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Secret of the Lost Race
The Constellation of the Wolf was an area of the galaxy few spacemen wanted to visit, for its sparse worlds were home only to the outcasts of the civilized worlds. But now it had been learned that there was one among its runaway refugees who was more than just a misfit—one who was a definite danger to all humanity.
The hunt was on for the desperate young man called Joktar—for if he was what they said he was, he could contaminate the universe!
ONLY JOKTAR DIDN'T BELIEVE IT—AND HE RALLIED A WORLD OF COURAGEOUS OUTLAWS TO DEFEND HIM.
The hunt was on for the desperate young man called Joktar—for if he was what they said he was, he could contaminate the universe!
ONLY JOKTAR DIDN'T BELIEVE IT—AND HE RALLIED A WORLD OF COURAGEOUS OUTLAWS TO DEFEND HIM.
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1959
3 people are currently reading
238 people want to read
About the author
Andre Norton
690 books1,391 followersAndre Norton, born Alice Mary Norton, was a pioneering American author of science fiction and fantasy, widely regarded as the Grande Dame of those genres. She also wrote historical and contemporary fiction, publishing under the pen names Andre Alice Norton, Andrew North, and Allen Weston. She launched her career in 1934 with The Prince Commands, adopting the name “Andre” to appeal to a male readership. After working for the Cleveland Library System and the Library of Congress, she began publishing science fiction under “Andrew North” and fantasy under her own name. She became a full-time writer in 1958 and was known for her prolific output, including Star Man’s Son, 2250 A.D. and Witch World, the latter spawning a long-running series and shared universe. Norton was a founding member of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America and authored Quag Keep, the first novel based on the Dungeons & Dragons game. She influenced generations of writers, including Lois McMaster Bujold and Mercedes Lackey. Among her many honors were being the first woman named Gandalf Grand Master of Fantasy and SFWA Grand Master. In her later years, she established the High Hallack Library to support research in genre fiction. Her legacy continues with the Andre Norton Award for young adult science fiction and fantasy.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
January 28, 2019
Is this a guilty pleasure--reading Andre Norton? She ( yes, she) has become a forgotten author, especially for the young readers today. Although Norton was considered a YA author, I have always thought she could be enjoyed by adults, especially those who like a short fast-paced adventure-type SF fantasy novel. One thing about Andre Alice Norton (1912-2005)--she was prolific and I still have NOT read many of her books (such as the entire Witch World series!). In this one, published in 1959, we have a typical Norton story, about a young man struggling to survive on an alien planet. His name is Joktar and the powers-that-be are looking for him as he may hold the key to a cosmic mystery. I zoomed through the book, enjoying the book as a nice lazy afternoon read. And, in my paperback edition, there's a profile of Andre Norton by Lin Carter and an appreciation of her work.
October 1, 2015
Good solid SiFi story. The end is somewhat predictable but still a good read. Andre Norton always delivers a good entertaining read, just what you expect from a master of the genre. Recommended
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December 19, 2014Another of Norton's "outcast finds a place/himself" stories, this one focuses around the orphan Joktar, working as a gaming dealer, who suddenly finds himself the subject of far too much attention.
I'd call this book dystopic, if any of the characters showed any sign of thinking this was a 'good' future, but instead I guess this would simply be a very unattractive future, where anyone who doesn't have a 'proper' job is vulnerable to impress gangs and sold off to colony worlds as slaves. Norton's galactic civilisations are often quite bleak in this way. Good for some - and horrible for others.
It's an enjoyable enough survivalist type story, with some unusual points about the type of reaction humanity (or parts of it) might have to alien races. Also noteable, as many of the early Nortons are, for being almost entirely bereft of women. Only one appears 'on page', and only as a passerby. Not one woman says a word in the entire story.
I'd call this book dystopic, if any of the characters showed any sign of thinking this was a 'good' future, but instead I guess this would simply be a very unattractive future, where anyone who doesn't have a 'proper' job is vulnerable to impress gangs and sold off to colony worlds as slaves. Norton's galactic civilisations are often quite bleak in this way. Good for some - and horrible for others.
It's an enjoyable enough survivalist type story, with some unusual points about the type of reaction humanity (or parts of it) might have to alien races. Also noteable, as many of the early Nortons are, for being almost entirely bereft of women. Only one appears 'on page', and only as a passerby. Not one woman says a word in the entire story.
July 10, 2021
A potboiler housed in an Ace Double Novel package. The story of a young man from mysterious origins who gets tangled with a number of shady characters in formulaic space opera situations. Not worthy of the author's prodigious and generally entertaining output. I plunged through this one anyway.
