Voodoo Planet

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.

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

"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."

The two novellas herein do not form a novel when put together; they're both set in the Council / Confederation universe, but don't involve the same characters. Why they've been allowed to be out of print so long passes my understanding."Star Hunter" - Ras Hume was blacklisted as a star pilot, courtesy of the craziness of the drug addict who was 3rd owner of the Kogan-Bors-Wazalitz line, which left him with high-profile commendations (the records couldn't be wiped after the Patrol got them), a pension, and a plasta-flesh hand. In his new career as a member of the Out-Hunter's Guild, he's been able to console himself with exploring new planets to open for safaris for the rich. On the newly-discovered world of Jumala, he found (and didn't report) something that may let him extract some payback from the company that cost him his career - if he can bring together a scheme involving port-rat Vye Lansor and crime boss Milfors Wass.Vye Lansor is really the focus of the story: one of the down-and-out youngsters who appear often in Norton's work. On the occasions when they manage to scramble out of the pits into which life has tossed them, they don't live happily ever after, but they manage to build a life for themselves - if they survive."Voodoo Planet" - Over the years, this has been the hardest to find of all the _Solar Queen_ stories, fitting into the narrow gap between the end of _Plague Ship_ and the beginning of _Postmarked the Stars_, when the Queen is being refitted to pick up her new contract as a mail ship between Xecho and Trewsworld. Only Captain Jellico, medic Tau, cargo apprentice Dane Thorson, and Sindbad (ship's cat) are aboard when a Chief Ranger from Khatka, Xecho's sister planet, comes calling.Tau, as a hobby anthropologist specializing on 'magic', is fascinated by Khatka's people rather than its legendary hunting preserves. The original colonists broke out of a concentration camp in Africa during the Second Atomic War, then started a reverse-apartheid system. (That aspect of their culture appears to have been eliminated by the time this story opens, though.) Now somebody has dug deep into their cultural weaknesses, and is using 'magic' to psychologically drive key men in Khatkan politics to their deaths. Tau is asked to bring Jellico and Thorson along, and try to uncover whoever is behind this reign of sabotage and murder.If planetary cultures of African origin interest you, try Norton's _Android at Arms_, which deals with another such planet at greater length and in more detail.