Another Norton double takes us to a dark future in both books of the omnibus.
The first of the books in the omnibus is 'Dark Piper', which sounds vaguely as if it's on the same timeline as the other books in Andre Norton's Korwar books, though it isn't set on that magnificently ornate planet. Instead we're on a rather remote planet with a series of small scientific research posts scattered across it. Despite the project work, there was never a large amount of contact between the people of the planet and the outer galaxy, so when the war came and the guardian patrolmen left, the scientists were largely unconcerned - some even desiring the abandonment even if it meant there was a shortage of technology to run all the labs. The war finally came to an end and a very few of the original drafts returned, including a battered Sector Commander Lugard who it was feared was the forerunner of an imposition of off-world control so everyone was happy to see him take over a deserted military base and left him to his own devices. Vere, just about to take up a position in the Rangers, those tasked to look after the planetary wildlife and the imported off-world mutated animal experiments, also ran an explorer's club for the youngsters, and it's on a trip up to Lugard's new home that the signs of the breakdown of order amongst the stars that Lugard had prophesied was felt as a series of explosions caught the children, Vere and Lugard underground and killing Lugard in a rockfall. From there, the children have to come to terms with their position and the lose of their homes. But what had so denuded their home world of human life so quickly. The off world refugees they'd let in were too few to have done this, surely? But there were those rumours of horror weapons developed in planetary labs. As Vere and his companions explore their newly dangerous homeland, they find out that the deaths of the humans wasn't their most pressing problem - some of the animals were less animal than they were supposed to be and were determined to eliminate the last remnants of humanity.
'Dread Companion' seems to be set in a more ideal time, where Kilda's main problem seemed to be how to find a situation that would suit her intelligence and questing spirit. The position of governess to the two children of a high class Gentle Fem seemed ideal, especially as they were bound off world to join the lady's husband in a new post. But the daughter seemed a little odd. Bartare's imaginary friend, referred to just as She seemed to terrify her younger brother Oomark and as she got more involved in their lives, Kilda found Bartare able to invoke some strange events in her name. But it's not until they become lost in the wilderness of their new homeland that Kilda becomes aware of just how dangerous She is. But where is this strange place, covered in mists and containing strange creatures with powers not know by modern humanity? A strange half and half creature is able to communicate and tells Kilda they are in what was once known as fairyland, and a transformed Oomark seems to conform this. But what about the missing Bartare? A spirit sent into the lands of humanity to lure fresh blood into fairyland is the strange answer. Our trio and the man-beast they are befriended by in fairyland win free to find themselves back on Dylan, where they had started from, but fairy can do strange things to time and it's fifty years since Kilda and the children had disappeared and over a hundred since their companion had arrived there as a First-in Scout! And the passage of time hadn't been kind with an alien attack laying waste to the whole sector to destroy interstellar travel.
Both books are, as you might see, are both a bit of a downer though 'Dread Companion' does end on a somewhat more hopeful note. ( )

Neither of these are Norton's strongest works, but both are readable for all that.

Dark Piper follows the struggles on a small group of children to survive after their research-colony/planet is attacked and all the adults wiped out.

Dread Companion takes a creche-raised librarian turned governess who wants more than life in the stacks on the adventure of a lifetime (and a bit more) as she attempts to drag her two charges back to reality and the planet they've somehow left behind. ( )

Sample Chapters: http://webscriptions.net/chapters/0743498984/0743498984.htm

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