Sci-fi novel from 80s or 90s; A small search party is sent to investigate a seemingly abandoned alien spacecraft. A room full of alien creatures in a state of suspended animation. Spoiler.

[Bee]

A small search party is sent to investigate a seemingly abandoned alien spacecraft. This could be part of a series. The only thing that stands out in my memory was a room full of alien creatures in a state of suspended animation. One of the crew men stumbles too near a display field and is pulled into the display. Later in the story, the display fields are deactivated by chance and the creatures are freed, resulting in the death of the crew member who had previously been caught in the display field.

[Tab]

Hmmm...a few questions that may jog your memory.

-Where is the abandoned spaceship found? In forest, desert, on Earth, etc?

-Where does the story take place?

-What time period is the book set in? Contemporary, centuries into the future, parallel world, etc?

-Anything about the cover?

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Nicole, are you still looking for this?

[Bee]

I am!!! No one seems to know what I'm talking about. I got all excited that you even commented since it's been up for almost a year. Does this story sound familiar at all?

[SparksofEmber]

When did you read it? Was it a new book then or old?
Do you remember anything about the cover at all?
Any other details - tell us everything you remember, every tiny bit helps the search.

[SparksofEmber]

Maybe:
Derelict for Trade "Stumbling upon an abandoned ship, Captain Jellico and the crew of the Solar Queen seize the prize and claim the right to salvage the derelict vessel, only to become the targets of a secret alien hijacking ring out to sabotage their claim."

or: The Space Vampires "Some space explorers come across a 50km derelict ship floating around, with insanely huge fixtures, stairs, badass gothic cathedral architecture, weird artwork involving Lovecraftian squiddy things, and some naked people in suspended animation behind glass walls that open telepathically. And they are space vampires. And in the ship there is a map of ancient Greece."

[Bee]

Wow those are both some weirdly interesting titles - thank you! I'll check them out a little closer. Definitely the genre but I don't recognize some of the details. Really appreciate the feedback!!!! One step closer :)

[SparksofEmber]

So those may be it? Or not, but close?

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Well, I haven't read Space Vampires so can't say anything about it--but I know that it is definitely NOT the Andre Norton book.

[caracal-eyes]

Probably not, but...Permanence? I never did finish it (got bored and gave up), so all I clearly remember is that, yeah, there's an abandoned starship which a team goes to search.

But this post has now brought up a memory of some other book/story about an abandoned ship that was pretty weird, and now it's kind of annoying me. But I don't think that's the one you're looking for, either. Oh well.

Also, I've found that LibraryThing's Tagmash feature can be quite helpful for finding books, and I did a search using 'adventure, aliens, spaceships, sci-fi'--I don't really feel like checking the whole list right now.

[Bee]

I've only read a few Andre Norton books and pretty certain he didn't write the one I'm thinking about. But I will look at the list and see if anything pops out at me! I really want to reread it and am just hoping that it won't end up being way cheesier than my 17 yr old self remembers it being :)

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Andre Norton didn't write your book. I am a rabid and dedicated Norton fan, and have read almost everything she ever wrote. Often multiple times. She writes a good story, and, even if her technology is dated, a good story is a good story.

[David]

Nicole,

Ghostworld has an abandoned alien ship. It was reprinted as part of the Twilight of the Empire (Twilight of the Empire, #1-3).

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Bee, still looking now?

[Bee]

It's definitely not Ghostworld but I feel like we're getting closer possibly!

[Pixiegirl105]

If it wasn't based in space, I would say Sphere

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

How about now?

[Aerulan]

The Dig by Alan Dean Foster kind of fits, there definitely a scene with creatures in suspended animation that get woken up and kill someone like what's described, but the full setting is a bit different. The small team is sent to investigate an asteroid, that turns out to be a spaceship that takes the team back to it's world, where everything happens.

[Bee]

Hi Lobstergirl, It's been 9 years of scouring the interwebs and I'm beginning to lose hope. Not even reddit helped. I did find a post on a forum like 3 years ago that maybe sounded like the book I was talking about, but they had the same basic info and the thread had died years before. I'm guessing this was probably a little-known author and the story has mostly been lost over time. I didn't realize this would become a life quest lol

[Bee]

So just seconds after I posted my last comment, I suddenly thought of asking ChatGPT and it spit out this possible title: The Legacy of Heorot. I'm going to see about snagging a copy and fingers crossed this might be it! According to ChatGPT, there are alien creatures called grendels that are found in stasis on board an abandoned ship. There is an accident and a crew member who steps too close is pulled into stasis with a grendel. Really hoping that the next time I comment on here, it'll be to say that it was the right book!!

[Whipkitty]

Bee wrote: "So just seconds after I posted my last comment, I suddenly thought of asking ChatGPT and it spit out this possible title: The Legacy of Heorot. I'm going to see about snagging a copy and fingers cr..."

I was using Chat GPT to generate ideas for some other threads...mixed success. Fingers crossed!

[Sue]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I don’t don’t think Legacy of Heorot is your book. As far as I remember, the Grendel were native to the planet and had no involvement with spaceships or stasis.
for the link.
Fingers crossed someone out there can identify your book!

[Bee]

LOL nooooooo. I forgot ChatGTP can be a lying liar face sometimes 😂

[Whipkitty]

""Some space explorers come across a 50km derelict ship floating around, with insanely huge fixtures, stairs, badass gothic cathedral architecture, weird artwork involving Lovecraftian squiddy things, and some naked people in suspended animation behind glass walls that open telepathically. And they are space vampires. And in the ship there is a map of ancient Greece."



That got made into a movie called Lifeforce with Patrick Stewart.

[Eric]

Probably written a bit too long ago but James White's All Judgment Fled sounds similar .

[Kris]

Link for Eric's suggestion - All Judgment Fled by James White.

Kirkus Review:
- "A first rate variation on First Contact that manages to put the finger on some monumental neuroses. Six astronauts are dispatched to investigate an alien ship in the longest journey man has yet assumed. All earth is tuned in and they are under strict orders to watch their step. . . impossible after the discovery that the ship is overrun by two life forms. . . one incredibly vicious. They must decide whether the E.T.'s are intelligent or merely guinea pigs out of control. And if so, where is the ship's crew? There's bloody bedlam that sends base command into a paranoid panic and the astronauts are denounced as traitorous barbarians until ..."