April 5, 2010
Early Andre Norton sf. A mining world, Fenris, is controlled by companies who are using it and not allowing independent traders any ability to sell their goods, furs or establish mines. Fenris is very cold, with severe storms and nasty predators.
Into this world is dropped Joktor, a youthful looking Terran, who was sent to Fenris as slave labor for the mining companies. On his escape, he finds that his body can withstand cold extremes much better.
He falls in with the leadership of the independent traders who are making a play to take control of Fenris back from the mining companies.
At the same time, various Scouts are looking for him to hush up an alien encounter with another galactic civilization. They want Joktor dead. Joktor, who cannot remember his past very well, just knows he has to run from the Scouts, but other independent traders do know something about his background and they want to help him
It all comes to a boil.
I think the book suffers a bit. Although Norton wrote in a spare style, this time it was a little of a detriment. The book needs a little more exposition about the conflict between the free men and the companies.
Into this world is dropped Joktor, a youthful looking Terran, who was sent to Fenris as slave labor for the mining companies. On his escape, he finds that his body can withstand cold extremes much better.
He falls in with the leadership of the independent traders who are making a play to take control of Fenris back from the mining companies.
At the same time, various Scouts are looking for him to hush up an alien encounter with another galactic civilization. They want Joktor dead. Joktor, who cannot remember his past very well, just knows he has to run from the Scouts, but other independent traders do know something about his background and they want to help him
It all comes to a boil.
I think the book suffers a bit. Although Norton wrote in a spare style, this time it was a little of a detriment. The book needs a little more exposition about the conflict between the free men and the companies.
January 13, 2015
Joktar, a young dealer in JetTown, N’Yok, is blessed with a look of youthful innocence, a deadly skill with the blade, and an ability to ride a lucky streak like no one else. These traits and more served Joktar well in the service of Kern at the gambling establishment, The Sun Spot, and he will need to call upon them all when a sudden raid finds him swept off-planet to serve as an unwilling slave to the mining corporation on the cold, barren planet Fenris.
But Joktar is destined for more than forced labor on a hostile planet, for unbeknownst to him and those who captured him, Joktar is a threat to humanity’s status quo and he will soon find himself drawn into a galactic xenophobic conspiracy where his very life is in jeopardy.
For the rest of my non-spoiler review, please visit me at:
http://www.stainlesssteeldroppings.co...
But Joktar is destined for more than forced labor on a hostile planet, for unbeknownst to him and those who captured him, Joktar is a threat to humanity’s status quo and he will soon find himself drawn into a galactic xenophobic conspiracy where his very life is in jeopardy.
For the rest of my non-spoiler review, please visit me at:
http://www.stainlesssteeldroppings.co...
August 10, 2017
Another old Norton book that recently came into my possession. I haven't read these for more than 50 years, but this one is not as good as I had hoped it would be. It is way to short (125 pages) and it paints a bleak future for mankind and its allies. Young man is impressed into a group of people being sent to work in a mine on a very cold and snowy planet. While there he escapes and is brought into a gang of rebels. He finds he is a very special person and his life is in danger. Recommended only to fans of fifties sci/fi.
February 1, 2013
Not one of her better books. Never quite hung together for me.
September 1, 2014
A classic AN adventure story, read from the recently republished in Secret of the Stars
May 26, 2023
This was a light, fun little book of classic sci-fi / fantasy proportions.
Joktar is a young man (though not as young as he looks) working in a casino in N'Yok on a gambling table. In this version of the future N'Yok is, as it is today, a hub and many spacers go there.
Unlike today in New York (at least I hope unlike today) there are legal press gangs that raid various premises and scoop up all the people they catch to be sold on frontier planets as slave labour.
When Joktar gets caught in a raid he is sent to the inhospitable planet of Fenris, a world of ice and snow. Escaping from the mining consortium that has purchased him, he falls in with a group of rebels who are trying to break the monopoly of the mining giants on the planet.
Meanwhile however, we as readers know there is something else going on. There are various interested parties all searching for 'someone' who we realise must be Joktar and the reasons must lie in the blankness that shields all his early memories.
The reason they are searching does not come as a huge surprise by the time of the great reveal, it has been foreshadowed too much. However the great reveal at the end is nicely done and enjoyable enough, just not actually surprising.
I have recently read that Andre Norton is considered to have written YA fiction, or juvenilia as it was called back in the day. This book fits into that age group better than many of her other books, if only through the age of the protagonist, which appears to be late teens, and the simplicity of the writing. The adventures on Fenris are fun, well written and inspiringly described, but still very suited to younger readers. The characters and moral dilemmas are perhaps more nuanced than you see in a lot of modern YA but still quite suited to it.
