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Title: The Zero Stone
Series: Murdoc Jern #1
Author: Andre Norton
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 250
Synopsis:
Murdoc Jern, son of a famous jemologist, is pushed out on his own, with only an unknown stone as his inheritance.
Plying his trade as an apprentice, his master is murdered and Murdoc is on the run. From the Guild, the Patrol and other sources. He hooks up with an alien, born from a cat, named Eet to find out what the Zero Stone is.
My Thoughts:
This was typical Norton, with brains being the most important thing. Action happened, but it was described so stultifyingly that it was a relief to get to other stuff.
I did enjoy the overall story but there are times that Norton’s style grates. It is a testament to her writing skill and storytelling ideas that even with that, I still keep reading her stuff. I love the story and the idea of exploring space for Lost Civilizations is cool.
I liked this enough that I am now in the middle of the second book.
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