Voodoo Planet

Two entertaining Forerunner tales:
"Voodoo Planet" and "Star Hunter" have both been reprinted recently but were previously published together as "The Space Adventure Novels of Andre Norton." These two very short novels are not related to each other, except that they're both set in Andre Norton's Forerunner universe. As humans explore the far reaches of the galaxy, they keep finding the ruins of highly advanced alien civilizations that have vanished. Some planets have not been well explored, some have been colonized, and some are home to aliens. (Click on my name to see the list of about 40 books in this universe.) "Star Hunter" is a typical Andre Norton buddy story about two characters who don't like each other very well. In fact, one of them has had the other brainwashed, to be passed off as the heir to a fortune .. and to be used as someone's puppet. They end up trekking on foot across an unexplored planet, pursued by bizarre creatures, trying to figure out a mysterious alien device that has entrapped and killed all the humans who have come before. The relationship that develops between these two characters is the strong suit of this tale. If you're a fan of Andre Norton, you will probably enjoy it. I give "Star Hunter" four stars because it's entertaining but very much like many others by this author. The second novella, "Voodoo Planet," is the third installment in the Solar Queen series. The Solar Queen is a small spaceship that usually makes cargo runs, but in this story, three of the crew members (Dane, Medic Tau, and Captain Jellico) are invited to a hunting safari on a planet colonized by people from Africa. They run afoul of a local voodoo priest, who stalks them through the jungle. Luckily, Tau has studied magic as a hobby and is able to counter some of the weird attacks as the expedition tries to get back to civilization. For me, the adventures were fun, although the magic was not entirely convincing or well explained. This is not compelling science fiction, but I give it four stars instead of three because it's part of the Solar Queen series. This is the entire Solar Queen series: 1. Sargasso of Space (1955) 2. Plague Ship (1956) 3. Voodoo Planet (1959) 4. Postmarked the Stars (1969) 5. Redline the Stars, with PM Griffin (1993) 6. Derelict for Trade, with Sherwood Smith (1997) 7. A Mind for Trade, with Sherwood Smith (1997) Sargasso of Space" and "Plague Ship" were reprinted recently in a single volume called "The Solar Queen."

TWO NORTON TALES...BOTH UNSATISFYING:
This book collects two of Andre Norton's novellas in one package. Both have to do with planets where safaris are conducted for the pleasure of wealthy offworlders, and both leave the reader wanting more in terms of either explanation or detail. The first, "Star Hunter" (1961), is the better of the two. In this one, the safari leader on the planet Jumala has cooked up a scheme whereby he can exact revenge on the space syndicate that has done him dirty. His scheme involves planting a young man on the planet with a set of conditioned memories, and passing the young man off as a lost heir. The scheme goes awry when unsuspected native life on the planet rises up and starts setting traps for the safari men. The story certainly moves quickly, and there is no dearth of action and monsters and color. But in the end, there is also no explanation for any of the mysteries we have witnessed--only a vague hinting at best--and this reader was left extremely disappointed. Rather than being left with that "wonder of space" and the mystery-of-the-cosmos feeling that Norton might have been trying to convey, all that most readers will be left with, I feel, is a sense of being gypped. "Voodoo Planet" (1959), at 62 pages, might not even be considered a novella; more like a long short story. This tale constitutes the third installment of the Dane Thorson/Solar Queen series, and is a rather weak entry in this otherwise terrific bunch of books. Here, Dane, Captain Jellico, and Medic Tau are stranded on Khatka, a planet that had been settled many years ago by Africans after the Second Atomic War. Our boys fight off many alien creatures in the wilds of Khatka--the fight with the rock apes is a highlight of the story--and help conquer the evil witch doctor who is trying to overthrow the legitimate government. Magic is thrown about left and right with only a superficial, mumbo-jumbo explanation of how things are done; something about ancestral memories. When all is said and done, the reader has enjoyed the sequences with the alien monsters but is left shaking his/her head at the implausibility of the magical elements. What might have worked in a tale of the "Witch World" somehow doesn't fly in this tale of hard sci-fi survival. And let's not even go into how Norton makes up words such as "discordinate," constantly uses the word "turgid" instead of "turbid" (as in "the water was turgid"), and constantly uses expressions such as \othe other figure was\c "still very still." Her early works certainly did lack polish, but even here, in some of her lesser early work, the Norton flair for telling an exciting tale with color and drive comes through.

Traders,series:
Classic Andre Norton.A little less action than other books in this series, but still a great read. I enjoyed this as a young person and enjoyed it as an adult as well. B.C.

Third novel in 'Solar Queen' space adventure series:
"Voodoo Planet" (1959) follows "Sargasso of Space" (1955) and its sequel "Plague Ship" (1956), and precedes "Postmarked: the Stars" (1969) in the series of `Solar Queen' space adventure novels, starring Dane Thorson, a lanky young apprentice-Cargo Master. After ten years of schooling, Dane had been assigned via a computer analysis of his psychological profile, to a battered tramp of a Free Trader. To say that the 'Solar Queen' "lacked a great many refinements and luxurious fittings which the Company ships boasted" was an understatement. But she was a tightly-run ship and what she lacked in refinement, she made up for in adventure. Dane soon settles in under Cargo Master Van Rycke and learns "to his dismay what large gaps unfortunately existed in his training." "Voodoo Planet" weighs in as the slightest of the four original `Solar Queen' novels at 159 pages, and features only Dane, Captain Jellico, and ship's medic, Tau out of the original crew. While the `Queen is being fitted up for her new job as an interstellar mail carrier, the three crew members are invited to Khatka, a planet settled by African refugees from Terra's ancient racial wars. Norton's fascination with magic is woven into this novel via a witch doctor gone over to the Dark Side. Lumbrilo is in league with poachers who are stripping the planet of its native animals. Captain Jellico, Medic Tau, and Dane team up with Khatka's Chief Ranger and his men to track down the off-world thieves and their powerful sorcerer, after their flitter crash-lands in a remote game preserve. Minor Norton but a must for `Solar Queen' fans.

Solar Queen Series:
I found this to ba an excellent addition to my hardcover Solar Queen series. I am an avid andre Norton fan.