Synopses & Reviews
Finally, a new novel in Andre Norton's legendary Beast Master universe. The adventures of Beast Master Hosteen Storm, hero of Andre Norton's Beast Master and Lord of Thunder, have thrilled SF readers for decades. Now, in a terrific new adventure, we meet Tani, daughter of a heroic Beast Master who died to save a planet from the same Xik invaders who destroyed Storm's homeworld, Earth. Poisoned by her mother against other Beast Masters, Tani travels the galaxy on the Ark, with a mission to collect and disperse genetic material, some from the recently destroyed Earth. When the Ark makes a stop on Beast Master Storm's new home planet, Arzor, to deliver a mate for his dune cat, Tani and the crew encounter a terrifying force: Death-which-comes-in-the-Night. As the mysterious killer ravages the planet, killing human and beast alike, Tani must learn to not only trust and work with Storm, but to realize the Beast Master in herself. Only by joining her powers with Storm will she be able to untangle the mysterious threat, save the natives and humans of Arzor who have become her family...and uncover a conspiracy that endangers all human worlds.
Review
"Neat, swift, and strongly detailed. Old fans will dance and howl for more."-
Kirkus Reviews" . . . Tani and her animal companions take on the Death by Night in an exciting climax that should leave fans eager for the next installment."-Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
The adventures of Beast Master Hosteen Storm have thrilled readers for decades. Now, introduced in a terrific new adventure is Tani, daughter of a heroic Beast Master who died to save a planet from the same Xik invaders who destroyed Storm's homeworld, Earth.
Synopsis
The first new exciting Beast Master adventure in decades!Danger on Arzor
Beast Master Hosteen Storm has endured great perils to carve out a life for himself on Arzor, the colony planet he's called home since the destruction of Earth by the alien Xik. On a planet with alien life forms and untold secrets from it's pre-Human past, there are always dangers in the wild, especially the vast desert and rugged mountain region known as Big Blue.
But nobody has ever experienced a threat like the devastating scourge the natives call Death-Which-Comes-in-the-Night. Something is killing grazing animals . . . and has begun to attack humans as well, leaving nothing but the bones of its victims behind.
Hosteen, aided by his telepathically linked animals, knows that if he can't stop the killings Arzor will be decimated. His only ally is a young woman who has beast master ability, but was raised to mistrust others with such a power. At stake is the safety of all those on Arzor, and on other colony planets as well. Because Death-Which-Comes-in-the-Night is a scourge that if not stopped here, could spread . . .
About the Author
For well over a half century,
Andre Norton has been one of the most popular science fiction and fantasy authors in the world. Since her first SF novels were published in the 1940s, her adventure SF has enthralled readers young and old. With series such as
Time Traders, Solar Queen, Forerunner, Beast Master, Crosstime, and
Janus, as well as many stand-alone novels, her tales of action and adventure throughout the galaxy have drawn countless readers to science fiction.
Her fantasy, including the best-selling Witch World series, her "Magic" series, and many other unrelated novels, has been popular with readers for decades. Lauded as a Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America, she is the recipient of a Life Achievement Award from the World Fantasy Convention. Not only have her books been enormously popular; she also has inspired several generations of SF and fantasy writers, especially many talented women writers who have followed in her footsteps. In the past two decades she has worked with other writers on a number of novels. Most notable among these are collaborations with Mercedes Lackey, the Halfblood Chronicles, as well as collaborations with A.C. Crispin (in the Witch World series) and Sherwood Smith (in the Time Traders and Solar Queen series). An Ohio native, Ms. Norton lived for a number of years in Winter Park, Florida, and now makes her home in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where she continues to write, and presides over High Hallack, a writers' resource and retreat.
Lyn McConchie has been collaborating successfully with Andre Norton since the early 1990s, first via mail and more recently via e-mail, bridging the equator and most of the Earth's oceans to write rousing SF adventures together. Ms. McConchie lives in New Zealand.