Andre Norton's [The Crystal Gryphon] is an outright tale of sword-and-sorcery….

To tell this story the author has plunged fully into the epic world of Tolkien and [William] Morris, of archaisms and Teutonic phrasing, of birthings, healcraft, wife-right, ensorcelling and signs of the Power. It is a world where chance and coincidence operate on the hero's side, so that miraculous escapes and helpful finds are designed to show that fate rather than luck is at work…. This is an outstanding fantasy of the kind which works on symbolic as well as narrative levels, and one of the most carefully and consistently presented works this author has given us in recent years. (p. 179)