EXOTIC GEMS AND VALUABLE OILS WERE THE LURES THAT DREW THE SPACE TRADER SOLAR QUEEN TO THE NEW PLANET SERGOL - AND ALSO CALLED FORTH THEIR MOST RUTHLESS COMPETITOR. THE SOLAR QUEEN'S MEN TRIED TO PLAY FAIR - EVEN ACCORDING TO THE SLY RULES OF SARGOL'S FELINE PEOPLE - BUT AFTER TAKEOFF THE REAL ASSAULT BEGAN.
FOR THE SOLAR QUEEN'S MOST DESPERATE HOURS WERE TO COME WHEN THE SHIP AND IT'S CREW WERE BRANDED PARIAHS OF THE STARS - TO BE DESTROYED AT SIGHT. IN THE STORY OF PLAGUE SHIP, ANDRE NORTON, WRITING UNDER THE PEN NAME ANDREW NORTH, HAS PRODUCED A TENSE AND TERRIFIC SPACE ADVENTURE,
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The second 'Solar Queen' adventure,
By E. A. Lovitt "starmoth" (Gladwin, MI USA) - See all my reviews (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER) (TOP 100 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Plague Ship (Paperback)
"Plague Ship" (1956) is the second 'Solar Queen' adventure, and sequel to "Sargasso of Space." Norton's four-book series about the trader-crew of the Solar Queen ended in 1969 with "Postmarked the Stars" but beware! Lesser authors have butted into the series, presumably with Norton's permission since this remarkable Gandalf Grand Master of Fantasy and Nebula Grand Master just recently passed away on March 17, 2005 after a long and extremely fruitful career (her first novel was published in 1934, her latest fantasy in 2005).
One Solar Queen rip-off to avoid at all costs is "Redline: the Stars." Norton's Solar Queen stories are told from the viewpoint of Dane Thorson, an apprentice-Cargo Master who is introduced in "Sargasso of Space," the first Solar Queen novel, as a "lanky, very young man in an ill-fitting Trader's tunic." Most of this author's heroes and heroines are young, uncertain of themselves, shy, with a tendency to trip over their own enthusiasms and load themselves up with guilt at the slightest opportunity. They are very likeable and their adventures are narrated in remarkably lean prose with just the right touch of description. After ten years of schooling, orphan Dane Thorson is assigned via a computer analysis of his psychological profile--not to a safe berth on a sleek Company-run starship that his classmates were vying for--but to a battered tramp of a Free Trader. To say that the 'Solar Queen' "lacked a great many refinements and luxurious fittings which the Company ships boasted" was an understatement. But she was a tightly-run ship and what she lacked in refinement, she made up for in adventure. Dane soon settles in under Cargo Master Van Rycke and learns "to his dismay what large gaps unfortunately existed in his training." Sometimes I just want to give Dane a big hug. "Plague Ship" takes the crew of the 'Solar Queen' to Sargol, where the enigmatic feline natives seem very reluctant to trade away their fabulous scented gemstones. When Dane Thorson discovers an herb that the Salariki are willing to swap for their gems, he fears that his eagerness to make a trade breakthrough might have poisoned a native child. That becomes the least of his worries when the 'Solar Queen' blasts off from Sargol with invisible, undetectable stowaways that would brand the free traders anathema to all inhabited worlds. In space, the more senior members of the Solar Queen's crew succumb to a strange plague that resembles sleeping sickness. Dane and his fellow-apprentices, with the assistance of Captain Jellico's Hoobat (a sort of blue parrot-lizard, or at least that's how I've always pictured it) discover the source of the plague: venomous hitch-hikers from Sargol. "It walked erect on two threads of legs...a bulging abdomen sheathed in the horny substance of a beetle's shell ended in a sharp point." It was only about a foot-and-a-half high and could change color like a chameleon. The Hoobat kills and eats the first creature, and then the hunt is on for others of its kind. Even with the source of the sleeping sickness discovered, the Solar Queen's young apprentices must still convince the rest of the galaxy that they are not a plague ship--and therefore eligible to be destroyed on sight without warning. The Solar Queen novels are prime representatives of Norton's lean action-packed brand of story-telling (at least the ones she solo-authored.) If you haven't read them since you were a teen-ager, I urge you to try them again. For a few pleasant hours, you will be immersed in the adventures of a likeable, feisty band of free traders on exotic, carefully-drawn alien worlds.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Swift and sure action/adventure by one of the best,
By
This review is from: Plague Ship (Mass Market Paperback)
This is one of the Solar Queen novels, which chronicles the adventures of Dane Thorson and crew as they travel the galaxy on a Free Trade vessel. In this one, they visit the planet Sargol. It is populated by feline-like beings, who control the supply of a rare gem found on their planet. Thorson doubts the Solar Queen has anything that the Salariki (Sargol natives) will want in exchange for the gems, but he is wrong. The object that captures the Salariki attention is unexpected, but logical. Of course, the Queen has very little quantity of the item on board, as it was present only for the benefit of one certain passenger. Plans are made to lift off and return with more, but plans are interrupted when a rival I-S ship arrives, seeking claim to the precious gems. That distraction is handled, and the Queen lifts off with a contract in hand. But shortly after, crew members begin to become sick, one by one.
