The Sioux Spaceman

The Sioux Spaceman

~ A Novel by Andre Norton

sioux spaceman 1966 f 408

Synopsis ~

Write-up from the 1966 ACE paperback edition & the front flap of the 1976 Hale edition ~

Kade Whitehawk had two strikes against him in the Space Service. First, he had bungled his assignment on the planet Lodi. Second, he believed all creatures had a right to freedom and dignity – and having such opinions was strictly against the rules.
But when he was assigned to Klor, he found the Ikkinni there – tortured yet defiant slaves of a vicious tyrant race.
Right then Kade swung at the last pitch. For rules or no rules, The Sioux Spaceman knew that he had to help these strange creatures gain their freedom… and then he alone, because of his Indian blood, had the key to win it for them.

Write-up from the back of the 1970s ACE paperback edition ~

Kade Whitehawk’s pride, and his hatred of the Alien Styor, with whom Terra had an important trade pact, led to his disgrace at his first post as a trader for the Space Service. Yet his second job found him on the planet Klor, where the primitive but defiant Ikkinni were ruthlessly enslaved by their cruel Styor masters.
Whitehawk was a trader; he was supposed to ignore local affairs and do nothing to upset the profitable trade with the Styor. But he was also Lakota Sioux….
Gradually, but irresistibly, he found himself being drawn into the almost foredoomed battle for Ikkinni freedom – a bloody battle that could make him a renegade to his own people and destroy the race he was trying to save.

Write-up from the dust jacket of the Gregg Press edition ~

The Sioux Spaceman, the sixth and final volume of the Space Adventure Novels of Andre Norton, recounts the efforts of trader-xenologist Kade Whitehawk to win the confidence of primitive aliens and equip them with the means of winning their freedom from civilized overlords. Whitehawk starts out with two strikes against him in the Secret Service. First, he had bungled his assignment on the planet Tadder. But more important is his belief that all creatures have the right to freedom and dignity - an opinion that is strictly against the rules. But when he is assigned to Klor and finds the Ikkinni, tortured yet defiant slaves of vicious, tyrannical overlords, subdued by electronically operated slave collars, he knows he must act. Questions of morality and heroism are dealt with in a framework of high adventure in this exciting tale of master vs. slaves.

Write-ups from fans ~

Another mention of Nuclear War. Since the war the Amerindian tribes have flourished. But Humankind, having gone out to Space, has to put up with an obnoxious but very powerful Race called the Styor. They look down on humans and consider them tools or peons. Teams of Terran "traders" can have only one member of any ethnic group at any given time, so when Jon Steele, a Sioux tribesman, is murdered, He is replaced by another Sioux, Kade Whitehawk. This was Kade's last chance as he had gotten in trouble for sympathizing with a native race on Lodi where the Styor ruled with a cruel iron fist. Now assigned to the mixed team on Klor, he wondered why they would put him on another world where the Styor enslaved the native Ikkinni. After a lot of trouble, including someone trying to set up a fatal "accident", Kade decides to help the Ikkinni free themselves from Styor subjugation and he discovers that he is part of a much grander plan. ~ PG

Reviews ~

Various reviews ~ For more info and other listings see Articles Over the Years

1960 by Frederik Pohl in Worlds of If, September, reprinted in: (UK) Worlds of If #6
1961 by P. Schuyler Miller in Analog Science Fact -> Fiction, March
1974 by D. Barnett in Kliatt young Adult Paperback Book Guide, November
1974 by Charles N. Brown in Locus #166 (fnz), October 23
2015 by James Nicoll
2017 by Patrick Reardon
2018 by Judith Tarr

Bibliography of English Editions ~

(1960) ACE Double Book containing The Sioux Spaceman & And Then the Town Took Off by Richard Wilson, Published by ACE, PB, # D-437, $0.35, 123+133pg ~ both covers by Edward Valigursky

Synopsis for And Then the Town Took Off ~
The town of Superior, Ohio was certainly living up to its name! In what was undoubtedly the most spectacular feat of the century, it simply picked itself up one night and rose two full miles above Earth! Radio messages simply stated that Superior had seceded from Earth. But Don Cort, stranded on that rising town, was beginning to suspect that nothing was simple about Superior except its citizens. Calmly they accepted their rise in the world as being due to one of their local townspeople, a crackpot professor. But after a couple of weeks of floating around, it began to be obvious that the professor had no idea how to get them down. So, then it was up to Cort: either find a way to anchor Superior or spend the rest of his days on the smallest - and nuttiest - planet in the galaxy!

