The review of these two novels is followed by brief notes. These
include material that may be seen in the planet list, and still
remain not comprehensive. Last updated September 4, 2006 C.E.
THE ZERO STONE, Beaver, 1977 (1968); UNCHARTED STARS, Ace, 1969.
These two books about Murdoc Jern and his strange companion Eet are
among the most evocative of the corpus for me. First, there is the
flashback as Murdoc, following his mad rush away from the religious
fanatics who have strangely burned down his mentor, gemologist
Vondar Ustle, awaits in sanctuary. Murdoc remembers his father, a
quite competent gem appraiser for the Thieves' Guild who remarkably
has retired, after some management changes in the Guild, running a
pawn shop on the planet of Angkor. Hywel Jern comes across as a very
interesting person and the life Murdoc knew was fascinating, albeit
with intensified sibling rivalry. The hero has been raised to know
gems expertly and to be able to assess competently all manner of
curiosities.
The key mystery of his youth is the very strange item found over a
finger of a space glove. Informed by his father that the store is a
fit future for such as his younger brother, and one with such talant
as Murdoc's needs to get out and about, to be influenced by the
magnetic fields of a variety of planets and to apprentice to such a
far ranging master as Vondar Ustle, the protagonist has gone off to
learn more of the trade and to keep an ear open for any tidings of
this bizarre ring.
Murdoc bargains his way out of the sanctuary and off Tanth on the
Free Trader Vestris, where he's a bit of an outsider, befriended by
the ship's cat. On a world whose inhabitants have fled or fallen to
natural disaster, Murdoc seeking the curious finds some seed like
stones. The cat is quite attracted to these and Murdoc's efforts to
retrieve one from her grasp earn him a bloody scratch. Then he and
one of the crew watch the cat swallow what seems far too large for
her throat. After this, she's pregnant, and eluding efforts to
locate her and do away with her unwelcome offspring, she gives birth
on Murdoc's bunk, presenting him with her abnormal kitten and some
fast paced adventure, assisted by, indeed impelled by the telepathic
advice of the newborn.
The cat's offspring is from the start quite a knowledgeable and at
times irritatingly self-assured character. Murdoc overhears the Free
Traders conversing about his intended delivery to those demanding
ones he assumes must be the Guild forces behind the deaths of his
father and Vondar Ustle in their quest for the ring. However, the so
alert and resourceful newborn has altered Murdocs physical appearance
so that he appears to be afflicted with a deadly plague, and this
most potent of fears overcomes the dread of the Guild. Then using its
telepathic capacity the rapidly developing kitten gets Murdoc offship
into space, where he amazingly finds himself moving propelled by that
very mysterious ring. It brings him and the kitten to a space wreck
whence they fly in an old lifeboat to a non-industrial planet.
There's action aplenty as Murdoc falls into the hands of the Guild,
as the kitten helps him and a Patrol agent escape, as they locate a
cache of zero stones and bargain with the Patrol, the alien causing
a kind of Vulcan mindmeld to overcome the Patrol agent's suspicions.
So ends the first book with its rich treat of space voyaging, alien
archaeology, psi powers, High Galactic Civilization of Patrol,
Thieves Guild and Free Traders, gems, etc. The two partners have a
ship and the future stretches before them with rich possibilities.
The second book begins with the problem of port fees draining the
funds of the two partners, Murdoc and the more than merely kitten.
Using psi powers to appear to be a pookha, to locate one with a
pilot's license and to elude the surveillance of the Patrol, the
catborn alien, allows a new volume to be launched. This is one of
the most star hopping stories in the Norton canon, and it's a great
delight to follow Murdoc on his route as inspired by tales his father
told him he tries his hand at trading. However, he is up against both
the Thieves Guild and the Patrol and has no easy time of it. It's a
telepathic awareness of a raid on an archaeological post that brings
Murdoc into contact with another of the main staples of the Norton
universe, the long-lived, benign, scholarly and influential
Zacathans.
They arrive in time to rescue one and to pursue the attackers to the
legendary Waystar, where, aided by the cat's offspring, Murdoc takes
on the appearance of his father and plays that role long enough to
make off with an item from the loot, a bowl containing a star map to
the most astounding archaeological find of the age, a city world, a
Forerunner city occupying an entire planet. And, here occurs that
ending which I, on first reading ZERO STONE was so surprised to find
absent and had to wait the year for the appearance of the second book
to encounter. Of course, the kitten so intelligent, resourceful and
knowledgeable from birth, assumes its proper shape, form and size as
a very humanoid female.
This is one of the very best tales of perhaps the greatest teller of
tales of the past century. It is filled with the wonder of space, of
the powers of the mind, of self reliance, of freedom from prejudice,
of reaching to understand the ways of those who dwell afar in space
and in time, of the mysteries of the spirit and of much else. I have
found it at least as pleasing, delicious and wonder filled on each
of the rereads as I found it on my first introduction to it.
