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Plague Ship (Solar Queen #2)
by
Andre Norton
Dane Thorson, Cargo-master-apprentice of the Solar Queen, Galactic Free Trader spacer, Terra registry, stood in the middle of the ship's cramped bather while Rip Shannon, assistant Astrogator and his senior in the Service of Trade by some four years, applied gobs of highly scented paste to the skin between Dane's rather prominent shoulder blades. The small cabin was thickl...more
Paperback
Published
June 1st 1985
by Ace
(first published January 1st 1956)
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"Plague Ship" (1956) is the second installment in Andre Norton's so-called Dane Thorson series, and is a direct continuation of the previous volume, "Sargasso of Space." (A reading of that earlier novel is highly recommended before going into this one.) "Plague Ship" does everything that a good sci-fi sequel should: It expands on the possibilities of the previous book, deepens the characters, increases the action and leaves us wanting still more. It's a very fast-moving and suspenseful tale, ful...more
The second Solar Queen novel, this short but action-packed little novel is full of what makes Andre Alice Norton the master of 1950’s SF; alien worlds, alien species, and men who are determined to make their mark on the wilds of space. Like any good horse opera, her space operas take a tried and true formula and deliver a solid, fun story. Again, I’ll mention that her works are not hard SF, but something more in line with the original Twilight Zone or Flash Gordon serials of old. And that, in my...more
I got this as an audio book from Project Gutenberg, figuring it would make some of the winter dog walks more interesting (he sniffs everything, I listen to a book). I am glad I got this as an audio book and didn't put the time into flipping the pages. In this format, it was good, as it really didn't cost me any time to go through it. The story was ok, well enough put together, and characters were decently developed. The ending left something to be desired. While the major problem in the story wa...more
Though I realized I have a TON of Norton/North books to get through, this is my favorite one to date. I read a lot of maritime history, and the worst thing that could happen when you’re halfway between to points is either a fire or a disease. If you stop to think about it, there really aren’t that many differences between a maritime vessel in the 1700’s and the spacefaring vessels of the future. Each planet would have to have strict rules to prevent the spread of other-worldly diseases. If you...more
I can't seem to find my editions of any of these. This follows immediately on Sargasso of Space, and is (so far as I know), the first introduction of the Salariki. It's interesting that a star-spanning civilization still can't effectively prevent the spread of plagues without abandoning plague ships to drift in space. Ok, granted, there're a lot of different ailments on all those different worlds, but still...you'd think that people who had hyperdrive could manage reasonable preventive health ca...more
Feb 04, 2011
Roger
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
science-fiction,
space-opera
This book was incredibly good. Really, for a book written during the golden age of science fiction, you just can't get any better than this. A tight, fast-paced plot, a likable, mostly well-fleshed out protagonist, and interesting aliens make for a fun read.
Andre Norton's writing is crisp and intelligent. I kept picturing a teenage boy in 1956 reading this at night under the covers with a flashlight, dreaming of the day he could blast out to the Rim planets and make his fortune in Trade.
So good...more
Andre Norton's writing is crisp and intelligent. I kept picturing a teenage boy in 1956 reading this at night under the covers with a flashlight, dreaming of the day he could blast out to the Rim planets and make his fortune in Trade.
So good...more
Oct 24, 2009
Alex
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
crappy-science-fiction,
science-fiction
The second book about the Trade Federation or what-not. What I like best about this book is that the characters see nothing wrong with introducing addictive drugs to the people they're trading with, who are content to swap the entire produce of their planet for that year for said drug. That the people are cat-people and the drug is catnip simply makes the fact that the pushers would be applauded by Nancy Regan mildly charming.
"Exotic gems and valuable oils were the lures that brought the space trader Solar Queen to the new planet Sargol"... An Ace paperback, cover price 40 cents!! Found this and two others on a bus stop one morning! Read it in 1999 when I found the books, read it again today. Did I read it in the 60s? Who knows? I found it interesting that three-quarters of what was probably the U.S. is a radioactive wasteland.
