What do you think?
Rate this book
In luck and out of luck, John Grimes was a living legend of the spaceways. He had been an officer of the service, he had been the victim of a mutiny, he had discovered lost worlds, he had served under strange masters and on strange ships, but he had never turned space pirate. Until this adventure.
How it happened was a complex story to begin with, but typical Grimes luck. How he became the terror of the star lanes developed, as usual, from his own efforts to make an honest living and other's efforts to use him for devious diversions.
This is the latest Grimes novel - a story of the loot of the stars, of how Grimes graduated from operator of a space courier ship to master of a fleet of dreaded carriers of the skull and crossbones!
How it happened was a complex story to begin with, but typical Grimes luck. How he became the terror of the star lanes developed, as usual, from his own efforts to make an honest living and other's efforts to use him for devious diversions.
This is the latest Grimes novel - a story of the loot of the stars, of how Grimes graduated from operator of a space courier ship to master of a fleet of dreaded carriers of the skull and crossbones!
223 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 2, 1980
2 people are currently reading
66 people want to read
About the author
A. Bertram Chandler
358 books53 followersArthur Bertram Chandler (28 March 1912–6 June 1984) was an Australian science fiction author. He also wrote under the pseudonyms George Whitley, George Whitely, Paul T. Sherman, Andrew Dunstan, and S.H.M.
He was born in Aldershot, England. He was a merchant marine officer, sailing the world in everything from tramp steamers to troopships. He emigrated to Australia in 1956 and became an Australian citizen. He commanded various ships in the Australian and New Zealand merchant navies, and was the last master of the Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne as the law required that it have an officer on board while it was laid up waiting to be towed to China to be broken up.
He was born in Aldershot, England. He was a merchant marine officer, sailing the world in everything from tramp steamers to troopships. He emigrated to Australia in 1956 and became an Australian citizen. He commanded various ships in the Australian and New Zealand merchant navies, and was the last master of the Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne as the law required that it have an officer on board while it was laid up waiting to be towed to China to be broken up.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 3, 2021
Ugh, Grimes is a horrible character and the plot of this book was really boring. It was also confusing after reading the first few pages of the next book. 2 out 5 stars.
May 28, 2019
Forced to sell Little Sister, Grimes is talked into buying Epsilon Scorpii, renamed Sister Sue, by Billy Williams and psychic Magda Granadue. Forced to take Kate Connelan on as crew to get permission to life. Una Freeman (she of the bicycles in an alternate universe) is Sky Marshall and gives him a gift of a miniature golden girl robot riding a bicycle. Kate is as awful as painted and Grimes keeps trying to unload her without success. They go to Eldorado undercover for Federation to infiltrate Drongo's pirates/privateers and are forced to take on board a Countess and her cat-bomb. She tries to take over the ship with Kate. Kate dies and the Countess is killed by her cat (which is set to explode the moment she dies but which chases the golden robot girl into an airlock and is spaced just in time). Una comes aboard to escort him back to the Federation and Damien after he succeeds in stopping the pirate operation.
January 18, 2014
John Grimes has done it again! This is just basic old-fashioned space opera, fairly low key, with basically no sex, other than implied. It's almost a breath of fresh air to not have to deal with angst and thrashing sex.
Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I also like a simple cup of perked coffee ( not latte or grande or whatever else is hip); my jeans are 15-25 years old and are frayed, not fashionably ripped and I use a 66-year-old Estwing hammer that my dad bought the morning I was born. Yes, I like staid, calm stories that have dependable plots, telepaths that don't shift-change or drink blood, and ship's captains that are like the heroes described by Robert Louis Stevenson!
Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I also like a simple cup of perked coffee ( not latte or grande or whatever else is hip); my jeans are 15-25 years old and are frayed, not fashionably ripped and I use a 66-year-old Estwing hammer that my dad bought the morning I was born. Yes, I like staid, calm stories that have dependable plots, telepaths that don't shift-change or drink blood, and ship's captains that are like the heroes described by Robert Louis Stevenson!
January 25, 2012
Grade B. Book Gpf.
May 21, 2017
Grimes is known for his luck, his unwavering honor for following the law. So it was interesting to see him from a different angle. I can't wait for the next book
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews