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Solar Queen #1-2
The Solar Queen
The first two star-spanning tales of Dane Thorson and the Solar Queen
Almost half a century ago Andre Norton introduced apprentice Cargo Master Dane Thorson in Sargasso of Space and Plague Ship .
Dane signed on with the independent cargo ship Solar Queen looking for a career in off-world trade. In Sargasso of Space , the Solar Queen free-traders win exclusive rights to trade with the planet Limbo, but the crew arrives to find most of its surface charred, with little sign of life. They find a valley with life, but others may still lurk. Worse yet, a strange force threatens to cripple the Queen. They must solve the planet's mysteries if they hope to escape with not only tradeable goods, but their lives.
In Plague Ship , the Queen travels to Sargol, which promises a wealth of exquisite gems to trade-if the crew can overcome the native feline Salarikis' mistrust. But their troubles have just begun!. When a mysterious illness soon overtakes all the crew except the four youngest, the Galactic Patrol labels the Queen plagued and orders it destroyed on sight. With every ship in the galaxy searching for them, the crew have one chance to save the Solar Queen. But if their bold plan foils it would mean the end of the Solar Queen and its crew!
Almost half a century ago Andre Norton introduced apprentice Cargo Master Dane Thorson in Sargasso of Space and Plague Ship .
Dane signed on with the independent cargo ship Solar Queen looking for a career in off-world trade. In Sargasso of Space , the Solar Queen free-traders win exclusive rights to trade with the planet Limbo, but the crew arrives to find most of its surface charred, with little sign of life. They find a valley with life, but others may still lurk. Worse yet, a strange force threatens to cripple the Queen. They must solve the planet's mysteries if they hope to escape with not only tradeable goods, but their lives.
In Plague Ship , the Queen travels to Sargol, which promises a wealth of exquisite gems to trade-if the crew can overcome the native feline Salarikis' mistrust. But their troubles have just begun!. When a mysterious illness soon overtakes all the crew except the four youngest, the Galactic Patrol labels the Queen plagued and orders it destroyed on sight. With every ship in the galaxy searching for them, the crew have one chance to save the Solar Queen. But if their bold plan foils it would mean the end of the Solar Queen and its crew!
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
6 people are currently reading
166 people want to read
About the author
Andre Norton
701 books1,390 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 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 2, 2019
This book was unbelievably fun!
It was written as a book (two books in one volume, actually) for young readers but, like so many middle grade books, it's a great read for any age.
These stories are full of wonderful adventures, exciting plot twists, and likable characters. It is a little dated. Most of the technology is old, and it lacks female cast members, but it has that old school space opera charm that's impossible for a sci-fi fan to resist.
If you enjoy the early Star Trek shows, and other early science fiction, you need to put this on your to read list!
It was written as a book (two books in one volume, actually) for young readers but, like so many middle grade books, it's a great read for any age.
These stories are full of wonderful adventures, exciting plot twists, and likable characters. It is a little dated. Most of the technology is old, and it lacks female cast members, but it has that old school space opera charm that's impossible for a sci-fi fan to resist.
If you enjoy the early Star Trek shows, and other early science fiction, you need to put this on your to read list!
July 5, 2018
Old Sci-Fi, still fun to read.
May 11, 2011
A great change of pace from some of the heavier stuff out there these days. Written in the mid 1950s, her ships to the stars novels are quite enjoyable. The Solar Queen is a pairing of two novels: Sargasso of Space and Plague Ship. From a comment I made on another site:
Most of Andre Norton's large output was, indeed, targeted to younger readers. However, they are still as literate as one might wish and refreshingly uncluttered with soporific detail. Her space operas tend to be good, trouble-free reading with no worries over relativistic debts owed to FTL space travel. there were always "blasters" "flamers" and (my personal favorite) "sleep rods" (makes me think of the "Cosmic Smoke Gun" from the Space Patrol tv series of the day). When space craft ventured into space they "blasted off". Colloquialisms in the dialogue were heavily imbued with space travel references, e.g., "he's not firing on all jets", etc.
Dane Thorson is a good, unassuming young character who does his best to fit in with the rest of the Solar Queen crew. Despite superficial differences, everyone works well togather and is generally a match for any space villains they encounter. One can overlook the cultural relativism in the book. There was a little bit of ethnocentrism in most works of the day. Lots of fun.
Most of Andre Norton's large output was, indeed, targeted to younger readers. However, they are still as literate as one might wish and refreshingly uncluttered with soporific detail. Her space operas tend to be good, trouble-free reading with no worries over relativistic debts owed to FTL space travel. there were always "blasters" "flamers" and (my personal favorite) "sleep rods" (makes me think of the "Cosmic Smoke Gun" from the Space Patrol tv series of the day). When space craft ventured into space they "blasted off". Colloquialisms in the dialogue were heavily imbued with space travel references, e.g., "he's not firing on all jets", etc.
Dane Thorson is a good, unassuming young character who does his best to fit in with the rest of the Solar Queen crew. Despite superficial differences, everyone works well togather and is generally a match for any space villains they encounter. One can overlook the cultural relativism in the book. There was a little bit of ethnocentrism in most works of the day. Lots of fun.
August 24, 2012
This was a great read, just what I needed to get back into scifi reading. The story follows Dane, a cargo apprentice assigned to his first ship. Psychology tests decided he works best as a free trader, best way to describe them is Serenity, they will do any job "don't much care what it is." This edition holds the first two books of the solar queen series. Even though it is a new publication they did not edit any of the original text. Which is awesome because its kind of neat to see how the author described futuristic items with 1950's vernacular (Tri-Dee instead of 3D.)
December 9, 2012
Andre Norton's books used to haunt me as a young boy. I've been rereading them as of late and it's the kind of science fiction I aspire to reach as I work on my first scifi novel, Navjaro Butterflies.
November 10, 2016
Pretty dated. Makes for significant suspension of disbelief. Characters that behave the way people did in the 1950s seem like cardboard cutouts today. Generally well-written and I probably would have loved it as a kid, but it just doesn't hold up.
November 15, 2011
it was ok, I kind of hopped for more on the average life of a cargo hauler.
July 22, 2013
Classic science fiction written in the space opera style - not one of the new Heavy Moral tome written today
January 7, 2015
a little dry but a good read
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews