In search of the truth about a mysterious ring stone with phenomenal powers, gem trader Murdoc suddenly finds himself hunted through space by an unscrupulous religious order. Reprint.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
book one in Murdoc Jern duology,
By
This review is from: The Zero Stone (Ace SF 95960) (Mass Market Paperback)
The Zero Stone
"A Mysterious stone, born of worlds long extinct, is the key to powers unimaginable, to man--powers that could enable its owner to control the Universe. Murdoc Jern, gem trader, finds that possession of the stone has led him to the center of a web of intrigue ands murder. With his companion Eet, an inscrutable feline mutant with phenomenal ESP powers, he is hunted through space, coming finally to a long forgotten planet inhabited by apelike "sniffers." There facing the predatory sniffers, the antagonistic Patrol and the laser guns of the Thieves Guild, Murdoc must seek the source of the Zero stone and bargain for his rights to pursue his destiny as a free man." The Zero Stone (1968) is the first novel in the two book Murdoc Jern series. Murdoc is the son of Hywel Jern, a former prime assessor to a sector boss of the Thieves' Guild. Hywel migrated to Angkor and married the daughter of a local hock-lock operator. Shortly after the marriage, his in-laws. and many others in the vicinity of the port, died from disease brought by a plague ship, but Hywel and his wife survived and even performed some of the necessary governmental functions during the emergency. Some five years later, Angkor became a hub for interstellar trade in that sector and the Jern business thrived through Hywel's many off-world contacts, both legal and illegal, but he maintained a low profile, operating from the same modest hock-lock. One day, the first officer of a space liner brought in a ring with a dull stone that was found in interstellar space, far from any star, on the finger of a space suited corpse. The crude stone is plain and cloudy, but has a remarkable hardness. The stone gives an impression of great power to Hywel and Murdoc, but not to the rest of the family. Hywel is obsessed with the stone and arranges an apprenticeship for Murdoc with Vondar Ustle, a master gemologist who searches for new sources of precious stones, so that Murdoc can search for more information on the ring and stone. Hywel is well satisfied with his life as apprentice to Vondar and, when he returns for a visit, finds that he no longer fits into his family. One evening, Hywel stays home to conduct some business while the rest of the family goes to a party. Leaving the party earlier, Murdoc returns home to find his father tied to his chair, bloody and dead. Murdoc takes the ring and stone from its hiding place and leaves his home forever. In this novel, Murdoc and Vondar have come to Koonga City on Tanth searching for gems. They are dining in a taproom when the Green Robes, native priests, enter, spin their selection wheel to point between Murdoc and Vondar, and try to take both men. Murdoc kills one priest, fights his way clear, and then finds sanctuary with the priests of Noskald. These priests arrange for a Free Trader, the Vestris, to take Murdoc off-world. The crew treats him in a distant, but civil manner, but his only companion is the ship's cat, Valcyr. When the ship sets down on a primitive planet, Valcyr accompanies Murdoc as he explores the area. When Murdoc finds some bits of a curiously dull black substance that forms an extremely hard but fuzzy oval, Valcyr takes the largest specimen and starts to lick it. Murdoc tries to take it away from her, but gets clawed for his efforts. When a crewman tries to get the specimen, Valcyr runs off with it and hides. Murdoc and the crewman find her again, but she then swallows it. When they return to the ship, the Medico tests Valcyr and the specimens; he determines that the black ovals are alive at a low level as if hibernating and that Valcyr is now pregnant. Since there is a possibility that Valcyr is not carrying ordinary kittens, she is locked in a cage within the sick bay. About four weeks later, she disappears from the cage and is next seen in Murdoc's cabin with a newborn animal, Eet, that is not a kitten. And then Murdoc finds himself covered with purple blotches and feeling feverish. At this point, Murdoc and Eet leave the Vestris, Murdoc in a spacesuit and Eet in a clear-sided box, to escape the plague-fearing, frantic crew. This novel has some of the signature characteristics of the author's space adventure tales, including the outcast Murdoc, the telepathic Eet, and alien artifacts. The creature Eet is rather unique in the author's space adventures, having a human level of intelligence, yet possessing an animal body. The sequel to this book is Uncharted Stars This book should have a large font "TO BE CONTINUED" at the end of the book. It kind of leaves you hanging. This is corrected with Baen's new Search for the Star Stones Highly recommended for Norton fans and anyone who enjoys space adventures. Gunner September, 2008
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Eet and His Boy,
By
This review is from: Zero Stone (Hardcover)
The Zero Stone (1968) is the first novel in the Murdoc Jern series. Murdoc is the son of Hywel Jern, a former prime assessor to a sector boss of the Thieves' Guild who bought out when his patron was assassinated. Hywel migrated to Angkor and married the daughter of a local hock-lock operator.