Notes to Zero Stone:
p. 7 Tanth no moon p. 36
p. 8 laser
p. 8 Patrol
p. 8 lalor crystals
p. 9 fabled treasure of Jaccard
p. 9 Basic
p. 9 Free Traders p. 43, 67
p. 11 magnetic plated space boots
p. 12 intaglio
p. 15 beamer
p. 17-33 flashback to his father, etc.
p. 17 Hawaki
p. 18 Veep Estampha, sector boss of Thieves' Guild
p. 18 Angkor p. 19
p. 18 plague ship p. 63
p. 19 Vultorian star cluster
p. 19 Fortuna Combine
p. 21 creel wool
p. 23 captains' rings made from tektites
p. 23 first space ventures centuries ago
p. 24 folgar tea
p. 25 twelve on the Mohs scale
p. 32 duty child
p. 35 Gambool
p. 36 Confederation
p. 39 yaeger-wasp nest
p. 39 the Voyringer (ship)
p. 39 gemologists hallmark Vondar Ustle's described
p. 43 the Vestris (ship)
p. 45 nacre
p. 47 Traders language
p. 52 Toads
p. 56 by space law debark at least on second-stage port
p. 56 caff pill
p. 82 semiliquid E-ration
p. 83 Zacathan two million year history
p. 86 stunner
p. 86 Hymandian sand wizard
p. 107 Waystar p. 117, 139
p. 109 Korkosan gladiator
p. 110 his breed new to me
p. 113 think twice, thrice, a dozen times
p. 116 Forerunner
p. 117 natural affinity between us
p. 123 ships that never enter atmosphere
p. 124 food was...
p. 136 Zero stone
p. 138 Arzor
p. 139 uncharted worlds
p. 152 reader-helm
p. 164 Patrol view good of many > good of individual
p. 165 Celph Hory
p. 175 compeller
p. 177 destruct
p. 191 Llation banquet
p. 199 museum on Iona
p. 199 Deenal (pre human space civilization)
p. 199 avian evolved Trystians
p. 199 Wyverns
p. 229 Double Star Commander
p. 230 the Council, 4 Confederacies, 12 Systems, etc.
Notes to Uncharted Stars:
p. 7 Veep p. 53, 101, 116
p. 8 Tanth
p. 10 Zacathan p. 115, 134, 233
p. 11 Salarik p. 53, 126
p. 14 Theba
p. 14 pookha
p. 14 what-is-its
p. 15 on Astrudia
p. 15 tich-leaves (Theban pookha food)
p. 23 Thieves' Guild
p. 28 3 credit discs daily hotel rate
p. 39 Offport p. 103
p. 40 Diving Lokworm
p. 43 Terra p. 115, 123, 124, 163, 165, 237
p. 43 fash-smoker
p. 43 drinking veever
p. 48 Theba three moons
p. 49 Memfors next planet out from Theba
p. 53 ship in hyper cannot be traced
p. 55 Fathfar sector
p. 56 Lorgal
p. 59 Vondar Ustle
p. 59 First-in Scout
p. 59 Stars and Comets
p. 62 Rohan
p. 62 back in 3949
p. 62 Rakipur
p. 62 zorans
p. 62-63 Bendix Combine
p. 63 confederation of Free Traders
p. 80 caff
p. 80 Sororis
p. 82 LB p. 123
p. 85 stunner p. 185
p. 87 Zeeta (goddess on Sororis)
p. 101 Lylestane 112
p. 102 Baltis, Amon
p. 104 robo flitter
p. 105 summead moss
p. 105 Thothian
p. 112 Wyvern from Warlock p. 120
p. 113 Zorastian
p. 116 candied bic plums
p. 116 by the 6 arms and 4 stomachs of Saput
p. 116 late from Jangour
p. 120 mask of Iuta
p. 121 scribo-writing
p. 122 Jack raid
p. 123 Sirenean amber
p. 125 laser
p. 131 Forerunners
p. 134 Zilwrich (a Zacathan character)
p. 137 tales of Waystar for 2 Zacathan generations
p. 138 Arzor, Limbo
p. 141 Zludda forbid (Zacathan oath)
p. 163 He was an Orbsleon
p. 165 Faltharians are Terran mutants
p. 166 plasta face change
p. 166 rejub tablets
p. 168 vita drink
p. 170 phwat from Formalh
p. 171 specto-devices
p. 172 Sargolian seas
p. 173 Rostandian
p. 184 mercenaries of old
p. 185 Salodian marble
p. 187 Vydyke Commission
p. 219 3 centuries ago, one of old blue maps
p. 236 Arth type
p. 251 Luar, Thalan (Forerunner species)
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