Secret of the Stars
~ An Omnibus of Novels by Andre Norton
Contains ~
- Secret of the Lost Race (1969) Published by ACE, PB, 0-441-75830- , $0.60, 144pg – cover by Edward Valigursky ~ 1974-76 covers by unknown, 1978 cover Eileen Astrahan, 1982 cover by Wayne Barlowe --- first released in --- (1959) ACE Double Book containing Secret of the Lost Race and One Against Herculum by Jerry Sohl, Published by ACE, PB, # D-381, $0.35, 134pg+132pg – cover of Secret of the Lost Race by Edward Valigursky ~ cover of One Against Herculum by Ed Emshwiller
- Star Hunter (1961) ACE Double Book containing The Beast Master & Star Hunter ~ Published by ACE, PB, # D-509, $0.35, 159+96 pg ~ cover of The Beast Master by Edward Valigursky ~ cover of Star Hunter by Ed Emshwiller --- this tile has never been released by itself except for the print on demand editions within the past few years.
Synopsis ~
Secret of the Lost Race
Joktar was running for his life—and he didn’t know why. After growing up orphaned in the spaceman’s helltown of interstellar New York, Joktar was adept at dodging the law, but he knew of no special reason why all the police forces of the civilized galaxy should suddenly concentrate on him. All he knew was that he had to run—out of the Solar system and across the galaxy to the mysterious Wolf worlds. In the freezing hell that was the planet Fenris, Joktar turned to face his hunters and fight to regain his freedom in a universe gone mad.
Star Hunter
On safari to an unexplored jungle world, Ras Hume must hunt two kinds of quarry—the fearsome native beasts and the equally menacing lone survivor of a mysterious spaceship crash.
Write-up from a fan ~
Secret of the Lost Race ~ Who is Joktar? Other than the best Stars and Comets dealer N'yok has ever seen. A orphan, yes, looking about half the age he really is, well trained in every kind of unarmed combat, but carrying the highly illegal "Force Blade". Why are the strange men in gray uniforms after him? With no idea of who his parents were, their planet of origin, or any other personal history before he arrived in N'Yok with his mother just before she died, Joktar had no clue why anyone should take such interest in him. The story starts out very slowly with 2&1/2 pages of communications between people we don't meet until much later in the story. Then he gets picked up in a street raid to get some forced laborers to slave away in mines on Fenris*, a cold inhospitable planet. Through a series of unbelievable luck, he escapes his "Company" masters and hooks up with rebels who are plotting an overthrow of the mining companies who hold a monopoly on trade. Right near the end, his past catches up with him and the big question of who he is, is answered. ~ PG
Star Hunter ~ A fairly short novel, but long on action. A Veep (Andre's term for her underworld/mob bosses) receives a proposition from a member of the Star Hunter Guild. This safari leader has found a marooned lifeboat from a ship carrying the heir to a billion-credit Empire. He proposes that they will brainwash/condition a young man to pose as the lost heir and put him in area of the lifeboat. The hunter will then lead an unsuspecting group of rich big-game hunters on a safari and "find the boy and restore him to the loving arms of his family. How fortunate (for the crooks) that a busboy at a local dive fit the description of the heir and would not be missed when he disappeared.
The planet Jumala had been surveyed and pronounce clear of any intelligent life. There are many dangerous animals to interest a hunting party and something mysterious lies waiting. Just how accurate were those preliminary surveys anyway? I wonder......... ~ PG
Bibliography of English Editions ~
- (2014) Published by BAEN, TP, 978-1-476-73674-7, $14.00, 400pg ~ cover by unknown
- (2014) Published by BAEN, DM, 978-1-476-73674-7, $8.99, 240pg ~ cover by unknown