(1966) Published by ACE, PB, # F-408, $0.40, 143pg - #76801 1969 $0.60 144pg - covers by Edward Valigursky ~ #76802 1974 $1.25 160pg - #76803 1978? $1.50 160pg - #76804 1984 $2.50 160pg - covers by Dean Ellis ~ With a profile of Andre Norton by Lin Carter

(1976) Published by Robert Hale & Co., HC, 0-709-15589-1, £3.00, 160pg ~ UK printing ~ cover Photo by Kingaby Associates {Black Paper Boards}

(1978) Published by Gregg Press, HC, 0-839-82420-3, LCCN 77025468, $7.95, 143pg ~ Space Adventure Novels of Andre Norton 6 ~ Dust Jacket by Jack Gaughan, Frontmatter by Elizabeth R. Cooke {Binding: 5.625 x 8.25 - Brown Cloth Boards with Gold Lettering (Publisher states the color is Burnt Orange), Orange End Papers}

The Game of Stars and Comets (2009) Published by BAEN, HC, 1-416-59155-9, $24.00, 480pg ~ cover by Bob Eggleton ~ Omnibus containing Eye of the Monster (1972), The Sioux Spaceman (1966), Voorloper (1980) & The X Factor (1965)

Non-English Editions ~

(1960) Published in Rastatt, Germany; by Pabel, OCLC: 73753189, Utopia Großband 132, DM1.00, 94pg ~ translation by M.F. Arnemann ~ cover by R. S. Lonati ~ German title Die sklaven von Klor [The Klor slaves]

(1966) Published in Munich, Germany; by Moewig, OCLC: 73892372, 65pg ~ translation by M.F. Arnemann ~ German title Die sklaven von Klor [The Klor slaves]

(1966) Published in Munich, Germany; by Moewig, OCLC: 72941803, Terra Extra 111, DM0.80, 65pg ~ translation by M.F. Arnemann ~ cover by Johnny Bruck ~ German title Die sklaven von Klor [The Klor slaves]

Russian Omnibus Editions ~

(2002) Published in Moscow, by Eksmo, 5-699-01308-3, HC, 480pg ~ cover by G. Ruddell, illustrations by A. Lurie ~ Russian title Сын звездного человека [Son of Star Man]

Contains:

- "Star Man"s Son" as "Son of Star Man" ~ translation by V. Fedorov, pp. 5-160
- "The Sioux Spaceman" as "Space Sioux" ~ translation by O. Kolesnikov, pp. 161-278
- "Dark Piper" as "The Moody Piper" ~ translation by D. Arseniev, pp. 279-422
- "Long Live Lord Kor!" as "Long live Lord Cor!" ~ translation by O. Kolesnikov, pp. 423-478

(2005) Published in Moscow, by Eksmo, 5-699-09429-6, PB, 384pg ~ cover by C. Kurbatov ~ Russian title Сын Сын Звёздного Человека [Son of Starry Man]

Contains:

- "Star Man's Son" as "Son of Star Man" ~ translation by V. Fedorov, pp. 5-217
- "The Sioux Spaceman" as "Space Sioux" ~ translation by O. Kolesnikov, pp. 218-378

(2015) Published in Moscow by Eksmo, 9785699827817, HC, 704pgs ~ cover art by A. Dubovik ~ Russian title Последняя планета [Last Planet] ~ Limited to 5000 copies

Contains:

- "Seret of the Lost Race" as "The Mystery of the Lost Race" ~ translation by O. Kolesnikov, pp. 5-124
- "The Sioux Spaceman" as "Space Sioux" ~ translation by O. Kolesnikov, pp. 125-264
- "Yurth Burden" as "The burden of yurts" ~ translation by O. Kolesnikov, pp. 265-374
- "Star Guard" ~ translation by D. Arseniev, pp. 375-538
- "The Last Planet" ~ translation by D. Arseniev, pp. 539-701