-ats-and-the-winged-warriors#sigProId6544907927