The nature of the mysterious illness becomes the focus of the story, and the Queen is quickly branded a "plague ship" by authorities. That brand means certain doom for the ship and crew, unless they can discover an alternative source for the sickness. Intrigue exists for the reader, as to how a possible plague got on board, and of course sabotage by the rival I-S crew is suspected. But how? And were the Salariki somehow involved? The future is uncertain for the crew of the Queen, as they race against time to discover a way out of a probable fatal end. Animals and animal-like aliens feature prominently in the working out of the problems, as in many other Norton novels. Action is plentiful, and the adventure feel of this novel is never lost or sacrificed for unnecessary material. Every chapter adds to the story. That is what I love about Norton's books. Her writing is focused like few other authors, and her style is strong enough to carry the reader along without the need for lengthy dialogue. If adventure is the focus, then that is what you get. The spirit of the characters are adequately conveyed, without the need for in-depth character analysis. This book is over before you know it. I suggest having another Norton book ready. I'm always surprised how quickly I'll reach for another of her books after finsihing one. They may not be the best science fiction out there, but they are certainly among the most readable. Enjoy!
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great old ACE double novel,
By E. A. Lovitt "starmoth" (Gladwin, MI USA) - See all my reviews (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER) (TOP 100 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME) Norton's 'Solar Queen' stories are told from the viewpoint of Dane Thorson, an apprentice-Cargo Master who is introduced in "Sargasso of Space," the first Solar Queen novel, as a "lanky, very young man in an ill-fitting Trader's tunic." Most of this author's heroes and heroines are young, uncertain of themselves, shy, with a tendency to trip over their own enthusiasms and load themselves up with guilt at the slightest opportunity. They are very likeable and their adventures are narrated in remarkably lean prose with just the right touch of description. After ten years of schooling, orphan Dane Thorson is assigned via a computer analysis of his psychological profile--not to a safe berth on a sleek Company-run starship that his classmates were vying for--but to a battered tramp of a Free Trader. To say that the 'Solar Queen' "lacked a great many refinements and luxurious fittings which the Company ships boasted" was an understatement. But she was a tightly-run ship and what she lacked in refinement, she made up for in adventure. Dane soon settles in under Cargo Master Van Rycke and learns "to his dismay what large gaps unfortunately existed in his training." Sometimes I just want to give Dane a big hug. "Plague Ship" takes the crew of the 'Solar Queen' to Sargol, where the enigmatic feline natives seem very reluctant to trade away their fabulous scented gemstones. When Dane Thorson discovers an herb that the Salariki are willing to swap for their gems, he fears that his eagerness to make a trade breakthrough might have poisoned a native child. That becomes the least of his worries when the 'Solar Queen' blasts off from Sargol with invisible, undetectable stowaways that would brand the free traders anathema to all inhabited worlds. In space, the more senior members of the Solar Queen's crew succumb to a strange plague that resembles sleeping sickness. Dane and his fellow-apprentices, with the assistance of Captain Jellico's Hoobat (a sort of blue parrot-lizard, or at least that's how I've always pictured it) discover the source of the plague: venomous hitch-hikers from Sargol. "It walked erect on two threads of legs...a bulging abdomen sheathed in the horny substance of a beetle's shell ended in a sharp point." It was only about a foot-and-a-half high and could change color like a chameleon. The Hoobat kills and eats the first creature, and then the hunt is on for others of its kind. Even with the source of the sleeping sickness discovered, the Solar Queen's young apprentices must still convince the rest of the galaxy that they are not a plague ship--and therefore eligible to be destroyed on sight without warning. The 'Solar Queen' novels are prime representatives of Norton's lean action-packed brand of story-telling (at least the ones she solo-authored.) If you haven't read them since you were a teen-ager, I urge you to try them again. For a few pleasant hours, you will be immersed in the adventures of a likeable, feisty band of free traders on exotic, carefully-drawn alien worlds. ****** "Voodoo Planet" (1959) follows "Plague Ship" (1956), and precedes "Postmarked: the Stars" (1969) in the series of `Solar Queen' space adventure novels, starring Dane Thorson, the lanky young apprentice-Cargo Master. It weighs in as the slightest of the four original `Solar Queen' novels at 159 pages, and features only Dane, Captain Jellico, and ship's medic, Tau out of the original crew. While the `Queen is being fitted up for her new job as an interstellar mail carrier, the three crew members are invited to Khatka, a planet settled by African refugees from Terra's ancient racial wars. Norton's fascination with magic is woven into this novel via a witch doctor gone over to the Dark Side. Lumbrilo is in league with poachers who are stripping the planet of its native animals. Captain Jellico, Medic Tau, and Dane team up with Khatka's Chief Ranger and his men to track down the off-world thieves and their powerful sorcerer, after their flitter crash-lands in a remote game preserve. Minor Norton but a must for `Solar Queen' fans.
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