Phoenix Prime

Qanar/The Quest of the Wolf #1

by Ted White

One step beyond.The dream of being a superman came true for Max Quest - and immediately turned into a nightmare.He was not alone. There were Others with extraordinary powers, and the last thing they wanted was another superman on Earth - especially one working for good instead of evil.They couldn't kill him. But they could send him...elsewhere.Elsewhere was the viciously hostile world of Qanar, where Max's powers didn't work and sorcery was a more potent weapon than science, where shadows were as menacing as steel. Max Quest still had to save Earth from the corrupt threat of the Others - but he found his destiny intricatly linked with that of Qanar as well. And somewhere in space-time was his lost love...

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy

163 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

Theodore Edwin ("Ted") White is a Hugo Award-winning American writer, known as a science fiction author and editor as well as a music critic. In addition to books and stories written under his own name, he has also co-authored novels with Dave van Arnam as Ron Archer, and with Terry Carr as Norman Edwards.

Reviews

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an old science fiction book I am tossing tomorrow. I doubt anyone else has read it, since not a single other soul on the entire goodread.com website has added it to their list. Hmmmm...

This is probably the only hard core science fiction book I have ever read, in my entire life. And I read it twice. I distinctly remember that. When did I ever have the time to read books more than once? I could know so much more if I would just read more books, only one time.

Basically, I read it twice because I really enjoyed it. I thought it was cool and nifty, going through time and to different planets...or something like that. It's been a long time, and I've forgotten the plot even though I read it not once, but twice.

Perhaps this means there is a hard core sci-fi girl in me dying to escape, but I am surpressing it because I don't want to follow in the footsteps of my weird mother and dorky sister, who passionately loved Star Trek. Plus my brother in law is kinda weird and just lives in his bedroom reading sci fi books and playing sci-fi/fantasy computer games, and I kinda want to avoid that fate, too.

I recommend this book. You can find it at the American Fork Deseret Industries after tomorrow.

[Derek · Rating 2 out of 5]

It feels like Ted White had the beginning and ending of a story and struggled to fill the middle. That middle, everything "Qanar", goes through two or three false starts before jelling together, and then Max Quest--that is the protagonist's name--is handed a deus ex machina to resolve the situation.

There are two other Qanar stories and I presume they start and end there instead of bouncing around. This may or may not improve things: Qanar was nothing exceptional but maybe the combination of civilization collapse and the Sorceress of the sequel's title and this one's cameo appearance will have something interesting about it. Then again, if it digresses into multipage musings about the mechanics of psychic powers and so forth then there is no hope for it.

White in particular had trouble dealing with Fran as a character. She starts as "Frances" and apparently ends as "Francine" and is absent for the entire middle except as motivation for Max to explore the planet and feel vaguely guilty about cheating on. When we do catch up, she is in the midst of being systematically assaulted, and upon return to Earth we learn that her inert physical form has been "put to use" since her original capture. The sum of her role is to be fought for, searched for, possessed, and used.

[Connie Hirsch · Rating 2 out of 5]

Many many years ago I ran across Star Wolf! and wanted to read the first two books of the story -- of course in those days, it was harder to find used books, let alone paperback originals that were at least 5 years out of date.

I ran across this one in a used bookstore in Boston last week, and gave into temptation. I think mid-70s me would have liked it a lot, if only becuase I hadn't yet read enough to play Spot The Trope.

Still, not a $5 purchase I regret, if only because I've scratched part of the itch.

(Note: the next part of this trilogy has characters named Elron and Shannara. -- published 1968!)

[Lonnie Veal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Man is entrapped by mysterious 'Others' and exiled to another dimension where his nascent superpowers are useless and he is no longer a threat. But here on Qanar, Max finds that Magic works were the remains of a great civilization toppled by an ancient cataclysm. Max must survive this world and get back to Earth. Classic Pulp Sci-Fi writing.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars is generous. It’s a dull, tedious heroes journey.

[Amy Miller-Bowen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Women are mistreated and raped. Beginning and and end are sudden not well related to middle of the book.

[Ben McPhee · Rating 1 out of 5]

started out promising but turned into pulp trash, women deserve better than this kind of writing #performative (but not at all cause yeesh)

[Joe Santoro · Rating 2 out of 5]

Plot: Max Quest suddenly has super powers, but the Others want him to give them up, so they kidnap his girlfriend and send her to a parallel universe where Max's powers don't work. He follows, and adventure ensues.

This one took me a bit of time to get through.. it's pretty bad...all the way down to several typos and bad margins. It's kinda a reverse-John Carter, but there are SO many plot holes. Not even a bunch of (not particularly appropriate) comic book references didn't save. Apparently, it's the 1st of a trilogy..(though I've no idea what would happen in a 2nd book, since it all resolves nicely). I'll pass on the others.

[Slade · Rating 4 out of 5]

also read it twice this is a second edition. The first was in '66 My father used the original cover as
a inspiration for an awesome landscape pic

see 1st edition cover here
www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B000...

[SciFiOne · Rating 3 out of 5]

1988 grade C

series book Pp1

[Ronald · Rating 2 out of 5]

probably read in winter 1969