Joktar is a young man (though not as young as he looks) working in a casino in N'Yok on a gambling table. In this version of the future N'Yok is, as it is today, a hub and many spacers go there.
Unlike today in New York (at least I hope unlike today) there are legal press gangs that raid various premises and scoop up all the people they catch to be sold on frontier planets as slave labour.
When Joktar gets caught in a raid he is sent to the inhospitable planet of Fenris, a world of ice and snow. Escaping from the mining consortium that has purchased him, he falls in with a group of rebels who are trying to break the monopoly of the mining giants on the planet.
Meanwhile however, we as readers know there is something else going on. There are various interested parties all searching for 'someone' who we realise must be Joktar and the reasons must lie in the blankness that shields all his early memories.
The reason they are searching does not come as a huge surprise by the time of the great reveal, it has been foreshadowed too much. However the great reveal at the end is nicely done and enjoyable enough, just not actually surprising.
I have recently read that Andre Norton is considered to have written YA fiction, or juvenilia as it was called back in the day. This book fits into that age group better than many of her other books, if only through the age of the protagonist, which appears to be late teens, and the simplicity of the writing. The adventures on Fenris are fun, well written and inspiringly described, but still very suited to younger readers. The characters and moral dilemmas are perhaps more nuanced than you see in a lot of modern YA but still quite suited to it.
April 20, 2018
I didn't know I owned this? I was looking for a different book and found this crammed in with the Witch World series. It's not a Witch World book lol. So I don't actually know where this came from.
I tend to like Norton's fantasy more than her scifi. But this was decent. A slender little book with interesting characters, this was a quick read.
I just wish we would have met the aliens.
I tend to like Norton's fantasy more than her scifi. But this was decent. A slender little book with interesting characters, this was a quick read.
I just wish we would have met the aliens.
September 9, 2018
It was a good story, but gah! it just... you know... ended. And with a confusing paragraph. Maybe Ms. Norton intended to write more books in a series with this world, but I'm showing this as a single title. Which is sad. There should've been more.
September 27, 2020
No expectations on this one. Ended up being a fun and quick read. Love the retro art on the yellow dust jacket.
January 20, 2024
A 50s pulp era/hard SF tale from Andre Norton - what's not to like?
October 27, 2025
My first taste of Norton. It was very poorly written. I read every word, but I might as well have been reading the ingredients off a bottle of hairspray (in one eye and out the other). I have no idea who any of the characters (aside from the protagonist) were or what their conversations were about (and they had some long talks). I phased in and out of comprehension throughout. This wasn't at all because of limited vocabulary, distraction, or anything on my end. It was simply due to bad writing and a throwaway story. I have two more of her books on my shelf, so hopefully, this is an example of her writing at its worst. (It is, but it doesn't get too much better, unfortunately.)
The main character doesn't even get through his first day as a prison laborer before convenience strikes, and it just keeps striking from there. Sure, there are inconveniences, but he's still too lucky by far (even he notes how lucky he is).
...
The term "gentlehomo" is thrown around in place of "sir" (I guess?). It's hard to tell precisely what word(s) it has come to replace, but regardless, it doesn't exactly roll off the tongue with all its four syllables, especially within the context it's used (plus, it just sounds ridiculous). It's an unlikely word in a society that shortens much of its vocabulary and where New York is called "N'Yok."
Joktar is obviously not originally from Earth, but the narrative frequently calls him "the Terran." The author uses alliteration excessively, even more than John Jakes (she also uses "wary" as often as him). She annoyingly adds "[Insert character] wanted to know." to the narrative after a question is asked. This occurs at least four times.
...
Some words were missing a single letter (and a couple of sentences had no period):
"sold blocks" (solid)
-
"try alway" (always)
Other typos:
"perserve" (Probably "preserve," I'm unsure.)
-
"But no one moved to route him out." (I believe it's "root.")
...
Alliteration samples:
"He knew that this stranger spelled a deadly danger out of all proportion to their present meeting."
-
"He... slept in snatches while the wind wailed aloft, the snow shifted down to hide the trail he had traced earlier."
-
"rubbery resistance"
-
"... fumbled... found food in the form of..."
-
"And with the wind came a whirling wall of snow."
-
"present perch"
-
"... his slung seat swayed..."
-
"Having hooked himself to the hose..."
...
It's only 132 pages. The rest is just Lin Carter reviewing the writing career of "Andre" Norton.
3/10
The main character doesn't even get through his first day as a prison laborer before convenience strikes, and it just keeps striking from there. Sure, there are inconveniences, but he's still too lucky by far (even he notes how lucky he is).
...
