Uncharted Stars

An interesting YA novel, with intriguing elements. Overall, a better reading experience than one disposed towards post reading reflection. Some of the characters were somewhat underdeveloped, but the world building was excellent.
Also I felt that the conclusion was rushed and not all the story threads were wrapped up. However, I am very impressed with the author Andre Norton and will happily read future stories from her if I can find them.
In conclusion, good, but not one for rereading.

The ending is a bit rushed but Norton's outer space swashbuckler ultimately comes to a satisfying conclusion as interstellar adventurer Murdoc Jern and his mutant cat Eet not only find the secret behind the mysterious "zero stones" but Eet's true nature to boot. Grand old school galactic adventure with thieving pirates, zealous cops, and an ages old mystery waiting to be solved.

So after reading the first book, The Zero Stone (that I gave a 2.5 star rating), I went ahead and gave the 2nd and final book a chance, mainly hoping for some sort of interesting backstory to Eet and the Zero Stone.

This one starts off meandering along just like the last one, but then it picks up and gets a little more interesting as it goes into more depth concerning Jern's skills as a precious gem trader and assessor. It actually feels like Norton put some time and thought into it. But then, the plot falls back apart, or more accurately falls back into neutral, until it coasts into a rushed ending that mostly ignores the story behind the gemstones and throws in a completely silly twist ending for Eet and Jern. Sigh. Might be the last show more Norton book I read. show less

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.tumblr.com by express permission of this reviewer Title: Uncharted Stars Series: Murdoc Jern Author: Andre Norton Rating: 2.5 of 5 Stars Genre: SFF Pages: 232 Synopsis: Murdoc and Eet are blacklisted by the Patrol and the Guild, so how are they going to survive? Kidnap a drunk former space pilot, hook up with an alien and solve the puzzle of where the Zero Stones come from of course! My Thoughts: This had to be some of the most stoic writing ever. And Murdoc show more continues to distrust Eet, afraid that he'll take over his mind or use him or "something". He makes several stupid decisions on this alone and gets the whole crew in trouble. But in spite of that, things were kind of rolling along, right up until the end, where Eet, with the power of a whole planet of Zero Stones, turns into HER original form and is of course, a beautiful woman. (hide spoiler) I could not believe that. Both books were focused on friendship, companionship, duty, etc, etc without even a hint of romance. And then that. It was like taking a big bottle of Heinz Ketchup and squirting the whole bottle on a fillet mignon steak, to "make it palatable for everyone". Kind of glad there are no more Murdoc Jern books so I won't even be tempted to read them. " show less

The unfortunately last Jern-Eet book. Faster paced and more varied than the Zero Stone. It would have been the launch for a whole series but it was the last.

Sequel to The zero stone