The Witches of Karres, by James H. Schmitz

Just finished The Witches of Karres, a Hugo Award nominee for 1967. These 60's stories are a bit old fashinoned, but this one holds up reasonably well. It's basically a fantasy story set with spaceships, putting it as a precursor to "Star Wars" and other "galactic fantasy" stories (c.f. Mercedes Lackey). I'm not always a big fan of this particular strain, but I like it if the characters are well-done. And the ones in The Witches of Karres are. Captain Pausert is quite a likeable guy, as he copes with acquiring witch-like powers. So are the little witches. It's a fun read, easy to recommend, and probably could have won an award if it had been recognized more for the Nebula-type story that it is.