Andre Norton, a very successful pulp novelist with little mention when speaking of golden age SF authors. She is pre- le Guin and Tiptree Jr, and as prolific as Silverberg. True, she tends to lean more towards fantasy and not at all considered "Hard SF", but can spin a spaceship yarn right along with Eric Frank Russel and, at times - dare I say, Heinlein.
Good solid stuff.
Good solid stuff.
Plague Ship is another very good novel I read in the 1960's. Andre Norton used a nasty illegal competitor, interesting aliens and a hidden stowaway that leads to an unusual type plague on ship. Their ship gets branded as a plague ship in the galaxy with dire results.
Audio book as I was traveling for work. I really enjoyed this. The story was fairly strong, I enjoy old Sci-Fi every now and then. This is a free audio book, Librovox, excellent reader. I highly recommend this to someone looking for an audio book.
Nice scifi "listen" for someone not deeply into science fiction. Remember, I really don't review a book/podcast. I prefer to read the podcast/book's blip then listen/read and be surprised. I liked this one. (librivox.org)
It's an ok read for early science fiction. Mostly flat characters, some amusing situations, no character development. But worth a read because it's short. Obviously, Norton got a lot better with time.
It was okay. Very short. I didn't think that it was anything special, but I did enjoy reading about the culture Norton invents with the Salariki. Enjoyable, but not ground-breaking. Interesting.
Aug 08, 2012
PM Ray
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
classic-fantasy-or-scifi-for-me
If I had read this in the 70s when I was a teen I probably would have loved it. Even now it compares well to a lot of what was written in the 50s for scifi. A quick easy read if you enjoy classic scifi from that time.
Librivox audiobook. Good reading of it. Has been good for keeping my brain occupied while driving to and from Winston. Didn't realize it was the second of a series.
A good book, but uncomplicated as SF goes. It was a little heavy handed in places. Were it written today it would be classes as young adult science fiction. Still, it's not bad for a piece of work brought from the far off land of 1956. Most SF doesn't have what it takes to survive a half century without completely losing meaning. Three stars.
Nice book, interesting since is was a one of the early women si-fi writers. I have too read some more of her work, It was a very engaging story.
Solar Queen #2. Another Andre Norton example of great 50's Science Fiction.
Fast paced and suspenseful; a tale that was imaginative and entertaining.
Wish I could remember more to say about this.
Listen to the audiobook at Librivox.com.
Plague Ship by Andre Norton (1979)
Class SiFi from the 1950's, not great, but entertaining
12
very good science fiction
Jul 22, 2008
B. Zedan
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Folks who like some light sf action
Shelves:
gutenberg-downloads
Traders! I enjoy this sub-genre (trading goods, being kind of explorers and sociologists and money-grubbers at once). This is second in a series, and now I've got to go find the rest. Solid fun, some social learnin' that isn't heavy-handed. See what happens when you let 'em have the first one free? They get hooked. It kind of weirds me out that there is a Jellico in this series, as there is a Jellico in one of David Drake's Hammer's Slammers books.
It's always nice to read a sci-fi book which has a bit more depth than simply looking at technology and aliens, and this book certainly does that. It has a nice political slant looking at the relationship between power and opportunity, and the characters are interesting and realistic.
I read this as a kid and it was one of the books that hooked me on SciFi as a genre. It's a golden age space story, a great quick read. I can't wait for these books to come out in e-book format. They'd make great $1.99 pulps for summer reading.
I just reread this while trying out an ebook reader. I must say that I remembered little if from the first time I read it as a child. I completely enjoyed reading it again and was reminded why Andre Norton is one of my favorite childhood authors.
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Born February 17, 1912 in Cleveland, Ohio, Alice Mary Norton has always had an affinity to the humanities. She started writing in her teens, inspired by a charismatic high school teacher. First contacts with the publishing world led her, as many other contemporary female writers targeting a male-dominated market, to choose a literary pseudonym. In 1934 she legally changed her name to Andre Alice....more
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