The term "gentlehomo" is thrown around in place of "sir" (I guess?). It's hard to tell precisely what word(s) it has come to replace, but regardless, it doesn't exactly roll off the tongue with all its four syllables, especially within the context it's used (plus, it just sounds ridiculous). It's an unlikely word in a society that shortens much of its vocabulary and where New York is called "N'Yok."
Joktar is obviously not originally from Earth, but the narrative frequently calls him "the Terran." The author uses alliteration excessively, even more than John Jakes (she also uses "wary" as often as him). She annoyingly adds "[Insert character] wanted to know." to the narrative after a question is asked. This occurs at least four times.
...
Some words were missing a single letter (and a couple of sentences had no period):
"sold blocks" (solid)
-
"try alway" (always)
Other typos:
"perserve" (Probably "preserve," I'm unsure.)
-
"But no one moved to route him out." (I believe it's "root.")
...
Alliteration samples:
"He knew that this stranger spelled a deadly danger out of all proportion to their present meeting."
-
"He... slept in snatches while the wind wailed aloft, the snow shifted down to hide the trail he had traced earlier."
-
"rubbery resistance"
-
"... fumbled... found food in the form of..."
-
"And with the wind came a whirling wall of snow."
-
"present perch"
-
"... his slung seat swayed..."
-
"Having hooked himself to the hose..."
...
It's only 132 pages. The rest is just Lin Carter reviewing the writing career of "Andre" Norton.
3/10
Read
June 18, 2010None of these editions are the one I have, which has the picture of the spacesuited figure, but is apparently not a reprint, but the original 1959 edition. (No, correct that: the critical/bibliographic essay at the end (by Lin Carter) implies that the edition I have was from 1966 or so). It's not in great condition--there're several loose pages, though none have fallen out yet. I think this book was also issued under the name Wolf's Head, but I can't be sure.
The orphan Joktar has been memory-blocked, and there's some evidence he's not human, though he doesn't know what he is.
The Earth presented in the start of the book is distinctly dystopian, with a high-tech totalitarian structure, which sends slaves offworld as a way of dealing with its 'excess' population. Fenris isn't much better, but it's more isolated, and the main dangers are natural, at least outside the company enclaves. More later.
Fenris, on the other hand, seems to be of the 'another planet without women' type. From all I can tell, there's not a single woman on the whole planet: not among the 'emigrants' in the mines, not among the company, not in the few towns, not among the 'colonists'. I began to suspect about mid-book that the 'Ffallian' represented the missing women in the story; turns out I wasn't that far off the mark. I don't want to spoil the surprise ending, though it's not that much of a surprise (it's telegraphed from early on), so I won't elaborate further.
The orphan Joktar has been memory-blocked, and there's some evidence he's not human, though he doesn't know what he is.
The Earth presented in the start of the book is distinctly dystopian, with a high-tech totalitarian structure, which sends slaves offworld as a way of dealing with its 'excess' population. Fenris isn't much better, but it's more isolated, and the main dangers are natural, at least outside the company enclaves. More later.
Fenris, on the other hand, seems to be of the 'another planet without women' type. From all I can tell, there's not a single woman on the whole planet: not among the 'emigrants' in the mines, not among the company, not in the few towns, not among the 'colonists'. I began to suspect about mid-book that the 'Ffallian' represented the missing women in the story; turns out I wasn't that far off the mark. I don't want to spoil the surprise ending, though it's not that much of a surprise (it's telegraphed from early on), so I won't elaborate further.
December 5, 2019
I have read this several times, and each time I see a little deeper into the story. Well worth reading many times.
This book has a lot of what I felt was not necessary build up. However overall its a good story about a space orphan finding a home. Good ending - but needed something more.
I loved the orphan against the world theme, with Joktar, who has worked as a card shark and dealer for many years, but has no memory of his family or his home.
He is sent on the run after a series of mysterious killings, and runs across space.
This book has a lot of what I felt was not necessary build up. However overall its a good story about a space orphan finding a home. Good ending - but needed something more.
I loved the orphan against the world theme, with Joktar, who has worked as a card shark and dealer for many years, but has no memory of his family or his home.
He is sent on the run after a series of mysterious killings, and runs across space.
December 21, 2007
read 05.08.84
read 08.15.85
read 08.15.85
June 5, 2009
An old sci-fi book. OK, but hardly riveting.
January 2, 2013
I enjoyed this novel in the 1960's. I would call it an alien story with a twist.
March 7, 2015
1979 grade B+
April 25, 2015
interesting, but the writing quality was patchy and it seemed to end just as the plot was starting to get going.
July 24, 2016
Jaktor has always been on his own. Through an odd twist, he ends up on the planet Fenris fighting not only for his life but the life of an entire race of intelligent beings.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews