Paul here. That is a toughie narrowing it down to ten. 38 years ago at the tender age of 8, I was an indifferent reader. Then I found Andre Norton's THE STARS ARE OURS. I was hooked for life (incidentally, I now own the very copy of this book I first checked out all those years ago-my name was still on the card in the pocket) So, that one is definitely on the list. WITCH WORLD--Just because it's sooooo awesome. MOON OF THREE RINGS (my company's name [with the Lady's permission, of course]), THE X FACTOR (saved my life), FOLLOW THE DRUM--fabulous story(interestingly enough, considering the genres of most of Norton' stories, this is the one I reread the most)Now I can read it in hardcover. MIRROR OF DESTINY- best of the "senses" books. SCARFACE-- a definite page turner. Now it gets rougher. I have to go with series(my favorite listed in each case)--SARGASSO OF SPACE(and the rest of the SOLAR QUEEN books), KEY OUT OF TIME(and the rest of the time war series) THE ZERO STONE(and sequel)
There are so many more that are excellent books and characters that deserve better treatment than being left off of a top ten list. My apologies to Shann Lantee, Lorens van Norreys, Drew Rennie, Naill Renfro, Hosteen Storm, Blake Walker, Simsa and Thom Chan-li and all the rest of my nearest and dearest friends created by the greatest of all writers. Haven't met a Norton novel, novella, short story, or poem that I didn't like. She is the best, regardless of genre!
Shameless plug time--Another favorite is the recent anthology CATFANTASTIC V. It contains my only(so far) published story.
Later kind folks--Paul