Shortly after the marriage, his in-laws -- and many others in the vicinity of the port -- died from disease brought by a plague ship. Yet Hywel and his wife survived and even performed some of the necessary governmental functions during the emergency. Some five years later, Angkor became a hub for interstellar trade in that sector. The Jern business thrived through Hywel's many off-world contacts, both legal and illegal. But Hywel maintained a low profile, operating from the same modest hock-lock. One day, the first officer of a spaceliner brought in a ring with a dull stone that was found in interstellar space, far from any star, on the finger of a spacesuited corpse. The crude stone is plain and cloudy, but has a remarkable hardness. The stone gives an impression of great power to Hywel and Murdoc, but not to the rest of the family. Hywel is obsessed with the stone and arranges an apprenticeship for Murdoc with Vondar Ustle -- a master gemologist who searches for new sources of precious stones -- so that Murdoc can search for more information on the ring and stone. Murdoc is well satisfied with his life as apprentice to Vondar. Returning for a visit, Murdoc finds that he no longer fits into his family. One evening, Hywel stays home to conduct some business while the rest of the family goes to a party. Leaving the party earlier, Murdoc returns home to find his father tied to his chair, bloody and dead. Murdoc takes the ring and stone from its hiding place and leaves his home forever. In this novel, Murdoc and Vondar have come to Koonga City on Tanth searching for gems. They are dining in a taproom when the Green Robes, native priests, enter, spin their selection wheel to point between Murdoc and Vondar, and try to take both men. Murdoc kills one priest, fights his way clear, and then finds sanctuary with the priests of Noskald. These priests arrange for a Free Trader, the Vestris, to take Murdoc off-world. The crew treats him in a distant, but civil manner, but his only companion is the ship's cat, Valcyr. When the ship sets down on a primitive planet, Valcyr accompanies Murdoc as he explores the area. When Murdoc finds some bits of a curiously dull black substance that forms an extremely hard but fuzzy oval, Valcyr takes the largest specimen and starts to lick it. Murdoc tries to take it away from her, but gets clawed for his efforts. When a crewman tries to get the specimen, Valcyr runs off with it and hides. Murdoc and the crewman find her again, but she then swallows it. When they return to the ship, the Medico tests Valcyr and the specimens; he determines that the black ovals are alive at a low level as if hibernating and that Valcyr is now pregnant. Since there is a possibility that Valcyr is not carrying ordinary kittens, she is locked in a cage within the sick bay. About four weeks later, she disappears from the cage and is next seen in Murdoc's cabin with a newborn animal, Eet, that is not a kitten. And then Murdoc finds himself covered with purple blotches and feeling feverish. At this point, Murdoc and Eet leave the Vestris, Murdoc in a spacesuit and Eet in a clear-sided box, to escape the plague-fearing, frantic crew. This novel has some of the signature characteristics of the author's space adventure tales, including the outcast Murdoc, the telepathic Eet, and alien artifacts. However, this story is one of the wanderlust kind, much like Star Man's Son and the Solar Queen series, where the hero/heroine goes on to discover new adventures. The creature Eet is rather unique in the author's space adventures, having a human level of intelligence, yet possessing an animal body. Eet combines the friendly alien, symbiotic animal, and mutated talents aspects of these tales, all in one body, sort of a highly evolved version of the meerkats in The Beast Master. While this story is not one of my favorites, it still provides the same high level of storycraft one expects of the author. The characters are interesting but not as enthralling as some of the other tales. The relationship between Murdoc and Eet is not clear, but one feels as if Eet is much superior to Murdoc, yet is handicapped by his inadequate body. Is Murdoc a pet to Eet? Recommended for Norton fans and anyone who enjoys space adventures involving a young hero and a mysterious alien. -Arthur W. Jordin
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Norton book to start with...,
This review is from: Zero Stone (Hardcover)
Although I have read many Andre Norton books, this was one of the better ones. Do not give up on this book (as I almost did) until you meet eet. Just some of the conversations with this character, and the manner is which it is done, is enchanting. The way the zero stone itself is described strikes me as something out of a dream. Though against a sci-fi backdrop, there is only enough there to make the story.
Don't forget to read the sequel, Uncharted Stars.
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